Red_Roses_and_Black_Dahlias_-_Macy_T

her tight.
We agreed with Maddox that Valentina should get back to school next
week. I was also going back to class since I couldn’t afford to miss more,
academically speaking.
That child psychologist from the police department actually was the one
to advise it, said that we should bring back as much stability and normalcy in
her life as we could. She also said she was afraid Valentina would develop
separation anxiety if we waited too long and I half heartedly agreed with that.
Except for that night she was placed in foster care, we had spent every
waking moment together since the night of the murders, and that couldn’t be
healthy in the long term.
I was dreading the separation though, possibly even more than Valentina.
She seemed content enough to be going back to school. Not to see her friends
— she didn’t have much of those, but because she genuinely loved learning.
She went to a private school in Lakestone where she was first of her class.
All of her teachers loved her, and she loved them too, my girl had tons of
love to give.
The problem came mainly from her classmates. Children were cruel little
creatures, that’s a known fact, but Valentina didn't have a mean bone in her
body. Plus, she actually acted her age, making her seem childish at times to a
generation that was born knowing how to work an iPad before they could
walk. That made her an easy target for bullies. I couldn't even recall how
many times she snuggled to me at night, crying about mean things other
students said to her.
I wanted to do something about it, call the school, talk to the parents, but
she refused. She said it would only cause more drama and that their taunts
wouldn’t hurt her as she’d grow up. It killed me to agree with her, but she
was right, we couldn’t afford to cause drama and bring the spotlight onto
ourselves.
That didn’t keep me from vandalizing their parents’ houses or their cars
though.