Chapter Warnings: +18, strong language, godmother reader/original female character, original child, name-calling and implying some derogatory things, mentions of concussions, Angst, Protective Dagger Squad, mostly from Sadie's POV. Bradley Bradshit Bradshaw.
The first thing Sadie thought when she woke up in the morning was that she had never had a headache like this one.
She had nothing to compare it to. This wasn't a soccer ball to the face or a cold with a bad stuffed-up nose. This type was the one that made your eyes water in pain, the kind where your headband was just too tight, but there was no headband for her to remove. The type to create intrusive thoughts about hitting your head off a wall to see if that would fix it.
On top of that, she was exhausted from her Uncle Jake waking her up throughout the night, ensuring she could still wake up. And each time he did, she had trouble falling back asleep.
When you came to wake her up in the morning, a smile on your face, she couldn't stop her tears from escaping due to the pain. She could handle a lot, but headaches were her weakness. And your reaction only made it worse, Sadie not wanting to add more to your plate, as a frown graced your face.
Whether the question of if she was feeling okay, physically or emotionally, was going to cross your lips, Sadie didn't want to know.
She groggily sat up, trying to bury her face into your neck, clinging to you tightly and whimpering, "It's my head."
Something about just holding on to you soothed the pain. Sadie could remember the doctor telling her before leaving the hospital that she would feel worse on the second day. She thought he had been stupid to say that; nothing could have been worse than what her entire family just went through.
Then she understood what he meant. However, he should have paid better attention to his choice of words.
Sadie tried to hide her whines as you stood, carrying her out of her bed and into the bathroom, where you single-handedly searched for the bottle of pain meds as she clung to you.
Uncle Jake was working a wooden spoon through a bowl of batter in the kitchen when he saw Sadie in your arms. He frowned and immediately dropped the spoon, walking over to the pair of you and placing a hand resting on Sadie's back.
"It's her head," you spoke quietly, kissing her forehead. Jake took the bottle of meds from your hand without saying anything else, pressing a kiss to the side of your head, saying quietly, "Go sit. I'll get everything ready."
Sadie didn't pay any attention to what was happening after you sat down with her in your lap. Uncle Jake brought over two pills and a glass of orange juice at some point, and you coaxed her into the chair next to you to take them.
But she was impatient, waiting for those nasty things to work, pressing her head into her arms as if the small amount of darkness would help. Then Uncle Jake placed a packet of ice on her neck, and she wanted to cry from the relief.
The awful bandage came off after she started to feel slightly better, you sitting behind her at the kitchen table as you worked the thing loose. Uncle Jake was at the stove, flipping pancakes, laughing at the faces Sadie was making as you tugged one way or pulled the other.
After living off hospital food almost all day yesterday, the pancakes did wonders for her stomach. But she was more pleased to see Uncle Jake smiling and laughing with you at the kitchen table as everyone ate. How he made her laugh and feel happy despite everything that happened.
Uncle Jake just fit in.
And that was the thing with you and Uncle Jake. Neither of you babied her. Sadie knew she could always come to you with anything; she just had to say the word. And it only took shared looks with Uncle Jake to know he was an option as well, constantly checking in with a knowing smile and Sadie nodding to let him know she was doing okay.
But she didn't want to think about everything just yet.
After breakfast, however, was a constant cycle of boredom. Sadie didn't know how to cope. You told her she couldn't look at a screen, and while she understood, she was bored. This was different from when it was the flu or a cold, and she got to stay home from school. She could huddle on the couch, play her Switch, or watch a movie during those times. Despite loving to read, she could only stare at the pages for so long before the words ran into each other.
Or her head started to pound again.
Uncle Jake tried to help, sitting with her outside while you curled up in one of the chairs, reading a book in between answering phone calls. Sadie hadn't seen you with a book in a long time, that book in particular, and she wondered what convinced you to pick it back up again. But she liked the fact you did, watching you turn every page with eager intent, lost in the world described in the pages.
Until she fell asleep against her Uncle Jake, who was content to let her be until two hours had passed and she needed to be woken up again.
She honestly just wanted him to let her sleep.
Then the Daggers had called, more Auntie Nat than any of them, to ask if they could bring dinner over. When they arrived, she hugged everyone slightly longer than usual, not that they seemed to mind. Even if she had to put up with the same questions from all of them, Sadie honestly just wanted her family close by.
But there was something off about her Uncle Roo.
He barely said a word to her when he walked through the front door. And his hug wasn't as warm or nearly as tight. And after dinner, with everyone in the backyard, she was beginning to worry. She could tell he was mad as she feigned sleep, lying up against Uncle Jake on the bench to avoid answering another, "Are you doing okay?"
He hadn't stopped staring at her once. Or at you, for that matter. His eyes tracked every movement you made in the backyard, from refilling a water jug to nibbling on a piece of food. Or every conversation.
Every time you came over and spoke with Uncle Jake.
It was weird, she thought. And she wanted to find out why.
Despite her headache going away, being around everyone made her exhausted. And she suddenly felt the urge to be alone. She excused herself from the backyard, asking if she could lie in her room for a minute, everyone frowning. But you had let her go without complaint.
You always knew what she needed, and you never forced her to do something that made her uncomfortable.
Rooster had been there for her when she was struggling with the fact she wouldn't see her mom anymore. Maybe she was trying to let him approach her by going inside. She half expected him to follow her inside, or there might have been a moment when she would have pulled him aside and asked if she could talk to him about what had happened. This shouldn't be any different than those times.
But he didn't follow her inside, and he really hadn't said a word to her all evening, unlike Auntie Nat or Uncle Bob, who had asked if she needed to vent.
She couldn't figure out what she did wrong.
It was making her upset.
Sadie lifted her from her pillow head to a knock at her bedroom door.
"Come in," she called out softly. Her door opened, revealing you on the other side, a sad smile on your face.
"Hey," your voice was soft. "I just came to check on you. Everyone was worried."
Sadie put her head back on her pillow, glancing out her window. "I'm okay. Just tired. It's just a lot."
"Should we have not had everyone over? You're allowed to say no. No one would blame you."
She closed her eyes, moving her head back and forth against her pillow. "No, I wanted everyone here. It was just more than I thought it would be."
You stepped forward to sit beside her on the bed, hand reaching out to stroke at her leg top her covers. "You've been through more than anyone your age, Bug."
Sadie turned to look at you, instantly drawn to your eye. Your bruise had gotten darker and lighter, yellow patches adding themselves to the stains of the blue since she came home. Its presence on your face still haunted her, making her return to her belief that you or Uncle Jake wouldn't have gotten hurt if she had stayed in the bathroom. But then she'd remember what Uncle Jake had said, and she'd stop herself.
She knew even her mom would have come up with the right thing to say, which sounded exactly the same as everyone else had been telling her.
People were just sometimes bad.
"Am I supposed to buy the "It will make me stronger" speech people give me?" she wondered aloud.
You squeezed her leg through her puffy green comforter, saying, "Not if you don't want it to."
Adjusting herself on her bed, she replied, "So if I wanted to be upset about it?"
You slid closer to her, and Sadie reached for your hand, threading her fingers through yours. You touched her cheek and answered, "It's okay to cry about what happened Bug. To be upset. Why do you think you can't be upset?"
"Because you and Uncle Jake got hurt. Because I don't want anyone else to worry about me. Because it will cause more problems, and I don't want you to be sad."
You gasped, crying, "Sadie, you're never a problem! Please don't ever think that! I'm only sad because I can't fix everything for you. I would do anything to make sure you're happy."
Sadie cried the second you said those words, releasing the pent-up emotions weighing her down since she woke up in that hospital bed.
Maybe she didn't need to talk to her Uncle Roo about these things.
You had been right here all along.
"Thank you for understanding, Aunt Liz," she sniffed, wiping her eyes. "And being there for me. For taking me in."
Laying beside her on her bed, you wrapped your arm around her side. "As if you were going to end up anywhere else than with me. That's nothing you have to thank me for, Bug."
She played to the edges of her comforter, the question burning on her lips. "Is he my birth father? The bad man."
Her mom had always said she had a father out there. One that left before she was born. She hadn't started putting everything together, the photos her mom had shown her, the warnings to stay away from that man, until after everything had happened and she had time to think about it when she was stuck in that hospital bed.
Sadie knew you would tell her the truth. You always did, even when she didn't want to hear it. You swallowed hard before nodding sadly. "Yeah, he is."
Sadie let go of the comforter, pushing it off her. "What does that mean for me? For us? I just... don't want anything to do with him."
"Well, hopefully, when the police catch him, he will go to jail. So we will never see him again. Your mom ensured that would never happen. He's not going anywhere near you."
"Really?"
You nodded. "Everyone outside would buzz the CPS building if that was even the slightest possibility too."
She giggled at that.
"So whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. And those idiots outside."
Sadie huffed a small laugh, remarking, "Till I run off with a boy, right?"
You gasped, sitting up and remarking, "Sadie Beck, don't tell me you have a crush!"
Well, shoot, she really shouldn't have gone with that reply. You could always tell when she was hiding something.
Well, almost always.
"I'm almost eleven, Aunt Liz. Do I really need to be thinking about a boy right now?" she attempted to throw you off her trail, rolling her eyes. But you didn't relent, a knowing grin on your face.
"Not if it's Will you're thinking about," you teased. Sadie squealed, rolling herself into her pillow.
Will had called her today asking if she was okay. She liked him more than she cared to admit. She was still too young even to consider having a boyfriend. But she liked the way he cared about her. It reminded her of how Uncle Jake cared about you. Then she realized, turning her head with a shout, "You and Uncle Jake's date got ruined!"
You chuckled softly. "It's nothing that can't be replanned. Besides, I think he likes spending time with the both of us anyway."
Sadie giggled, thinking back to this morning. "Don't let him flip the pancake pan again. And he needs to stop singing in the shower. I think it's making my head worse."
Something warm sparked in Sadie's chest at watching you finally laugh wholeheartedly after what seemed like the longest 24 hours of her life.
She liked seeing you laugh. You only ever did once Uncle Jake came around since her mom had left the two of you.
"Is it okay that Uncle Jake is staying here?" you asked her after a minute.
Sadie sat up in her bed, looking at you questionably. Uncle Jake had left just after lunch for a half hour, returning with a bag in hand. She hadn't questioned it. It made sense that he would stay with you two while the bad man was still out there.
She also didn't trust the police officer outside across the street in his car either. She had often peered out the front window to see him asleep in his front seat.
She nodded. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know, with everything that has happened? The fact he and I.."
She didn't have to think twice about her answer. "I feel safe with him in the house."
You smiled. "So do I, Bug."
You were about to say something else when a loud shout echoed down the hallway, an f-bomb, as you had labelled on the swear jar in the kitchen. Sadie's eyes shot to her open door, and she quickly remarked, "Somebody needs to put money in the swear jar."
But this wasn't a slip of the tongue. More shouts and angry words were coming from different people. Sadie looked at you, wondering what to do. But you had gone stiff, your face emotionless as the both of you took in the fight.
You seemed to snap out of it when you heard Auntie Nat's voice shout Uncle Roo's name, and you finally looked back at her with worrisome eyes.
Sadie watched as you grabbed her oversized black headphones with puffy sides from her bedside table and quickly turned them on. You were biting your bottom lip as you placed them on her head, looking down at your phone and hitting play on a playlist. You squeezed her shoulder, mouthing 'stay' to her before you quickly exited her room, shutting the door behind you.
Sadie couldn't hear anything beyond the music playing in her ears. She could tell without looking at your phone screen that it was the playlist you had made for Saturday Nights.
She caught snippets of shouts and yells for a couple of songs when the music shuffled. She could hear you, Uncle Jake, Uncle Nat, and Uncle Roo, who was the loudest. At one point, she thought she even heard Uncle Bob raise his voice. That one shocked her the most - she had never heard him speak that loudly.
But after a while, she couldn't hear your voice in the mix while another song changed. Sadie reached up and pulled the headphones from her head, leaving them on her bed as she climbed off and to her door.
She didn't know why everyone was fighting but needed to know. If her suspicions had been right about Uncle Roo being mad about something, she needed to know why and if she could fix it.
She opened it carefully, not that anyone would have heard her with how loud it was and shut it closed behind her. The hallway was dark, save for a light coming from your bedroom. Tip-toeing across the hall, she pressed herself to the wall as she peered over the corner, spying on everyone standing at the entrance to the kitchen.
You weren't in the room with them anymore. And Sadie confirmed she had indeed been right about Roo being mad. Her first thought was that her comparison of how red as a Rooster he could get wasn't accurate. She needed something redder, maybe a lump of coal from the fire pit or the stuff inside the glass thermometer you kept in the backyard.
But then she started to question why he was mad and yelling. And, most importantly, why was everyone standing behind Uncle Jake and not Uncle Roo when she knew they didn't like him?
---
You didn't want to admit it as you left Sadie's room. But nothing would have gotten Rooster to react that badly had he not found out about you and Jake.
Rounding the corner of the hall, Nat stood between Rooster and Jake, her hand on Bradley's chest. She was pushing him away from Jake, who had his arms crossed and jaw clenched, staring him down.
The rest of the Daggers were spread out amongst your kitchen, caught between trying to figure out what the hell happened and wondering what side they would go to bat for.
"Bradley, what the hell was that?! Sadie is in her room!"
You shouldn't have said anything. Bradley's red-hot temper, face contorted in outrage, suddenly pinned you down. Pointing his finger at you, he stepped forward in your direction. Nat countering his movement, making sure to stand between you and him at all times.
"You liar!" he seethed.
You took a step back, slightly frightened.
"How long have you been sleeping with him? Since before we were deployed or after?!"
"I'm not sleeping with him!" you replied, your voice slightly brittle. Bradley scoffed, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, something is a little fucking fishy considering his bag is next to your bed in your room!"
You narrowed your eyes at him, your fist clenched. "You went into my room?!"
"Didn't need to when the door was wide open."
Some part of you wished you could have sat Bradley down and told him without fear of a reaction like this. But Bradley was unpredictable at best. And from what you knew of his relationship with Mav, he could hold a nasty grudge.
It wasn't as if you didn't feel bad about it. You didn't lie to him but didn't tell him the truth when you should have.
"You gave into him!" He shouted at you, looking at Jake and then back to you. "We told you! We warned you, Elizabeth! And you didn't listen to us."
Nat was the one to respond for you, recalling, "She made no such promise, Bradshaw. She told you to lay off and let her handle it."
But he didn't listen to her, too caught up with watching how you reacted to his words, even to entertain any idea that didn't fit into what he believed to be fact.
"How quickly did he get between your legs?" he remarked heatedly.
"Rooster!"
Out of all the people you expected to shout, Bob certainly wasn't one of them. His southern drawl, normally soothing to the ear, was harsher than normal. He moved from his perch up against the wall next to your back door, coming to stand in line with Nat and Jake, "That was outta line!"
A part of you acknowledged he probably found out about your relationship with Jake from Nat. But he had been silent this whole time. He had never said a word about what he knew or thought.
"The number of times she's taken care of your ass, and this is how you treat her? You've got no business telling her what she can do."
"It's fucking Hangman, Bob! Are you all even thinking about what this will do to Sadie? When he leaves her out high and dry?" Bradley exclaimed. "She's going to wake up one day, and he's not going to be there, and she's going to be devastated. And for what?!"
Jake narrowed his eyes at him, "Not that it's any of your goddamn business, but she made me swear to put Sadie first."
Suddenly, everything clicked for Bradley, the pieces fitting together neatly.
"Jake wasn't randomly at the Hard Deck on Friday," he said. "He was seeing you."
You refused to look him in the eye, and Bradley's face twisted in hurt.
"So, this is it, huh? You've been seeing each other behind our backs this whole time? And decided to keep it from us."
You gripped your forearm tightly. Should you own up and let him know almost everyone knew but him? Could you explain or even convince him that everyone found out by themselves?
But the choice had been made for you when Rooster saw something in Nat's eyes that indicated not only had she known about it, but she was and had been okay with it.
"You knew?!" Rooster yelled at her. Nat stood her ground, fierceness in her eyes as she remarked, "It wasn't my story to tell."
"Oh, this is just fucking rich. How many of you knew?"
Bob and Coyote turned away from Bradley, refusing to say anything that might give away what they knew. And while Fanboy and Payback might have only found out now, even knowing something had been going on between the two of you or assuming something would, given that Jake followed you into the kitchen that first Saturday night, they still hung their heads low like everyone else.
"How could you all?!" Bradley cried out, eyes tracking around the room. "You traitors!"
"Okay, you know what? I'm done!" you seethed, stepping around Nat and copying Bradley's stance. Jake reached for you, but you dodged his hand. Poking Bradley in the chest with your finger, you shouted, "What the fuck is your problem, Bradley?"
"He's my problem!"
"Jake is not the goddamn issue, and you fucking know it!" You yelled back at him. It was like a light switch had been flipped somewhere inside you, and all this anger suddenly rushed to the surface.
"Time and time again, you claim it's Sadie you are concerned about. But you change the conversation every time I press just a little bit further. Or you blame Jake, but something tells me that's your scapegoat for everything!"
You pushed at his chest, making him take two steps back. "And for what? Because he said something about your dad?"
Bradley's jaw twitched, and you knew you had struck a nerve.
"Oh, so it is that."
"Stay out of it, Liz," he murmured. But you didn't listen. You had enough and would find out the real reason here and now.
"You dragged Sadie and me right into it," you shot back. "So I'm going to drag it out for you. What is it?!"
Stalking forward, you glared Bradley down, continuing to step backwards as you dealt each verbal blow.
"Is it some longstanding grudge because Jake hurt your feelings?" you challenged. "Or Is it Jake replacing you in Sadie's life? Do you think that lowly of her to think she plays favourites? She's adored you since she met you!"
And then suddenly, you remembered what Sadie had said to Bradley the second she saw him on your sister's front porch. "Or does it have something to do with your mom?"
Bradley's temper broke loose.
"I watched her mourn my father every day, picking her off the floor because he wasn't there! I watched her cry out for him daily, barely functioning beyond her routine. Get up, make breakfast and shuffle me into the bus and off to school. She couldn't cope with his loss and his absence in her life. She loved him so much, and it wasn't enough to keep him here with her! No matter what I did, it was never enough! And when Jake does the same to you, I won't have Sadie live her childhood doing the same for you!
With everything Bradley admitted, you should have come up with a more compassionate response. But you were too hurt by the comparison to manage anything other than, "Grow the fuck up."
You had said it so scathingly and firmly that everyone pivoted and faced you. No one had ever heard you be that ruthless.
"I'm not your mom. And Sadie isn't your child where you can make choices for her. I've long wrestled with the idea that I'll never be able to protect her from everything in life, but Jake?! He's not one of those things."
Tears welled in your eyes as you continued. "As for my grief, I have never placed anything on her. I've hidden that part of myself away day in and day out because who would I be if I wasn't strong around her? I've sacrificed my mental sanity day in and day out so she can have some semblance of peace. To know that there are people who care about her."
But rather than continuing to be angry at Bradley for his reaction, you felt pity for what he went through.
"I'm so sorry if you had the entire weight of the entire world on your shoulders growing up, Bradley, but Sadie isn't going to crumble because I can't be strong around her."
Bradley opened his mouth as if to respond, but no words came out. It was clear to you he was grappling with his own emotions, whether something had caused him to be this way or you had brought everything rushing to the surface.
You held his gaze, unwavering in your conviction. "I'm not asking you to agree with my choices," you finally said, your voice softening. "But I am asking you to respect them."
But you knew he wouldn't. In defending Jake, and by poking and prodding at him, you had backed Bradley into a corner.
And like a wounded animal, he went for the insult.
"I didn't know you wanted to add your name to the tally in Hangman's whorehouse."
You felt cold, ice shooting up your veins and freezing over your skin.
Your hand was ready, fingers steadying and stretching out as you prepared to whip it forward. But rather than a slap, Nat beat you to it, fist flying out of nowhere and landing hard into Rooster's solar plexus. He lurched over in a groan, and she stepped back, nostrils flaring.
"You say that again about them, I dare you. You've done enough damage."
"I'm not the one who ruined the team," he said hoarsely, looking at you pointedly.
You were done.
You turned on your heel, making a run for it back down your hall, a slam of a door letting everyone know you had no plans to return any time soon.
___
Jake watched you leave, head down and hands coming up to wipe at your face as you ran down your dark hallway. Everyone stared at Bradley in a mix of shock and anger. Maybe even in disbelief. For Bradley to say such a thing, to you of all people, was inexcusable.
"That was your last straw, Bradshaw. I couldn't care less what you say about me, but her? You need to leave," Jake said, getting up in his face.
Coyote stepped up from behind Bradley, knocking his shoulder hard as he passed him. Bradley stumbled forward, eyes watching as Javy nodded once to Jake before following you down the hall.
"You have no idea the double standard you place on, Liz," Jake laughed to himself. "Taking about grief and telling her she needs to grieve when shaming her for wanting to do that. Sadie can grieve, but Liz can't? "
"I'm not the asshole who's going to fuck it up for them," Bradley remarked. "Liz wouldn't have to if you just chose to stay away from them like you should have."
But Jake smirked at him. "At least I have the decency to own up to when I've been one."
"You know," Bradley started. "I'm just waiting for the day when you mess up so badly, and she looks for someone to support her. Cause I know her better than you could ever think. The second you do, you'll never get her back. Or Sadie."
Bob spun away from the group at Bradley's words, becoming slightly more worried Sadie would wake up and venture into this mess. He had half a mind to leave and sit with her, until out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blonde hair peaking out from the end of the hall.
Sadie peered at her Uncle Bob from her hiding spot, concerned. Bob shot her a worried look, motioning with his eyes for her to go back to her room. But Sadie shook her head.
She had every right to be here if her name was being thrown around.
"Nothing about what you just said or did had anything to do with Sadie," Jake challenged Bradley, who assertively replied, "She's part of it."
"And at any point during your little outburst, did you even once think about her, currently hiding out in her bedroom, hearing every shout or word you've said?"
Sadie knew the answer to this one. Even if she wasn't in the hallway, and you didn't put her headphones on, Uncle Roo clearly didn't think about what he was saying before he said it.
Having already been standing with Jake, Nat crossed her arms and glared pointedly at Bradley. "You've hurt Liz. The one person who would have taken a bat for you. She didn't deserve everything you just threw at her."
Sadie's eyes shot to Bradley horrified and disappointed at her Aunt Nat's words.
He had hurt you. That was unforgivable.
Sadie finally decided to pull herself away from the wall, step forward and reach for her Uncle Bob, who was at the back of the pack. She gripped the fabric of his plant leg, half hiding from everyone's view.
Bob looked down, shocked, as she pressed her forehead into the back of his knee. He tried to slowly step backwards, hoping to lead Sadie back to her room. But she wasn't having it, wrapping her arm tightly around his leg, preventing him from moving any further.
She was staying.
"You have a right to your opinion, but if you cannot accept that I'm with her for the right reasons, that Sadie isn't on our minds every damn second, then I will kindly ask you to leave."
Bradley scoffed at Jake, laughing, "Don't think it's up to you to uninvite me."
"But I can."
Everyone turned, shocked to hear, and finally discovered Sadie hiding behind Bob's leg. Bradley seemed to sober at her words, eyes relaxing, then widening as he saw her cowering from him.
"Bug..." he said lowly, his hand stretching out. She took a step back, eyeing his hand cautiously.
"You hurt my Aunt," she said firmly, her disappointment in him evident. "You're not welcome here anymore."
Sadie could see the sudden guilt on his face, but she didn't care. Right now, she didn't like him. And he wasn't going to get away with what he just did.
"You heard her," Jake stated, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest.
But Bradley paid him no mind and tried to reason with Sadie as he said, "Bug, it's not what you think."
"I have eyes," she snarked, then decided to add for good measure, "And ears."
Bradley's eyes travelled from Sadie's to Nat's, who now stood behind her. Then Fanboy and Payback stepped forward, crossing their arms over their chest as they glared at Bradley, the man looking more confused with each passing second.
Sadie was mad. Despite not knowing what was exactly said, the fact he would even do something that would purposely hurt you cut her deep. And she was inconsolable, her protectiveness for you coming through fiercely.
Bradley shook his head, his voice slightly bitter. "You're just a kid, Sadie. You don't know how relationships work. It's complicated."
Her eyes blazed with determination. While she might be the youngest, never once had anyone treated her as if she was stupid or deserving of the truth.
"Just because I'm young doesn't mean my feelings don't matter!" She was becoming frustrated now, tears starting to leak from her eyes. And her head was beginning to hurt again. Yet, she persisted.
"Everyone but my Aunt reminds me I'm a kid! That I don't know enough! But I know when someone is being a bully! And you are one!"
She cast her eyes down to the floor, slowly side-stepping until she was behind her Uncle Jake. He immediately cradled the back of her head.
"My aunt has never been happier than she is with Uncle Jake!" She tried to say through the pain. "I will not let you hurt them."
Who was this person, she thought, glaring up at him with utter disappointment, that had taken the place of her Uncle Roo? The one that promised to look out for her, for you, when her mom had died. Who held her hand and told her it was going to be okay? Who went with her after school and soccer practice for ice cream and let her talk about her feelings?
This wasn't the Uncle Roo she loved.
So, for the first time in her life, Sadie knew what it was like to see someone she loved so dearly fall from the pedestal she had put him on. And in trying to understand what it meant, she didn't know whether to be upset at him or upset with herself.
"Leave!" She cried out, turning her face into Jake's leg, trying to soothe the pounding in her head. "Just leave! I don't want you here anymore!"
Nat frowned at Sadie before stepping in front of her, blocking Rooster's view of her. She crossed her arms and glared at him heatedly. Then Bob joined Nat, copying her stance and echoing, "Do you need help seeing yourself out?"
Then Fanboy stood beside Nat, Payback to Bob, all four standing as a barrier between Sadie, Jake, and Bradley. He couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. His team had yet to take his side but remained on Hangman's.
And if that wasn't the final nail in the coffin, Sadie pointed towards the front door, without ever lifting her face from Jake's leg, and said through tears, "Bye, Bradley."
Bradley turned on his heel and stormed out of the room without another word, his heavy footsteps echoing in the tense silence that followed. The rest of the squad watched in silence, their expressions a mix of concern as the front door slammed.
Despite the tension in the room, everyone sighed, turning around to check on Sadie. But before anyone could comment on what happened, Coyote shot around the corner of the hall, eyes wide as he exclaimed panickily, "I can't find Liz."
There were mixed replies, Nat asking if he checked the backyard while Bob asked about your bedroom. Fanboy and Payback decided to look out in the yard while Jake stared after the front door, his hand still resting gently on the back of Sadie's head.
But she sighed, wiping her eyes, knowing exactly where you were. "It's okay. I know."
Stepping sideways, Sadie reached up to grasp Jake's hand. Everyone watched the pair disappear while Bob walked to the front door, ensuring Bradley had heeded Sadie's request and had left.
Leading him down the hall to the bathroom next to your room, Sadie reached the door apprehensively, slowly reaching up to twist the knob and carefully pushing forward.
It wasn't the first time she had found you like this. That was before her mom passed away, and you still lived with them. Her mom had explained at the time something had 'triggered' you. She hadn't understood what it meant, but she knew something had happened that caused you to be sad. She remembered how her mom had climbed into the tub with you, pulled your head into the crook of her neck and cooed as you sobbed.
Letting go of her Uncle's hand, she left him standing in the doorway as she walked over to the tub, peering over the edge. You had curled yourself up into a ball, arms covering your face as your fingers had threaded themselves into the hair at the back of your skull.
From what Sadie could remember, you looked exactly as you did then. Trying to look small under the white light, encased by tile and silver.
Without hesitation, Sadie climbed over the ledge, her small hands peeling your arm away from your face as she curled herself next to you, hugging you tight.
"I'm sorry, Sadie," you gasped, arms wrapping around her.
"What for?"
"I shouldn't be crying like this around you. I need to be strong, the adult..."
Sadie pulled back, her small hands grabbing your cheeks, first wiping at your tears before trailing her thumbs down to your dimples, hooking them in the corners and stretching your mouth outwards.
"I'm allowed to cry, but you're not? That's not fair, Aunt Liz."
She watched as your face registered her words, grateful for the little crook of a smile at the corner of your lips.
She wouldn't even try fixing what Bradley had done to you. There were no magical fairy godmothers or instant health potions for this, no star she could wish on with enough power that would solve everything. Sadie only knew you were hurt.
So, as you did for her when you found her in the guest bedroom of her friend's house when her mom died, she let you cry.
And what could she say or do after that but tell you what she did to Rooster?
"I kicked him out."
"What?"
"He hurt you," she shrugged, totally not owning up to the fact she had challenged an authority figure and had him thrown out of the house. You looked at her, panicked, the question half spilling from your lips, "Did you.."
"Relax," she said in typical Sadie fashion. "I didn't hear what he said. But it was enough."
"Sadie..."
"Sometimes people do bad things. And you didn't make him say those things to you."
You sniffed, rubbing at your nose. "I kind of did. I may have told him something he didn't want to hear."
Sadie bit her lip before asking, "Did he need to hear it?"
Her mom would always ask that when things went wrong. If someone did need to hear it, you shouldn't spare anyone's feelings. It was better, to be honest, than not.
Her eyes quickly flashed over your shoulder, Uncle Jake having moved at some point from leaning against the door frame to sitting on the floor, just on the other side of the tub. He had been so quiet she hadn't even heard him sit down.
"Probably. But not in the way I did it." You closed your eyes, lightly knocking the side of your head on the bottom of the tub.
Sadie looked back at you. "Then do what Mum always did. Don't regret it."
"But.."
She reached up and pressed her tiny finger to your lips, instantly quieting you, before remarking, "This is a 'No questions asked,' Aunt Liz."
Sadie didn't let you say another word, pulling herself into you so she could hug you, resting her cheek atop yours, closing her eyes and sighing when she realized you had stopped crying.
When Sadie eventually opened her eyes, looking up over the rim of the tub, her Uncle Jake was still there, his presence unknown to you. He wasn't looking at her; he was looking down at you with a tender look and a sad smile. It was like he wanted to reach out and comfort you. But he also didn't want to disturb the two of you.
At that moment, everything her mom had ever wanted for you made sense.
Yes, Sadie thought. He was the one her mom always talked about.
The one she had hoped you would find after those phone conversations at the kitchen table. The one that took care of you. That looked out and stood up for you. That made you laugh. Made you happy.
It may be time for you to open the shoebox on the top shelf of your closet, she thought.
Those letters were undoubtedly meant for him.