Chapter 167 : Her protectors

“It was on your birthday?”

“Yep, my birthdays where never celebrated any way, but this one was worse than that, why do you think I hate celebrating, other than the fact that I don’t find another year anything to be happy about. To me celebrating my birthday is like celebrating the day I became the monster that I am.”

 “You’re not a monster Mi; you have to stop blaming this on yourself. If someone abused Mia here, would you think that was her fault?” Emmet asked me firmly before swallowing hard; the thought of any one ever showing his daughter something other than love made him sick and I couldn’t blame him, my skin crawled uncomfortably at the thought too.

 "Don’t ever put her in that context again.” I hissed reaching out protectively towards the girl in the buggy holding her hand gently in mine. Her face smiled unconsciously in her sleep for a second before it fell back into the cute frown and I let tears escape over my face as I pulled the buggy closer to my side with my foot. I didn’t’t care if she wasn’t my baby; if there was a predator around I would be the one to protect her, after all someone had to she couldn’t defend herself against the rest of the world.

 “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that, I didn’t think about how much it could upset you.” Emmet said gently giving my hand a squeeze as I glanced around the room looking for any one that might try and get to her. “Mi, Mia is safe with us here, there is no need to panic. Do you really think either myself or Esmee will let any harm come to her?

 I did one more anxious sweep around the café at the other people in there. The business guys still talked animatedly at the other end on the other sofas and now a young woman with dirty blond hair in braids typed on a laptop on one of the other tables, she looked safe but Joe and Brian looked like safe people when they walked around the street and they weren’t drunk. They did not ware big signs that shouted pedophile. They crept and crawled moving around the edges of people’s visions while in the nighttime they slipped into my room. There was no one safe; No one to trust.

 “All right guys?” Esmee asked cheerfully as she slid the try onto the coffee table between the two sofas and took a seat on the one opposite Emmet and myself. “Have you taken her blood sugar?” Esmee asked Emmet pushing the glass of orange juice closer to my side of the table.  I had guessed they would have wanted me to drink it when I had seen her approaching the table with the glass.

 “No not yet , I was going to but we were talking,”

 “Oh, I’m sorry; I can go and sit somewhere else for a bit if you want.” Esmee said pointing to one of the vacant tables over the other side of the room.

 “No it’s   OK.” I said before Emmet could say anything else, I had enough of talking; words hurt and he couldn’t understand them anyway. I walked alone in my world.

 “In that case, can I have a finger please,” Emmet asked me digging into his right pocket and pulling out a black wallet a blue inhaler and a couple other pieces of debris.

 “Let us know if you manage to find Nanina in there somewhere.” I laughed as he stuffed the things he didn’t’t need back into his pocket

 “I have come close once or twice I think.” Emmet smiled unzipping the black pouch and pulling out the blood glucose monitor before pushing a tab into the end. “Finger please,” Emmet beckoned unrolling my hands from fists until they were flat before talking a finger and pricking the end with the needle; I winced.

 “Why do you always have to do that to me?” I moaned pressing the gauze swab Emmet had given me against the bleeding spot on my now throbbing finger. It didn’t pay to look at the blood too long.

 “Because your blood sugar has a nasty habit of dropping down into your boots, much like it is on its way to doing now.” Emmet muttered showing me the monitor that had the numbers 3.4 written on the screen; I sighed.

 “I take it that means I have to drink that then.” I said glancing towards the orange juice on the table. Both Esmee and Emmet responded simultaneously with the same smile and without meaning to or really sure why, I laughed at them picked up the orange juice and started drinking.