There was a threat under those words. Quiet but sharp. Like a noose pulling tight behind the smile.
I bit down my pride. Swallowed every last bit of dignity I had. “A-alright,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”
Margaret smiled like I’d just handed her my throne. “Thanks, Harmony. Oh, and isn’t it sweet? His name’s Armie. Same as yours.”
I blinked. My heart clenched. And I smiled through the burn. “Adorable.”
After that, I fed it. Cleaned its tank. I stayed far as I could, only using tongs and gloves. The damn thing would lift its head and hiss every time I got close. One night, it tried to lunge at me through the glass. I nearly dropped the whole tank.
I didn’t sleep that night.
---
A week passed. I came home from the market, Aziel trailing behind me quietly right away, clutching a juice box. Then I heard crying.
I dropped the groceries, rushed in and found Margaret shaking on the floor. The snake’s tank was tipped over. Hakeem was pacing like a demon, eyes wild.
“Where the fuck is the doctor?!”
Margaret looked up, face streaked with tears, then pointed at Aziel with a trembling hand.
“Him,” she whispered. “He did it. He killed Armie…”
I blinked, stunned. “What?!”
Hakeem turned to me, his voice a low growl. “What the hell did she just say?”
Margaret sniffled, pulled herself up, holding something in her hand a shattered ceramic dish from the tank. “I saw it. He reached in when I stepped out. Started smashing. I tried to stop him, but it was too late.”
“No!” I snapped, stepping between them. “He wouldn’t. Aziel wouldn’t hurt anything. He doesn’t even step on ants. He covers his ears when people yell. You’re lying.”
Margaret looked at me like I just confessed to the murder myself. “He has episodes, doesn’t he? You told me that. He didn’t understand what he was doing. He snapped.” Margaret clung to Hakeem's arm, fake-sobbing. “That snake was my only comfort, Hakeem… and she let him kill it.”
He stared at me. Not with rage. With disappointment.
“Your brother murdered her therapy animal.”
“No, Hakeem, please, he didn’t! How can an eight years old kid—”
“You’ve fucked up again, sweetheart.” Then he nodded once to the guards. “Teach the boy a lesson.”
Aziel’s eyes widened. He backed into the wall, shaking. “No, no, no—I didn’t… I didn’t touch it…”
I ran in front of him.
“NO!” I screamed. “Whip me instead. Please. Don’t touch him. He doesn’t understand what’s happening!”