Inside the house, the air was significantly cooler and the silence felt heavy after the noise of the backyard. Martha walked down the hallway toward the guest bathroom and closed the door behind her with a soft click.
She stood there for a moment in the dim light while letting the quiet settle around her thoughts. Then she heard a pair of soft, hesitant footsteps approaching the door from the hallway.
The bathroom door creaked open just an inch before Chloe slipped inside and quickly turned the lock with her small, trembling fingers. Martha’s heart tightened in her chest as the little girl looked up at her with wide eyes that were swimming with unshed tears.
“Chloe, what is it, sweetheart?” Martha whispered as she knelt down on the tiled floor so they were at eye level once again. Chloe stepped closer until she was almost touching Martha’s knees.
“Grandma, I am not really sick with a stomach bug,” the girl whispered while glancing nervously toward the locked door. She paused for a long heartbeat before she whispered the words that made Martha’s entire body go cold.
“Mommy and Daddy said that I am not allowed to tell anyone what happened,” Chloe admitted. Martha felt a physical chill run through her, but she kept her voice calm and steady to reassure the child.
“You can tell me anything at all, and I promise you are safe here,” Martha said gently. Chloe nodded slowly and then lifted the side of her floral dress just enough to reveal the skin hidden beneath the colorful fabric.
Martha’s breath caught painfully in her throat as she saw a large, yellowish bruise stretching across the side of the little girl’s ribcage. This was not a small mark from a tumble on the playground, but a deep and painful injury that had clearly been there for several days.
Chloe quickly lowered her dress again as if she were afraid the walls might be watching them. “I fell down the stairs, or at least that is what Daddy said I should tell people if they ask,” Chloe confessed.
Martha felt a wave of dizziness wash over her as her mind raced through various dark possibilities. “Does it hurt a lot right now?” Martha asked while trying to keep her hands from shaking.