He leaned closer to her ear and hissed, "If you cause any more trouble, you won't see tomorrow's sun. Go ahead and test me."
Hearing this made her back away in fear, instantly switching to a conciliatory tone.
"Okay, okay! I'll go find him."
She was always one to bully the weak but wouldn't dare challenge someone who stood up to her.
"Emma," she warned as she turned to leave, "if you dare lie about this, I'll come back for you!"
With that, she hurried off as if fleeing from danger.
I was stunned by this unexpected act of heroism from my coworker.
He was only about five foot seven and looked frail, yet he had stood up to my stepmother without flinching.
Glancing at his name tag revealed his name was Kyle—someone who seemed cherished by his family.
After the chaos settled down, I wanted to thank him but didn't get the chance before he slipped away.
The next time I saw him was in a corner of the storage room where he had buried his face in his arms and was quietly sobbing.
"Why are you crying?" I asked.
Kyle quickly wiped his tears away and didn't respond, shrinking back a little.
Noticing his reaction, I pulled a piece of soft candy from my pocket and handed it to him.