“Matthew, you’re a good kid, you know that?” Mr. Rush said. “Your parents have raised you very well.”
“They have, Mr. Rush, and I know they can help you, too. Especially my dad. You know he’s a pastor, right?”
“Yes, but it’s too late for all that, son. What I’ve done is completely unforgivable, and there’s no hope for me.”
“God forgives everyone. And He’ll forgive you, too. He forgives all His children because He loves them,” Matthew told him. Tears streamed down Charlotte’s face, and Curtis couldn’t have been more proud of his son than he was right now. He was so brave, and the idea that he was telling Mr. Rush what he knew about God brought tears to Curtis’s eyes as well.
Curtis looked over toward the front door of the school and saw it opening. The crowd cheered and applauded when Jennifer and Tasha walked out of the building. Two officers quickly pulled them to the side and away from the entrance, and their parents made their way over to them.
“Thank God,” Curtis said.
“Thank God indeed,” Charlotte added, and she and Alicia hugged each other.
“Matthew, I want to thank you for everything, but son, I really need you to leave now,” they heard the history teacher say.
“No, Mr. Rush. If I leave, you might try to hurt yourself.”
“Matthew, please. I’m begging you to go.”
“Why won’t he just come out?” the police chief said. “Why won’t he escape while he has the chance to?”
Curtis could tell by the look on Charlotte’s face that she was thinking the same thing, but not him. Not anymore, anyway, because he now knew Mr. Rush wasn’t planning to hurt Matthew, and that the reason Matthew didn’t want to leave him was because he knew what the result would be. He knew Mr. Rush was planning to kill himself.
“I won’t leave without you, Mr. Rush,” Matthew told him.
“But you have to. You have to go before those officers come in here and start shooting.”
“They won’t do that as long as I stay here with you.”
“Well, we can’t stay in this classroom forever. You do know that, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to stay in here forever, but I’m willing to stay as long as I have to. I’ll do whatever I have to if it means saving your life.”
“But I already told you. I don’t deserve to live anymore. I’m all washed up now. I’m a filthy disgrace to this school and my family, and I’ve hurt two innocent girls. I violated them, and there’s no making up for that. So, I’m asking you to please get on out of here. Your parents must be worried to death about you.”
“Of course they are, but they wouldn’t want you to kill yourself either. No one wants that.”
“I’m not leaving,” Mr. Rush said matter-of-factly.
“Okay, then, at least give me the gun.”
Charlotte sucked in her breath, and tears gushed down Alicia’s face. “Matthew, no,” Alicia said, as if he could hear her. “Please just come out of there.”
“If I give you the gun, will you leave?”
“Yes. But I still want you to come out with me.”
“Fine,” he said. “Here.”
“I’m really proud of you for doing that, Mr. Rush. Now, let’s go so we can get you to a hospital.”
The chief and the three detectives who’d been standing near Curtis, Charlotte, and Alicia for the last few minutes rushed back closer to the building.
Charlotte grabbed Curtis tighter. “Matthew is right, isn’t he? The police won’t shoot at Mr. Rush as long as Matt is with him. Right?”
“No, they would never put Matthew’s life in danger like that.”
Curtis held the phone but didn’t hear much of anything. Finally, however, the front door of the school eased open. Curtis wanted to shout with joy when he saw his son’s face, but suddenly, Mr. Rush grabbed the gun from Matthew, shoved him forward and slammed the door back shut. Matthew turned, beating on the door with both his hands. “Mr. Rush, please don’t do this! Please! Mr. Rush, please!”
But the gun went off.
Mr. Rush had shot himself as planned, and there wasn’t a thing Matthew or anyone else could have done to stop him. Mr. Rush’s mind had been made up, and this was the outcome.
Chapter 29
Thank God you’re all right,” Charlotte said, practically squeezing the life out of Matthew. The two of them were standing next to Curtis’s SUV, waiting for him to unlock the door so they could get inside of it. They’d all driven their own cars to the school, but since Matthew and Charlotte had still been so upset, Charlotte’s dad had agreed to drive Matthew’s vehicle home, and Janine’s husband, Carl, had agreed to drive Charlotte’s. Janine had finally gotten there, too, but she’d left about twenty minutes before to go pick up Bethany from the babysitter.
“But what difference does any of that make, Mom? Who cares if I’m okay, if Mr. Rush still dies?”
Charlotte felt bad about Mr. Rush, but the good news was that he was still alive. He’d shot himself in the stomach, and the paramedics had quickly rushed him off to the emergency room. Charlotte hoped he was going to be okay, but she couldn’t help wondering if Mr. Rush had truly wanted to die. If he had, she wondered why he hadn’t shot himself in the head the way most suicide victims did. In most cases, people who wanted to die knew a gunshot wound to either their head or their heart was much more of a sure thing.
But that was neither here nor there because Matthew was completely distraught over the entire situation, and Charlotte knew she had to treat this whole hostage-shooting incident with kid gloves. She was angry with Mr. Rush for placing her child’s life in danger, not to mention the despicable things he’d done to those young girls, and she wanted to see him rot in prison. But she also knew Matthew wasn’t focusing on the crimes Mr. Rush had committed, and instead was mainly concerned about Mr. Rush’s well-being.
Curtis turned the ignition, pulled the vehicle in gear, and drove away. Charlotte relaxed her head against the leather headrest, relieved the day hadn’t turned out worse. The three of them were headed home together as a family, and most important, Matthew was safe. He’d walked away from this tragedy fully unharmed, at least physically, anyway, and Charlotte was very grateful. God had watched over Matthew, protected every inch of his being, and then kindly returned him to her—even though she’d betrayed Curtis to the nth degree. She’d slept with not one but two men behind his back and had been planning to meet Michael again this evening. She’d even been on the phone with him when Matthew had tried calling, and all she could think was, What if the situation had been different? It was true that Matthew had found another opportunity to call Curtis again so that they’d be able to listen in on his conversation with Mr. Rush, but what if Matthew had been calling for a different reason? What if he’d needed her to do something, and it had been his only chance to contact someone? What if he’d been calling her right before Mr. Rush had stormed into the school and that had been her last chance to speak to him? Oh God, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just be happy with Curtis and be a good wife to him? Why can’t I just do the right thing?
Charlotte thought about one thing after another and burst into tears.
Curtis reached across the console and grabbed her hand, but this made Charlotte feel even worse. Why? Because she knew Curtis was under the impression that her tears were related to what had occurred at the school. He had no idea she was crying over the one-night stand she’d had with that Tom guy as well as the ongoing affair she was having with Michael. Curtis was being kind and loving and acting as though they were happy with no problems. He held her hand in a way that told her he was still in love with her. Deeply in love with her and ready to reconcile.
“Mom, don’t cry,” Matthew said. “I’m okay. So, there’s nothing for you to worry about now.”
“I know,” she said, sniffling. “But I’m not sure what I would have done if something had happened to you.”
Curtis stopped at the red light. “I know t
he feeling. I worked hard to keep my faith strong, but just the thought of you not being here with us, son, was almost too much to bear.”
“I don’t think we could go on without you, Matt,” Charlotte said. “I really don’t.”
“I get that, Mom. And while I don’t mean any disrespect to you, how do you think I feel when you and Dad don’t speak to each other? Or when you do speak, it’s mostly because you’re arguing about something. I mean, how do you think it feels to wonder how long it’s going to be before your parents break up?”
Charlotte hadn’t expected to be chastised this way and was at a loss for words. She couldn’t even turn and look Matthew in his face or even at Curtis for that matter. She was ashamed of herself and all that she was doing and sorry that they were letting Matthew down—again. She was sorrier about what she was doing individually, though, because she knew Matthew mostly blamed her for the breakdown in her and Curtis’s marriage. He blamed her more than he did his father because he knew she didn’t like Curtina. It was the reason Matthew was posing these questions to her directly.
She still didn’t say anything, not even when she saw Curtis looking at her, and continued focusing straight ahead.
“Dad, aren’t you going to pick up Curtina?”
“No, with all that’s happened, I think I’ll just ask Aunt Emma if she’ll keep her overnight.”
“She’s not gonna be okay with that,” Matthew said. “Not when she’s so used to seeing us every night before she goes to bed.”
“She’ll be fine,” Curtis told him. “Curtina loves Aunt Emma, and Aunt Emma loves having her there. I’ll pick her up tomorrow after I leave the church.”
Good. Charlotte would never say it out loud, of course, but she was glad to finally have an evening at home without her. It would feel like old times—pre‑Curtina, that is—and for the first day in weeks, Charlotte looked forward to being alone with Curtis. She needed to be with him and hoped he felt the same way. She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but she knew it had a lot to do with what they’d just experienced and how this whole disaster had got her thinking. Made her realize what was important: family, loyalty, and everything else she’d been blessed with. Made her consider how it wasn’t good to take the people who cared about you for granted. Made her rethink her relationship with Michael and wonder if it was time to end things with him.
Chapter 30
After they arrived home, and Alicia and Charlotte’s parents had left on their way back to Chicago, Matthew had finally eaten one slice of the deep-dish pizza they’d ordered from his favorite pizza place, Maciano’s, and had gone up to bed. It was still pretty early in the evening, but he’d said he was exhausted and wanted to lie down. Charlotte knew he was more emotionally drained than anything else, and that he was sad about Mr. Rush. He’d even tried calling the hospital as soon as they’d walked in, but they’d told him they couldn’t release any updates to non-relatives. He’d seemed very disappointed, so for his sake she hoped Mr. Rush wouldn’t end up dying, because she had a feeling Matthew would somehow blame himself. He would be convinced that he hadn’t said the right things to Mr. Rush, and that he should have handled things a whole lot differently. This would, of course, be very untrue, but Charlotte knew her son and how he always wanted to save people. He wanted to protect them, make them happy—she saw that more than ever before whenever he was with Curtina—he wanted to show as much love as possible to everyone. He had a huge heart, and while it was much softer than her own, Charlotte admired him because of it.
Charlotte made sure Curtis was still in his study and then went upstairs to check her BlackBerry. Sure enough, Michael had sent her ten text messages, the last just five minutes ago, and she knew he was wondering why she hadn’t called him back yet. Especially after so many hours had passed. So, she closed the bedroom door and then went down the hallway toward the bathroom and called him.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, yourself. What happened to you? I was worried sick.”
“It’s a long story,” she said, keeping her voice down. “But long story short, one of the teachers held some students hostage and my son was one of them.”
“What? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. We’re home now, and in time he’ll get beyond this.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I knew something was wrong when I didn’t hear back from you.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t call.”
“No. I completely understand.”
“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, but I’ll have to talk to you later.”
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so. Matthew is really hurt over what happened, and I really need to be here for him.”
“What about Thursday or Friday then?”
Charlotte didn’t know how to tell him she wouldn’t be able to see him for a while. Not until she knew Matthew was back to normal. Or maybe never again. She just didn’t know anything anymore, now that Matthew had openly expressed how troubled he was over her and Curtis’s constant bickering, silent treatments, and marital breakdown. She loved being with Michael and didn’t want to give him up, but Matthew was more important. Her son was her life, and she would make whatever sacrifices she had to if it meant keeping him happy. She wanted him to be content and to not have to worry about anything until he finished both high school and college. Matthew, like most children in a two-parent household, couldn’t imagine his parents not being together, so she knew she had to make some changes. She had no choice but to bypass some of her own wants and desires and make him her priority again.
“I don’t think that will work either,” she finally said.
“Well then, when?”
“I don’t know, but it won’t be soon.”
“Why?”
“Because of Matthew and everything that happened today.”
“I understand how you must be feeling, but baby, please don’t shut me out.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Charlotte, I love you. I knew it when we were down in Florida, but now I’m positive.”
“Maybe you just think you are because of all the problems you’re having with your wife.”
“No, that’s not it. I stopped loving her years ago, but I’ve never fallen in love with anyone else until now. I’m so sure about my feelings for you that I asked Sybil for a divorce two hours ago and told her I was moving out by the end of next week.”
“Michael, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not leaving Curtis. I’m not leaving my son.”
“Maybe you can’t right now, but you will in due time. You don’t love Curtis. I know you keep saying you do, but that’s only because you’ve been with him for such a long time and you have a child together.”
Charlotte was a little shocked by the things Michael was saying, and she hoped he wasn’t planning to cause the kind of trouble Aaron had caused a few years back. Now that she thought about it, ten text messages was a lot for anyone to send, even if the person hadn’t been able to get in touch with you. But, no, Michael was far too sophisticated and too levelheaded to fall into the “fatal attraction” category, so she refused to even think on that level. He was nothing like Aaron, and she knew Michael’s tiny obsession with her was clearly being fueled by his miserable marriage to Sybil. He wanted out and had been hoping Charlotte was the answer to his problem.
“Charlotte,” he said. “Baby. Please don’t stop seeing me. I mean, go ahead and spend some time with your son, and then I’ll just see you for Valentine’s Day. We’ll talk tomorrow about the details.”
“I can’t see you on Sunday either.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“I don’t understand. You contacted me on Facebook, slept with me one day later, and then flew to a whole other state to spend an entire weekend with me. And now you’re ready to just cut me off?”
“No, I didn’t
say that.”
“Then, what are you saying?”
Charlotte walked back toward the bedroom, making sure the door was still shut. “That I can’t see you for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“I don’t know. I can’t put a time frame on my son and how soon he’ll be feeling better.”
“Baby, your son is seventeen. He’s had a tough time today, but he’ll forget about this whole hostage business in no time.”
“I hope he does, but until I’m sure of that, I’m going to be here for him.”
“And who else are you going to be there for? Curtis?”
“Michael, let’s not do this, okay?”
“Do what? Tell the truth?”
“Look, I really have to go now.”
“So basically what you’re saying is that you pretty much used me,” he said, ignoring her last comment.
“No. I would never do that.”
“Of course you did. You hated the fact that your husband moved in his daughter, that innocent child you hate so much, and then you came looking for me. You were looking for a way to pay Curtis back because you couldn’t get your way with him, but now you’ve decided you do want to stay with him after all.”
“I never lied about my feelings for Curtis. I always told you that I loved him. I was always honest with you about that.”
“Well, if you love him so much, then why were you so quick to lay up with me? You opened your legs faster than a track star last Wednesday afternoon and then acted like some porn queen when we were in Florida. You gave me sex so many times, my heads were spinning—both of them. You couldn’t get enough of me. But now you’re so in love with your husband. Yeah, right.”
Charlotte was flabbergasted. She listened but didn’t want to believe the man she was talking to was really Michael Porter. He sounded like Michael Porter, but his words were those of a stranger. He was talking crazy, and his attitude was very bizarre. It was almost as if he had two personalities, and today was the day he’d decided to expose his evil side. It was as if she’d never even met him before.
Love, Honor, and Betray Page 15