by Ann, Natalie
Once they stepped into the hallway, Noah said, “Are you going to tell me what happened this time or do I have to wait to find out if all the stories are exactly the same again?”
Sebastian walked beside him. The bleeding had stopped from his nose and Noah didn’t think it was broken, he hoped. It was going to be enough paperwork to fill out as it was.
“You heard them. Guess I’m clumsy.”
“Somehow I don’t think you make too many missteps in life, but you want us to believe you do.”
The kid turned his head to look at him, then walked into the nurse’s office. “What do you have here?” the nurse asked.
“Bloody nose from gym class. Send him to my office when you’re done.”
“Can I go change first?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes, then come see me.”
Noah went into his office and pulled up the report form on his computer, ready to fill it in. He hated paperwork. What a freaking way to end the day before the holiday break.
He looked up when he heard knocking at his door to see his secretary standing there. “Yes, Trina.”
“Scott Wimple and Ian Rivers are in the front office. They said they were told to come down to see you.”
“Yes. Send Ian in first.” He watched the doorway and when Ian appeared he waved him in. “Keep the door open and tell me what happened. Your words.” He knew it was fast enough they couldn’t get too much of their stories straight.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. Sebastian was on my team, Scott on the other. Sebastian had the ball one minute, the next he was against the wall. They could have gotten their feet tripped up, but I didn’t see it as there were other kids in my view.”
He watched Ian talk, didn’t see him shifting in the seat like the last time, and suspected this was the truth. “Why did you grab a hold of him?”
Ian was bigger than both of the kids, probably much stronger too, though he had a feeling Sebastian would be pretty scrappy in a fight if it came down to it. Which it wouldn’t under his roof.
“He swore and then I saw the same look in his eye the last time he went to throw a punch. I just figured it’d be worse if he landed one. Scott is an upperclassman and that gym class is full of his friends.”
“So you two are the only freshmen in it?” he asked.
“There are five of us, but we are outnumbered,” Ian said.
“And does this happen often to the underclassman?”
“Guess we are all clumsy,” Ian said with his lips twitching. Was he protecting Scott or just making a joke? Noah had been an underclassman before; shit like this happened all the time. What he wanted to know was if this was retaliation from Robbie’s incident or not.
“Okay. You can go to class. Get a pass from Mrs. Bell.”
“Am I getting suspended again?” he asked.
“I have to hear what everyone else says and I’ll go from there, but it sounds like you were trying to prevent a fight rather than participate in one, so I don’t see any reason this will leave this room. Now if I find you with your hands on Sebastian Parker again I’m going to wonder how much is a coincidence though.”
Ian stood up. “Thank you. I just got my video games back last week from the last time.”
Noah smiled. “Have a good vacation.”
“You too,” Ian said and walked out the door.
He typed up his notes and made Scott cool his heels. Maybe he’d think Ian was spilling his guts. From past experience, the longer the kids waited the more nervous they got. Was it retaliation or just underclassmen getting singled out? It probably fell somewhere in between and neither was right.
Ten minutes later he picked up his phone. “Trina, you can send Scott in here.”
He watched the doorway, his arms crossed in front of him, a stern look on his face. Most didn’t see him pissed off, which was why they scattered light mice when a light came on when he yelled and swore in the gym. It was best to keep that stance with Scott. He’d already dealt with this kid’s parents once and they weren’t happy when their youngest got in trouble for what they felt wasn’t his fault.
“Have a seat, Scott. Leave the door open and tell me what happened.”
“Nothing,” Scott said. “I was going for the ball, our feet tangled, the kid lost his balance, and bumped into the wall. I can’t help it if he hit his face.”
“It wasn’t your elbow that got him in the face?” Noah asked, taking a guess.
“I don’t think so?” Scott asked, lifting his arm and checking it out. “I don’t see a mark there or any blood. I think I would have felt that. Nope, had to be the wall.”
Wiseass punk. He held the kid’s stare. There wasn’t much he could do other than issue a warning. “Make sure your feet stay where they should be along with the rest of your body in gym class or anywhere on these grounds. I don’t care if it’s a senior or a freshman, you play fair, not rough.”
“Heard,” Scott said. “Are we done now?”
“Not yet,” Noah said. “This is your final warning.”
“Warning?” Scott asked. “It was an accident. No one can say otherwise.”
“You keep thinking that,” Noah said. “Get back to class now.”
He did manage to rattle Scott a little. The chip on his shoulder started to wobble when Scott stood up to leave. He was a punk that did shit like that to make himself feel better, but Noah didn’t think he would cause any serious trouble.
By the time he was done typing, he looked up to see Trina standing there. “Yes?”
“Sebastian Parker is here.”
“Send him in too.”
The kid walked in and stood, didn’t sit. Manners. “Have a seat. How’s the nose?”
“Not broken and it wasn’t a lot of blood.”
“That’s good. No reason to call your aunt in, but I will give her a call to let her know.” When Sebastian narrowed his eyes, Noah held his grin back. “It’s procedure, nothing more. I have to report that you saw the nurse and there was blood. No reason to worry her though.”
Sebastian’s shoulders dropped and he saw that might be part of the kid’s tough shell. That maybe he didn’t want to upset his aunt.
“Then I can go?” Sebastian asked.
“Tell me what happened,” he said.
“Guess our feet tripped up like he said.”
“Which doesn’t explain why you charged him and had to be held back.”
“Maybe our feet were tripping up a lot and I got sick of it.”
Noah grinned. “Is it just you or all the underclassmen?” There was no answer. “I’m trying to find out if this stems from what happened to his brother Robbie or it’s something Scott does to everyone.”
“I didn’t know that was Robbie’s brother. I don’t know everyone or the names.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know who you are,” he said.
“I don’t think he’d concern himself with his brother and that situation,” Sebastian said, which answered the question that it was happening to others in that class.
“Okay. Anything else you want to add to this?”
“No.”
“Then you can go. Have a good break.”
He watched Sebastian walk out the door, finished his report, and made his way back down to the gym. Fred was sitting there watching the boys running around again.
He waved his hand over for Fred to come talk to him while class continued. “Everything all squared away?” Fred asked.
“It is. Get control of your class. If I hear this happening again, with any of the upperclassmen, they won’t be the only ones that have to answer to me.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Fred said.
“We are talking about the fact that I get more injury reports from your gym classes than any other teacher’s. We are talking about the fact that you sit back waiting for your retirement while the kids have free rein to do what they want. Do your job or someone else will.”
Noah turned
and walked out the door. Only an hour before the bell rang and he couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here.
5
Enough Problems
“Again,” Paige said when she walked in the door after work. She’d gotten a message on her cell at work to call Noah Fierce when she had a minute, but he assured her it wasn’t an emergency. Thankfully. The minute she finished with her patient, she walked into one of the dentist’s offices and made the call.
“It wasn’t my fault.”
“You tell me what happened in your words.”
“What were you told?” Sebastian asked her. The kid was smart enough to not admit to anything without knowing what was fully going on.
“I was told that there was a little bit of rough play in gym and you ended up with a bloody nose.”
“It happens,” he said.
“That’s it. No fighting? I believe your principal said you weren’t happy.”
He snorted. “Who would be happy about being sent into a wall face first?”
She looked up to the ceiling and took a breath. “Was it on purpose or an accident?”
“They are all saying accident, but this kid has a lot of them in class.”
“With you or others?”
“Others,” he said.
At least Sebastian wasn’t being targeted for personal reasons. Not that this was any better in her eyes, but she hoped the school was handling it like Noah had told her. “We are looking into it further,” he’d said.
She had no choice but to believe Noah. Him and his deep dark voice and good looks.
His teeth—that she always noticed on people—were nice and white, not perfectly straight but good enough. He took care of himself on a lot of levels.
He wasn’t in a suit, but in black pants, black sneakers that she suspected were supposed to look like shoes, and a black and gray patterned shirt with a few buttons undone at the neck. She couldn’t imagine working with him all day every day. She’d never get any work done; she’d be too busy staring at him.
Long gone were the aging principals she’d had when she was in school, replaced by men that looked like they were going out on the town or belonged on the cover of a magazine.
“Did you charge him?” she asked, knowing that once Sebastian’s wick was lit, he was burning strong like the wildfire he’d mentioned before.
“I started to, but someone held me back. Why can’t I defend myself?”
“Your principal explained the kid said it was an accident. I’m sure it probably wasn’t but charging and throwing punches definitely puts the blame on you.” She’d thought she heard something else in Noah’s voice when he was telling her, but she wouldn’t ask, knowing he wouldn’t say if he didn’t have facts.
His shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry.”
She walked up and put her hand on his shoulder. “I know you are. I know you can’t help it and life isn’t easy. I wish I could make it so.”
“It is what it is.”
Which didn’t make it right. “So how did the rest of your day go?”
“Fine,” he said. He never talked much about school no matter how much she wished he did.
“Do you have homework?”
“Just reading a book over break. Everything else is done.”
“That’s good. You can have your PS3 back tonight.”
“I can?” he asked.
She’d planned on giving it back to him last week, but she’d gotten his progress report that he wasn’t handing in assignments in one of his classes. He said he kept forgetting, but she didn’t believe it. He hated history as much as she did and spent more time working on his other subjects.
“Yes. It will keep you out of trouble while I’m at work tomorrow. On Thursday we are going to Grandpa’s for Thanksgiving.”
“You’re not cooking, are you?”
“No. Grandpa is. It’s just the three of us.”
He looked at her, his eyes troubled. He hadn’t seen his mother in over two years and didn’t want any part of the woman who never was much of a parent to him to begin with. Paige wished she’d known what was going on years ago and would always carry that guilt with her.
“Grandpa cooks fine. How come he never taught you?”
Her father had always been the better cook of the family. Her parents divorced when she and Cora were teens, her mother finding another man and moving out of state. Neither Cora nor Paige wanted to move and their mother was just fine with it.
She suspected Cora got her lack of parenting from her mother’s genes.
“He tried. I think I might have set the smoke alarms off a few times myself and he got sick of cleaning up the messes or clearing the smoke out. It was easier to just do it himself.”
Sebastian laughed. “And you hold it against me for doing it?”
“What can I say, I guess you take after me there. Maybe we should find a cooking class and take it together?”
“And look like a wuss?” he said. “No, thank you. I’ve got enough problems. I don’t need anyone to know I’m taking cooking lessons.”
She rolled her eyes. “That is the problem with kids. Women love a man that can cook.”
“Whatever you say. I can call for takeout or make a sandwich. I won’t starve. That’s all we pretty much do anyway.”
“I open a jar of sauce and put it over pasta,” she argued. She was trying but knew it might not be enough.
“You do make some tasty omelets,” he said.
“I can do some things. Meat just isn’t my forte.”
“Which kind of sucks because I like meat. I’m not a chick and I don’t eat like a rabbit.”
“Tell me about it,” she said. She opened the fridge. “Hot dogs tonight and mac and cheese? It’s meat. Look, all beef. I can’t burn them if I put them in the microwave.”
They’d go in after the mac and cheese was warmed up in there too. It wasn’t a boxed one but a frozen one that she thought looked a little bit healthier.
“I’ll take care of dinner tonight,” he said, “if you want to go change.”
“Thanks, Sebastian. You’re a good kid.”
“You’re a pretty okay aunt,” he said back with a smirk.
She supposed she couldn’t ask for much more than that.
She went to her room in the two-bedroom apartment, grabbed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Though she loved her job when many wouldn’t, she did always feel the need to shower when she got home after looking into the mouths of strangers all day long. Even when people thought their oral hygiene was clean, it wasn’t always.
When she walked into the kitchen ten minutes later the table was set and there were four hot dogs on a plate with the rolls and the dish of mac and cheese with a spoon in it.
It was a pretty sad meal and just reminded her that though she thought she was doing well, she wasn’t doing well enough.
“That looks good.”
“I slaved over it. Call me Chef Sebbie.”
“You hate being called Sebbie.” She’d called him that when he was younger and he’d told her to stop, that it made him sound like a baby. If there was one thing she’d learned from her nephew, he wanted to prove he was tough and strong. Then why was he letting his guard down now?
“It’s just the two of us and it was a joke.”
“It is just the two of us,” she said, wishing it weren’t true, but her dating life had been as dry as the Sahara for years. Who the hell had time for one? Second, not many men her age wanted to deal with a snot-nosed teenager that Sebastian tended to act like when she brought someone home to meet him.
“That’s all we need, right?” he asked. But he looked unsure when he said that.
She sat down at the table, grabbed a hot dog and stuck it in a roll. “With meals like this, who wants more?”
He laughed. “One of us needs to learn to cook.”
“Or I can find someone else who does it for us,” she said.
“Please. Good luck there, but if he can’t cook, he can’t come here.”
She tilted her head and wondered where those words were coming from but knew it wasn’t the time to bring it up. Again, who had the time to date or even find a man, let alone one that cooked?
6
Likes The Attention
“You’re here early?”
Noah walked in and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “Maybe I wanted to have a cup of coffee with my parents before everyone else showed up.”
It was early, but he hadn’t been thinking of anything other than sitting in his house alone. He’d texted Wyatt to see if he wanted to get some breakfast, but he didn’t answer, which said he might have worked late last night or had company. He wouldn’t bother Drake since he was with Kara, and his cousins Sam and Bryce had fiancées so they were out. Ryder most likely had female company or was out late. That left his sister, Jade, and she’d grill him worse than the ribs on the barbeque for July Fourth if he called her.
So at nine thirty he found himself walking into his parents’ kitchen.
His mother lifted an eyebrow at him but walked over and poured him a cup of coffee. “Your father is in his office doing some paperwork. I’d heard him on the phone with Grant early. Both of them have been warned they aren’t working when he gets here.”
“So they are doing it before the crowd flocks in?” Noah asked, taking the cup of black coffee and bringing it to his lips. No one made coffee as good as his mother’s. Those single cup machines just didn’t cut it, but they were fast and efficient and that was what his life was like now.
“You know them well. So tell me, what is on your mind? A little lonely?”
Did he think his sister would have grilled him? It was nothing like his mother with her apron and chef hat on holding the kitchen grill set they’d given her last year. “Maybe a little.”
“Your time will come,” she said. “Is it hard for you knowing Drake isn’t as available as he used to be?”
“No. I’m busy with work, but it’s different. I’ve had time to get used to it when they were dating, but now that they are pretty much living together I don’t feel right even calling to ask as much.”