My Bully’s Daddy

by Callahan, Kelli

  “She’s not quitting school; she’s just going to start riding a bus there.” I narrowed my eyes.

  “That’s…” She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s too much.”

  “Did you scream at the principal when he called to tell you that Bianca got in trouble at school?” I turned my head towards her.

  “Well, I mean…” She immediately started stumbling over her words.

  “Did you tell one of her teachers to shove one of her book reports up their ass when they called to tell you that she plagiarized it?” I growled under my breath.

  “I don’t know if I used those words…” She blinked and shook her head.

  “I think you did,” I exhaled sharply.

  “Maybe…” She sighed. “It was the heat of the moment—they were picking on my baby.”

  “Your baby became a fucking monster.” I shook my head and sighed. “She needs a harsh dose of reality, and that’s what she’s going to get.”

  “I was with you on everything you said last night, but taking her away from all of her friends—making her go transfer to another school during her senior year?” Regina looked down.

  “It’s exactly what she needs.” I nodded. “She’s a bully, plain and simple—hitting you wasn’t the first time she got violent, it was just the first time she turned that on one of us.”

  “That’s true…” Regina sighed. “This whole thing started because of a video I saw on her phone—it was bad. They had some poor girl naked on the ground—Bianca and her friends were kicking and hitting her—her elbow was gushing blood.”

  “Elbow…” My head started to spin. “Get me her phone, now!”

  The pieces had already come together in my head, even before Regina returned to the car with Bianca’s phone and I watched the horrifying video. Hannah—my Hannah—I didn’t give a fuck if I couldn’t call her that anymore. She was naked on the side of the road, wrapped in nothing but a fucking blanket, because of my daughter’s cruelty. No wonder she was so damn horrified when she saw me at Bradford Academy. It wasn’t just because she realized her lie had been exposed—it was because she knew I was the one who had failed to protect the world from a monster. I let it run free through the halls of her school and turn that place into a fucking nightmare for the teachers and the other students—then I claimed her innocence—what was left of it after she was beaten and abused by my own flesh and blood.

  “I have to go.” I threw the phone down in the passenger seat.

  “You’re keeping Bianca’s phone?” Regina raised her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, she’s sure as fuck is never getting it back again.” I nodded and put the car in reverse.

  I didn’t really know what I was going to do except delete the video and make sure there was no trace of it—then go through Bianca’s text messages and find out who she sent it to. I couldn’t undo the damage that Bianca had done, and my relationship with Hannah was shattered to pieces, but I could make sure that video disappeared. I halfway expected the cops to be sitting outside of my townhouse when I got home. I deserved handcuffs. I deserved prison. I deserved that for letting Bianca terrorize the world—for ever letting Hannah become a victim to her cruelty—and I deserved it for taking Hannah’s innocence. She was in a dark place when I found her. She latched onto my kindness because of her trauma. I didn’t fight the growing desire like I should have—I exploited it.

  I’m as awful as my daughter…

  I walked inside my townhouse and slammed the door. I needed a drink to calm my nerves, but all I had was beer, so I grabbed two of them before I sat down on the couch. Bianca’s phone was nearly dead, but I had the same model. My phone cord wasn’t long enough to reach the plug from the couch, so I just shoved the charger into the USB port on my laptop. That would give me enough juice to do what I needed to do. Reading through all of Bianca’s text messages as I hunted for evidence that she had sent the video to one of her friends was hard—she said awful things about me, about my ex-wife, and about everyone at school. I decided not to read the ones with her boyfriend when I realized they were pretty graphic—I didn’t need to know that much about my daughter.

  It looks like Amy and Jillian are the two people she normally talks to about people—and she didn’t share the video with either of them.

  I wiped the video off of Bianca’s phone and got a request asking if I wanted to remove it from the cloud as well—I confirmed and then it appeared to be gone. There were other videos of her bullying people and laughing about it, but none of the videos were as bad as the one of Hannah being beaten. For whatever reason, they seemed to be especially cruel to her. I saw Hannah pass by in some of the videos—heard what my daughter and her friends said about the girl I fell for—and by the time I had finished deleting all of them, I was almost in tears. I wished I could see Hannah one more time, just so I could tell her that she would never have to go through that again, but my arms weren’t meant for her, and I had already done enough damage.

  No apology or hug can take that away—nothing can.

  Sixteen

  Hannah

  The next day

  My mother gave me the space I needed, even though she didn’t know why I was crying, but she was waiting on me at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee when I woke up. We had a long talk about nothing—literally nothing. I think she was hoping I would open up, but I just couldn’t tell her why I was hurting. I didn’t even want to get out of bed, much less get ready for school, but I forced my way through the normal routine. The only thing that I told her was that I would be fine and it wasn’t anything serious—which was true in the grand scheme of things, even if it felt like my entire world had crashed down around me. I would recover eventually, and I couldn’t hate Justin for how things ended—or how they started. I lied to him. I kept pushing for more when he was trying to keep his distance.

  I fed him a fantasy while I built one of my own, but neither of those fantasies were real. They were just the illusions we wanted to see.

  I saw a kindhearted man who could never raise a monster like Bianca. A gentle soul that only wanted to hold me in his arms. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions because I was afraid of the answers, but it was so much worse than any worst-case scenario my imagination could have created. I feared losing him over my lie when the truth was what could truly bring ruination to our relationship. It was shattered into a million tiny pieces of glass that could never be put back together—even picking them up would make me bleed. Justin would never be my present or my future because both of those belonged to Bianca Carter—the only girl in the world that could carve out my soul because she shared flesh and blood with the man I fell for.

  One final knife through my heart—the deepest cut.

  I managed to stop crying when I got to Bradford Academy. My eyes were rimmed with redness and so puffy that makeup wasn’t going to help. I felt like a zombie wandering through a sea of humanity when I walked into the school. I was the only living, breathing part of a painting that resembled the fragments of my life. The people around me were just images and noise. I avoided talking to anyone before homeroom, but when I started walking towards my locker after the first bell rang, I saw Candice waiting for me. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid her—she was the only real friend I had.

  “You look like shit.” She stared at me as I approached. “What happened? Did you get into a fight with your mom or something?”

  “Yeah—something.” I nodded.

  The truth doesn’t matter anymore. I might as well embrace the liar I’ve become—that’s easier than answering questions.

  “I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around me. “We should be celebrating today, not crying.”

  “Why?” I leaned back from her hug. “What happened?”

  “As of this morning, Queen Bianca is no longer a student at Bradford Academy. Her parents are sending her to public school.” Candice smiled. “The queen of the heartless bitches is gone!”

  “Holy shit…”
I blinked in surprise.

  “I’m sure her coven won’t be very effective without the beloved queen to lead them.” Candice’s smile got bigger. “Come on—that should make you smile. That should make you do fucking cartwheels.”

  “I guess it’s good news.” I shrugged.

  “Oh, you’re still worried about the video.” Candice nodded.

  “It’s hard not to be…” I sighed.

  Another lie. I already know Bianca doesn’t have her phone, and if she shared it with her coven, they would have held it over my head instead of ignoring me.

  I just kind of existed for the rest of the day. I wasn’t a participant in my life; I was just forced to walk through the painting. I saw Amy and Jillian a couple of times, but they were never together—someone even said that Amy got called out for talking in class, which had never happened to one of the members of the Bradford Elite. The end of Queen Bianca had seemingly broken whatever strange alliance—or fear—that kept the teachers from taking action. I was mentally exhausted from living—existing—or whatever name it had by the time the bell rang to signal the end of the day. The school started to empty, and I just stared at my locker—not even wanting to dig out the books that I needed to take home with me.

  “Hannah, are you okay?” A voice startled me out of my blank stare.

  “Oh, hey Mr. Peterson. Yeah, I’m fine.” I forced a smile.

  “I didn’t expect to see you looking so gloomy the day that Bianca Carter left Bradford Academy.” He took a step closer. “I know you two weren’t exactly friends.”

  “That’s for sure…” I sighed and nodded. “I’m dealing with some other stuff, but inside—I’m doing cartwheels over the fact that she’s gone.”

  Wow, I might as well become a professional liar at this point…

  “The teachers are going out for drinks!” He chuckled, but then the smile immediately faded. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “I don’t blame you.” I grabbed my books and slammed my lockers. “I’m surprised you even care—you were one of the few that stood up to her.”

  “That’s one perspective. I always felt like I never did enough.” He shrugged. “I know I did more than most, but I certainly started to lose faith…”

  “How did it even get to this point?” I pulled my books close to my chest. “How does a student end up running the whole school?”

  Candice has one version, but I doubt it’s the real story…

  “The same way every dictator gets power. Brute force with no fear of repercussions.” He sighed. “Bradford Academy needs more than tuition money—that will keep the teachers paid and the lights on—but donations are why we have a new gym, an annex building, and all of the things that make parents want to send their kids here. Bianca’s family has always been very generous. I’m sure our principal isn’t celebrating the fact that she’s gone—or the fact that he won’t be able to squeeze one more dollar out of her father before graduation.”

  Great, just when I wasn’t thinking about Justin…

  “The system seems broken.” I looked down at the floor.

  “Yeah, but it’s the only one we have.” He nodded. “Take care of yourself.”

  “Thanks, you too.” I turned and started walking towards the door.

  The parking lot was mostly empty except for the cars that belonged to the athletes and the cheerleaders. The football team was running drills—the cheerleading squad was practicing their routine—life after Bianca was the same for them. Nothing really changed. I wished I could celebrate her downfall because it should have been the happiest moment of my life—but that moment had already come and gone—that was the moment I fell head over heels for Justin. I hated to admit that I still missed him, even if he was Bianca’s father. His arms always made me feel so safe, and my problems melted away—but they were never meant to be mine.

  That doesn’t mean I won’t mourn what I’ve lost, even if I created it with a lie.

  My mother wasn’t home when I got back to my house, but there was a new cell phone on the counter with a sign made out of paper that pointed to it. It was the same kind as the one that Bianca threw in the toilet, but it was a newer model. It had two messages from my mom. The first one said she had been offered the job she applied for, and the second one said that they wanted her to start immediately. I hoped that didn’t mean she was already gone—I felt a twinge of panic. I went to her bedroom and saw that her clothes were still there. I sat down on the edge of the bed and started typing out a message.

  Hannah: Hey, I found my new phone. Thank you! What’s this about starting immediately? I thought you had to finish up your contract first.

  Mom: They’re buying me out of it. My boss is happy since they don’t really need me anymore. I’m cleaning out my office right now. I leave tomorrow.

  Hannah: Oh my god!

  Mom: I’m sorry. Are you okay? You can call if you need to talk.

  Hannah: I’ll be okay. I just really didn’t think it would happen so fast.

  Mom: I know. I’ll be able to fly back for the first few weekends at least—they’re paying for it since this is all so sudden.

  Hannah: I’m not ready to be on my own…

  Mom: Yes you are. You can throw a party every night!

  Hannah: You know I won’t do that.

  Mom: That’s why I trust you.

  I didn’t feel very trustworthy. I felt like the most untrustworthy person in the whole world. I really didn’t want to stay in Los Angeles by myself. I didn’t even care if I had to start my senior year over and apply for new scholarships. I had found a new version of rock bottom that was harder than the one Bianca kicked me into. Emotional rock bottom was much worse than the physical one—it was worse than being thrown into a cold shower, being kicked, beaten, having my elbow shredded against the pavement, and being forced to walk home in nothing but the skin I was born in. It was raw and visceral—it was my soul instead of my body. Bianca never broke my spirit—she came pretty damn close but losing Justin did.

  I got up from the edge of my mom’s bed and walked to mine—my future was face down in the pillow. I laid there for about fifteen minutes before I heard a chime on my phone and saw that I had a Facebook message from Candice.

  I need to remember to silence that before school tomorrow—maybe I’ll hit the right button this time.

  Candice: Hey, I just wanted to check on you…

  Hannah: I’m fine.

  Candice: I know you’re not. Things still bad with your mom?

  Hannah: It’s something else.

  Wow, the truth—almost.

  Candice: I won’t push, but if you need someone to talk to, you know I’m here.

  Hannah: Thank you.

  I wasn’t really in the mood to talk about it, and even if I was, there was no way I could actually tell anyone what was bothering me. It was just all compounding on top of itself. I rolled over in bed and stared at my phone. My fingers started typing a message to Candice before I even realized they were moving. There was a piece of me reaching out for support, even if I didn’t feel like I deserved it.

  Hannah: I met a guy. That’s what’s wrong.

  Candice: What!? Who!?

  Hannah: That part I can’t tell you, but it ended badly.

  Candice: Did he hurt you!? I’ll kill him!

  Hannah: No, not like that. Wait, where was that killer instinct with Bianca and her coven?

  Candice: That’s different…

  Hannah: I fell for him, and I fell hard—then I lost him.

  Candice: Shit. Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone?

  Hannah: I couldn’t… It’s hard to explain.

  Candice: Is it something that can be salvaged?

  Hannah: No. I ruined it.

  Candice: Have you tried to talk to him?

  Hannah: He’s never going to speak to me again, even if I want him too…

  Candice: We should go out this weekend. I know we don’t do that much, but we ne
ed to breathe some new air or something…

  Hannah: Maybe.

  I rolled over and put my face back in the pillow—where I felt that it belonged. I had no idea what I would even say to Justin. My lie was unforgivable. If he was any other man except for Bianca Carter’s father, it might have been something we could work through, but that built a barrier bigger than the lie. It was bigger than Mount Everest—at least people could climb that, even if it cost some of them their lives. He gave me shelter in the storm—I gave him my innocence—but those things came with a price that neither of us realized we would have to pay at the time. I would never regret what we had, but I would have plenty of regrets over what got us there and how it tore us apart.

  The only positive about being abandoned in Los Angeles is that I can wallow in my misery alone…

  Seventeen

  Justin

  The next day

  I woke up without a single ounce of enthusiasm for getting out of bed. Bianca was officially withdrawn from Bradford Academy. Despite all of her cruelty, the principal still begged me to reconsider—and said that a donation would make everything fine. I realized that was part of the problem. The school didn’t care about anything but their bottom line and was willing to sacrifice anything to get it. I didn’t grow up with money, so it was weird to see how much it changed the world around you. A girl like Bianca would have never gotten away with what she did at the high school I attended. The teachers would have straightened her out real quick, and if that didn’t work, one trip to the principal’s office would have certainly done it.

  It’s far too late to completely fix her, but maybe I can turn her into something that resembles a human being before she’s out on her own.

  One thing I wasn’t expecting was to find out that the curriculum Bradford Academy followed wasn’t exactly going to transfer to public school. Bianca could finish out the school year, but she would need another full year to get the credits and classes lined up so they could give her a diploma. That was almost enough to sway me in the opposite direction, but I held my ground while she screamed when she found out. If her reaction had been calmer, I might have actually considered letting her finish the year at Bradford Academy, despite what she had done, but she still hadn’t learned a damn thing. I didn’t know if another year would do it, but I was going to find out.