Since Laura was to introduce her as she wound up her own remarks, she turned to Misty before she rose. “You ready to do this?”
Misty nodded. “I can do it.”
“Of course you can,” Katie said loyally.
Laura said a few words, then expressed her pride in Misty’s willingness to come forward and talk about what had happened to her and how it had affected the way she looked at herself, at the town and the future.
No sooner had she finished her introduction than she noticed a restlessness on the fringes of the crowd. She realized then that many of the students from the high school had gathered back there, united for reasons she feared might not be good.
Anticipating a problem, she lingered by the podium next to Misty and Katie, drawing a concerned look from J.C. She gave him a faint nod toward the edge of the green. Obviously picking up on her warning, he slipped over and spoke quietly to Carter Rollins, who immediately left the stage.
Misty had barely opened her mouth to speak, her voice quavery but determined, when the first jeer rang out. “Hey, girl, is this you? Can you do me like that?”
A picture was waved in the air, a grainy, but devastatingly recognizable blowup apparently of one of the doctored photos that had made its way online the night before.
Misty’s voice faltered as people looked around.
“Whoa, girl! Who knew little Goody Two-shoes looked like that with her clothes off?”
At the second shout, Carter’s men moved in and started taking teens into custody. The entire crowd erupted with cries, some directed against the teens, some against the interfering police officers.
Misty’s face had turned beet-red. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fled the stage.
“Go after her,” J.C. shouted at Laura. “I’m going to help Carter round up those jerks.”
Laura found Misty sobbing in the alley behind the radio station, Katie at her side. Sarah McDonald reached them before Laura did and pulled Misty into her arms. “Don’t you shed one single tear over those idiots,” she soothed. “Not one single tear.”
“But now everyone’s seen the pictures. Even my mom and dad. They were there in the front, but they still saw them. They must think I’m awful.”
“Your parents will never for a second believe those pictures are real,” Laura consoled her. She glanced at Sarah. “Will you stay with them? I’ll go look for Diana and Les.”
“No,” Misty pleaded. “I don’t want to see them.”
“You need to see them, and they need to be with you. They must be worried sick about you right now.”
“We’ll be inside the station,” Sarah said, looking to Misty for agreement. “You’ll be safe in there. We can keep the doors locked, check before we let anyone inside.”
Misty sniffed and nodded agreement.
Laura took off in search of the Dawsons. She found them by the stage looking frantic. Les looked as if he wanted to break a few bones. Only Diana’s command that he stay focused on Misty seemed to be keeping him calm.
“Where is she?” Diana demanded when Laura approached. “Did you find her?”
“She’s at the radio station. Sarah took her and Katie inside.”
“Thank God,” Diana murmured. “Les, are you coming?”
He looked toward the commotion still going on across the green. “I’d rather…”
“Beating some kid to a pulp might give you temporary satisfaction,” Diana said. “I wouldn’t mind throwing a punch or two myself, but Misty needs us.” She latched on to his arm and shook it. “Did you hear me? Our daughter needs us.”
Les sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Laura let them head over to the radio station on their own, then found Helen in the crowd.
“How much worse can this get?” she asked the attorney.
“A whole lot worse before I’m done,” Helen said grimly. “Thanks to Kyle Townsend, I have a pretty good idea of who was behind those latest pictures. Carter’s going to follow up and, if I’m right, suspension from school will be the least of what happens to some of these kids. I’m taking a whole slew of them to court. Apparently Annabelle was just the instigator. There were a few kids just waiting in the wings to escalate this.”
She gave Laura a weary look. “It’s going to get uglier before it gets better. Do you think Misty will be able to handle that?”
Laura thought of the shaken, sobbing girl she’d left with Sarah and wondered about that. “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “How much can a girl her age handle before it breaks her?”
“I’m almost ready to suggest to the Dawsons that they let her transfer to a school somewhere else,” Helen said. “I’d pay for it myself just to get her away from this. At the same time, I hate for Misty to feel like she has to leave her home because of what someone else has done.”
“Unfortunately, I think maybe at this point, she’d be eager to go,” Laura said. “But I agree with you, it would be a crying shame. Is it too late to push to have Annabelle transferred out of this school system?”
Helen nodded. “More than likely. I’m not saying that shouldn’t happen. It probably should. I just don’t think that’s going to fix things. Too many other kids will be right here unless I can manage to make examples of all of them. At this rate, half the senior class should probably go.”
“That would certainly cause an uproar,” Laura said, trying to imagine it.
Helen nodded. “Something tells me an uproar is what it’s going to take to turn this around.”
“Is there anything you need me to do right now?”
Helen shook her head. “I’m heading over to the police station next.”
Laura nodded. “I’ll check on Misty. If you run into J.C., tell him I should be home in another hour or so.”
Helen hesitated. “Did you know what he was going to say today?”
“Not a clue,” Laura admitted. “My heart ached for him when I heard what happened to his brother.”
“That’s a heavy load of guilt for anyone to carry all these years,” Helen said.
Laura was startled by her assessment. “Guilt? J.C. didn’t do anything wrong. He tried to help.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Helen said. “Whatever he did wasn’t enough, and I know how men’s minds work. The guilt of not doing enough can eat away at them for years to come.”
“Voice of experience?” Laura asked.
Helen nodded. “Erik had his share of baggage when we met. It still surfaces from time to time. Keep an eye on J.C. Something tells me he’ll need you today more than he’ll ever admit.”
Laura watched her go, her thoughts in turmoil. She’d felt sick for J.C. as he’d spoken, but not once had she imagined him blaming himself for his brother’s death. Of course he did, though. Anyone who cared as deeply as he did would take something like that totally to heart. Even more than his wife’s betrayal, this is what had shaped the man he’d become, the direction his life had taken. She even wondered if he’d become a pediatrician simply to be a first line of defense against signs of bullying.
What she didn’t know was how she’d ever convince him that the guilt shouldn’t be his burden.
20
The police station was chaotic. J.C. tried to stay out of the way, but he had no intention of leaving until he was sure the hooligans who’d taunted Misty were, if not behind bars, at least charged with disturbing the peace or whatever else Carter could think of to throw at them. He imagined Helen had a few ideas along that line she was eager to share. He’d never seen her looking more ferocious as she huddled with the police chief.
Eventually she headed his way.
“You okay?” she asked him. “I know what you said today couldn’t have been easy, but I think it had an impact, J.C. I really do. I saw the shock on people’s faces when they realized the sort of consequences this behavior can have. There’s a tendency to dismiss it as childish mischief, but we both know it’s a lot more than that.”
“Obviously it didn
’t faze those boys,” he said ruefully.
“Because they’re young and stupid,” Helen said succinctly. “Just wait till Greg Bennett and his cronies figure out they’re about to be suspended from the football team for the rest of the season over this. Betty can hardly wait until Monday morning to haul them into her office for that announcement. Amazingly, the coach is backing her up a hundred percent. I knew Cal would have, but the football coach is usually a lot more focused on winning than he is on what’s right.”
“Some things are more important than a winning season,” J.C. said grimly.
“Unfortunately, not being able to play is likely to kill Greg’s chances for a college scholarship,” Helen said. “I have little to no sympathy for the boy, but that’s going to be tough for his folks to accept. They were so proud that he’d be their first to get into college.”
“What’s next?” J.C. asked. “Is there anything I can do here?”
Helen shook her head. “Carter has things under control and the prosecutor will be here shortly to do all the official paperwork and determine the charges. I’ll also be conferring with him about bringing criminal charges against the person who posted the latest pictures online. I’ll be in court first thing Monday to file a civil case, as well.”
“Do you know who did it?” J.C. asked. “You’re a hundred percent sure?”
Helen nodded. “It was Greg. It was his way of standing up for Annabelle, if you can believe that. He thought it might take the heat off of her. I’m not entirely convinced that Annabelle herself didn’t put him up to it. That is one twisted relationship. If I were Mariah, I’d get those two as far apart as possible.”
“Do you think the Litchfields will transfer Annabelle to another school after this?”
Helen nodded. “I don’t think they’re going to have a choice. Betty and Hamilton Reynolds were talking about a formal expulsion hearing earlier. The school board will hold an emergency meeting on Monday.”
“That could be best for everyone,” J.C. said.
“Only if Mariah accepts it graciously,” Helen warned. “I’m not convinced she’s capable of that. If anything, she’s going to be more furious than ever with Laura and Betty.” She met his gaze. “That reminds me, Laura said to tell you she’d be at home. She’d like you to come by.”
J.C. nodded. “I want to see the Dawsons first, then I’ll head over there.”
Or not, he thought. He wasn’t sure he was quite ready to see the pity in Laura’s eyes when she looked at him. It had been there after he spoke. It was the same look he’d seen time and again after Stevie had died. It was usually accompanied by a bunch of platitudes that didn’t mean a thing, that his brother’s death was a terrible tragedy, but that none of it was his fault.
Nonsense. He’d known what was happening to his brother and he hadn’t stopped it. If that didn’t place the blame squarely on his shoulders, then what would?
* * *
Laura was beside herself. There’d been no sign of J.C. on Saturday afternoon. Nor had she heard from him that evening or today. When Helen had called to give her an update on the charges pending against the various students involved in the previous day’s debacle, she made herself ask about J.C.
“He didn’t come by?” Helen asked, clearly surprised. “I passed along your message and he said he was going by the Dawsons first and would head to your place after that.”
“I haven’t heard a word from him,” Laura admitted. “Maybe I should go over to his place to check on him.”
Silence greeted her words. “Maybe not,” Helen said eventually. “Yesterday was obviously very emotional for him. He laid himself bare before the entire town, told something he’s apparently never revealed to anyone in town before, an obviously painful part of his past. I spoke to Bill briefly, and he said J.C. had never even mentioned it to him. He probably needs to regroup.”
“But what does it say about us that he doesn’t want my support while he does that?” Laura said wearily. “Maybe I’ve been kidding myself that we’re actually building a strong relationship here.”
“I don’t know J.C. all that well, but I know a little bit about men who feel guilty about a tragedy, even when that guilt isn’t justified,” Helen said. “They’re terrified that the people they love will think less of them.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Laura said.
“That’s male pride,” Helen countered. “Give him a little time, Laura. He’ll come around. At least, that’s my advice. You’re free to ignore it. Until Erik, my track record with men wasn’t exactly a shining example of what healthy relationships were meant to be.”
Laura chuckled at the honest statement. “I’ll take that into consideration.”
“J.C.’s a good guy,” Helen said. “That much I do know. I wasn’t always sure of it, but now I am.”
“I know,” Laura said softly. She’d already recognized that he was one of the best. And he’d come along when she’d almost given up hope of finding real love, the kind that would weather any storm.
* * *
On Monday morning, Laura didn’t have a second to spare for thoughts about J.C. The halls were erupting with angry chatter as the news leaked out that a number of the football players had been suspended from playing for the remainder of the season, including Greg Bennett. To her regret, the blame for that was being placed not where it belonged—on the young men themselves—but on Misty.
She debated with herself, then decided to address the situation in her first class. Maybe she could diffuse the situation at least a little.
“I’ve heard a lot of talk this morning about what happened on Saturday and about the fallout,” she began, only to draw hostile stares from many of her students. “Let’s talk about it.” She looked into each grim face. “And let’s do it politely.”
“It’s all because Misty Dawson is not only a little slut, but a crybaby,” one of the girls said snidely.
Laura held her gaze. “Which part of politely didn’t you understand? Students in my classes don’t call each other sluts or crybabies or anything else that’s intended to deliberately hurt them. That’s bullying. Have you learned nothing from what’s been going on recently? Words can wound people. Actions can wound people. And yet I look at you and some of you clearly still think it’s one big joke. Annabelle Litchfield is being transferred to another school because of this. Greg Bennett is likely to lose his college scholarship because he can’t play ball the rest of the season. What about any of that strikes you as funny?”
“It’s not funny,” Jeb Hightower said. “It’s wrong. I hope Misty can’t sleep because of what she’s done to them.”
Laura regarded him with shock. “Hold on. Misty was the victim, not Annabelle or Greg. She was targeted online and right here at school with vicious rumors and lies designed to humiliate and embarrass her.”
“What makes you think they were lies?” Jeb said, looking around with a smirk. “A picture’s better than a thousand words, right?”
“And a fake picture says more about the person who created it than it does about the person supposedly in it,” Laura corrected, though she could see that she wasn’t getting through to them. They were intent on defending their friends and demonizing Misty. How on earth was she supposed to turn this around? Could it even be done?
“Does anyone here have a different perspective?” she asked hopefully.
Sally Washington, a shy girl who rarely spoke unless called on, raised her hand tentatively. “I think maybe they don’t get it,” she said, nodding toward Jeb and Hailey who’d spoken out first, “because nobody’s ever picked on them.”
“Or because they were born bullies, too,” Tim Rogers dared to say, shooting a defiant look at Jeb. “You started stealing lunch money from the littler kids back in first grade. You did it just because you were bigger and you could.”
“And, Hailey, you never speak to anyone who isn’t pretty or popular,” Sally added, apparently gaining strength from Tim’s accusations. “
It’s like the rest of us don’t even exist. At most we’re an annoyance in your perfect little world. I’m tired of it. If you don’t like me, fine. I don’t need to be your friend, but I’m a person and you should at least be polite to me and the other kids who aren’t as popular as you.”
Sally’s declaration stirred a few others to echo the same thoughts, and suddenly the tide turned ever-so-slightly. Hailey, Jeb and a few others were on the defensive and had perhaps their first taste of feeling what it was like to be disparaged and ridiculed publicly.
Jeb continued to look defiant, but Hailey actually looked shaken. Her eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I honestly didn’t know how it felt to have people say hateful things.”
Laura held up a hand to stop the discussion. “I think what happened in here just now is really, really important. I hope all of you will think about it before you speak disrespectfully to or about another classmate. Sally got it exactly right. You don’t all have to be best friends, but you do owe it to each other to be courteous and respectful. Sally and Tim, thank you for speaking up. And, Hailey, I’m proud of you for taking another look at what you’ve been doing.”
When the bell rang, she dismissed the class, feeling the tiniest bit more optimistic.
But as soon as she stepped into the hall, she saw Jeb immediately align himself with his buddies, overheard the same old rallying cry in Greg and Annabelle’s defense. And knew that the risk to Misty was far from over.
* * *
J.C. was glancing at his next patient’s file, when Debra stepped into his office. “Laura Reed is on the phone for you. She sounds upset.”
Though he’d spent most of the weekend avoiding her, he knew that couldn’t go on forever. He nodded. “I’ll take it. Let Mrs. Hodges know I’ll be in to check Liza in a minute.”
Debra nodded, then retreated and closed the door behind her. J.C. picked up his phone.
“Is everything okay?” he asked at once. “Is Misty in school?”
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