by Farrar, M K
“Mummy, the toast is burning!” Ollie suddenly exclaimed.
Black smoke poured from the top of the toaster, and the smoke alarms went off with a shrill beep.
“Shit!”
“Mummy!” he said, aghast. “That’s a swear word.”
She fished the charcoaled pieces of toast out of the toaster and threw them into the sink. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.”
Damn. She must have pushed the toast down for a second time, thinking it was bread she still needed to toast.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs, and Haiden, appearing as fresh faced and youthful as ever, stepped into the kitchen.
“Does that mean breakfast is ready?” he said with a grin, pointing into the air, clearly meaning the smoke alarm.
She forced herself to smile and tried not to feel resentful at the fact the reason she was so exhausted was because of him.
“Ha ha,” she said, deadpanning, and then handed him a tea towel. “The smoke alarm is out in the hallway. Will you waft this under it? Get some fresh air around it until the beeping stops.”
“Sure.”
He vanished again, and she set about opening the windows and then putting some fresh bread into the toaster. She really couldn’t afford to be throwing food away like this.
The alarm finally went off, and she exhaled a sigh of relief, her shoulders dropping.
“There, all fixed,” Haiden said, reappearing.
“Thanks. Sit down and have some breakfast.”
She finished making fresh toast and offered some tea and juice to Haiden as well.
“Go on upstairs and brush your teeth,” she told Ollie when he’d finished eating, “and find your school shoes, too.”
“Can’t I watch some TV first?” he whined.
“No. You know you don’t get to watch TV during the week.” If she let him, he’d be sitting there, staring at the screen and getting nothing done until well after school had started.
He pouted but hopped up and ran upstairs.
“Well, that was an exciting start to the morning,” Haiden said with that easy grin of his. It was hard to believe this was the same person who’d been staring at her in bed, cold and expressionless, at three in the morning.
Butterflies flipped in her stomach at the idea of mentioning it to him, but she knew she was going to have to. She couldn’t just say nothing.
“Speaking of exciting starts,” she said, “do you remember coming into my room last night?”
His mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Yeah, I think you were sleepwalking. I woke up and you were standing over the bed.”
His expression changed, his features growing hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t sleepwalk.”
Her stomach dropped. She’d hoped they’d have been able to laugh about it and smooth things over, but it didn’t seem as though Haiden was going to let her do that. His hackles had come up, and he was clearly defensive, though she couldn’t think why.
“Umm, I’m afraid you do. You were definitely sleepwalking last night. It’s perfectly normal. It’s probably just because of the strange surroundings, and the new start at university. All kinds of pressures can make someone sleepwalk, even if they’ve never done it before, or at least been unaware that they’ve been doing it.”
His blue eyes narrowed. “I told you, I don’t sleepwalk. I never have, and I have no memory of doing so last night. Isn’t there as much of a chance that you dreamed the whole thing.”
His words hit her like a cannonball. She’d never even considered that he might deny what had happened and try to turn it around on her. “What? No! That’s ridiculous. I’m exhausted because I barely slept last night because I was putting you back to bed. I definitely didn’t dream it.”
“Well, I definitely didn’t sleepwalk, so I guess it’s just a matter of one person’s word against the other.” He put down the piece of toast he’d been eating. “I’m going to be late for the bus, so I suggest we just drop the subject.”
She stood in the middle of the kitchen, shocked into silence, as he got to his feet and left the room. A minute later, the front door slammed, and she jumped, her hand clutched to her chest. What the hell had just happened? His reaction had been the last thing she’d been expecting. Did he really think he hadn’t sleepwalked, and she’d dreamed the whole thing? The idea was ludicrous. But why would he get so defensive about it? It wasn’t as though it was something to be ashamed of. He hadn’t done it on purpose.
Ollie reappeared, his shoes actually on his feet. “I brushed my teeth, Mummy.”
“Good boy.”
He looked around. “Did Haiden leave for school already?”
“Yeah, he needed to get in early today.”
She had no idea if that was true or not, but it felt more like he’d left early to avoid her.
With a sigh, she finished her tea, only to get down to the bottom of the cup and discover the teabag lurking at the base. It wasn’t even eight a.m. yet and she could already tell it was going to be one of those days.
Chapter Eleven
Kristen got home after work that evening to find Haiden standing on the doorstep, a bunch of tulips in his hand.
“I’m really sorry about what happened this morning,” he said. “I don’t know why I acted like I did. Of course, if you say I was sleepwalking, then I must have been sleepwalking. And I’m sorry for disturbing your sleep, too. I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
She sagged with relief. After a tense day at work, having to drag herself through it due to lack of sleep, and making mistakes at every turn, the idea of being in a fraught atmosphere at home had stressed her out, too.
“That’s okay. It was a bit of a shock, perhaps?”
“I was embarrassed, too,” he admitted. “I didn’t like the idea of you catching me in only my underwear. I’d normally make a bit more of an effort the first time a woman sees me half naked.”
Her cheeks bloomed with warmth at the memory of his half-naked, tanned, muscular torso. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. “I didn’t look, I promise. I just got you straight back to bed, same as I’d have done with Ollie.”
She blushed again, not wanting him to think of her as his mother, either.
He pushed the flowers at her. “These are for you to say sorry.”
“You didn’t need to get me anything,” she said, accepting the flowers. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had bought her flowers—probably one of the times when Stephen had been caught eyeing up another woman. What was it with men, and apologetic flowers, and more annoyingly, why did they work to smooth things over, as though she could be bought with some pretty blooms?
But this time it did work, and she was happy to accept them. Even more happy that it meant they weren’t going to be angry or awkward with each other anymore. She didn’t know Haiden well enough to be trying to exist in that kind of atmosphere.
“And please, tell me if I do it again,” he added. “I’ll see if there’s something I can do to help—hypnosis, maybe... I don’t know.” He shook his head and ran his hand through his blond hair. “But I promise not to act all crazy on you again if you tell me.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
“Anyway,” he shouldered his bag full of books, “I’d better go up to my room and get some work done. Seems they were taking it easy on us for the first few days.”
“Of course. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
Later, when the food was ready, they ate with an easy companionship, the tension from the previous night already blown over. Ollie seemed to enjoy Haiden’s company, too, and Haiden was happy to join in with the hundred and one questions Ollie asked.
“What’s been your favourite part of the day?” the boy asked both of the adults. Kristen smiled. This was a regular thing her son asked, and normally it was just the two of them. “Mine was scoring a goal against Sammy Benz at lunchtime.”
Kristen joined in. “Mine w
as picking you up and finding out about your amazing goal scoring at lunchtime.”
Ollie beamed back at her. “And what was yours?” he asked Haiden.
“Hmm.” Haiden rubbed his fingers against his lips. “I’d have to say right now, sitting here with you both and eating this delicious meal.”
Kristen flushed hot at the compliment, the warmth spreading inside her. It definitely was a good part of the day—perhaps even her favourite, though she wouldn’t tell Ollie that.
Once they’d finished eating, Haiden helped her clear away the dishes, and then told her he was going to go to his room to get some work done.
“Of course. I’ll make sure Ollie doesn’t disturb you.”
She had a ton of chores that needed finishing, anyway. The laundry pile was something that never came to an end, and right now it seemed larger than ever. She could handle the washing and the drying part, but for some reason, folding and putting it away drove her crazy.
With piles of folded laundry balanced in her arms, she carried the clothes upstairs to be put away.
She paused outside of Haiden’s room, sensing him in there.
A buzzing sound filtered through to her from behind the closed door. Buzz... pause... buzz.... Pause... She recognised the noise but was unable to place it for a moment. And then it came to her—of course, it was a phone ringing with the sound off.
She frowned. Who was calling him, and why didn’t he want to answer? She knew he was in there, so he must be right next to the phone. Perhaps it was just a sales call about something, and he was letting it ring out. Not that it was any of her business.
Going into Ollie’s room, she spotted the boy lying on his bed, running toy cars over the mound of his pillow and into a gully of his duvet, which he’d pushed together to create a makeshift racetrack.
“Hey, kiddo,” she said as she put his clothes away in his chest of drawers. “Time to get ready for bed. PJs on.”
“Ooh, Mum!” he whined, throwing himself dramatically onto his back. “It’s too early to go to bed yet!”
“No, it isn’t. It’s exactly your bedtime. Same as any other school night.”
“Fine,” he said, punching the pillow and then getting to his feet.
He pulled his t-shirt up over his head.
Kristen’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God, Ollie. How did you get that bruise?”
A massive blue and purple splodge covered his skinny little ribs. Ollie clamped his arms down to his sides and looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. There’s no way you could get that kind of bruise and not know where it came from.”
“I said I don’t know!” he yelled, and she started back. It wasn’t like Ollie to shout.
He pushed past her, trying to get out of the room, but she caught him by the arm.
“Let me go.” He wriggled in her grip.
“Not until you tell me where that bruise came from. I mean it, Ollie. It’s important you tell me what’s going on with you. Did someone do this to you?”
Felix Hurst. The name jumped into her head, but she managed to keep it from spilling from her mouth. She didn’t want to give Ollie ideas. He might have hurt himself on the play equipment at school, but then she didn’t know why he wouldn’t just tell her that.
The boy remained with his lips clamped shut.
“Ollie, baby. I’m not mad with you, okay?” she said, pulling the little boy onto her lap, so they were both sitting on the edge of his bed. “But if someone has been hurting you, then you need to tell me. This is not all right. No one is allowed to touch you, do you understand?”
His body had been stiff against hers, but now he relaxed a fraction.
“Did someone tell you that you weren’t allowed to say who hurt you?”
Ollie nodded against her shoulder, and anger speared through her.
“Did they tell you that you’d get in trouble if you told?”
Again, Ollie nodded.
Kristen stroked his hair and gritted her teeth. There was no doubt in her mind that Felix Hurst was responsible for hurting Ollie. That little shit must have punched or kicked her baby in the ribs, and then when he saw how much he’d hurt the other boy, he’d threatened Ollie not to say anything. This had to stop. If an adult had bruised another adult like this, and also put teeth marks into someone’s shoulder, they’d have had a pretty good case for actual bodily harm. Just because this was two children involved shouldn’t make it any less serious.
Despite knowing what she had to do, her stomach knotted at the thought of going into school the next day. It was difficult when her work situation was so closely blended with Ollie’s school life. And she knew the headteacher and Felix’s mother were friendly. She was sure she couldn’t have been the only parent to complain about Felix’s behaviour, however. Maybe she should ask around a bit first and see if she could find some other parents who would back her up. Although she was also aware that this might get her into trouble for starting rumours.
She let out a sigh and nuzzled her nose into her son’s soft, fine hair. This was definitely a tricky situation. But she needed to put Ollie first. No matter what the consequences.
Chapter Twelve
“Andrew, can I have a word?”
The headteacher looked up from his work. “Kristen, of course. How can I help you?”
She sidled into his office and shut the door behind her. He gestured to the seat on the opposite side of his desk and she plopped herself down.
“I’m concerned about Ollie and how things are with Felix Hurst. I found a massive bruise on Ollie’s ribs last night. Combined with the teeth marks on his shoulder, my poor boy looks like he’s being beaten up. I’m really not happy.”
Andrew sighed and dropped his pen on the desk. He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers against his lips. “Look, Kristen, we both know how boys can be. They tend to rough and tumble, and sometimes that does result in bumps and bruises.”
She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “And in teeth marks? I don’t think so. And it’s not as though this is a joint thing, is it? I mean, Felix isn’t sitting in here with bruises that Ollie has given him. The boy is bigger and stronger, and whether or not it’s done deliberately, it shouldn’t be happening.”
He gave a long sigh, and Kristen bristled. He made her feel as though she was making a fuss about nothing and wasting his time.
“You know I’ve already spoken to both Felix and his mother about what happened with the biting incident, so I think we need to shelve that for the moment. As for the bruises, I’ll get both boys in here today and sit down and have a little chat. If they can’t play nicely together, I’ll suggest they give each other some space. This isn’t a big school, but it’s big enough for them both to play in different areas.”
“This isn’t about two kids not playing nicely. This is about one bigger, older kid being physically violent towards a younger one.”
Her mouth had run dry, her hands clenched to fists in her lap. Why was he struggling to see the truth of this? Was he deliberately being obtuse? She forced herself to take a breath, trying to calm herself down. It wouldn’t do Ollie any good if she lost her temper. But this was all so frustrating.
“Look,” she said, loosening her fingers and dropping her shoulders down, “if these were two adults, and one had left marks on another like that, there would be some serious questions asked.”
He leaned forward in his seat. “Yes, but they’re not adults. Just like you wouldn’t expect a child to be tried as an adult in court, you can’t expect the same thing to happen here. Children aren’t expected to think of the consequences of their actions like an adult would. Their brains aren’t developed enough yet.”
“Which is why we as the adults need to teach them!”
“And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do here, Kristen. Let me get the boys in and speak to them. I’m not saying that Ollie has done anything wrong, but it’s also good for Felix to see how his actions have affe
cted others.”
She wanted to tell him how she felt this would all be handled a lot differently if it wasn’t Rachelle Hurst’s son who was causing all the problems. That woman lorded it over this school, and even the headmaster was afraid of her. It was pathetic. She wished she could go and tell Rachelle exactly what she thought of her and her son, but she knew it would only get her in trouble, and it wouldn’t do any good, anyway. Rachelle thought the sun shined out of Felix’s backside and would never believe that he was the nasty little bully he was.
Instead, she pushed back her seat and got to her feet. “Okay. Will you let me know how it goes?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Deflated, Kristen went back to her office. Anna looked up from her computer as she walked in and gave her a sympathetic smile.
“How did it go?”
“As expected.”
She sank down into her seat and tried to focus on her work, while constantly having one eye out for Ollie. It was fine while he was in class and safe away from Felix Hurst, but at breaktimes and lunchtime, her anxiety rocketed, worried that her baby was being hurt.
The end of the school day finally arrived, and Kristen went to pick Ollie up from afterschool club and walk him home. She deliberately didn’t mention Felix, allowing Ollie the chance to bring it up, but he didn’t. He didn’t even mention the headteacher bringing the two of them in for a chat, and she hadn’t seen anything. True, she’d been busy most of the day, shut away in the office, so it wasn’t as though she saw everyone who came and went from Andrew’s office. Still, doubts ran through her.
“Did Mr Larsen have a chat with you and Felix today about that bruise you got?”
He looked up at her, his eyes wide. “No. You didn’t tell on Felix, did you, Mummy?”