Ask Me If I Care

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Ask Me If I Care Page 7

by Vale, Lani Lynn


  Ares’ smile took my breath away.

  “Thank you, Hayes,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”

  Just then there was a knock at the door, and I opened it to find a man on the other side dressed in a suit and tie.

  His eyes weren’t for me, though. They were all for Ares.

  “Were you the one to call the cops?” he asked stiffly.

  Before Ares could answer, I stepped in front of her obscuring his line of sight.

  “Actually,” I said. “Ares and I are dating. I was already on the way here. When we arrived, it was to find those students already fighting.”

  “Principal Bailey,” Ares said softly. “This is Hayes.”

  The principal’s eyes turned to me. “Hayes…”

  “Romine,” I said. “Hayes Romine.”

  The principal curled his lip up at me in disgust.

  I barely refrained from laughing.

  “Ares,” he growled. “Get out here and handle this. Since you’re the cause.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I’m sorry, but isn’t the principal the one in charge over the students?” I asked curiously. “Because when I was in school, although the guidance counselor was someone that the children looked up to, they weren’t the person that someone went to when there was a problem of this magnitude.”

  “There’s no problem here,” he growled.

  Ares snorted, causing Bailey to look at her like he wanted to throttle her.

  “You call someone trying to kill themselves not a problem?” Ares asked in a near shriek.

  Ares moved up to stand at my side, and automatically I took her hand and pulled her into my body at my back, so that I was slightly in front of her and could control the situation in case she decided to lose her shit.

  Principal Bailey gritted his teeth in anger.

  “It’s been handled,” he said. “And if it’s that bad, maybe Abilene should be removed from KISD.”

  Ares gasped. “You’d take away the one and only thing that’s giving her a support structure? Bailey, it’s not Abilene that’s the problem. It’s the students that are giving her shit for having a baby.”

  “Then maybe she should’ve thought about the consequences of opening her legs,” Bailey shot back.

  There was a short gasp from the hallway and I looked over Bailey’s shoulder to see a young girl standing there looking like she’d been shot straight through the heart.

  “Abilene!”

  There was a boy-man standing next to her that looked like he’d just been kicked in the gut as well. He started to run after the girl, but Bailey turned around and glared at the kid.

  “Go back to class, Slone,” Bailey growled.

  Slone, the boy-man, looked like he’d rather shove his fist into Bailey’s throat.

  But it was Ares who shoulder-checked Bailey on the way out and walked up to Slone.

  “Slone, go back to class, honey,” she ordered. “I’ll go find Abilene and talk to her.”

  Slone looked slightly less pissed off. But only barely.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “But if she needs me, I’ll be in Mrs. Thompkins class.”

  Ares patted him on the shoulder and sent him on his way.

  Then she turned to Bailey who was glaring at her like he wanted to kick her right out of the school.

  “It’s time for you to decide what you want to be, Bailey,” she said. “A principal who cares about his students, or an asshole that needs to be removed.”

  With that Ares left, hurrying in the direction that the student went, leaving us all to stare at him like he was the asshole.

  “I don’t care whether you’re her boyfriend or not,” Bailey said. “If she steps out of line like that again, I’m going to fire her ass.”

  “You have no authority to fire her,” Booth said. When had he gotten there? “That’s the school board or the superintendent.”

  Bailey, who looked like he knew Booth as well, looked pissed.

  “Speaking of fathers that don’t take care of their children,” Bailey sneered.

  Booth stiffened.

  Booth had a child young. He and Delanie, his baby mama, had barely been out of high school when she’d had the baby. And though he’d tried to be a part of that baby’s life, he hadn’t been in much of it for over a year since he was deployed overseas. A year of memories that he was still trying to make up for.

  So, of course, Bailey touching on this subject was bound to have a knowing effect on Booth.

  I took a step forward, my fists squeezed tight.

  Surprisingly, it was the secretary that handed Bailey his ass.

  “Now, Bailey,” the office chick growled. “I know that your father didn’t raise you to act in such a manner.”

  “Mrs. Teague.” Bailey narrowed his eyes. “You of all people know what it does to a child that has to be raised by teenagers. You damn near raised me yourself. I’m speaking from example here.”

  Mrs. Teague rolled her eyes.

  “And I would say Booth has done a damn fine job with the life that he was given,” Mrs. Teague growled. “Now, it’s time to figure this out. This school hasn’t been this out of whack since you were in high school.”

  Mr. Bailey narrowed his eyes. But Mrs. Teague didn’t realize just how pissed off that Bailey was.

  The next thirty minutes was spent talking with everyone about everything that happened. Going back as far as to when shit started to go down with Avery. And Mrs. Teague was extremely helpful, being very blunt and honest about the decline of the school since well before Avery even happened.

  At some point, Ares arrived by herself, and I assumed that the student had gone back to class. Ares looked pissed beyond belief and stayed mostly quiet other than a few snorts of derision here and there as Mrs. Teague, Toomey and Bailey spoke.

  “And the boys that did the bullying today?” Ares asked through clenched teeth.

  “Will be dealt with,” Bailey growled, looking pissed.

  Ares nodded once, as if she was appeased with that answer.

  People dispersed after that. Bailey to his office to the boys that had been sitting there for the last half hour. Mrs. Teague to her desk. And Toomey to his office that was just across the hall.

  But his eyes were all on me and Ares.

  “I fuckin’ hate that guy,” Booth grumbled.

  Ares walked over to him and hugged him tight, making a distinctly uncomfortable feeling rocket through me.

  I knew that she knew most of the SWAT team—a lot of the new members were kids of the former members—but it didn’t make me feel better that she was hugging Booth.

  Booth gave her a side hug back and said, “He really was a big dick. Even in high school. He’s gotten worse, though. He never would’ve said those things before.”

  “No,” Ares agreed, pulling away from him.

  The moment that she was close enough, I reached forward and tugged her into the curve of my arm, staking my claim in front of my friends.

  She was mine.

  And all of them saw it.

  Even Toomey from his seat in his office.

  His eyes narrowed and he moved forward and kicked his office door closed with one foot.

  Ares jumped at the sharp sound, looking over Booth’s shoulder.

  The rest of them didn’t flinch.

  “Tell me about Bailey,” I ordered.

  She rolled her eyes and tried to pull away, but I didn’t let her get far.

  “Bailey is a little prick. Woe is me is his entire attitude.” She rolled her eyes. “His parents made him when they were still in high school. They married young. Dad went into the military, and the mother went with him. Then he was deployed, and she moved back home. When he came back, he joined the KPD. His father is actually someone you know.”

  “Who?” I barked.

  “Patman,” Ares answered.

  I immediately scrun
ched up my nose in disgust.

  Patman was the police academy instructor and an all-around asshole of a guy.

  No wonder Bailey was such a douche.

  “I fucking hated him,” I admitted.

  “Like father like son,” Ares murmured. “Needless to say, if he ever left I wouldn’t be too cut up about it.”

  There were snickers from the men with me.

  “I gotta go back to work,” I said, finally dropping my arm from Ares’ shoulder.

  She moved almost reluctantly, looking at me with a frowning expression on her face.

  As if she was upset I’d dropped my arm, too.

  “I’ll catch y’all outside,” I said to Booth.

  Easily catching the hint, the guys left, leaving me alone in the hallway with Ares.

  At least for a few seconds before Toomey came storming out, looking like I’d just ran over his puppy.

  Seconds after that, he stormed into Bailey’s office, looking at the kids involved with the entire ordeal today as if he wanted to castrate them. As if they’d ruined his day inadvertently.

  Bailey, on the other hand, didn’t take his eyes off of where I was standing close with Ares.

  “You know,” Ares said softly. “He’s going to remember this. And he’s going to make it a point to check into this. He’s never really liked me.” She sighed. “And then he’ll fire me. Or find a way to get me fired.”

  I looked down at her with a grin. “Then we’ll just have to make it look real, won’t we?”

  Her brows rose. “And how do we do that?”

  I pulled her in close, once again pushing my body into hers.

  Her eyes flicked to Bailey who was still staring, then back to me.

  “I don’t fake relationships,” she said tiredly.

  I winked at her. “Who said anything about it being fake?”

  Chapter 6

  If you can read this. My invisibility cloak isn’t working.

  -T-shirt

  Ares

  Unknown number: come by the station. We have some things to discuss with a few other people. Still NOT wanting fake.

  The last thing that I wanted to do was go by the police station on the way home. To say that the day was slow after the boys had left would be an understatement. It was so slow that I started counting the ceiling tiles.

  Shortly after two that afternoon, Hayes had texted me to tell me to meet him at the station once I was done at the school. He wanted to talk to me and a few other people.

  At least, I assumed it was Hayes.

  A few other people, I assumed, included Toomey seeing as he’d barreled out of the school like his ass was on fire earlier, and didn’t give a shit that he was supposed to be helping with the school traffic.

  Sadly, with Toomey being there, word would eventually get back to Principal Bailey, and then I’d be fired.

  I might as well look for a new job now.

  Which would suck because then I’d have to move. And I loved living in my hometown.

  I had a nice place—though it could use some more security according to my father—and it was close to the mall, a grocery store, and the school that I worked at.

  I was so lost in my thoughts that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing or who I was parking next to as I got out of my car. Though, I did notice a certain someone by the front of the police station, arms crossed, waiting.

  When a man came from behind me and wrapped his arms so securely around me that I couldn’t move, I screamed. When I went to headbutt the person in the face that had his arms around me, his dark chuckle and glee was apparent in the way that he laughed as I missed my target.

  Every officer within screaming distance whipped their heads around to ascertain what had set me off.

  But before they could even take a step in my direction, Lock was letting me go with a laugh.

  “Sorry, sorry.” He chuckled. “I couldn’t resist.”

  I narrowed my eyes and whipped my arm out, hitting him in the nipple.

  “Owww!” he whined, rubbing his chest. “What the hell, Ares?”

  His high-pitched, annoying whine had me sneering at him.

  “Don’t be a little bitch,” I snarled. “You totally deserve that and you know it.”

  Lock’s grin slid off his face when he got a look at something over my shoulder.

  I turned to find Hayes standing there, looking completely blank.

  It was not a good look for him.

  In fact, he looked downright scary.

  He held his hand out to me, and I found myself stepping toward him without much thought at all as to how it may appear to my brother.

  The moment that I got close enough, he pulled me into his body and curved his arm around my waist.

  My heart started to jackhammer out of my chest at the feeling of his hard body once again touching mine.

  “What the fuck, man?” Lock said, seeing the move. “I’d never hurt my sister.”

  That was when I realized that I’d totally just chosen Hayes over my brother.

  I smothered a smile and narrowed my eyes at him.

  But it was Hayes who spoke.

  “She screamed,” he rumbled, sending shivers down my spine. “Didn’t much think or care if you were her brother or not. I know screams, and that one she did wasn’t one that I’d ever ignore.”

  Hayes did have a point.

  When I’d screamed, it wasn’t because I was happy I’d seen my brother, that was for sure.

  It’d been a for real, who the fuck is grabbing me, kind of scream.

  “Let’s get inside,” my brother muttered, his eyes still on the two of us. “I have to get home to help Saylor out, but Dad said that you had a problem at school today. And that y’all were meeting about it after school.”

  I nodded my head just as Hayes stepped away from me.

  Him physically stopping contact with my body had me feeling like I’d lost something I needed to survive.

  “We’re in the conference room,” Hayes said, waiting for me to turn before falling into step beside me.

  My heels clacked against the parking lot, and I wished that I’d worn something different today instead of my most uncomfortable pair of shoes.

  See, I’d made a deal with myself since they’d looked so good with my outfit.

  Today was supposed to be a short day since I didn’t have to help with drop-off or pick-up, I’d told myself I’d go with the sexy outfit with the sexy shoes. Mostly because I’d planned on ‘accidentally’ needing to stop by the police station after work and hopefully having the chance to run into a certain silent, sexy man.

  Only, I’d done so much walking today that my feet now hurt like the dickens and each step I took across the lot made my little toe scream in agony.

  It was when I was on the sidewalk next to the side of the building that I came to a complete stop.

  “I can’t do this,” I muttered. “Lock, will you run to my car and get me my flip-flops from the front seat? My feet are absolutely killing me.”

  Lock turned around and jogged back to my car, and I used that time to kick my heels off, then peel my stockings off of each leg.

  To do that, I had to hike my skirt up a bit around my upper thighs to get to my garter belt.

  It was only as the silence of the man next to me became oppressive that I looked up to see him staring down at my legs.

  More specifically, the part of my legs that showed as I was shoving my hands up underneath my skirt to undo the clips that held my garter in place.

  “Sorry,” I murmured, catching his attention. “I just can’t do this anymore. My toe is killing me.”

  He swallowed hard. “I’m serious about it not being fake.”

  He turned away then, but not before I saw him adjust his cock in his work pants and bring my attention to the impressive bulge.

  I licked my lips and made quick work of my stockings after that, balli
ng the fabric up in my hands and shoving them into my shoes before once again fixing my skirt.

  “Here,” Lock said, coming up to my side. “Brought your bag, too, so you didn’t have to carry your shoes around.”

  I grinned and shoved my shoes into my bag, then hooked it onto my shoulder and slipped the flip-flops on seconds later.

  “Ready,” I said softly from behind Hayes.

  He started walking again, having a quiet conversation with Lock about work that day as he moved.

  He was more than aware of where I was at all times, though.

  When I tripped on the sidewalk, he was there to catch me with a hand on my forearm.

  I expected him to let my arm go the moment that I was steady on my feet, only he didn’t.

  He didn’t let go of me until we reached the conference room that was surprisingly full of people.

  Hayes sat me in a chair toward the end of the table, then took the one directly next to me.

  Lock took the one on my other side, and Luke clapped his hands.

  “Let’s get started.”

  The next thirty minutes passed with me telling them of everything that had gone on at the school since I started noticing problems.

  “What’s your main concern here, Ms. Downy?” the old resource officer asked.

  I looked at him and crossed my arms.

  “Worst case scenario?” I asked, getting a nod in return. “I don’t want this to turn into another bully/school shooting,” I said. “Abilene isn’t the type or anything, but Abilene isn’t the only one that’s getting the treatment. There’s just so much going on at that school. And there’s only so much I can do from my end. I need more support. These kids need to have consequences for their actions.”

  “Bailey needs to go for that to happen.”

  I looked over at Toomey to see he was staring at the wall.

  “Why do you think I don’t bother doing anything there?” he asked, addressing everyone in the room. “I can only do so much from my end, too. And the kids don’t respect me. They don’t respect him. They walk all over every fuckin’ adult in that school because there’s honestly no consequences. Hell, when was the last time anyone got suspended, or sent to in-school suspension? More often than not, the person to get in trouble is the person that got bullied in the first place. He doesn’t like snitches. Which is why Avery gets treated like shit.”

 

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