I tried to relax my jaw. “I’m sure, old man. They’re just bruised.”
“Watch who you’re calling old. I could still whoop your ass.”
I chuckled under my breath and then winced as the action jarred my ribcage. “I know you could, Mel.”
Just as Mel fixed the final piece of tape to my ribs, the locker room door swung open, and Liam entered. “Congrats, man, that was epic! First round KO! You know the UFL is paying attention now.”
I slapped his hand in a man-shake. “Thanks, man. Where’s Carter?”
“She’s waiting outside with Ford. I wanted to make sure you were decent. Don’t need her innocent eyes being scarred for life after seeing your naked ass. I’ll go grab them.”
I grunted and shook my head. “Wait, was that her cursing up a storm during my fight? I normally can’t hear a thing when I’m in the zone, but I swear I heard her voice telling me to ‘just knock him the fuck out already.’”
Liam had to brace himself on the lockers, he was laughing so hard. I think there were tears in his eyes. “Yes, it was her. Apparently, Carter turns into a hellcat when you’re fighting.”
I gingerly pulled on my t-shirt. “I’ve never heard her curse before.”
Liam wiped at the corner of his eyes. “I know, man. I’ve never seen her do anything like that in all the twenty-two years I’ve known her. I honestly thought she’d want to leave after she saw you get hit the first time, but that just unleashed the beast.”
I bit the side of my cheek to spare my ribs from laughter. “That girl is something else.”
Liam turned around to pull the locker room door open. “That she is. Just be careful with her, okay?” he said over his shoulder.
My brow furrowed, but before I could respond, Carter burst through the cracked door. “Oh my gosh, you were amazing! Congratulations!” She threw her arms around my neck, and I cringed when her body made contact with my ribs. She froze and immediately pulled back. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Her brows were so tightly knit, they looked painful.
I reached out and rubbed the space between her eyes with my thumb. “Calm down, Firecracker. I’m fine, just some tender ribs.”
She knocked my hand away from her face, lifted my shirt, and gasped. “Austin, that looks awful. I think we need to take you to the hospital.”
I pulled her hand away and let my shirt fall back down, “It’s fine, Carter, I promise. They’re just bruised. I know how broken ribs feel, and these aren’t that bad.”
She scowled, and it was so fucking cute I wanted to squeeze her. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
I pulled her to my side, fighting to ignore the bite of pain, and put my arm around her shoulders. “Come on, what I really want to do is go eat a shit ton of In-N-Out.”
Carter’s face brightened, and then she looked dubious. “You? Mr. No Flavor Chicken-n-Veggies wants to go to In-N-Out, kingdom of all things fatty and delicious?”
I ruffled her hair. “Yes, smartass. This is my cheat meal, so let’s do it up big.”
She clapped her hands together. “Yes! Finally, a real meal! Come on, boys, we have cheeseburgers calling our names!”
Ford rubbed his stomach. “You don’t have to tell me twice. Let’s get out of here. Are you done with everything, A?”
“Yeah, just gotta grab my bag and I’m good to go.”
Quicker than I could blink, Carter had slipped from beneath my arm to grab my gym bag off the bench. “I’ll carry it.”
I blinked at her. “You are not carrying my gym bag, Carter. Give it here.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and silently shook her head back and forth.
Liam stepped between us. “In an effort to leave here before we all die of starvation, why don’t I carry the bag?”
Carter reluctantly handed the bag to Liam. “Fine.”
I clapped Liam on the back. “Works for me. I love having you as a butler.”
He smirked. “Okay, let’s go.”
We exited the locker room to a hallway full of people milling about. I grabbed Carter and tucked her under my arm, keeping her out of reach of any of these hooligans. Halfway down the hall, a gangbanger-looking dude stepped in front of me, and I immediately recognized him as one of my opponent, Cobra’s, crew. “Got yourself one hell of a cheerleader there, Bulldog.” I felt Carter stiffen at my side as he continued. “Better hold on tight. Wouldn’t want her to leave you for a real man.” He grabbed his crotch and flicked his tongue as his eyes roamed Carter’s body.
I shoved Carter behind me and had gangbanger dude up against the wall in half a second. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me, cabrón!” he wheezed.
I heard shuffling behind me, and Carter saying, “Austin, stop, he’s not worth it.”
I felt someone grab my arms, and Liam entered my field of vision. “She’s right, A, he’s not worth your shot with the UFL.”
That brought me back to my senses, but I squeezed the guy’s throat just a little harder and leaned down to his ear. “You don’t talk about her. You don’t look at her. You don’t even think about her. Or I will find you, and I will gut you.” I released my hold, and he fell to the ground, coughing. I still felt rage pumping through my veins.
This was why I didn’t want Carter coming to my fights. I knew something like this would happen. She was too innocent, too pure, and it radiated off her for everyone to see. She was an easy mark, and an important one if people knew how much she meant to me. I couldn’t have distractions like this in my life; couldn’t let someone mean this much to me. I needed space.
I spun around, about to tell Carter exactly that when I saw that Ford had been holding her back, and tears filled her eyes. Shit. The rage disappeared as if I’d been dunked in an ice bath, and the last thing I wanted was space. “Come here.” I held out my hand, and she rushed to me, shoving her face between my pecs. The adrenaline coursing through my system had numbed any pain. I lifted her chin with two fingers and smiled down into her watery eyes. “Can’t take you anywhere, you’re too pretty for your own good.”
She let out some sound, half-snort, half-laugh, and burrowed back into my chest. “Can we go get In-N-Out now? I’m hungry.”
The words were muffled by my shirt, but I smiled. “You got it.” I eyed the guy on the ground, still rubbing his throat, and motioned to Liam and Ford to head out.
12
Carter
Taking in the familiar smell of chalk and pencil shavings, I slowly made my way through the maze of desks in my classroom, returning freshly graded assignments to each student’s spot. Christmas break had been exactly what I needed. A little R&R and home-cooked meals by my mama had done wonders for my energy levels, but I had missed LA. Even though I had talked to Austin almost every day I was gone, I found myself missing him most of all. I knew my feelings had left friendship in the dust months ago, but I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.
My hands stilled as they reached Michael’s paper in the stack. He was another person I didn’t know what to do with. Something was wrong in Michael’s world. He wasn’t his cheerful, inquisitive, slightly trouble-making self. He was sullen and withdrawn, and his schoolwork had started to suffer. I needed to find a way to connect with him and see what was going on. I placed the last of the papers on their corresponding desks just as the school bell rang, and children started rushing through my door.
I made it through the first half of the day with no major incidents, but Michael still seemed removed, so I stopped him as he headed to lunch. “Michael, can you stay for a minute?”
His shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned around. “Sure, Miss McCarthy. Am I in trouble?”
My heart broke at the look on his face. “No, of course not. I just wanted to chat with you for a minute. Why don’t you take a seat?” I motioned for him to sit in the chair next to mine. He dropped into the chair, folding in on himself as he sat silently. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Miss McCarthy,” he answered robotically, his eyes cast down at his hands where he picked at his nails.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, big or small. I know it’s not always cool to confide in your teacher, but I promise that I will do my best to understand where you’re coming from.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Yeah, I know.”
I smoothed my hands over my skirt and leaned down so I could meet Michael’s eyes. “I’m just worried because you haven’t quite seemed like yourself the past few weeks.”
“I’m fine, Miss McCarthy, just tired.” As he spoke, he lifted his thumb to his mouth to chew on his nail, and his shirt sleeve rode up.
I sucked in a breath as I saw a ring of bruises circling his small wrist. I instantly felt nauseous and out of my depth. I had been trained in how to recognize the signs of abuse, but faced with the very real possibility that the sweet child in front of me had been harmed, I was frozen.
Michael must have seen the look on my face because he followed my line of vision to his wrist and quickly dropped his hand. He let out a forced-sounding laugh. “You’re worried about this? I tripped, and my dad caught me before I could hit the ground. But I guess I was going fast because I got this bruise.”
I wasn’t convinced, but I also knew that this was a plausible excuse any social worker would have to accept on a first offense. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed on. “Okay, Michael. Just don’t forget that if there is something going on at home or at school, you can always come to me.”
Michael rose quickly and headed to the door, clearly eager to end this conversation. “Yeah. Thanks, Miss McCarthy.”
After I had watched Michael leave, I buried my head in my hands, fighting the burning desire to cry.
“Carter, are you all right?”
I lifted my head and saw Kyle standing in my doorway. I ushered him in, and he closed the door behind him. “Not really. I could actually use your advice.”
Kyle sat down in the same chair that Michael had just vacated. “Of course, tell me what’s going on.”
I walked Kyle through everything I had noticed about Michael, including our most recent conversation and his bruised wrist, then sat back in my seat.
Kyle rubbed a hand over his jaw. “This is a tough one, Carter. Is this the first time you’ve seen any physical evidence of abuse?”
I felt sick. “Yes, but he’s been withdrawn for weeks now. Even before Christmas break. But I just thought he was tired from the end-of-the-year craziness. Shouldn’t I report it, just to be safe?”
Kyle grimaced. “You could report it, but that might end up backfiring on you. You have no concrete evidence, and Michael denied that anything is going on. Most likely, Child Protective Services would think you’re a new teacher who’s overreacting. And if you report anything in the future, there will be automatic doubt. It sucks, but social workers are overworked, underpaid, and dealing with the worst of the worst. They aren’t going to jump on a report of a bruised wrist. But keep an eye on things. If you see any other physical signs of abuse, or if Michael tells you anything, then call CPS and file a report.”
My shoulders slumped. Kyle leaned in and rubbed my shoulder. “It could be just what he said: he tripped, and his dad caught him. Or it could be some other kids picking on him, and he’s embarrassed. I’ll keep an eye out for him around school, okay?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thank you, Kyle, for listening and for your advice. I really appreciate it.”
Kyle rose. “Anytime, Carter. I was actually stopping by to see if you were going to the teachers’ lounge for lunch.”
“You go ahead, I’ll be there in just a few.”
“Sounds good. See you in a few.” Kyle sent me a smile as he left.
Walking around to my desk, I pulled my phone out of my top drawer. I was grateful for Kyle’s kindness and words of wisdom, but there was only one person I really wanted to talk this through with.
Me: Hey, you busy tonight? I could use a listening ear. I’ll cook you dinner as repayment.
Almost immediately, three little dots appeared that told me he was typing a response.
Austin: Always happy to listen to you…and eat your food. ;-) Everything ok?
Me: Thanks A, I really appreciate it. I’m not sure if everything is okay, but it’s not about me. I’ll explain everything when I see you.
My phone buzzed as I bent down to grab my lunch.
Austin: I’ll be at your place by 5.
Me: See you then.
I trudged up the steps to my apartment, feeling fatigue with every step. The rest of the day had moved at a snail’s pace while my mind went a million miles a minute, running through every possible path I could go down for Michael. I had come up with no answers, only more questions and doubts. When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Austin leaning against the railing. “Hey there, Firecracker.”
My bottom lip began to tremble. “Hey,” I replied.
He opened his arms to me for a hug, and I immediately went to him. As soon as I felt his arms surround me, I burst into tears.
“Hey, hey now. What is this all about?” Austin asked as he smoothed my hair down my back.
To my horror, I just started crying harder. Austin said nothing, he just kept one arm around me and used the other to gently pull my keys from my hand and unlock my front door.
He guided me inside and to the living room, where he pulled my bag from my shoulder, laying it on the floor. He then sat down on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. He silently rocked me, rubbing my back while I wept for the next ten minutes. As my tears started to slow, he said, “Tell me what these tears are about.”
I let out a stuttered breath and hiccupped. “Sorry, it’s been a tough day.”
Austin tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You don’t have to apologize, just tell me what’s going on. We’ll talk it through.”
I slid off his lap, even though it killed me to do so. I couldn’t think straight with his body pressed up against mine. I took a deep breath and launched into the heart of it. “I think one of my students is getting abused at home, or at the very least picked on at school, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Which student?”
I plucked a pillow from the couch and hugged it to my chest. “Michael.”
Austin’s eyes softened even further. “Your favorite kid.”
I sighed. “My favorite, even though I’m not supposed to have favorites.”
A small smile touched his lips at my remark. “Tell me what happened.”
I spent the next thirty minutes explaining everything to Austin. I tried to remember every possibly relevant detail, and he listened intently to it all. “Kyle said I have to be cautious about reporting to Child Protective Services because I don’t have any real evidence.”
Austin frowned. “Who the fuck is Kyle?”
I frowned back at him. “I’ve mentioned him to you before. He’s a friend and another teacher at my school. He’s been teaching for five years longer than I have, so he has more experience with this kind of stuff.”
Austin cracked his knuckles. “Well, he’s right that you don’t have any evidence and so it will be hard for CPS to do anything other than talk to Michael. And it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to open up.”
“I couldn’t get him to, and I think he likes and trusts me. I’m not sure a stranger would be any better, but they might be better at asking the right questions.” I groaned and rubbed my temples. “I feel like such a failure. I couldn’t get him to tell me anything.”
“You’re not a failure, it may just take time. Plus, it very well could be bullies at school. And not to freak you out, but it could also be a gang. They start recruiting young and don’t like it when kids refuse.”
I could feel the blood drain from my head. “Gangs? In the fourth grade?”
Austin leaned over and rubbed my knee. “It’s just a possibility. We don’t know anything fo
r certain. What we need to focus on is getting more information so we know what’s actually going on. And to do that, we need Michael to feel comfortable confiding in you.”
A warmth crept over my whole body at Austin’s use of the word we. I no longer felt alone in this, I felt like I was a part of a team.
Austin sat back and rubbed the stubble on his cheek. “I have an idea.”
“I would love any and all ideas because I currently have none.”
He chuckled. “What if I came to your class and did a self-defense demonstration? You said they were interested when you told them you were taking classes with me, right?”
“Right.” I hesitated. “But I don’t want them trying to beat up gangsters if they’re approached by them, they could get killed!”
“It’s not so much about moves that I would show them. It would be more of an excuse to talk to them about different situations they might face and how to deal with them. We could cover bullies, gangs, and abuse.”
“That would at least get Michael thinking and knowing he’s not alone.”
“Hopefully, it will be enough to encourage him to tell you what’s going on.”
I bent forward and wrapped my arms around Austin’s neck. “Thank you,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He squeezed my neck. “Good thing you’ll never have to find out.”
I pulled back slightly but was frozen in place when I saw heat in the dark blue eyes looking down at me. My heart thudded against my ribs, picking up pace as it went. I licked my suddenly dry lips, and Austin’s gaze tracked the movement, his eyes darkening. I leaned forward. The shift was miniscule, but it jarred Austin from our moment.
He dropped his hand from my neck and stepped back. “Why don’t you go put on some sweats, and I’ll order us some takeout. You might also want to wash your face because you look like a drowned raccoon.”
My jaw slackened, and my hands flew to my face. “You couldn’t have mentioned this earlier?”
Further To Fall Page 7