Impassioned: A Salvation Society Novel

by Lea Coll

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Mia

  Everything was perfect. Mason was happy with his new job, being accepted into the group, feeling part of something again. Flying seemed to fulfill something inside of him.

  It had been a few weeks since Mason had an overnight mission and I was looking forward to the second away trip. Not only to spend time with Everett but I enjoyed being woken in the middle of the night when he came home. Mason seemed happy to have me waiting in his bed for him.

  Everett had baseball practice, so I picked him up after, ordering pizza and eating before Everett went to his room to do his homework. I’d hoped to spend more time with him, to make sure he was okay with me seeing Mason, but he was quiet tonight. I hoped he was busy between baseball and school, and it wasn’t anything else.

  I’d fallen into a blissful existence where I spent many nights at their house, eating dinner, walking Stark with Mason, and falling into bed. I always brought a bag of clothes and toiletries with me. I didn’t want to assume it would be okay for me to leave clothes or a toothbrush in the bathroom. Those actions had always gotten me in trouble in the past.

  The next morning, I made breakfast for Everett, saying goodbye when he went to the bus stop. Once he was gone, I realized his lunch was on the counter. Sighing, I grabbed it, my bag, and drove to school.

  Checking his schedule for his homeroom teacher, I headed to the classroom. Announcements were projected over the loudspeaker so students were sitting at desks listening. I scanned the room, not seeing Everett, but he could have been at his locker or the bathroom. I stopped at his teacher, Ms. Powell’s desk.

  “Hi Mia. How are you?”

  I hadn’t thought about what I was doing until now. Would she think it was strange I had Everett’s lunch? I hadn’t told anyone I was dating his father. “I’m good. I have Everett’s lunch he forgot. Can you give it to him?”

  Her brow furrowed as she scanned the room. “He’s not here yet.”

  “What do you mean? Was his bus late?” I couldn’t remember any emails or discussions this morning about a bus being late.

  “No. The rest of the students from his bus are here. I thought he was absent. Why do you have his lunch? Did someone drop it off?”

  My stomach dropped. I’d watched Everett walk out the door, but I hadn’t made sure he got on the bus. What if something happened to him? I didn’t want to lie, especially if Everett could be in trouble. At the same time, I didn’t want my boss to find out that I was once again way too involved in a student’s life. “No. I’m watching him while his dad’s out of town. He left to get on the bus. I don’t understand—”

  Nancy’s lips pursed before she said, “You’d better let Kim know.”

  “Right. Of course.” I was thankful she hadn’t asked any follow-up questions about why I was watching Everett.

  I headed to Kim’s office, the title Attendance Clerk above her door. Knocking softly, I entered when she looked up from her computer, smiling. “Mia, how are you this morning?”

  I licked my lips. “Not so good. Everett Arrington isn’t in homeroom. I watched him last night for his father. I saw him leave for the bus this morning, but he forgot his lunch. I took it to his homeroom, but Nancy said he’s not here. The rest of the kids from his bus are present.”

  Kim raised her brow. “All of the buses arrived on time this morning. I can call his parents.”

  “He lives with his father, but he’s not reachable by phone. He’s on a mission for his job and his phone is turned off. His mother isn’t involved.”

  Kim’s attention was on her computer, probably pulling his contact information. “It’s protocol to leave a message if he’s not reachable, then I’ll try his emergency contact.”

  “His emergency contact is his grandparents. Do you want me to call them?” Maybe they’d have some way to track his phone.

  “Sure. Let me know what they say. I’ll need to tell Mr. Bryant.” I didn’t miss the warning in her voice.

  “Of course.” I walked quickly to my office, pushing worries of my boss finding out about me dating Everett’s father to the back of my mind so I could focus on finding him.

  First, I tried Everett’s cell phone, which rang a few times before going to voice mail. Not unexpected if he was skipping school or if he was hurt. I tried not to think about the possibility of that so I could focus.

  When I was alone in my office, I pulled up Paula Arrington’s office number assuming I’d find her at work. While it rang, I tried to think of the best way to explain what had happened.

  “Paula Arrington.”

  I took a deep breath, unsure how she’d react. Would she be angry I’d interrupted her or that Everett was missing? “Mrs. Arrington, this is Mia Hatton, the counselor at Everett’s school.”

  “Yes. I can see it’s the school calling.” Her tone was impatient.

  “I’m calling because Everett didn’t come to school this morning. We left a message for his father and you’re the emergency contact. We’re worried about where he could be.”

  “He missed one day of school?” Her voice was incredulous.

  One day wouldn’t necessarily be call for alarm, except for the fact that I’d seen him leave for the bus stop. “I watched him while Mason was out of town last night. He left for the bus stop like he always does, but he forgot his lunch. When I went to his homeroom, the rest of the students from his bus were present, but not him.”

  “You were watching him?”

  I wasn’t sure if Mason told her anything about me. I’d never gotten the impression he told his parents about his personal life. I certainly hadn’t planned on announcing that I was dating their son, but I had no choice. “Yes. I’m dating Mason. He’s asked me to watch Everett a couple of times now. I was hoping you had some way to track Everett’s phone? I’d ask Mason but he’s unreachable.”

  “I do.” I heard some fumbling as if she was reaching for her cell phone. After a minute, she said, “It says he’s at 5424 Blueberry Drive.”

  “Do you know that address?”

  “I don’t. Everett didn’t go to friend’s houses when he stayed with us and we have no other family in the area.”

  “Thank you for the address. I’ll give this information to Mr. Bryant. Please let me know if you hear anything from him.” I hoped to get her off the phone without any more discussion. I needed to find Everett, to confirm he was whole and healthy. I couldn’t think about the alternative.

  “I can’t believe you’re so incompetent you can’t ensure he gets to school on time. If you can’t handle it, maybe we should be the ones stepping in.”

  Anger surged in my veins, my heart pounded in my ears. I felt awful that Everett was missing, but I hadn’t done anything differently than Mason did every morning. “I think you’ve made it clear that caring for Everett is a burden. Do you have any idea what it does to a child to believe they’re a burden to the people caring for them?” I swallowed, trying to control my anger. “We can discuss this at another time. Right now, the important thing is finding Everett.”

  “I’ll be having a discussion with Mr. Bryant.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” From her anyway. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. I’d appreciate it if you could do the same.”

  “I certainly will.” She hung up then without another word.

  I took a second to pull myself together before I grabbed the Post-it with the address, heading to Kim’s office. Placing the Post-it on the desk in front of her, I said, “His grandparents tracked his phone to this address.”

  Kim immediately pulled the address up on her computer. “It says Trevor and Annaliese Allard reside there.”

  “Isn’t there a Tristan Allard that goes here?” I vaguely remembered Hannah discussing him misbehaving in her classroom once.

  “Let’s see.” I walked around the desk as Kim typed in his name, pulling his information up. “That’s it. It’s the same address.”

  “What’s
the next step? Do we call the police? Do we go there?” My mind was racing with the possibilities, glad he was at another student’s home, worried he could still be in trouble.

  She pressed print, standing to retrieve the document from the printer. “First, I give all of the information to Principal Bryant and he makes a decision.”

  I wasn’t usually involved in attendance issues unless it was a chronic problem with skipping school. “Okay.”

  Kim gathered the documents off the printer before heading to Principal Bryant’s office to knock on the door. “Come in.”

  I followed her inside, watching as she placed the address in front of Principal Bryant.

  “Mia discovered that Everett Arrington wasn’t in school today. His grandparents had a tracker on his phone. At the time she checked, he was at this address. Tristan Allard’s home. Since you’re involved, maybe you should explain the rest.”

  Principal Bryant raised his brow at me.

  Even if there was no rule against me dating a parent, I probably should have advised Principal Bryant. “I’m dating Mason Arrington. He asked me to watch Everett because he was out of town for work. This morning I cooked him breakfast before he left for the bus.”

  “Did you see him get on the bus?” Principal Bryant asked, his tone neutral.

  “No. Mason lets him walk to the bus on his own. I can’t see the stop from the house.” It wasn’t uncommon for parents to give sixth graders some independence by allowing them to walk to the bus stop or school with a buddy. Everett hadn’t known anyone, so he’d walked alone. Maybe I should have said something or pushed for him to walk with someone from the neighborhood.

  “Can we call Mr. Arrington?” Principal Bryant looked from me to Kim.

  “I left a voicemail but he’s unreachable during the day. I already talked to Paula Arrington, Everett’s grandmother. She’s the one who tracked him to Tristan’s address.” The dread I felt when I realized Everett hadn’t come to school twisted into a knot in my stomach.

  I didn’t want Everett to be in trouble, on my watch or not. I wanted him home safe and sound. Mason entrusted Everett into my care, and I’d lost him. The implications of this situation hit me hard, making it difficult to take a deep breath. I’d let Mason down.

  “Have you told me everything you know?” He turned to study me.

  I scanned my mind to try and remember everything that happened this morning. “I believe so.”

  “Then I think you’ve done enough. I’ll take it from here.” Principal Bryant’s words hung in my office with cold foreboding.

  He’d thought I’d done enough. Would Mason say the same words? I rubbed my cold hands together, worried the kids weren’t just skipping school, but getting into trouble. Everett seemed so happy in baseball, why would he do something like this? Was it a sign of something else going on? Maybe acting out because he didn’t want his father dating someone? My brain was a jumbled mess.

  “I’ll call the grandparents and see how they want to handle this,” Principal Bryant said to Kim.

  My heart sunk again. Paula’s involvement wasn’t good for me, she could say something like she had to me on the phone to Principal Bryant, but she was Everett’s grandmother. She was the emergency contact. I should probably take a step back.

  Filled with jittery energy, I headed to my office to call Mason again. I left another voice mail, then sent a text, not expecting him to pick up in the middle of a mission. I thought about calling Mark at the office to have him get the message to him, but I wasn’t sure if that was okay.

  How was I supposed to sit here and work not knowing if Everett was okay?

  I heard bits here and there as Principal Bryant talked to Margaret. They’d called the Arringtons who were on their way to Tristan’s home with an officer to assist.

  I was a little surprised they’d taken the time to retrieve him. Why was this time different? Was it because Everett was missing? He was finally more important than their business.

  Hannah entered my office. “Hey, I had a break. I wanted to see if you’re okay.”

  “You heard?” The school was full of gossip, so I wasn’t surprised Kim, Nancy, or someone in the front office mentioned I was dating Everett’s father, and he hadn’t arrived at school.

  “I heard you were watching him last night and he didn’t come to school. No one’s saying anything bad, just that they didn’t know you were dating.”

  “Did you say anything?”

  “Just that it’s no one’s business who you’re dating.”

  “Thanks, Hannah.” I could use a friendly face because I wasn’t sure how Mason would react when he found out.

  Her eyes softened. “Have they found him?”

  I glanced at the clock, calculating it had been about an hour since Principal Bryant called the Arringtons. “The grandparents were able to track him to another student’s house. I hope they’re just playing video games or something else equally innocent.”

  “Yeah, maybe it’s just kids being kids.”

  Her words rang hollow, doing nothing to ease the tension in my shoulders, creeping up my neck. “I hope so.”

  “Mia, even if you’re the mom, these things happen. You can’t always predict the things kids will do. I can’t predict what’s going to happen in my own classroom.” She smiled, easing the tension slightly.

  “I hope so.” I wanted Mason to trust me. I didn’t want him to doubt me.

  “You’re a good person, Mia. Mason is lucky to have you.”

  Tears pricked my eyes. When had someone ever said something so kind? Probably not since my parents died. “Thank you, Hannah. That means a lot.”

  She handed me a tissue from the box on my desk. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I wanted to make you feel better.”

  I dabbed my eyes. “I’m sorry. Everything’s just overwhelming right now. His grandparents were supposed to go to the boy’s house an hour ago. I’m anxiously waiting to hear what’s going on.”

  “I’d like to talk to Principal Bryant.” I heard someone ask.

  I sucked in a sharp breath, my eyes meeting Hannah’s before I jumped up, heading to the front office area. Everett stood next to Paula, head down. Behind them were Tristan Allard and presumably his parents.

  “Everett.”

  He looked up at me, his eyes full of regret.

  Paula stepped forward. “I don’t think you should be talking to him. You’re the reason he’s not in school.”

  I blocked out Paula’s cruel words, focusing on Everett. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” His tone was sullen.

  “I was so worried about you. I called your father and left him a message.”

  “I’m sorry for making you worry, Ms. Hatton.”

  I hoped the formality was because we were in school, not because he was upset with me. “Why didn’t you come to school?”

  I sensed Margaret watching and Principal Bryant’s presence at his doorway, but I had to know.

  “We just wanted to play video games,” Everett said.

  He was just being a kid, but it didn’t relieve my stress. “I’ll call your father and let him know so he won’t worry.”

  “I want to talk to you about this situation,” Paula said to Principal Bryant.

  I was sure Principal Bryant wanted to speak to her about the situation too. Why was Paula suddenly so invested in Everett when she wasn’t before? I didn’t like the panicky feeling that climbed up my throat at the idea of her talking to my boss alone.

  “Of course.” Principal Bryant gestured for Paula to enter his office, but she didn’t move.

  “Everett and Tristan, get a pass and get to class. We’ll talk about this later,” Principal Bryant said.

  Margaret handed the boys a pass. Tristan took his and left. Before Everett turned to leave, he said, “I really am sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Everett.” He’d screwed up, but he was a kid. I was the adult. I should have been more careful. I should have insisted I drive him t
o school or walk him to the bus.

  “This woman” —Mrs. Arrington pointed at me— “overstepped her position as a counselor. She’s babysitting Everett. She took Everett to see his father at the airport.”

  My face heated, blood rushed to my head. This was worse than anything I could have imagined. I took deep breaths, trying to clear my head. “Mason asked me to watch Everett last night. I had your permission to take Everett to the airport. I thought it would be good for Everett to greet his father when he came home after a six-month deployment.”

  I couldn’t read Principal Bryant’s face to see if he was concerned about anything she was saying.

  “I shouldn’t have to take time off work to look for Everett when he’s supposed to be in your care. If you’re so incompetent maybe you shouldn’t be watching him when I can do it myself. Maybe you shouldn’t be working here.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong—”

  “Maybe you’re so wrapped up in Everett’s situation to get to his father. You’re using him.” Paula gripped her purse tightly, taking a step closer to me.

  “We don’t have an inappropriate relationship. I watched his dog when he was deployed. I was genuinely trying to help Everett. My relationship with Mason naturally evolved from that.” I hoped Mason wouldn’t mind me outing us. I didn’t have a choice. Not when so much was at stake.

  Principal Bryant held his hands up. “I think we’re way off course here. Let’s discuss your concerns in my office.”

  Paula nodded, preceding him into his office before he shut the door.

  I stood there shell-shocked after the door to his office shut. The office was silent. The other office workers not saying anything. I was embarrassed that they’d witnessed Mrs. Arrington’s hateful words. That she’d brought that kind of drama into my workplace.

  I hoped this incident and Paula’s accusations wouldn’t affect my placement here or somewhere else. I walked back to my office, Hannah stopping me before I walked inside with a hand to my arm. “It will be okay. I promise.”