by Lea Coll
I nodded, unable to meet her gaze as I shut the door to my office, tears welling up and spilling over.
I wanted to wallow in self-pity, but I wanted to let Mason know Everett was okay. I called, leaving another voicemail, careful to keep my voice upbeat, so he wouldn’t know I was upset. All that mattered was that we’d found Everett and Tristan.
After I’d calmed down, Principal Bryant summoned me into his office.
“Of course,” I said to him, hanging up the phone, my stomach dropping.
When I entered his office, he gestured toward a chair. “Have a seat.”
I nodded a bit like a robot even though my insides were twisted in knots, the headache that formed when he’d said Everett had skipped school, now a throbbing ache.
Principal Bryant sat in his chair, clasping his hands on the desk in front of him. “Tell me what you were thinking when you took a student to the airport to see his father?”
My heart thudded in my chest, horrified Mrs. Arrington’s accusations might ruin Principal Bryant’s opinion of me. “Like I said, I’m dating Mason Arrington.”
“That’s not what you told the grandmother. She said you asked permission to do it, but it was in your capacity as a counselor.”
I licked my lips, choosing my words carefully. “I suppose that’s true. At the time, I wasn’t dating Mason. I thought it was important for Everett to be there to greet his father.” I had altruistic motivations but looking back it was one more reason my past employers were frustrated with me. I took my relationship beyond the school.
“We keep our services here in the school and communicate with the parents via email and phone or meetings in the office to avoid any appearance of impropriety.”
“I called the grandparents when they were the guardians several times and they didn’t respond. They didn’t want to be bothered. In my professional opinion, I think his father’s deployment, his mother’s abandonment, and his grandparents’ disinterest in him was causing a lot of turmoil for Everett. I realize I might have overstepped.” Between the Arrington’s accusations and Principal Bryant’s, I felt sick. What had seemed like a good idea, a way to help someone, had been a mistake.
“I think you mean well, Mia, but you placed yourself in a bad position. We want the parents involved, but we can’t force it. We’re not the parents.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Maybe it was time for me to start thinking about a different career outside of schools.
“Paula Arrington approved your actions and I advised her of that. I’m assuming Everett’s father, Mason Arrington feels similarly.”
“Yes, he was happy his son was there to greet him.” I held my body stiff, unsure what Principal Bryant would say.
“You’re a great counselor, Mia. Sometimes, parents or guardians will have issues with what we’re doing. It’s part of the job, unfortunately. I realize you have a relationship with Everett’s father, and you would never do anything inappropriate, but I would be careful of that woman. She seems determined to make a problem for you.”
I was speechless for a few seconds, surprised that he wasn’t holding me responsible. “Will this be going in my file?”
“No.”
I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants before standing to leave. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I stepped out of his office, closing the door behind me, relieved there wouldn’t be a mark on my record, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d screwed up. That Everett skipped school on my watch. I couldn’t get Paula’s hateful words out of my head. Would Mason be disgusted with me too?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mason
When we landed, Mark picked us up in a van to head back to Cole Security Forces. After the others brought Mark up to speed on the mission, I put my battery back into my phone, powering it up, to see numerous missed voicemails and texts. Reading through Mia’s first, my heart skipped a beat. Everett was missing. My heart dropped.
“Everything okay?” Mark asked.
“I have all of these messages saying Everett didn’t show up at school. They couldn’t figure out where he was.” Mia’s messages started with how she’d seen Everett leave to go to the bus, he’d forgotten his lunch, and when she went to take it to him, she realized he never arrived at school. She was sorry. She called my mother and was able to track him to another student’s home. Her last message was more upbeat, they’d found Everett. He was in school, safe. My parents stepped in to help.
Sorry for what? Everett skipping school wasn’t her fault. I didn’t walk him to the bus stop anymore, giving him that little bit of freedom he’d asked for. He had his phone. The stop was only a few houses down the street.
I listened to the voice mails from the principal. The last one indicating they’d found Everett at another boy’s home playing video games. He’d be punished for skipping school with after-school detention, which was understandable. I was glad to hear he’d returned to school. My parents called to say they picked Everett up from school and he’d be staying with them until I returned.
I wish he was with Mia, but Everett’s emergency contact sheet lists my parents as the one to call if I wasn’t available. I couldn’t blame her or the school for following it.
“They found him. He was playing video games with some friends.”
Mark shook his head, laughing. “The things I have to look forward to when my kids are older.”
“Thankfully, it wasn’t something worse. They weren’t getting into trouble.”
I wanted to get to my parents and find out everything I’d missed. Not for the first time, I felt guilty for leaving him.
“Good luck.” Mark pulled into a parking spot.
“Thanks.” I stepped out of the van, crossing the lot to my truck. I backed out before driving as fast as I could within the speed limit to get to Everett.
Pulling up their drive, my heart rate picked up. How should I handle this? I was angry he’d done something like this when Mia was watching him. Should I get all the information first and handle Everett at home? That seemed like the best solution. I knocked on the door. Mom pulled it open, her expression pinched. “There you are.”
“I just got back. How is he?”
“He’s fine. He skipped school to play video games.” She pulled the door open wider for me to enter.
Everett sat on the couch, head down. I nodded to my father who was watching the news in his recliner as I crossed the room.
I sat next to him on the couch. “Hey, buddy. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“I skipped school.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Why?” My body was rigid as I waited for his answer.
“I don’t know. Tristan wanted to play games. It sounded like fun.” His voice was monotone, but there was something else simmering under the surface.
Was he angry at me? “Let’s go. We can finish this conversation at home.” When my parents weren’t watching and listening to everything.
“Yeah. Sure.” Everett grabbed his backpack and rose to stand.
“We need to talk about this,” Mom said, her arms crossed over her chest.
“We do, but I need to speak to Everett first.” I walked toward the door, not wanting to deal with my mom’s opinions on what happened.
“If Mia can’t handle Everett, maybe he should stay with us when you’re gone for work.”
“Everett needs to take responsibility for this. He’s at fault. This isn’t on Mia. You have your business and she’s—” Everything to me. “The woman I’m seeing. I trust her.”
“I think it’s inappropriate for you to be dating your son’s school counselor.”
All she cared about was appearances but the only people’s feelings that mattered were Everett and mine’s. “I don’t want to have this conversation in front of Everett.”
“You trust her, and she couldn’t ensure Everett made it to school in the same building she works at. Why didn’t
she drive him?”
“First of all, she did exactly what I do every morning. I don’t walk him to the bus stop. He made the decision to skip school. He’ll deal with the consequences.” The school’s and mine.
“If that’s how you want to describe it, but I think you’re being naive. Principal Bryant told me she’s a temporary counselor. She’s never held a full-time position in the district and she never will if I have a say.”
Could Mia lose her job over this? Over me? “You don’t. This isn’t your responsibility.”
She crossed her arms over her chest as my father came to stand next to her. “It is when I get a call from the school.”
Here it was. She was annoyed she’d been called in to deal with this and was striking out at everyone. “I’m going to talk to Mia before I jump to any conclusions.”
My dad was silent, allowing my mother to take charge as usual. I wished he’d stepped in and handled things. He was calmer and more reserved. He acted with reason, not overreacting. I’m sure Mom spread her vitriol at the school, jeopardizing Mia’s job when all she’d done was a favor for me.
“I’m leaving. Thank you for handling this while I was gone,” I said stiffly.
“I’d rather watch Everett then get a call he’s missing when I’m at work.”
“I make the decisions for Everett, not you.” Each word carefully measured so she’d understand.
My mom liked to have the last word. She was indifferent about things until they affected her. I’d deferred to her in the past because I wasn’t here, but now I was. Things would be different. Everett was my responsibility and Mia was—what, my girlfriend? The most important thing in my life next to my son. I’d protect her too, from my mom’s accusations and anyone else’s. I didn’t think there was anything anyone could say that would make me feel differently about her.
“Let’s go,” I said to Everett, pulling the door open for him. He cooperated without another word, probably happy to be leaving my parents’ house. Most likely, she’d been berating him all evening for his behavior. She’d done the same to me when I’d gotten into trouble.
I waited until we were inside the cab of my truck, backing down the driveway. I tried to temper my emotions after the heated discussion with my mother, so my voice was calm. “Want to tell me what the hell you were thinking?”
I knew he wasn’t. He wasn’t thinking that skipping school could jeopardize Mia’s position at the school, her job, her career.
“I don’t know. I didn’t feel like going to school.”
I struggled to stay silent, waiting for him to tell me more.
“I intended to go to school, but I got a message while I was at the bus stop. Tristan said his brother has an apartment above the garage we could use when he was at work. We could play video games all day.”
Any kid would rather do that than go to school. At least they weren’t on the streets getting into trouble, but his actions had consequences. “You’re grounded. No phone.”
To his credit, he didn’t argue.
“You put Mia in a really bad situation with her boss. She could be reprimanded or lose her job.” I didn’t think that could happen, but at the very least, she’d had to reveal we were dating, that she was responsible for Everett this morning. I wasn’t sure how that would affect her.
“What? Why?” Regret tinged Everett’s voice.
“She was responsible for you this morning and you didn’t show up to school. She had to tell her boss that.”
“I never thought about that.”
“Of course, you didn’t. You’re a kid. You only think about yourself, but you need to start thinking about others. Your actions affect those around you. Even if you don’t care about your grades at school, your reputation, or your spot on the baseball team, Mia cares about her job, her career, how her boss views her.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
I glanced over at him, guilt etched in the tightness of his face. I couldn’t remember a time he’d apologized for anything. It wasn’t something my parents ever did, and I guess I’d just carried on the tradition. “I think it would be good if you apologize to Mia.”
“I will.” Everett was quiet for a few minutes, looking out the window. “Grandma was upset Mia took me to the airport. She said it wasn’t right.”
My muscles tensed in anger that Mom tried to influence Everett’s opinion of Mia because Everett’s skipping school interrupted her day. “It was a nice thing for Mia to do.”
“If Grandma told Principal Bryant about it, could Mia lose her job?”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t think so, but I’m not sure.” I hated that she could potentially lose her job because of something I asked her to do. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. I wanted to handle things with Everett as much as I wanted to check in with Mia to see how she was doing.
“Will you talk to Principal Bryant and make him understand that it was my fault?”
“You can explain that to him when you meet with him first thing tomorrow.” This might be a good learning experience for Everett. His choices have consequences, not only for him, but everyone in his life. Maybe he’d think twice before acting impulsively in the future.
“Okay. Will you talk to him too? I’m not sure he’ll listen to me.”
“I’ll be there.” Mark would understand since he knew what was going on.
I pulled into our driveway, shutting the engine off, so we were surrounded by darkness. “You scared me today, Everett. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.” Not even the first time I landed a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier. Thankfully, that feeling was short-lived since he’d been found so quickly.
“I’m sorry, Dad. It won’t happen again.”
“I’m happy no one was hurt, but you destroyed the trust I had in you. When you walked out the door, I trusted that you were getting on the bus and going to school. It will be a while before I’m able to trust you again.”
It was fairly innocent. What kid hadn’t skipped school at one time or another, but Everett would learn things like this were bigger than him and skipping school—the police were called, people searched for him, Mia was blamed for it, and his grandparents had to leave their job to find him.
“I get that.”
“Let’s go inside. I need to make sure Mia’s okay.” Except once I’d settled down on the couch after letting Stark outside, Mia’s phone went directly to voice mail. I wanted to talk to her. No. I needed to talk to her, to see that she was okay. She handled everything today herself. I wasn’t there to support her, to run interference between my parents and Principal Bryant. If I had been there, my parents wouldn’t have been involved. Things might not have escalated.
It was the airport trip that showed me she’d go to great lengths to do nice things for people she barely knew. It was then I knew she was special. She wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before. I couldn’t regret her actions, not when it brought us together and helped me connect with my son.
There was no way I was leaving Everett to go to her house, no matter how much I wanted to. I didn’t trust him at all.
Everett came downstairs. “How is she?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know. Her phone goes directly to voice mail.”
“Are you going to her?” Everett’s eyes were troubled.
“I can’t. I can’t leave you here.” The realization that I couldn’t go to Mia stuck like a weight on my chest.
Guilt and shame warred on his face. “I’m sorry, Dad. I really screwed up.”
“I left her a voicemail. Hopefully, she’ll be at school tomorrow and I can talk to her then.”
Except she wasn’t at school the next day. I sat through Everett’s meeting with Principal Bryant when he apologized for his actions.
He’d serve his detention after school today. I asked if Everett could make up for the damage to the locker room by doing maintenance or landscaping around the school. Principal Bryant suggested working t
he concessions at sporting events that didn’t interfere with baseball. I was proud that Everett easily agreed. Originally, I thought I could make him work off the money owed, but it was probably best he worked for someone else. He needed to be accountable to other people too.
When he went back to class, I leaned forward in my chair, my elbows resting on my knees. “I asked Mia to watch Everett.”
“She said you’re dating.” Principal Bryant leaned his elbows on the desk.
I ran my fingers through my hair, unsure if I was making things worse for Mia by talking to him. “That’s right. I don’t know if she’ll be in trouble for what happened yesterday. I know my parents weren’t happy being called from work.”
Principal Bryant steepled his hands. “They were upset with how Mia handled things. Not only yesterday but the day she took Everett to the airport when you came home.”
I leaned my elbows on my knees. “Mia didn’t overstep. I met her when she volunteered to watch my dog for me through a program called Dogs on Deployment. She happened to be the counselor here and made sure Everett was settled in his first day. The whole time I was gone, she kept me informed when he had issues, gave me advice to help him. When I came home, I hadn’t planned on anyone meeting me at the airport. My parents didn’t want to take the time off work to bring Everett. Apparently, Mia asked my mom’s permission to bring him. It was good for Everett to see me coming home. It was a great moment for us. She met with me here in her office to discuss ways I could help Everett with my transition from the military to civilian life. She’s been nothing short of amazing. She’s a great counselor, an asset to the school.” Maybe I was going overboard but I didn’t care.
I’d stood up for people under my command before, but never for someone I loved. I loved her. Somehow in the last twenty-four hours, I realized I needed Mia in my life, not because of what she could bring to my life or how she made it better by being in it, but because of how I felt about her. There was this overwhelming sense of love, appreciation, desire, and need to be with her.