23. Sabrina

Bright light blinded me when I stepped from the house to the yard. I stopped to let my eyes adjust and to steady my voice. “What’s wrong? Is he sick?”

“No, ma’am.” The quiet drone of the old man’s voice set my nerves on edge. “Your son was involved in a fight.”

A screech pulsed at the back of my throat. My idiot half brothers continued their game of throwing my books back and forth to each other, deliberately missing the passes and letting the books fall to the ground. Pages littered the grass, the torn, ragged edges reminiscent of my heart. “Can you tell me what happened?” I bit the words out in short, clipped syllables, picked up as many of Keith’s clothes as I could carry, and hustled back to my car. I risked one more trip for the rest of his clothes and did my best to ignore the indignation at leaving my books and clothes behind. I’d find a way to get by.

Twisted family dynamics and a hell-bent desire to prove myself gave me the strength to climb into my car and put it in drive after hanging up on the school principal. The calm drive to the school did nothing to settle my nerves, and I walked in with a forced smile for Keith’s sake. A woman sitting in the front office directed me to Principal Chandler with a soft but indecipherable shake of her head. Did she find Keith abhorrent like my father did me? Or was my son the victim here? He’d never been in a fight before. In moments like this, I wished Keith had a steady, dependable man he could look up to.

“Miss Roberts?” A short man with bushy sideburns and thick eyebrows held open the office door. “Please come in.”

Keith sat in front of the worn desk, his arms crossed and a sullen look pulling his chin to his chest.

I crossed to sit beside him and pushed his curls up from his forehead. “Are you okay?”

Principal Chandler groaned and sat, lacing his hands together on top of the desk. “You should be asking the other boy that.”

“No, I shouldn’t.” There were a lot of options when it came to raising and caring for a child. His well-being, both physical and mental, was my primary concern. “My son is my concern.” I kept my focus on Keith, who raised his head at my sharp tone. I lowered it and gave him a questioning look. “Are you okay?”

A quick nod and the flash of thanks in his eyes were more than enough justification for giving him the benefit of the doubt and showing him that I cared more about him than anything else. I’d never gotten that growing up and I’d rot in hell before I let Keith think I didn’t care about him.

“Miss Roberts, I’m sorry to have to tell you that Keith was in a serious altercation today.” He sounded about as sorry as a screech owl in the middle of the night.

Keith fidgeted in his chair, a flicker of anger dancing across his face with such intensity that it sucked the air from the room.

I settled him with a look and a pat on the shoulder. “What happened?”

“Your son hit another boy.” Tight lips pressed together, Principal Chandler pointed both his index fingers at Keith. “We have a strict no-fighting policy.”

“Why?” I met Keith’s narrowed gaze. “Why did you hit him?” I couldn’t care less about the school policy. Why did my son feel the need to inflict pain on someone else? The image of my half brothers harassing me throughout the years stampeded through my thoughts. Was he following their example because it was what he knew? For fuck’s sake. Why didn’t I leave sooner?

“It doesn’t matter why.” The principal drew out the last word, his voice rising in pitch. “Our policy is absolute.”

“Stop talking.” I pointed at him, letting him see the full strength of a mama bear coming out in me. “Keith, what happened?”

The dark sullenness that had been shrouding my son lifted. He heaved a breath, his chin quivering. “Lucas has been picking on me for weeks. He stole my lunch money and hit me with a basketball during recess.”

“They’re boys,” Principal Chandler cut in.

“Shut it.” I snapped my fingers in his face. “Did my son report these incidents?”

“I told Mrs. Ross, my science teacher. She said she’d take care of it, but the next day, Lucas pushed me into the wall and told me to stop being a tattletale or I’d be sorry.”

The rushing need to protect Keith blocked out everything else. “You let this boy harass my son?” I shot a look at the principal so full of venom that his face bleached white as snow.

“Now, Miss Roberts, the reports were unsubstantiated. No one saw Lucas do anything.” A wheedling note made his words whistle in a nasally pitch.

Drawing up his courage, Keith sat forward. “Today, he locked me inside a bathroom stall, and when I crawled under the door, he pushed me and tried to shove my head in the toilet. That’s when I hit him.”

I couldn’t help the surge of pride welling up. My son, my precious boy, had been faced with one of life’s great injustices, and he fought back. Did I approve of his violence? Not exactly. “Will this Lucas be punished for what he’s put Keith through?”

Principal Chandler tugged at his collar. “Well, you see …” He cleared his throat. “The bathroom incident was not recorded or documented. The boys were in there alone.”

“I suggest you correct that. My son will not be afraid to come to school for fear of what will happen to him every time a teacher turns away.” I stood and looked down at the sorry excuse for a principal, letting him see my disappointment before I held out a hand to Keith and pulled him to his feet. “It’s not right to hurt people. You understand that, right?” I waited for his nod before I continued. “But I am proud of you for defending yourself.”

“Miss Roberts.” Principal Chandler gasped. “How can you promote violence?”

“I’m not.” The heat of my stare found his wide eyes. “You are. You are perpetuating violence by not listening to your students. I’m sorry my son felt the need to defend himself. That fault lies with you, not him. If you had done your job properly, none of this would have happened.” I held Keith’s hand, offering us both comfort. “And if anything like this ever happens again, you can rest assured I’ll notify every parent in the school that you are incapable of protecting their children from a common, everyday bully.”

White rimmed the man’s mouth from the pressure he exerted on his lips. He took a noisy breath through his nose. “If you’re quite finished, I should inform you that Keith is suspended from school for three days.”

My stomach plummeted, but I kept my expression firmly in check. “He did nothing wrong.”

“Not according to school rules.”

“So, according to you, my son should have let this other boy shove his head into a nasty toilet where he might catch any manner of disease?” The innocent tone belied everything happening inside my body.

“That’s beside the point. No one can prove that is what happened. I can assure you that if Keith’s story is true?—”

“Why would he lie?” I interjected.

He held up a hand. “If his story is true, then Lucas will be dealt with as well. Now, please leave the building. Keith may return on Wednesday.”

What was I supposed to do now? Keith’s hand still firm in mine, we walked from the room, our steps quiet on the thin carpet. The woman at the receptionist’s desk watched us from the side until we reached the front door and stepped out beneath the metal roof.

Keith’s hand trembled in mine. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” I squeezed his hand. “You did the right thing, even though he says it’s the wrong thing. I wish you’d never been put in that position. It wasn’t fair and you’re far too young for this kind of nonsense.”

“I didn’t hit him hard.” He glanced up at me, a tiny smile edging his lips upward. “Just a little one. Right here.” He made a fist and tapped his shoulder. “He was so surprised that he fell down.” The smile fell. “That’s when he started crying. That made me feel bad.”

“Remorse is good, Keith. It means that you really didn’t want to hurt him.” I led him to the car and we settled in for the drive to our new home. Keith continued to chatter for the entirety of the drive, giving my mind time to wander. What was I going to do? Three days without work. I couldn’t ask Miranda to watch him this time, not after how she reacted today, and especially not if it meant her having to miss work for me. This was why I’d tried to institute a backup plan when Keith started school. Tried and failed. Year after year.

Once I had Keith playing in his room, I backed toward the kitchen. “I need to make a call.” The nauseous rolling intensified even as I blew out a breath and tapped Chase’s contact button.

He answered before the end of the first ring. “Sabrina?”

“I … I need a three-day leave from work.” Better to say it all and once and get it over with so he could fire me and be done with the whole thing.

“Okay. I need a little clarification, please. What’s wrong?” No hesitation or uncertainty in his voice. Nothing but concern that cinched it for me once and for all.

I could fall in love with him. With all of them. As scary as the thought was, I welcomed it even as part of me tried to reject the emotions for fear of what I’d lose in the long run.

“It’s nothing. Home stuff.”

“Sabrina, please tell me what’s wrong. Are you sick? Is Keith sick again?” The sound of pacing steps leaped through the phone, followed by muffled voices.

Russell and Garrett spoke in the background. “What’s going on?” Russell. I’d know that deep voice anywhere.

“Sabrina needs three days off work but won’t tell me why.” Chase’s pacing increased. “What do we need to do?”

Was this what it felt like to be taken care of, to have someone concerned for your well-being? Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I explained about Keith’s fight and why I couldn’t come in. Chase listened without interrupting and his pacing stopped. When I finished, his voice soothed the nausea I’d struggled to tamp down. “I hope he’s okay. Tell him he did the right thing. You can have the three days, with pay.”

“I don’t qualify for that.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re updating the policy, effective immediately. Stay home and take care of your kid.” Russell joined us, his voice clear enough to tell me I’d been put on speakerphone.

Garrett chuckled. “Take him out for ice cream.”

“We’re not advocating for violence,” I reminded him.

“Right. Right.”

I could almost hear him rolling his eyes at me, and I smiled for the first time since we’d been together in the storage room earlier today. How the hell was it still the same day? “You don’t have to pay me for the day off. But I appreciate letting me stay home with Keith.”

For the first time since I got the job, I felt the imbalance of power between us. They held all the cards, all the power. All I had was a small house I couldn’t afford, a job that I was sure to lose as soon as they found out the truth about me, and I was falling in love with my father’s best friends.

I was, in a word, screwed. Nothing ever came to me for free. I’d started out trying to gain my independence from Dad while proving to him that I could be an asset to the family. I’d wanted to make my own way.

Where had that gotten me? Trapped in an even deeper hole where I relied on Russell’s goodwill to keep my new house and Chase’s guilt that made him pay me even when I couldn’t work. Garrett was the only one who I didn’t feel like I owed anything. That would change.

“See you next week.” Chase’s voice popped the doom and gloom bubbles holding me hostage. They tried to make something bright and cheerful from the ashes of the day, but I was too tired to hold on to the joy. “Thanks. See you later.” Ending the call, I flopped backward onto the couch and considered my options. Plans needed to be made, an exit strategy for when this whole thing went south.

How much longer could it possibly last before they figured out I wasn’t worth all this trouble?