Page 7 of Rage's Solace
“De rien. It was my pleasure.”
Glancing at my watch, I come to my feet. “We should get going. I’m supposed to meet with her principal at ten this morning.”
I shout out to Mia, “Time to leave for school. Say goodbye to Barley.”
***
When we arrive at school, it’s during class change. Mia seems a bit anxious. Maybe she’s worried that everyone in our small town found out that the cops shot her father who shot her mother. God, what a fucking clusterfuck this turned out to be.
I ask Mia quietly, “Are you okay. If you’re not ready to come back to school, I can talk to your mom about you staying home for a few more days or possibly doing virtual school for the rest of the year. What do you think?”
She glances around. I notice the other kids aren’t making eye contact with her. They’re looking everywhere except at us. Then I see Siege’s two oldest kids, Tommy and Louisa. They’ve got Rider’s daughter, Amy, with them. It occurs to me that they are probably around the same age as Mia. They all clamor around me asking questions, “Why are you here? Where’s Mia been?”
I frown down at them and explain without giving them too much information. “Mia is staying with me because her mom isin the hospital. I hope you’ll be extra nice to her. If you’re all good, I’ll give you a croissant on Saturday morning.”
Tommy asks excitedly, “And let us play with the dog?”
I give him a single nod because these kids are way too obsessed with Meli’s dog. “Yeah, you can play with the dog.”
They begin talking about how the dog sits upright in his easy chair like people.
Mia announces, “His name is Barley, and he likes to play fetch.”
Suddenly, they don’t want to know me and all clamor around Mia. They’ve all got ten million questions about Barley. On and on they go, right up until the bell rings for the next class.
I tell Mia, “Go on to class. I’m gonna meet with your principal. If we need to talk to you, I’ll text you.”
Amy gasps, “You have a phone? I want one too.”
This morning, I pulled out a burner phone for Mia, just in case her crazy grandfather shows up trying to take her home. I wasn’t sure if Priscilla had told me the whole story, I had the feeling there was more to it, but she made it clear that she didn’t want her child anywhere near her grandfather or uncle. I pat Amy on the shoulder and tell her, “Just enjoy being kids, Mia needs the phone because her circumstances are different.”
“Buteveryonehas a phone,” Amy wheedles.
“They do,” Tommy adds. His sister just nods.
Damn it, I’m not gonna get into a parenting argument with my club brothers. I hope I haven’t started something, instead I just say, “Well none of you have phones, do you?”
All three of them glare at me like I’m public enemy number one, “Ask your parents, but seriously, you don’t need a cellphone yet. You’re at school all day, if your parents need to get in touch they can call the principal.”
“Things are different now,” Tommy says, “Not like in the olden days.”
I can’t help laughing at that, I guess for ten-year-olds I probably am a fossil.
They all tromp off, still pestering Mia with questions, but I can tell by her expression she’s happy to be the center of attention for once. My visit with the principal is short and to the point. I give him the number to Priscilla’s hospital room, inform him that she has not been declared incompetent and he should direct all his questions to her. Truth be told, he’s acting a little odd, so I go ahead and verify what was already printed in the local paper. “Mia’s father took her and her mother hostage, shot her mother, and was killed by the police in self-defense. When the SWAT team breached the door, he started shooting at them.”
“Are you certain this is what transpired, or did you see it reported in the news? Mr. Whitmore had always been an upstanding citizen.”
Giving him a stern look, I tell him point blank, “I was the paramedic on the scene, trying to save her life when the SWAT team came. I saw it with my own eyes.”
The principal drops down into his seat, looking stunned. I put my card down on the desk in front of him. “Here’s my contact information in case you need it for transportation or anything pertaining to Mia. I’m sure her mother will want to meet with you when she is released from the hospital, just to check up and see how Mia is handling this whole situation. Be sure you have meaningful information to share with her.”
He nods, still looking a little shell-shocked. I guess it isn’t every day that something this extreme happens in our little town, so I can’t blame the man for being overwhelmed.
***
By the time I get to the hospital, Priscilla is sitting up in bed, trying to pick through a fairly unappetizing lunch. “Morning, Prissy girl. How are you feeling?”
She looks up at me, her face still bruised. When she smiles at me, my heart explodes in my chest. I can’t let this woman worm her way into my heart and break me all over again, like she did when we were young. I really want to ask her why she up and left me, everything between us had been wonderful. But then I got that letter saying she didn’t want anything to do with me. I’d tried to speak to her so many times, but her parents told me she wanted nothing more to do with me. When I heard that she was getting married to some rich dude, that’s when I signed up to the military.