Page 61 of Evil King

“You aren’t normally so glued to that thing. Don’t tell me you’re turning into a regular kid,” my mom said.

I locked my phone, sat it down, and looked up at her. “You worked so hard getting it for me, so I just wanna get your money’s worth.”

She shook her head. “All kids your age need one of those fancy phones. The overtime was worth it.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll pay you back someday, I promise.”

“You pay me back by making the most of your second chance,” she replied. “You’re a great man. I didn’t want to see what happened to you ruin your life. Now look at you. You’re in school. You can’t put your phone down. Friends, dates, parties. You’re turning into a proper teenager.” Her cheeks got a little darker, and she smiled wide. “That’s payment enough.”

The world didn’t deserve my mom. When I thought about letting her down, nothing made me sicker. She just wanted what was best for me. I had to try harder to keep myself straight. I’d take Connor’s coverup if for no reason other than to not disappoint the woman who’d given up so much for me, but I wanted my handouts from him to end there.

“Hey, can I ask you a question,” I started, curious.

“Sure,” my mom replied.

I took the final few bites of my breakfast before saying anything else, letting the few moments help me phrase my question. “Did you hear about what happened last year? With Nathan and that teacher?”

My mom seemed truly shocked and a little disturbed by the question. “You aren’t…associating with your brother again, are you?”

“No,” I replied. “I mean, I see him around, but no. I’m pretty much just friends with Sicily.”

“Good,” she said, letting out a sigh of relief, “and I did. Had a hell of a time escaping it for a while.”

“Escaping it?”

“Yeah, well, the ladies at work all know who your dad is, so it was forced on me. Like I should somehow be more concerned. I was concerned, don’t get me wrong. No kid should be in a situation like that, but it didn’t entirely come as a surprise to me. It seemed like Nathan was a chip off the old block.”

“How does a teacher not get fired for that?”

At that question, my mom went totally silent. She stared at me as if she knew something and was debating whether or not to tell me. Eventually, she just shrugged. “Strange things happen when you associate with the Loches.”

That brought my suspicions about Connor and Nathan back into my mind, along with Cherri’s guess that we were deep in the spider’s web. “So I’m learning.”

The silence that followed was awkward as my mom finished her breakfast and then eventually we realized simultaneously that I was late leaving the house. Even if Connor had somehow managed to cover everything up, not showing up to school would create real bad optics, so I quickly grabbed my backpack, kissed my mom on the cheek, and bolted out the door.

Despite the fact that the news of Miss Abrams hadn’t gotten out of Postings Proper, the state of things onthe school grounds was entirely different. Word had clearly spread, and there wasn’t a person who didn’t have their eyes on me as I walked from my car to the school. No one seemed to be whispering about it, at least, just keeping an eye on me, some with fear, others with piqued curiosity.

“Jesus,” Sicily hissed at me when I finally walked through the front doors. “Where the hell have you been?” he asked.

“I got to talking with my mom about…everything. I didn’t tell her about Miss Abrams, but she obviously has a different insight on some of the key players. I lost track of time,” I explained. “Did you figure some stuff out?”

“Yeah, man. We shouldn’t discuss it here, though.” He fanned his hands around. “Class has been canceled for grief counseling and shit, so let’s go find a corner, and we can—”

“Mr. Keane.” My heart sank as I turned around and saw that Principal Hix was approaching me.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello,” he replied. “Can you come with me for a moment please?” He looked at Sicily. “Your friend can come too. It won’t take long.”

I side-glanced Sicily, and though I wanted him to stay behind just in case someone had seen him bugging the classroom, he was smiling and already stepping forward. I nodded at Principal Hix, and we followed him down the admin hallway, into the front office, and finally back into his office. He didn’t shut the door, which made me feel a little better, and leaned against his desk with his arms crossed.

“I wanted to let you know that you’re off the hook,” Principal Hix said, and my jaw dropped. “I know,” Principal Hix continued. “I’m sure you assumed that, given your background, we would have jumped to the wrong conclusion, but as fate would have it, several students came into my office first thing this morning and confirmed your story. They heard you asking about being tutored and additionally heard Jessica…deteriorate. Some of our staff have confirmed that she seemed out of sorts as of late, so it seems perhaps you unintentionally triggered something in her.”

“Wow,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“How could you have known?” Principal Hix asked and then reached out and put a hand on my arm. “I’ve heard you really did try to stop her as well.”

“I did,” I said.