Page 38 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“No. Please, Nick. Please take me home,” I begged, my voice cracking as I fought back tears.
What kind of a person had I become? I didn’t cheat. I had vowed never to become like my parents. How could I do this to Logan? My sweet, wonderful boyfriend, who was having trouble adjusting to the fact that his girlfriend was now living in Montana while he stayed at home in New York.
“I am a terrible person. How could I do this to Logan?” I asked myself. Hearing my own words caused a new wave of tears.
“You’re not, Emmy,” Nick whispered to the top of my head as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Let me go, Nick. Please,” I sobbed into his chest.
“Never again,” he said, pulling me tighter into his warmth.
For a moment, I let him hold me while I cried. I let his soothing smell and his strong arms comfort me until I found the strength I needed to push him away and ask one last time.
“Take me home.”
“Rich?” I called into the principal’s office.
“Emmeline! Come in, please,” he said, standing from his desk. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m not sure what to do about a student and I was wondering if I could get your thoughts,” I said as we both sat.
“Of course. Which student?”
“Mason Carpenter.”
He frowned. “I wondered if there were going to be problems with Mason. What’s happening?”
“It’s been almost a month since he moved here and he hardly speaks. I’m getting worried that his behavior isn’t just because he’s shy. He doesn’t make eye contact with me. If I get too close, he flinches. He won’t have anything to do with the other kids except Rowen Cleary. He’ll whisper to her and then she’ll tell me what he says.”
“That is a bit extreme. I’ve seen some kids act like that for the first few days, maybe even a week, but then they get used to the new setting. Has he gotten at all better over the last month?” Rich asked.
“No. I worry about his behavior, but on top of that, his appearance is throwing up all these red flags. Every day this week he’s come to school dirty and he’s been wearing flip-flops to school. I haven’t seen him with socks or a pair of sneakers yet. It’s much too cold for flip-flops.”
My worries over Mason Carpenter had grown significantly, especially after this morning. His normally brown hair had been almost black with grease and he had been clouded with a foul odor. His poor little toes had been almost blue. If something wasn’t done, and soon, he’d be at risk for frostbite.
“Let me do some checking around,” Rich said. “He transferred here from Bozeman. I’ll give his previous school a call and see if they can share anything. I’ll also poke around a bit and see if I can learn more about his home situation. You might try and ask him about it too.”
“Okay. I doubt he’ll tell me but it’s worth a try.”
“Let’s start documenting all of this. Can you jot down some notes and email them to me? We’ll want dates and specific examples in case we need to involve Child Protective Services.”
“Yes. Absolutely. I’ll do that this afternoon when the kids leave. Is there anything else we can do? What about his shoes?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do.”
“What if he doesn’t have any warm shoes? Could I buy him some?”
“I’d be careful. Your offer is very generous and I’m not saying that you can’t, but there’s a fine line between getting your students gifts and providing things that parents and guardians should be responsible for. Especially if you are buying for only one child,” he said.
“Understood. It’s just heartbreaking. How long will it t
ake for the authorities to get involved if there is some type of abuse or neglect happening at home?”
“Depending on the severity of the situation, it could be months. Let’s concentrate on building a thorough file, and when it’s enough, we can contact social services. But even after we involve them, this could be a lengthy process. Unless we can irrefutably prove that Mason is in immediate danger, he’ll likely stay where he is for a while.”
“That’s not okay. Not if he is being neglected.”
“I agree. It shouldn’t take that long. But, right now, the most important thing for you to do is to keep Mason safe while he is here. Be there for him in case he does decide to talk. Provide him with a safe learning environment.”
