Page 75 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“No, it’s not, and I’m fixing this now.” He strode toward the principal’s office as the secretary jumped up and chased after him.
“You can’t go in there,” she said, but he grabbed the handle and threw the door open wide with a bang. Principal Sharpe jumped and turned away from the window.
“Give me a moment,” Sharpe said before covering the bottom of his cell. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, I told him he can’t come in here, but he just stormed in.”
“I need to speak to you now and it can’t wait,” Kes said, and then he grabbed Ashley’s hand to pull her over to the chairs before sitting down. She slowly followed suit and gave him a glare, but didn’t say anything.
“I’m going to have to call you back, I have a situation I need to take care of.” Sharpe hung up the phone and looked at the secretary. “It’s fine, I’ll take care of this, please close the door.”
She grumbled something under her breath but left the three of them alone. Principal Sharpe took a moment to look between the two of them. “Do I even want to know?”
Kes placed the paperwork on the desk. “I need you to undo this, now. Ashley is not transferring, and you will remove all flags and black marks that you have in your folder about her.”
“Kestrel, Ms. Hartley here made it quite clear that she wanted to leave.”
“Well, she doesn’t any longer.”
The principal sat down and placed his hands on the desk. “What is this?”
“All the issues that have come to you about Ashley have all been because of me. I have orchestrated every single one. Look, all you need to do is reinstate her and remove all the shit in your file that says she’s a troublemaker, that’s it.”
“That’s it?” Sharpe mocked. “Is this true, Ashley, has he been causing all the issues?”
Ashley sighed. “I’ve tried to tell you that over and over, but no one would listen to me. Yes, what he says is correct.” Even though Ashley didn’t say it, he could feel her wanting to add Dumbass to the end of the sentence.
Principal Sharpe leaned back in the high back leather chair and shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with this information. You’ve put me in a very difficult position, Kestrel.”
“Just fix the paperwork. I don’t care how you have to do it, just make this right.”
Principal Sharpe looked at Ashley. “Do you want him expelled?”
Ashley looked over and their eyes locked—this was her opportunity to get him in the trouble he deserved. “No, I don’t, and even if I wanted you to, I’m not stupid. I know his father is a major contributor to the school, so it would only hurt the school I love to try. I would like to stay, though, if Kes promises the bullying will stop for good.”
“I promise.”
“Oh, for the love of god. Fine, I will find a way to fix Ashley’s transcripts and I’ll tear up the transfer, but Kestrel, this is your one and only warning. If I find out you’re harassing or bullying anyone else then you will be tossed out and we will suffer the loss of your father’s money. Now the pair of you, get out of my office. I’m so sick of teenage drama.”
Smiling wide, he jumped up and held open the door for Ashley to walk through. The secretary gave him a dirty look as he grabbed the box off of her desk and continued on, but he didn’t care. His heart was literally soaring. It was the first right thing he’d done in a very long time.
Ashley touched his arm and he stopped walking to look down at her. “Thanks, Kes. I really hope you mean this and you’re not just screwing with me, though.”
“I’m not, and I’m not done proving myself to you yet. Come on, let’s get this stuff back into your locker.”
Kes jerked awake and sucked in a deep breath like he was coming up for air. He sat up straight and stared at Arek sitting in a chair across the way, while Ashley was curled up on the pair of seats beside him. He laid his hand on her shoulder and rubbed his thumb back and forth, just needing the contact.
“You good?” Arek asked. His body was stretched out, head against the glass wall of the small room with his eyes closed and hands folded in his lap. One eye opened enough for Kes to see the soft blue gaze shining back at him.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright.”
“You sure? I’ve been down that rabbit hole if you need someone to talk to?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m alright. I had an episode, but I’ll be fine now. Why are you here?”
Arek’s shoulders shrugged up. “Where else would I be when one of my brothers needs me?”
“This ‘nice guy’ routine—it’s not going to make me like you,” Kes warned while Arek smiled widely, their stares locked. “Fine, it may make me like you a little more.”
