Page 33 of An Unexpected Turn
“Shit.” His heavy sigh made my chest squeeze. “You’re sure he’s all right?”
“Upset and shaken up, but other than a scratch on his cheek, he’s physically fine.”
“Thank God. But I can’t get him now. I have a truck full of equipment to drop off at the office first.”
“He can stay in my office until you come. I’ll see if I can get him to calm down a little before you get here.”
“This shouldn’t take long to drop off. I can be there in twenty minutes. Is that okay?”
“I’ll make it okay. Just get here when you can.”
“Thank you. This means a lot. Tell my son I’m not mad and we’ll talk about it all when I get there.
“No problem. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”
“And Peyton, I’m glad he has you with him. And don’t say you’re just doing your job.”
“Okay, I won’t.” A wide grin split my cheeks despite my worry for them both.
“Your dad is on his way,” I said to Mike after I shut my office door behind me. “I hope you remember that you can talk to me. And the next time you complain and it falls on deaf ears, this office is always open to you. I’m happy to be the bad guy to keep my students safe.”
He leaned forward, scrubbing a hand down his face before he swiveled his head toward me.
“Aaron punched him on purpose, I think. I just swatted him away and landed on his nose by accident.”
“Fighting isn’t allowed, as Principal Swift said, but you were defending yourselves and your friend. That took guts.”
“Dad is going to kill me.” He sighed before he dropped his head between his knees.
“Your dad specifically told me to let you know he wasn’t mad. He’s upset because you’re hurt, but not upset at you.”
He nodded slowly and rubbed his eyes.
“I didn’t want to bother you. It’s not like I’m not used to being picked on.” A sad smile pulled at his lips.
“First of all”—I stood from my chair and took the seat next to Mike in front of my desk—“it’s my job, so you aren’t bothering me. And second, you should never get used to being picked on. I am here to help you, and so are your teachers.”
I spied a tiny nod from Mike. I tapped his sneaker with my foot to make him look up.
“So, next time this happens, what are you going to do?” I lifted an eyebrow and tapped my finger on the armrest.
A smirk twitched at the side of his mouth, and at that moment, he looked so much like his father that my heart squeezed.
“Tell you because it’s your job and I’m not bothering you.”
“There you go.”
Our heads whipped around at a loud knock on my door. When I creaked it open, Jake burst into my office, taking Mike’s face in his hands.
“Let me look at you.”
“He’s okay,” I whispered, feeling like an interloper in my own office as I glanced between them both. “Just a little shaken up. As I told Mike earlier, this is off the record, but he was pretty brave today. Fighting should never be the answer, but I think he did what he had to do.”
Jake grabbed the back of his son’s head and pulled Mike into his chest. His body slumped against his father with palpable relief.
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
“What did Pey—Ms. Miller just say?” Jake shifted him back and squeezed the back of his neck. “You did what you had to do. I wish fighting was never necessary, but unfortunately, it sounds like it was today.”
