Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (22 page)

That night, Adley was in her bedroom and Lily was asleep in my bed. I made her promise to stay the night until we could figure out what to do about her father. I was sitting in the living room, with a beer, and staring at a picture of me, sitting with Grandma Violet on the front porch swing. It had been sitting on the fireplace mantel for as long as I could remember. The picture was old and the coloring was fading, but it was perfect. I was probably two years old and sitting in her lap. My head was leaned against her shoulder and we were both laughing.

A light tapping on the front door pulled me from my memories. I had no idea who would be at the house this late on the day of the funeral. I peeked out the front window, but I couldn’t see a car in the driveway. I opened the front door, but no one was there. I decided I must have imagined the knocking, but just as I was closing the door I heard metal squeaking and knew it was coming from the old porch swing. I stuck my head out and saw Mindi sitting on the swing pushing off the wood railing with her feet. For a few seconds I thought about locking the door behind me and hiding in the house to avoid whatever drama she’d come here to start, but I knew Mindi better than that and knew she wouldn’t leave it alone until she had her moment.

As I walked onto the front porch, the only sounds were the wood creaking under my feet and the squeaking of the swing. She wore a very low cut stringy top - exactly what a girl like Mindi would wear in this type of situation - further proving her desperation. I could feel my eyes roll and was thankful for the darkness hiding it. Just when I was about to get irritated and ask her what she thought she was doing here, she looked up at me. I could see the tear stains on her face and the sadness in her eyes.

“She’s in there right now, isn’t she?” she whispered.

“What?” was my clever reply.

“You know what I’m asking, Dean. Don’t play anymore games with me...please.”

“Mindi, I’ve never played games with you.” I paused and thought back a little, realizing my statement wasn’t exactly correct. “Okay, I might have played a small game four years ago, but I’ve done nothing to encourage you now. You’ve known all along where my heart belonged.”

Her eyes grew large and I could tell she was surprised by my honesty. “So you’re admitting that you’ve been having an inappropriate relationship with a student?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t say that at all. If you’d calm down and take a step back, I think you’d realize that you’re being unreasonable and a little crazy.”

“I’m not being unreasonable and I’m definitely not crazy. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a fellow teacher not to fraternize with my students.” I could almost feel the anger roll from her skin and I swore that steam was going to rise from her head any second.

“Lily was important to me long before she was a student to either of us. My feelings have nothing to do with her as a student. I’ve known her since the day she was born and I’ve only worked at that school for a few months. Don’t create drama where there is none.”

“Then answer my question. Is she in your house right now?”

I paused, trying to decide what the right answer was. “Do you think I’d be out here wasting my time talking to you if the woman I loved was in my house at this very second?”

“I’ve seen you holding hands with her, I’ve seen you kiss her, and now you’re admitting that you love her. How can you deny that you’re breaking the rules right now?”

“Are you here throwing this fit because you think I’m truly breaking the rules, or are you here because you don’t want me to be with Lily?”

I could see her anger as the moonlight reflected off her face. “Both. You’re breaking the rules and you shouldn’t be with Lily. You don’t belong with her, you belong with me.”

“So there it is. You’ve finally admitted why you’re acting like this. You’ve had it in your head for years that we should be together and you just won’t give it up, no matter what I say, will you?”

“No. You haven’t even given us a chance. I know we could be happy together if you’d just try, but instead you’ve always been so focused on that girl.”

“I’ve always been focused on Lily because I’ve loved her since we were kids. I’ve always felt this way about her, even when our worlds were falling apart. I know you probably can’t understand that, but my heart has always and will always belong to her. If we can’t be together until school ends, I’ll wait.”

“Then why can’t you give me a chance until then?” I could see the hope in her eyes and knew I had to finally put an end to this. I’d been nice long enough.

“It will never happen, Mindi. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I love Lily and have no desire to be with you. I don’t even want to be friends with you after all of this, much less anything romantic. I don’t know why you can’t understand that. Move on and find someone that actually wants you!” I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I found myself yelling at her as she practically cowered on the swing and started to cry.

“I don’t understand. I’ve done nothing but love you for years and the one time you gave me a chance was just to make her jealous. I don’t deserve this. You should treat me better.”

“There is nothing between us and as far as I’m concerned we never have to speak again. I’m sorry that you’ve been hurt, but beyond our one night together I’ve never done or said anything to make you think I cared for you. I was eighteen, when we were together and it meant nothing.”

She quickly stood from the swing and pointed her finger in my face. “Maybe it didn’t mean anything to you, but it meant something to me. I’ve spent years waiting for you. You will regret this, both of you will.” She stomped down the steps and around the side of the house. I waited until I heard her engine turn over and watched as she drove away, hopefully for good.

When I went back into the house I saw Lily standing in the hallway. She looked nervous and I knew she must have heard at least part of the conversation.

“What are you doing up?” I asked, hoping to relieve some of her worry by acting like I hadn’t just had an emotional conversation with a lunatic.

“She isn’t going to drop it. You know that, right? I never realized it before but she’s half crazy and I don’t think she’s going to drop this without a fight.”

I hugged her close and smoothed her long hair the way I knew she liked. “You don’t know that. It’ll be okay. I promise nothing is going to happen. I won’t let it.”

“You don’t have to protect me all the time, Dean. I might not look or act like it, but I’m pretty tough and don’t scare easily,” she mumbled against my chest.

I pulled her back to look into her eyes. “Actually, Lily, I’ve never met anyone stronger than you. You amaze me daily with your strength and determination. You’ve always faced life head-on and conquered anything in your path. I’ve never thought I
had
to protect you, but I’ve always
wanted
to protect you.”

A smile lit her face, but she shook her head. “I’m really not strong. Most of the time I think I’m scared of my own shadow. I’ve just never had a choice but to face whatever troubles I’ve encountered. I had no where to go, no one to run to. I’ve never stood up to anyone. I just let life control me and reacted to whatever was happening.”

I took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. “Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree because I’ve never seen anything control you. You’ve always stood strong against any troubles thrown your way, even when you were a kid. It’s one of the things I love about you which makes me an expert on the matter.”

I shut the bedroom door behind us and we crawled into bed for the night.

It was my first day back to school since Violet’s funeral and Dean’s first day back in weeks. They still hadn’t decided how he was going to make up the work from his time away. He was worried that he would have to finish in the
next
school year, but the principal promised to try and work it out since he had a very valid reason for being gone.

The day was a normal, boring day at Kolby high until the start of fifth hour. Before the class started, a student appeared at the door saying the principal wanted to see me. I’d never been called to the principal’s office before, so I didn’t know what to expect.

As I neared Principal York’s office, I heard a raspy voice that was all too familiar. The principal entered after me and led me behind the segregating counter and to his office. I stopped in the doorway when I saw my father sitting in a chair chatting with Ms. Bartlett. Principal York bumped into my back and had to steady both of us. I looked at him and saw his expression change the moment he saw my father.

“Michael? I didn’t know you’d been informed of this meeting?”

My father gave the principal a look laced with hate, the complete opposite of how he’d just been looking at my school counselor. “Yes, luckily Ms. Bartlett thought to include me. She called first thing this morning and I’ve been waiting all day for this meeting.”

Ms. Bartlett gave me a proud smirk that confirmed she’d called my father on purpose. This was part of her plan to punish me. Principal York directed me to the chair farthest away from my father and then took his place behind his too small desk. The room was filled with my father’s stench, beer and stale cigarettes; I knew everyone could smell it. At least he was dressed in what appeared to be clean clothes, however his long hair was smushed to his head on one side and his ratted beard was overgrown and very much unkept.

“Well, that’s fine. However, since Lily is eighteen your presence is not required.” He turned to look at Ms. Bartlett. “And I wasn’t told that you’d been contacted. This really is just a formality and we could have saved you the trouble of making a trip out here in the middle of your busy day.”

My father scooted to the edge of his chair, as close to the principal as he could get without standing. “Well she may be eighteen, but she’s still my daughter and lives under my roof and therefore is still under
my
control. I’m glad to know you have one person working in this school that understands that,” he said, nodding his head towards Ms. Bartlett.

Principal York leaned a little further across his desk, narrowing his eyes at my father, but continued to speak in a calm tone. “That may be how you feel, but that isn’t necessarily how we’re required to run things here. Like I said, this meeting is just a formality and as her father you are welcome to stay if it will soothe your worries.”

Principal York looked to me. I’m not sure what he saw on my face, but he nodded his head and continued. “We have received an allegation that Lily and a student teacher who is working here this semester have been involved in an inappropriate relationship.”

My father jumped from his chair, taking several strides toward me and causing me to flinch away from him. “I told you to stay away from that boy! He’s nothing but trouble! You’re just like your mother, can’t stay away from those Havens, but I won’t let another one ruin something that belongs to me.”

Principal York moved around the side of his desk, seemingly prepared to restrain my father. “Mr. Grace, please sit down. I don’t believe your anger is warranted in this case, but I need to hear from Lily exactly what her relationship with Dean Haven is before I can close this matter. I think we should all try and stay calm while we resolve what I believe is a misunderstanding.” He looked toward Ms. Bartlett who had a look of surprise on her face. She was staring at my father as he walked backwards to his chair, keeping his eyes locked on me.

“Um…” I had to clear my throat so my voice would work. I couldn’t believe she’d done this to me. “Well, Dean is my friend, Principal York. I’ve known him all my life and he was my brother’s best friend growing up.”

Principal York gave me a look of pure compassion. “Yes, Lily, I remember that. And you were close to his grandmother Violet, weren’t you?” I nodded my head. “Is that why you appeared to be so close to Dean at Violet’s funeral?”

“Yes, it was very hard on him and Adley. Adley is my best friend and they asked me to sit with them at the funeral. I didn’t realize that would appear inappropriate.”

“This may be hard to hear, and I don’t have any proof of it, but I’ll let you know that there is also an allegation that you two shared a hotel room while Violet was in the hospital.” My father let out a loud groan and a look of murder appeared on his face.

I tried to swallow the lump stuck in my throat, but my voice still came out as a croak. “No, sir. I had a hotel room next to Dean’s, but we never even entered each other’s room.” I felt like the words were leaping from my mouth, floating on my breath, and falling to the ground with a loud shriek.
Liar!