Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (23 page)

Principal York nodded and almost glared at Ms. Bartlett. “I thought so. Derek Brantley’s mother confirmed that she helped you book separate rooms and continued to have her credit card number on file in case it was needed. She actually called me the first day Violet was in the hospital to let me know, in case there was ever any question of the appropriateness of the arrangement.”

The room fell silent for several seconds. The only sound was Ms. Bartlett shifting uncomfortably in her chair which, I must admit, was the only enjoyable part of this entire experience.

“Well, I think I have enough evidence to disprove these allegations as false. I appreciate your honesty, Lily, and I apologize for this entire thing. If you could please not discuss this with anyone, I plan to meet with Dean after school today to let him know about this whole ordeal and inform him that I am dismissing any concerns I have about it.”

“What? You’re not even going to ask her about their kiss after the funeral?” Ms. Bartlett nervously protested.

Principal York glared at her and stood from his chair. “No, as a matter of fact I’m not. It was alleged that Dean kissed Lily on the head after a short hug, but I don’t believe there’s anything inappropriate about that behavior, given their previous family ties. I also think if the person alleging this inappropriate behavior understood the situation better, they wouldn’t have made such a big deal out of nothing.”

My father also stood. “I’ve heard enough. Lily, go get your stuff. You’re going home right now. It appears there are quite a few things I know nothing about.” He turned and left the office.

I slowly gathered my things and started to follow my father.

“Lily, I apologize for any grief this may cause you. I never had any desire to involve your father in this. If you need anything, please call me. I will be there in a matter of minutes.” Principal York handed me a slip of paper with his contact information scribbled on it. I nodded and made my exit, pausing just outside his door to lean against the wall.

My head was swimming. I could literally feel the blood rushing through my veins. I would pay for this. My father would make me pay.

I heard Principal York’s footsteps as he rounded his desk. “How dare you, Mindi! How dare you call her father without discussing it with me first. I know you’ve only worked here for two school terms, but you know just as well as anyone else what her father will do to her because of this.”

Ms. Bartlett’s reply came out timidly. “I have no reason to think he’ll do anything to her, and you can’t be positive that he will. He’s her father and, in my opinion, has a right to know what his daughter’s been doing.”

“You’re lying to yourself if you honestly believe that. We all know what he’s capable of when he gets angry. I’ve known Michael my entire life and yes, I
know
he will take this out on Lily. When she shows up tomorrow wearing signs of his abuse, I want you to remember that it’s your fault.”

I only faintly heard Ms. Bartlett’s voice replying as I entered the hallway and saw my father standing there, waiting for me.

He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me almost flush with his body and spoke through clenched teeth. “Get to your car now! You
will
go straight home. I’ll follow you.”

I didn’t stop at my locker; I didn’t even look back. I went straight to my car with my father on my heels and drove home while he followed. I knew he’d enjoy this, enjoy punishing me and for the first time I was angry about it. A few weeks ago I would have accepted his punishment and I would have probably thought I deserved it. Not anymore. I no longer felt the guilt that tied me to my father and his misery and I’d no longer sit idly by while he inflicted pain upon me. I would try my best to accomplish what I set out to do when I was fourteen; I would be the object of my own survival.

The minute we pulled into the driveway, my father leaped from his truck and stormed to my car. I didn’t wait for his theatrics. Instead I flung my door open, accidentally hitting him in the process.

“Oh, she’s ready to play is she?” he taunted.

“I’m not scared of you anymore. You do whatever you think you need to do, but I will not hide in the corner like a scared rabbit any longer!” I yelled at him.

He grabbed me by the throat and pushed me against my car. For a couple of heartbeats he seemed stunned by my actions, but then a wicked smile spread across his face and I realized I was probably making this more fun for him. This was a game changer he didn’t see coming, but appeared to welcome nonetheless. His grip on my throat grew tighter until I was sure I’d pass out from lack of oxygen. Suddenly he released me and took a couple steps back, allowing me to fill my lungs with air.

Before I could prepare myself, he grabbed me by the hair on the top of my head and practically dragged me to the front door. I fought him the whole way. I’d never fought back before and it actually felt right, like I should have been doing it all along. Once we were inside the house, he dropped me to the floor and I knew what was coming. At least years of abuse allowed me to better anticipate his next move. I rolled to my side and curled into the fetal position so his kick landed in the middle of my lower back.

I heard him panting, as much from the exertion as his anger. I took this small opportunity to jump to my feet and felt a sharp pain shoot through my back, but did my best to ignore it. I knew if I was going to have any chance, I couldn’t let him corner me. I had to make it back outside or get to my room.

He began to slowly move toward me. I started to move backwards, but knew I couldn’t get too far away from the front door. I bumped into the edge of the couch and quickly walked around it, placing it in between us. He shook his head at me.

“You can play games all you want, little one, but you won’t get far. You’re just making the chase tougher and pissing me off, which will only make your punishment more severe.”

A sound from the kitchen drew both of our attention. I quickly moved my eyes in the direction of the sound, but my father turned his entire head. I took the open opportunity and ran around the opposite side of the couch trying to reach the front door, but slightly slipped on the wood floor. It caused just enough delay in my escape for him to intercept me. He stretched his arm out straight just as I was almost past him and I tried to duck my head, but caught his arm across my face instead. The impact sent me crashing to the floor.

“I told you what I’d do if I heard that you ever saw that boy again, didn’t I? You’ve had your chance, now comes the part where your boyfriend pays for stepping foot back in my town and anywhere near my property. And you, well you’ll only wish for the days when I treated you so well.” I wasn’t prepared for the kick that landed square in my side, knocking the air out of my lungs.

There was a hard knock on the door. “Michael Grace, it’s Sheriff Andy. Open this door right now or I’m coming in of my own accord.”

My father loomed over me with his eyes narrowed. “This ain’t over, little one. You better keep your lips sealed, or this will only get worse. You don’t want to even think about what I could do if you give me the incentive.”

The door opened and Sheriff Andy entered our house, his hand on his gun. I could only imagine what he thought when he saw me laying on the floor, my father standing over me.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, quickly placing himself between my father and me. “Are you okay, Lily? Here, sit up, slowly. Take your time.”

I was okay. My head was foggy from the hit to my face and I was having trouble getting air back into my lungs, but I was okay. I nodded my head at the Sheriff as he helped lift me from the floor.

“Don’t stand too quickly or you’ll end up right back on the floor.”

Once I was standing, I looked behind the Sheriff to where my father should have been, but he was gone.

“Lily, can you please tell me what happened? I know you don’t like to talk about it, but there are a lot of us that want nothing more than to help you, so please don’t cover for him.”

“I’m okay. Really, I am. There’s nothing to tell.” I refused to make my life worse by ratting on my father. Even if they did arrest him today, they couldn’t keep him locked up for very long and I cringed to think what my father would do to me then.

“Lily-”

I quickly cut him off. “I will admit that we were arguing and then I slipped and fell to the floor. Nothing happened, honest. It just knocked the air out of me.”

He held my stare, looking for any signs of a lie. “Do you want to go somewhere else? I can take you or follow you to make sure you get there.”

“No, I just want to get some things out of my car and then go to my room. I can lock the door once I’m in there. That’s what I normally do.”

The Sheriff nodded. “If that’s what you want, but I’m not leaving until you’re safe in your room.”

When we went outside my father’s truck was gone and Red was sitting on the driver’s side mirror of my car, shrieking at me. He flew away as we approached, but I could swear he was mad at me for further provoking my father.

“That’s a very pretty hawk. Does he hang around here often?” The Sheriff asked.

“Yeah, he always seems to be around,” I muttered.

“He must like all the mice that run around out here in the country,” the Sheriff added and I couldn’t help but smile at his small talk.

I gathered what I needed from the car. “Thank you, Sheriff. I really appreciate your help.”

“You’re more than welcome, Lily. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me right away.” He smiled and I knew his words were genuine.

I nodded my head and made my way to the house. I didn’t hear Sheriff Andy’s truck pull down the road until I was in my room with the door locked.

The school day had come to an end and I hadn’t seen Lily since lunch.

I was starting to worry.

I’d expected to at least catch a glimpse of her in the halls between classes, and honestly I was looking for her pretty hard. Only a few groups of students were still hanging out in the halls, gossiping about something they found scandalous. I could hear them laughing about someone, “O-M-G, did you, like, seriously see him? She should be so embarrassed.” I tuned them out quickly. High school kids could be so cruel to each other. I needed to reconsider being around them every single day as their teacher.

As I passed the front office, Principal York waved for me to enter. The look on his face told me this wasn’t merely a friendly conversation. I cringed, thinking about what he might want to discuss.

“Dean, I’m so glad I caught you. I’ve been meaning to come find you, but this afternoon has been hectic,” he stated.

“Hello, Principal York. I was just heading home for the day.”

“How are you doing, son? Violet was a special women that won’t be easily forgotten,” he said compassionately.

“I imagine I’m doing about as well as can be expected. I’m not gonna lie, it’s tough, but knowing how much she touched everyone still puts a smile on my face,” I answered truthfully.

“Good, good. Do you mind if we go into my office? There are a few other things I want to discuss,” he questioned, gesturing for me to go ahead.

“Um, sure. I’m supposed to be meeting someone, but I can spare a few minutes.” I moved past him and made my way toward his office. As I passed Mindi’s office, I noticed her lights were off which was strange because she was usually with a student right after school.

“Please have a seat, Dean,” he said as we entered his office. We both sat down and the tension in the room was sending chills up my spine. “I wanted to inform you that there’d been an allegation reported to my office that you and Lily Grace have been involved in an inappropriate relationship.”

I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly because the minute he said Lily’s name, all I could hear was a loud hum as the blood rushed from my head. My mouth was locked shut. I knew exactly who’d reported this allegation. It was no coincidence that this occurred the day following my harsh rejection of Mindi.

“Let me assure you that I have gathered enough contrary evidence and have already closed the matter.”

“When was this reported? How have you already had time to close it when you’re just now talking to me about it?” I snapped a little too harshly.