The Fight for Us (32 page)

“No problem. It’s slow this time of year, so you really don’t need to worry about it being snatched away. It’s vacant, so it’s yours when you want it. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

She smiled at him quickly, apologized one last time, and then slipped out the door.

By the time she walked into the principal’s office, she’d tried to reach Isaiah three times, Nat two times, and had left each of them a message. It wasn’t like either of them not to answer, and given the cryptic comment by Sue, suggesting something had happened involving Nat, she was nearly beside herself by the time she was face to face with Sue.

“Ms. Verna, you can go on in.”

“Thank you.” Sue actually smiled at her on this day, but it was a sad smile.

“Ms. Verna. Please come in. Sit down.”

Joss fidgeted with her purse straps as she sat. She glanced to the empty chair next to her, remembering the first day she met Isaiah. Never in a million years could she have expected to see herself in a relationship with him. But now the sight of that empty chair was oddly ominous.

“Where is Harper?”

“She’s fine. She’s with the guidance counselor right now, and you can take her home with you once we’re finished speaking. She’s going to be suspended for two days. She
hit
…actually
punched
two students.”

“
What?
No. Harp wouldn’t do that!”

“Well, there was plenty leading up to it, I assure you.” Principal Johnson was practically muttering, and the poor old man looked exhausted. He studied her for a moment. “I’m not sure I should be going into all the details, but I’m assuming your daughter will. Somehow, someone found out about some events in Natalie Henry’s past.” The man shook his head in frustration. “I have no idea how this happened, but there were literally flyers floating around the school by mid-morning with Natalie’s face on it—never mind the details of her mother’s death, and some additional details about the ensuing months after her death—things I wasn’t even aware of.”

Joss nodded. She was well aware of what he was referring to. Her blood was both boiling in rage and coursing with panic.

“Naturally, the fall out was…” He bobbled his head from side to side as he considered his words. “…ugly. Natalie was being taunted in the hallways between classes just as we were being made aware of what was happening, and rather than waiting for us to deal with it appropriately, Harper took things into her own hands.”

“Who did she hit?”

He actually scoffed. It was almost a chuckle but without a shred of any real humor. “Lena and Jen.” He sighed. He stood, walked to the door, and shut it before returning to his desk. “Honestly, part of me feels like thanking her,” he muttered. “But there’s just no room for this type of behavior—however deserved it might be.” He was still muttering. “I have no choice but to suspend her. It’s going to be in-school, and I’m keeping it to the minimal allowed number of days for the offense. I’m not happy about it. Frankly, I’d feel a whole lot better if Harper was there to support Natalie when she returns to school.”

“Where is Nat? Is she okay?”

“Okay is perhaps not the best word. She was practically catatonic by the time she made it to the counselor’s office. Her dad was livid when he picked her up. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls her out permanently—leaves Bristol.” He shook his head again. “Never in all my years…”

Joss stared at her hands. She knew exactly who was to blame for this, and it was impossible not to feel guilty for her part in it.

“Truth be told, I’m hoping some of Harper’s fight will rub off on the other students—just without the…you know, physical aspect of it.” He smiled at her, his tired eyes looking oddly serene given the fact he’d been through the principal’s equivalent of a national disaster. When he stood, she did as well. He paused when he reached the door, looking back at her. “You know, when she was in trouble for bullying at the beginning of the year, I can’t say I expected such a one-eighty. Not sure if I should be proud of her or angrier than I was in October. Shall we? She’s pretty upset about everything.”

She nodded, following him in a stupor out of the office and into the corridor. The moment they walked into the counselor’s office, Harper stood, collapsing into Joss’s arms and sobbing. Joss couldn’t say for sure how she felt about Harp’s reaction either. She held her little girl in her arms as she cried, and Joss stared at the floor.

“They were just so awful to her.” Harp’s voice was lurching and stuttering as she tried to talk. “And she was just so upset. I mean, who cares about all that crap? I don’t!” And the sobs hit again, and she was overcome by them for minutes more.

“Let’s get you home.”

Joss tried to call Isaiah a few more times on their way home, and when she pulled into the garage and turned her car off, she looked at Harper. Harper’s eyes were still glossy, and she was simply staring at the dashboard in front of her.

“It was wrong to hit Jen and Lena.”

Harper’s eyes flashed to Joss’s, and Joss could see the rebuttal getting ready to flow, so she cut her off quickly.

“That said, I’m proud of you for sticking up for Nat. You have to deal with this suspension, and you
will
get in more trouble than you can imagine if physical violence becomes a habit, but you’re
not
in any further trouble with me.” Joss climbed out of the car as Harper watched after her. “And if other parents don’t like it, they can suck it.” She muttered.

Harper followed her, and Joss waited at the door, but the small smile on Harper’s mouth stopped Joss before she could go inside. “What?”

“You just said suck it.” Harper scoffed at her, and Joss wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked in together. “Mom, I’m really worried about Nat.”

“I know. I am too.”

Harper went to bed early, and Joss uncorked a bottle of some random, cheap red wine from her wine rack. Half a bottle later, and she was unsettled, biting her nails, and a wee bit woozy from the alcohol. When Steph answered the phone after the first ring, Joss could tell instantly the good news had traveled fast.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. You’ve heard, I take it?”

“Who hasn’t? I will say, the chatter is that Jen and Lena had it coming, and Harper is kind of a rock star in the court of Bristol public opinion.”

“I’d rather she be a rock star for different reasons, and I’d rather Nat not gotten hurt in the process.”

“How is she?”

“I don’t know. He’s not returning my calls.”

“Give him time. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”

“Todd did this.”

“What?”

“He told me he’d found out about Nat’s past at The Landing’s New Year’s Eve party. I knew he was threatening to do something. But I never imagined…”

“You couldn’t have. You couldn’t have guessed something like this. Please tell me you’re not blaming yourself for this?”

Joss didn’t answer that question, and Steph didn’t need her to.

“Listen, I better go,” Joss said. “Do you know what my schedule looks like tomorrow by chance?”

“A couple back to back appointments late afternoon. Hey, since Harp’s out of school tomorrow, why don’t I take her tomorrow afternoon? We’ll go visit my parents. My mom is so good with her. You can deal with your appointments and maybe talk to Isaiah. I’ll keep her overnight.”

“I don’t know. Seems more like I’m rewarding her bad behavior by letting her go with you. ’Sides, she might want to see Nat.”

“First of all, and I’ll deny it if you repeat it, her
bad behavior
deserves to be rewarded. Second of all, I think I’d take things a bit slow with Nat. This had to have been devastating for her, and I’d let Isaiah set the pace with this one. You need to talk to him though.”

“Yeah, fine.”

Joss didn’t bother trying to reach him again that night, and after recorking her half bottle of wine and setting it on top of the fridge, she stumbled upstairs to bed. It was early. She peeked in on Harper to see her sound asleep, and within thirty minutes, Joss was too. At midnight her phone dinged out that she had a text message from Isaiah.

We’ll talk tomorrow. Good night.

* * * *

By the time Joss pulled up in Isaiah’s driveway the next evening, it was nearly eight thirty. Her afternoon meetings had run late. They were the slow type of house hunter who insisted on picking through each home with a fine tooth comb. Joss was anxious, and her stomach was upset by the time she was finally driving toward his place.

As she mounted his steps, her hands started sweating and her throat instantly felt like sandpaper. She rang the bell. It wasn’t really her habit anymore when she came over, nor was it his when he came to her place, but for some reason there was no way she could walk over his threshold without an invitation.

When he pulled the door open, she instantly sighed. He looked exhausted. His eyes were dark, and his skin was pale. For a moment she had no idea what to expect, but then he pulled her up into his arms, burying his head against her neck. She listened to his slow breathing, and she felt the warmth of it on her skin. He stood there in the entryway, holding her for a small eternity, and when he finally let her back down from her tiptoes, he pulled her into the living room.

“How is she?”

“I don’t know.” He sank into the couch, planting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his forehead with his hands. “She just sleeps. Has nightmares. She won’t get up.” He shook his head. “It’s like the first few months after Delia’s death all over again. I keep walking around the house searching for things she could hurt herself with. There is literally not a single knife or pill in this house that isn’t locked up in my gun safe at the moment.” He finally looked up at her. “I’ve spoken to her psychiatrist in Chicago a couple times. He’s doing some research on child psychiatrists in the area, but they’re running wind sled now between here and the mainland, so unless there’s someone right there in Baymont, I’m not really sure how the hell I’m going to get her there.”

Joss just nodded. There were so many question marks floating around in her head she didn’t know where to begin—Nat’s future in Bristol, how soon Harper could see Nat, how the hell she could stand losing him if they left Bristol, how much blame he placed on her. The questions swirled. Half of them left her feeling guilty and weak, the others just left her panicking. But at the moment, Isaiah didn’t seem capable of moving past the most immediate hurdles in his life. She didn’t blame him a bit; it just made her questions all the more pointless and pathetic.

“How is Harp doing?”

Joss nodded for a moment. “She’s okay. She’s worried about Nat. She’s with Steph tonight. I didn’t know if Nat would be up for company yet.”

“Yeah. She’s not.” His eyes flashed to hers quickly. “I mean, I’m sure she’ll want to see Harper. She’s just struggling right now. I’m guessing Harp’s in trouble, but are you going to be offended if I thank her for clocking those two girls?” His lip lifted slightly. It wasn’t even close to a smile, but it was something.

“I promise I won’t.”

He studied her for a moment. “Will you stay tonight?”

She nodded. He led her back to his room, tossed her a T-shirt and changed into a pair of flannel pajama pants. When she crawled into his bed, he lowered himself on top of her, kissing her. He slowly worked his way down her body, pushing her T-shirt up as he moved, and as she parted her legs, he lay between them, kissing her stomach gently.

His hands gripped the sides of her waist, and he let his lips trail across her belly. She assumed it would go further than that, and she was certain he intended it to, but with a frustrated sigh, he dropped his forehead to her stomach, breathing against her skin. He ended up laying his head on her stomach, and she stroked her fingers through his hair as he relaxed. The clock said it was barely past nine, and when his breathing slowed, she reached over and turned the light out.

But the rest didn’t last, and within ten minutes, they were awoken by screaming. It was blood curdling, and Joss wasn’t sure she’d ever heard a more terrifying sound in her entire life. Isaiah shot up off her body and darted out of the room, and when she caught up to him as she reached Nat’s doorway, she stilled.

He was sitting on the side of Nat’s bed, shushing her and brushing the tears from her cheeks. “You’re okay. It was just a dream. It’s over.”

Joss’s heart swelled as she watched him. He was incredible—not that she’d expect any decent parent to do anything different, but it was something to see. He was such a tall and strong man—controlled and intimidating, but he was also just a dad, and his heart was breaking for his little girl.

“What can I do?” She asked quietly, still not entering the room.

“Nothing. We’re fine.” His response was quick and practically cut her off.

“Can I get you anything?” She just felt helpless.

His head cocked to the side that time, and he snapped. “I said we’re fine, Joss.” The words were annoyed, irritated, downright angry, and she walked away then as tears pricked her eyes.

She sat on the side of this bed for a few minutes, but then she stood and redressed. She met him as she was leaving his bedroom, and she gasped as she nearly careened into him. “I’m sorry. I just… Why don’t I just see you tomorrow?”

He crossed his arms on his chest. “I didn’t mean to sound angry. I just…”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

He watched her. He wasn’t disagreeing with her or trying to get her to stay.

She laughed nervously. “It’s early enough yet I have plenty of time to clean out a closet or two. Think I found an apartment, so I need to start thinking about packing.”

Her voice trailed off as his jaw tensed and his focus shifted to the floor.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She didn’t wait for a response. She fled.

And by the time she walked through the front door of her house, she was crying and she wasn’t even sure why. She chucked her keys on the kitchen table and caught sight of the wine sitting on her kitchen table as well. She grabbed a glass, uncorked the bottle, and emptied the bottle into one glass. She could have sworn she had more than just one glass left, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she needed to take the edge off.