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Mr. McCoy turned to us, locking eyes with me with the tiniest hint of a dour frown before he stiffened and addressed Mr. Hendricks. “A problem?”
“Not at all,” Mr. Hendricks flashed a smile at them. “She stopped by to say hello.” He nudged me forward. “Have a nice day, Miss Sorenson.” He mimicked the tone Mr. Blackbourne used to say my name.
I clutched my things close to my body, stumbling forward as Mr. Hendricks shut his door again behind me.
When Hendricks was out of sight, Mr. Blackbourne turned to me. “I believe you were heading to class,” he said. He placed himself with his back toward Mr. McCoy so I wouldn’t have to pass between them, and instead walk in front of the wall.
I scooted past. McCoy’s watery eyes tracked me.
Mr. Blackbourne tailed me. When we were out in the waiting room, he walked around me, but nudged my arm so I’d follow down the hallway to his unmarked door.
Inside his office, he shut the door behind us. I dropped my things onto the floor. I pressed my palms to the top of Dr. Green’s desk and leaned against it. My body rattled. The performance was over. I was done.
“You’re fine, Miss Sorenson,” Mr. Blackbourne said in a calm tone behind me.
“He still thought I was lying about Nathan. He thinks you fed me lines,” I started. “He follows Kota. He asked about my sister. She hasn’t been to school. He wants me to ...”
“Slow down,” he said. He touched my arm at the elbow, jolting me into standing up and turning around. He moved around me to access Dr. Green’s desk drawer. He located a bottle of water, opened the top and passed it to me.
I took the bottle, our hands brushing, causing another jolt through me. I was used to the others touching me but not him. Part of it might have been the brisk change from recoiling from Mr. Hendricks and Mr. McCoy, to wanting to being accepting of his touch. I sipped at the water, regaining some composure.
“Sit,” he motioned to the top of Dr. Green’s desk.
I perched on top of it.
Mr. Blackbourne pushed Dr. Green’s chair back so he could stand in front of me. He glanced down at my face. “Start at the beginning.”
I relayed everything I could think of, from how Hendricks was sitting to the unspoken suggestion that he had the boys followed. “And I messed up,” I said. “I didn’t know my sister was skipping school. He wants to see her. I let it slip she didn’t like any of you. I didn’t think about that. It’s my fault. He might get her to ...”
“Calm down,” he commanded. He stood back, a forefinger pressing the bridge of his glasses, his other hand on his hip. “Nothing is your fault. You did fine.”
“And McCoy? He wanted me to see him. He was outside the door waiting for me?”
“Your orders still stand. Avoid him, even if he commands you to stay or follow. Find me or one of the boys if he tries. If you’re not sure where to go, come to this office and lock yourself in.” He sighed. “But yes, he’s certainly after you. I’ve been watching him all week. He’s curt with other girls, but he’s not touched them. He has a particular interest in you. He must think he can take advantage of you and is abusing that.”
“Hendricks has someone following Kota,” I said. “But he wants me to get close to you.”
The perfect brows lifted, pursing his lips as if curious but unconcerned.
The conclusion dangled in front of me. I put words to define it. “He wants me to get close to you because he’s tried to have you followed but couldn’t.”
“He’s chasing shadows,” he said. “It’s what we want. That’s the important part.”
I tilted my head at him. “You knew he was having you followed.”
“Since the first week,” he said, nodding.
I sat back, pressing a palm to my forehead. This was too much for my brain to take in and there was so much else to worry about. “I can’t believe I forgot my sister. She skipped school for this long and I didn’t notice.”
“When you go home today, you can ask her about it,” he said.
“They’re going to find out,” I said. “Hendricks has already threatened to call my parents. McCoy might know already. At some point he might ...”
“Stop,” Mr. Blackbourne barked at me. “You’re worrying. It’s a waste of time.”
My cheeks heated. I swallowed, shoving a finger toward my mouth. “What do we do?”
His face softened. He drew the chair closer to the desk, sitting, gazing up at my face. Looking down at him, he appeared the younger version of Mr. Blackbourne I sometimes forgot he was. He couldn’t be more than nineteen, twenty maybe. The perfect angles of his face seemed to soften, and his gray eyes opened up. “You, Miss Sorenson, are going to stop worrying about things you can’t control. What Hendricks might do isn’t something you should be concerned about.”
“If he finds out ...”
He tilted his head at me. “Do you remember being locked in the closet and Kota told Gabriel to pick you up and walk you out before you convinced them you should stay?”
He was talking about this now? “Yes.”
“And you stopped us.”
“Because she was going to call the cops. She would have if I opened the door or spotted Gabriel.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Did you think we didn’t know that part?”
I hesitated, my finger pinching my lip to my teeth. “I ... I don’t know.”
“We were ready for it,” he said. “Like we’re ready now if someone discovers what happened with your family. If Hendricks, or anyone else, starts to cause problems, we’re ready.”
“How?” I asked. It was the puzzle that evaded conclusion when I went to bed at night. Even with the boys next to me, I listened to police sirens in the distance and wondered if they were on their way to my door. This couldn't last forever. Someone would find out. “What would happen?”
Mr. Blackbourne sighed, sitting back and pressing his fingers to his forehead. “Maybe Kota didn’t make this clear. Your only job is to keep your nose clean. If something happens, whether your mom returns and kicks you out of the house, or your classmates threaten you, or Mr. McCoy comes after you again, all you have to do is call. One of a dozen scenarios could happen, true, but as long as you remain safe and keep out of trouble, we can help.” His steel gaze glinted at me. “And I swear, Miss Sorenson, we will. We will come for you every time, for any reason. Until the day you tell us to stop, we will always be right behind you.”
My breath stilled as I regarded him. “I can tell you to stop?”
He nodded. “Family is a choice,” he reminded me.
I sighed. Could it only be so simple? They said I had to trust them. I tried. I wanted to. My mind wouldn’t relent wondering what I should do if this or that happened. My life was out of control, and the thin thread that kept me from crumbling was the Academy—the new family that I didn’t yet feel fully a part of.
“What do I do now?” I asked.
He sat forward again. “You are going to wait here until school is over. Kota will collect you after class. When you go home today, find out why your sister is staying out of school. Get her to come back if you can.”
“What if she doesn’t want to?"
“She can eit
her come willingly, or the police will eventually look for her. Social services will inspect the house if she abuses your new independence,” he said. “You might want to remind her of that.”
“I should try to make her?”
He shook his head. “Remind her that she can’t expect to hide forever. The longer she stays away, the harder it will be to go back. If she continues to refuse to come to school, if she fights it, back off. She’s making her own choices. As long as she doesn’t impede upon your wellbeing, let her do what she thinks she has to do.”
I twisted my lips. I felt partially responsible for Marie. Family was supposed to help each other, weren’t they?
Mr. Blackbourne seemed to read my mind. “Family is a choice. We help those who want our help. Don’t make yourself responsible for someone who won’t do the same for you. Blood can make a bond stronger, but it doesn’t make the bond.”
I relented. I wasn’t sure how I could do that, but maybe he was right. It still seemed impossible to let go of every worry. Nothing I could do about it now. “What about Mr. Hendricks?”
“You should probably do what he says,” Mr. Blackbourne offered. His eyes met mine again, the millimeter smile collecting in the corner of his mouth. “Keep your eyes open. Stay close.”
“He said stay close to you.”
He nodded, as if it were obvious. “And you should.”
I blushed, but pushed my hand from my face and into my lap. Words escaped me. They were already so close. They invaded nearly every part of my life now. So close and yet I wasn’t really part of them. I didn’t feel it. I felt I hardly knew any of them.
Would I ever feel like I knew them fully?
GROWING UP
I could have gone to gym class, but Mr. Blackbourne allowed me to sit it out. He left to take care of other things, but had me lock the door behind him.
I was still sitting on the desk when the door handle rattled. I stilled, my heart in my throat, worried it might be another teacher or even Mr. McCoy. The door unlocked and Dr. Green walked in. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, a yellow tie, and tan slacks. His sandy-colored hair hung down about mid ear. There was a soft scrap of facial hair along his jaw, as if he left it unshaven on purpose. It looked incredible.
