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“And who did you call when you had to teach Sam to stand while peeing?”

“Look–”

I’m cut off by the sound of my phone. The ring tells me it’s Sam’s school. That’s the only phone call I take while I’m at work.

“Hello?”

“Miss. Reese. There’s been an incident, and I need you down at the school.”

My heart drops. “Is Sam okay?” Tears prick at my eyes.

“Yes, it’s more disciplinary.”

I look up at Martha who’s still standing there watching the exchange. “Okay, I’ll head down shortly.”

“He’s going to need to stay home for the rest of the day, and since it’s Thursday, we’re suggesting you keeping him with you tomorrow as well. Hopefully, the weekend will clear the air.”

“Well, I don’t even know what’s going on, so how can I agree to any of that?” I take a breath. “I’m on my way.” I slide my phone in my pocket. “I gotta go.” I rush past Martha, leaving my cart in the hallway and make my way to the break room to grab my purse.

As soon as I turn the corner to head towards the entrance, I hit a wall of thick muscle. Hands grasp my arms, and I’m hit with the familiar scent that still lingered on my pillow this morning. Opening my eyes, I catch Hawk’s concern stare.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Sam. Something happened at school, and I need to get to him.”

He takes a piece of hair that came loose from my bun and tucks it behind my ear. “Let me drive you.”

I shake my head. “No,” I pull from his grip, “it’s faster if I drive.”

He cups his hands on the side of my face. “Then let me come with you.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “No, I got it. I’m sure you’re here to see Rose. Go, you need to see her. That’s why you’re in Los Angeles.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Tessa.” He rubs his hand through my hair and pulls me to him, giving me a small hug. I can feel the warmth of his breath on the top of my head. “Call me.” With a drop of a kiss to the top of my head, he steps away and continues towards his mom’s room while I go and see what happened to my son.

* * *

Traffic is a nightmare, of course. It’s Los Angeles, for crying out loud. I’m not used to driving to Sam’s school in the middle of the afternoon, so I wasn’t expecting road closures and bumper to bumper traffic. While I’m waiting in gridlock, I send Sarah a text telling her that I’m not going to need her today after all, but I’d appreciate it if she kept him all day tomorrow. I also send Croy a message telling him that I can’t make it to work, which he wasn’t too happy about since it's Thursday.

Pulling my car into the parking lot a little too fast, I bottom out, completely embarrassing myself in front of the parents and staffing walking around the area.

“Miss. Reese,” Tamera, the office secretary, greets me as I enter the office. “He’s in with Mr. Shultz.” She points towards the principal’s office.

“But Petey has been making fun of me. I didn’t know what else to do.” Sam's voice sounds anxious making my mother bear instinct come to life. How dare they question my baby without me being present.

As soon as I make my way into his office, Mr. Shultz sits back in his chair. “I’m glad you’re able to make it.” He uses his patronizing tone as his gaze sweeps over my white uniform. “I hope we didn’t pull you away from anything too important.”

“Nothing is more important than my son. What’s this all about?”

“Well, it seems that Sam punched a fellow student.”

I suck in a breath. “I don’t understand.” I look from the principal to Sam, who’s hunched over, feet swinging, picking at the lint on his jeans. “Baby,” I kneel down so that I’m eye level with him. “What happened?”

When he raises his face to mine, I’m almost knocked off my feet. Sam’s bottom lip is swollen. His lashes are stuck together with tears, the whites of his eyes are now pink, and his steel blue irises are a pale gray. “He...” He sniffs. “He kept teasing me.” He sucks in his lip, only to wince in pain.

I stand up, keeping Sam’s body tucked into my leg. “Why does my son have a fat lip? Why did you not tell me this over the phone?”

“Parents tend to overreact when we tell them things like that before they’re able to witness it on their own. His lip will be fine by morning.”