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She shifts in her seat, almost as if she doesn’t want to answer. Eventually she begins talking. “None of us ever stay alone in the locker room, because he’s come in more than once to ‘see if anyone’s left’. I mean, not even Coach Williams comes in to check on us. She gives us our privacy and it used to be when the last person left, we’d text her and let her know, then lock up behind us. Now, since he’s come in a few times, we don’t ever stay by ourselves.”
“Did he come in on you?” I ask her, already knowing I’m going to be talking to the principal about this as soon as I can.
“I was one of the ones who was changing when he came in.” She looks down at her hands. “Thank God my back was to the door, otherwise, he would have seen more than most.”
“Did he even fuckin’ knock?” Caleb asks, grabbing hold of her hand.
“No.” She shakes her head. “He said he assumed we were done because we weren’t practicing anymore. Some of us take showers before we leave though. Regardless of what most everyone thinks, cheerleading is a sport, and depending on what we do, we sweat big time. If I have somewhere to be, I don’t want to go stinking.”
“Any of you report this?”
She shakes her head again, biting her bottom lip. “No, we were afraid no one would believe us. There aren’t cameras in that part of the school, and we knew it would be our word against his. All of us who were there are seniors, and none of us want to get into that shit with a few months left in school. I have a scholarship and I don’t want anyone to mess with it. I’m gonna get out of Laurel Springs and not come back.”
And it’s in that moment, I realize why she and Caleb won’t last. If there’s anything I know about my son, it’s that he loves Laurel Springs. It’s the home he always wanted, the place to put down roots he always craved. I have zero doubt that after he graduates, he’ll come back here and live out the rest of his life. And when I look at him, I see he knows that too, but it doesn’t stop him from giving everything he has to this girl. He leans over, kissing her on the cheek.
“One thing I can promise you is that my dad will take care of it.”
“I will.” I give her my promise. “There’s no reason he should be scaring you ladies.”
Not to mention it’s not sat well with me that the dog picked up a scent in his classroom and nothing was ever found. I’ve now made it my mission to find out everything I can about Mr. Cartwright. If he has done something to hurt these kids, I’ll make sure he’s punished to the full extent of the law.
CHAPTER 12
MENACE
As we’ve drivenacross town to Rina’s house, I’ve been lost in thought, not paying attention to what’s going on in the backseat of the Jeep. Feeling a little weird and guilty that my son and his girlfriend are sitting where Rina and I had sex, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m anxious to see her as evidenced by the way my fingers tap along to the radio on the steering wheel. Will this feeling of being excited to see her go away? God I hope not.
We pull up to Karina’s house, and I can’t get over how hard my heart is tripping at the thought of being around her. “You two sit tight, I’ll be right back.”
Slipping out of the driver’s seat, I go up the porch steps two at a time, because I’m so excited to see her. Before I can knock on the door, she’s opening it.
“Hey.” My voice is breathless because I’m so excited to see her.
She smiles up at me, leaning in to give me a kiss.
So badly I want to reach in, wrap my arms around her waist, and give in to the overwhelming need I have to crush her to me. Instead I keep those feelings locked down and let her pull away.
“Hey, yourself.” She steps back and I get a good look at her shirt.
I wish I was Felicia, she’s always going somewhere.
The laugh that busts out of my gut causes her to giggle along with me. “You like it? I love shirts that have sayings on them. I even have one that saysAdios Pantalones, but I didn’t think that was appropriate for today.” She turns on the porch light that works, placing a purse over her shoulder, and grabs her jacket.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me, leave the door open and I’ll fix the lightbulb for you. Can you go to the Jeep and ask Caleb for the bag I packed?”
“No problem, big guy. Gotta say, you changing my porch light? Hot.”
“That other dude you were with must not have done anything exciting.”
She tilts her head to the side. “The thing with him was, he was a caller. He’d call someone to fix what was wrong. He wasn’t a fixer, didn’t like to get his hands dirty.”
“Luckily for you, I like to get my hands dirty.” I give her a wink, along with a smirk. I’ve missed seeing her, even though it’s only been a few days. I’ve missed seeing the way her cheeks heat when I make a comment like this. The way her eyes light up and shine at me. Does something to my stomach that’s never happened before.
“That is pretty lucky for me.” She turns around, heading toward the Jeep.
When I look up again, Caleb is walking to me with the bag I requested. “Do we need to shut off the breaker?” he asks, digging through it to get the lightbulb.
“No, just do me a favor and turn off the switch from the inside.” Rina’s made her way back to where we are, and Jess is standing next to the Jeep, phone at her ear.
