AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Stupid, stupid girl.
Hours passed as I gave Milo water to sip, and when he was good enough to sit up straight, I offered him a half grin. “You’re going to be okay,” I swore to him, hoping I wasn’t making myself a liar.
His hand pressed to his forehead, and then he raked it through his hair. “Yeah, all right.”
“I should get going before someone heads in here. You can leave a bit after me if that works?”
He nodded.
Before I stood, I placed a hand against his knee. “Milo, I know you don’t want to talk, and that’s fine. I’m not going to ask you or make you. But you do need to talk to someone soon. Confide in them because whatever scars you’re carrying around with you, they aren’t healing. They’re raw and messy and harming you in all those different ways, and you don’t deserve that.”
“What if I don’t deserve to heal?”
“Everyone deserves to heal. Especially you.” I slightly squeezed his knee before I stood and smoothed my hands over my pantsuit.
“Hey, Teach?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t tell anyone about this, all right?”
“Of course not.”
“I mean it. I don’t need the principal to know about this situation. It would ruin everything for me.”
I smiled. “What, do you want my pinky or something?” I mocked how he’d asked me that same thing weeks prior.
The corner of Milo’s mouth twitched up.
He almost smiled.
That made me breathe a bit easier, thinking he’d be okay.
As I left the janitor’s closet, I rounded the corner and ran into Principal Gallo, which sent a wave of anxiety coursing through my system. I tried my best not to showcase said panic.
“Ms. Evans, there you are. I’ve been looking for you,” he said as he approached me. “I wanted to talk to you about Milo. Can we go to my office for a bit?”
I swallowed hard, wanting to run away from the confrontation I was about to find myself in. My mind began thinking of ways to express my deepest apologies for what had gone on. That had to be why he was calling me into his office, right? Because he knew what had gone down with Milo that afternoon. There was no other reason. Especially with his somber expression.
We walked to his office, and he shut the door behind him. He gestured to the empty chair in front of me, inviting me to take a seat. I did as he requested.
Principal Gallo sat in his chair, swiveled a bit, and then paused his movements. “How are you, Starlet? How are things going with Milo?”
I wasn’t sure if it was a trap he was trying to get me to walk into. “Good, good. He’s been getting his work in, and I believe our study sessions have been going well.”
“Good. Yes. Wonderful. I’ve spoken with a few of his teachers, and they said they’ve received old assignments, and he’s been showing up to class.”
Except for today.
Then again, I didn’t show up, either.
I remained quiet, not quite sure what I was supposed to say to him.
He smiled before a weighted sigh fell from him. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, Starlet, can we just be real for a moment?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Milo is my nephew, so this situation is quite personal.”
Oh.
Well.
That added a few missing pieces to Principal Gallo’s and Milo's puzzle.
“Don’t get me wrong, I care about all of my students, but Milo has been through a lot over the past year, so I worry about his well-being. So if he gives you trouble at any point, please let me know. The last thing I want is to add any stress to your life. I should’ve written you about missing today’s appointment with him, too, seeing how it’s the first anniversary of his mother’s passing today, my sister Ana.”
There it was.
The reason for Milo’s spiral.
My stomach knotted up as my heart somewhat shattered for him. I knew how hard that had to be for Milo. I wished I hadn’t known, but I did.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Principal Gallo.”
His eyes flashed with the same emotions as his nephew’s had in the janitor’s closet. It amazed me how different individuals could hurt, and the sadness still appeared the same in their eyes.
“Thank you,” he muttered. Principal Gallo cleared his throat and clasped his hands together, shaking off his feelings. He sat straighter. “I know Milo’s a hard one to crack, but he wasn’t always so tough and cold. I do believe that beneath his harsh exterior still lives that sweet, kind boy who misses his mother.”
“I won’t stop tutoring him, Principal Gallo. Now that I know these things, I can tackle the situation from a different angle and make sure I’m making his life easier, not harder. I lost my mother, too, so I know how challenging that can be.”
