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“I’m sorry, Ms. Oakley.” She sighed. “I don’t know the story with his father, but it’s concerning.”
“I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone and ran the rest of the way. I was gasping for breath by the time I got there, but I needed to see Jesse and try to make sense of everything.
I tried to catch my breath as I waited for a guest pass but I was still breathing hard when I got to Ms. Emily’s classroom. It was her planning period again and when I walked into the room, she was sitting at her desk, staring out at Jesse. Jesse was at a desk in the front row and he was scribbling on a piece of paper with enough force to rip the paper.
“Jesse?” I walked over to him and knelt in front of the desk. “What happened?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “I want to go home. I hate it here.”
“Jesse. You love school. You were just telling Andrew all about it. What’s going on? Why are you so angry?”
He looked confused for a moment at the mention of Andrew. “Just leave me alone.”
I stood up and went to Ms. Emily. “I’m so sorry.”
She pulled me farther away from Jesse. “I was shocked when it happened, but I’m okay. I’ve never been called a dirty whore by a child before, but there’s always a first time for everything, I guess.”
I scrubbed my hands down my face and shook my head. “I’m… I don’t even know what to say. I was a teen mom. I went through a lot of years being called things like that by narrow-minded people. I’ve done my best to protect Jesse from it, but… I stepped away from them for two minutes last night.”
“Would his father say something like that?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “His father was the first one to call me that. I’m sure that’s where he heard it. I’m just shocked that Taylor managed to do that much damage in such a short period of time.”
She squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry. Jesse’s a good boy. It’s a rotten thing for a man to try to poison his son’s mind.”
I looked back at Jesse and saw that he’d put his head down on the desk. “Yeah… I’m going to take him home and have a long talk with him. I’m really sorry about this, again.”
Jesse pouted as I pulled him to his feet and had him walk out with me. He tried to slump to the ground multiple times, but I wouldn’t let him. I pulled him up and we marched all the way home in silence. We were both deep in our emotions and I was fighting anger that didn’t belong to Jesse. I needed to calm down before I spoke to him.
We were both sweaty when we got home so I poured us each a glass of ice water and pointed the box fan in the living room directly at the couch before sitting. I patted the seat next to me and watched as Jesse slowly climbed up to sit next to me.
“Where do you want to start, kid?”
He stared at where Taylor’s gaming setup was still stretched across the floor. “Why doesn’t Daddy like you?”
I leaned back. “Why do you say that?”
“He told me. He told me that you wouldn’t let him see me. He said you’re a bad word. He said Jack is bad. And Andrew and Caleb. He hates them.”
My vision turned dark at the corners as I listened. Rage slowly coiled up from the bottom of my guts and wrapped itself around every part of me. “He said that.”
Jesse sniffed. “I like Jack and Andrew and Caleb. I tried to tell Daddy and he said I was dumb. He called you bad names, Mommy. I didn’t know how to make him stop.”
I pulled him into my lap and held him to my chest. “You are not dumb. You’re a smart boy. That’s why Ms. Emily was so shocked by what you did today. I’m so sorry your dad said those things to you, Jesse. I’m so, so sorry.”
He cried into my chest and whimpered. “Why did he call you bad names, Mommy?”
I held him tighter because it was the only thing I knew to do. After a few minutes, I cleared my throat from the emotion clogging it. “Why did you call Ms. Emily a bad name today?”
“I got mad.”
I sat him back so he could see my face. “I think your dad is mad, too. He’s mad at me. It wasn’t fair for you to say that to Ms. Emily and it wasn’t fair for your dad to say that about me. Sometimes we say things we don’t mean, though, and if we apologize, it helps.”
“I am sorry. I don’t think I like Daddy. I’m sad. I want a daddy but I want one like Keaton’s.” He blinked and two fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”
I held him tight again and rubbed his back. “I love you, kid. Thank you for apologizing. I’m sorry that your dad is so mad.”
“I love you, too, Mommy. I like Andrew. Or Jack. They could be my dads.” He hesitated. “Caleb could, too, but he needs help.”
