Page 37 of Royal

Oh shit.

“Your children will be going to another program on school property. It’s for troubled kids. They will have therapy appointments daily to find the problem that is causing this anger. Also, to help with their grades, as they are failing almost all of their classes.”

That does not go over well with them. Mrs. Turner stands up, sneering. “I will take my kids out of this school. We don’t like schools filled with stupid snowflakes,” she hisses.

Mr. Turner follows her out the door, where she is causing a disturbance in the hallway.

He sticks his head back in the door before Royal can shut it. “This is not over. You will be seeing us again,” he tells the principal, threatening her.

The principal covers her face, looking exhausted. I can’t fathom how hard it must be being a principal and having to deal with parents like that.

“I went to school with the both of them, they were even meaner than their kids are now.”

I cringe at that, hating that kids bully, but I also know it’s a learned behavior from somewhere.

“If Penny wants to take the rest of the week off from school to recoup, she can do her work at home. I’m sorry this happened again, but we know it was self-defense on Penny’s part.”

We leave after that, and I can see Royal is itching to get to his daughter. She is sitting in the same chair we saw her in earlier, her hands twisting in front of her.

Her nerves must be getting the better of her as she was waiting for us. “Come on, baby girl, let’s go get some ice cream.”

Her whole body relaxes now that she knows she isn’t in trouble. I’m proud of her for standing up for herself and not letting those kids hurt her.

She takes both our hands, and we walk out of the school, remembering to get our IDs on the way out. “You’re not mad?” she asks in a small voice.

Royal stops us from walking farther, bending down on the sidewalk, putting them at eye level. “Mad? No, I’m proud of you! Terror will be thrilled you used that line he taught you.”

She giggles, her eyes shining. “Uncle Gage taught me how to throw a punch,” she points out. “Can we go tell him?” She bounces on her little feet in excitement.

Royal chuckles. “We will go there right now.”

She runs for the truck while I look for Donovan in the back seat, but he is nowhere to be found. I walk around the back of the car, and I laugh at the sight of him sitting on the bike that belongs to the prospect whose name I don’t know yet. “Did he suck you in for you to let him sit on your bike?” I ask him.

He laughs. “He did. I couldn’t tell the little guy no.”

I eye his cut. Since he’s a prospect, his cut isn’t as decorated as the other members’, I notice, but at the front is his name, Gavin.

“Well, thank you for watching this little hellion.”

Royal comes over after putting Penny in the truck. “Come on, little man.” Donovan reaches for him and he sets him in his car seat.

“I think the first thing we need to do is order some food for Penny,” I tell them.

“Yesss! I’m starving.” She groans dramatically, and Donovan mocks her. Penny looks down at the floor and gives out a little scream. “Oh my God, my Barbie!”

I look at Royal in panic, but he’s hiding his face as he laughs. He manages to compose himself and gets in the truck just as a car roars up the parking lot straight at us.

Shit, it’s Mr. and Mrs. Turner. She is hanging out of the window, screeching something and pointing.

The prospect sidles up beside Penny on his bike, trying to protect her. Mrs. Turner reaches inside for something in their car, and I hold my breath, scared she is going to shoot or something.

She returns with something white rolled up in her hand and then throws it at us with amusement on her face. She misses the truck by ten feet, and it falls onto the pavement. I laugh because, that’s just embarrassing.

She screams, pissed.

She reaches inside the car again like she is trying to find something as her husband continues to floor it past us with their kids in the back seat.

Fuck, that drops my smile.

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