Page 38 of Summer With You

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I snapped. “Please make the principal aware that I would like to have a meeting now!” I hung up, still fuming, and glanced at the car's screen to dial Ace.

He answered on the first ring. “Is everything okay?” he answered, sounding breathless.

“I am fucking pissed,” I almost yelled. “I’m on my way to the school. Summer is sitting in the nurse’s office with a concussion, and she needs stitches!” I hear him mutter something and then there’s silence.

“Did you say you were driving there?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I snapped. I just told him our child was hurt, and that was all he could focus on? “My child is sitting in there sobbing because she and some other girl have been fighting, and now it just got physical, and my child is hurt, not the other bitch.”

“Okay, take a deep breath,” Ace soothed. “Remember to keep your heart rate low. You don’t want to induce labor now. I’ll meet you there. Just wait for me, Celine. I’ll fix this.”

“You better hurry,” I told him. “I’m five minutes away, and I can’t promise to stay calm once I see Summer’s injuries.” He groaned, but I heard the familiar rumble of his truck start in the background.

“Don’t do anything to jeopardize your health, do you hear me? Think about the baby. You only have one more month, and the doctor said—”

I growled in aggravation. All anyone could focus on these days was my baby and my health. My daughter was hurt and bleeding, and still, this was all anyone could focus on.

“I know what the doctor said, Ace!” I barked. “I was there, but someone has fucked with my little girl, so now momma bear has to come out. You know I will fight to protect my family until my last breath. You once said you loved that about me.” I pulled through the school gates, nodding at the security guard when he let me through after seeing my parent sticker on the car window.

Pulling into a parking spot right in front of the nurse's office, I turned it off. “I’m here now. I’ll see you soon.” Hanging up, I exited the car, and slowly made my way to the door, huffing and puffing with the mere exertion of walking in the Florida heat.

In October, it was still brutally hot. I opened the door, a rush of cold air blowing in my face. I sighed in relief. God, I could not take that heat. “Where’s my child?” I looked around for my sweet, little girl.

I saw a young woman look at me with fear in her widening eyes. She pointed down a narrow hall. “Down there,” she whispered, looking at my feet.

Waddling down the hall, I came into a smaller office where my little blonde bombshell was whimpering on a cot. An older woman held an ice pack to her head while trying to make jokes, but Summer’s tears continued to flow, a frown marring her beautiful face.

“Oh, Summer!” I rushed to her side, inspecting her body closely, seeing grass burns on her small knees, her palms crusty with blood, and a gash just below her one eye, but the most horrifying injury was the bright red, dried blood trickling from her head. “What the hell?!” I shouted.

I pushed the nurse’s hand away to examine her blonde head, fear gripping my heart like a vise. Oh, God, there was so much blood.

“Mommy!” Summer cried, wrapping her small arms around me, her cries getting louder than before as I fussed over her.

“Where’s the principal?” I looked over Summer’s head at the nurse, who was watching us with concern.

“She’s currently in a meeting, Mrs. Danvers.” She cowered under my glare.

“You’re telling me there is something more important going on right now than what has happened to my child?!” I screamed, pointing at my little girl’s blatant injuries.

“Well, I guess so.” She cringed when my glare deepened. “I’m not really sure, ma’am, but yelling at me certainly isn’t going to help her.” I saw red as I looked at the idiot through narrowed eyes.

“What did you just say to me?” I snapped.

“Celine?” Ace’s calming voice washed over me as he entered the small room. He glanced at me and then Summer, his eyes widening in alarm before walking over to us. Ace rested a gentle hand on my back, and the other on Summer’s leg. “What’s going on, big girl?” he asked her, rubbing my back to soothe me as he spoke to our daughter.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she whimpered. “I know you said no fighting, but she was so mean!” she cried. “I just wanted to play soccer, Daddy, but they all said I was too short and scrawny. And she said I looked like a boy and that no one would ever love me unless she fixed my face!” My little angel dropped her face into her hands and cried, her shoulders shaking, her breathing labored.

I was seeing red.

“Get the principal in here now!” I screamed at the stupid nurse, who looked at me like I was the crazy one. “Stop looking at me like that!” I shouted.

“Look, your child needs to go to a hospital. The principal can’t fix that. The child has been dealt with, and this won’t happen again, Mr. and Mrs. Danvers.”

“Go get the principal, or else I’m pulling both my kids from this school today and will be suing for the injuries my child has sustained under your care here.” The lady gulped and disappeared.

“What the fuck are we going to do?” I glanced at Ace, who was looking over Summer, doing his best to keep her calm.

“We’re going to bring the principal in here, make sure the kid has been dealt with, get an apology for our child arranged, and take her to the hospital. It’s not bleeding anymore, which is a good sign. I don’t think she even needs stitches. And you are going to sit down and calm the hell down.” I got ready to argue with him, but he looked up at me, his eyes softening, diminishing some of my rage. “Baby, please,” he pleaded.

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