Page 51 of Unbreakable Love

PENNY

An odd sense of fear and anger thickened the town’s air supply. I felt it everywhere I went from the moment I stepped outside of my home on Monday morning, saw Gavin’s truck missing from his driveway, and drove to school. I had no doubt the news of Ava’s attack and Cameron’s injury had spread overnight like wildfire.

I’d found out the moment Cameron was hurt from a text from Faye, demanding I turn on the game. But it was hours later when sirens were blaring and blasting and waking me up that she sent me another one.

Shit’s happening. Lock your doors and stay inside. Max just showed up at my house and is refusing to leave. I’ll keep you posted, but he said it looks like something to do with Ava.

Since I didn’t know Ava or where she lived or what was going on, I’d been awake most of the night myself, finally managing to fall back asleep around four when the night returned to its silence with a lingering sensation of something off in the air.

I chalked that up to Faye’s text and no further information from her and was part zombie while I got ready for work. I debated texting Gavin, wondering if it’d be received well. The very last thing he needed was to be angry or push me away first thing in the morning, but my hope he meant we really could be friends won out.

Next door to mine, Faye’s classroom was still dark. I entered my own classroom, with my eyes so dry I was certain someone scrubbed them with sandpaper while I slept, juggling my key and bags with a gallon-sized coffee in my other hand. I wore little makeup, a wrinkled dress, and thick tights I was pretty sure had a run up the back of my left calf. So far, the only smart decision I’d made was tugging on knee-high boots that would hide it.

Today was going to be a long day, but my kids needed me.

I flicked on the light, gathered my things, and was sitting at my desk, flipping through my lesson plans and chugging coffee as fast as my body could take it, when a knock hit my door.

“What happened to you?” I asked Faye, who looked like she’d scrambled out of bed and thrown on the first set of clothes she could find on the floor.

“I haven’t slept a wink, but there was no way I could call out for a sub today. You heard? About Ava?”

“Only what you said. Is she okay?”

“I don’t know.”

She slunk into my classroom and sat down on the kidney-shaped table used for small group reading time.

“Remember when we were at Tom’s and I mentioned that guy Jimmy?”

“The bad news guy?”

“That’s the one.” She nodded once. “Apparently, he broke into Ava’s home last night and assaulted her.”

My eyes almost bugged out of my head with the news. “Oh no. Is she… well, obviously she’s not okay okay, but…”

“Max talked to Isaiah, her brother. She’s hurt, but it was stopped before it went too far, and the cops spent an hour chasing him down. Got him, though. Which is good.”

She picked at her wrinkled jeans, shaking her head. “It sucks, too. It’s not like everyone who met him didn’t learn real quick to stay far away, and I’m not so naïve to think things like that only happen in the city or anything, but it’s weird… and then Max wouldn’t leave me alone, so yeah, shit night. Crappy days to come, I’m sure.”

“At least they found him,” I said, and what else was there to say? She was right. Break-ins and assault of any form weren’t relegated to the slums of apartments like the one I’d grown up in, but it was a violation all the same when your safe world was rocked.

“Poor Ava,” she whispered. “I want to help her, but what do you do in that situation? Isaiah says she’s staying with her parents, and Cameron is still in Buffalo. He ended up needing surgery.”

“You give her time, and you wait, and when the opportunity presents itself, you act.”

Faye glanced up, a curl of her lips giving her a soft smile on her face. “I had no idea you were so wise.”

I wouldn’t call it wisdom, more like practicality. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know yet. But if the Kelley family is as loved as you say they are, I’m sure they’ll have no shortage of help or assistance.”

“And probably more casseroles than Ava’s ever wanted to eat in her life.”

Ah yes, casseroles. The required healing items to any and all grief and troubles. “See? You already know what to do.”

Faye rolled her eyes but hopped off the table. “What do you say we scrap the lesson plans today and give these kids an exploration day? I have a feeling there will be several kids called out anyway.”

My brows rose. “Exploration day?”

“The kids explore how much mess and chaos they can cause in a day while we give them free rein to do whatever they want, and we explore the limits to our sanity and patience.”

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