Page 3 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

Miss Bright looks uncomfortable, “No, we’d have let Ms. Woods take him, as you said, she’s on your list of approved guardians. A man was waiting with the parents at the gates. At first, we didn’t think anything of it, but then he waved at Max and called out to him. One of the teaching assistants went over since he was unfamiliar, and he claimed that you’d sent him to collect Max. She explained our policy and told him he couldn’t take Max unless he was on the approved list. The man was very polite and understanding, he told Max he’d see him soon and left.”

“Oh my god, why did no one call me?” I ask, a flare of anger flushing up.

“We tried. He really was quite convincing that he knew you, and when we asked Max if he knew the man he said he did,” she explains sheepishly.

“He did?” I ask surprised.

“Well, actually, it’s a little strange… but he called the man Daddy. Which of course is impossible… given that Max’s father is…”

“Dead,” I finish her sentence for her.

She bobs her head in one abrupt nod, “Right. So we thought perhaps he could be a boyfriend or something…”

“I’m single… What did the man look like?” I ask.

All of a sudden, I feel an irrational feeling of dread that Adam has somehow come back from the dead to carry out his promise, he always threatened he’d take Max away from me if I tried to leave. But it’s impossible. He’s dead. He drowned in a boating accident while visiting his mother in Mexico.

“He was tall, I’d say six foot, maybe, and he had a muscular build, with short dark hair and a big beard,” she explains, wearing a hopeful expression that I’ll recognize the description.

Though this description does nothing to quell my anxiety about a stranger approaching my son, it does at least relieve me of my paranoia about Adam. He was only around five ten with shaggy blond hair, a clean-shaven face, and a lean, scrawny build. Adam only enjoyed gambling on sports, not participating in them.

“I guess it could have been my brother or one of his friends…” I say uncertainly.

The description could fit Jacob, apart from the hair which he usually wears long and is salt and pepper gray. Perhaps he got it cut, and it looks darker now? Though why wouldn’t he say he’s Max’s uncle? And why would Max call him Daddy? We don’t see his uncle much, but I suppose it’s possible that, as his only male family member, Max has decided to view him as a father.

“Have you reported it to the police?” I ask.

Miss Bright clears her throat uncomfortably before replying, “Not yet. No. The school thought that, given the circumstances, we ought to speak with you before causing any undue panic. Perhaps you can speak to your brother, and we can go from there?”

“Right. Yes, of course,” I reply, hurrying over to Max, “Come on sweetie, time to go home,” I say my voice strained with the effort of trying to sound as if nothing is bothering me.

I ignore Miss Bright’s apologetic goodbyes and rush out to the car.

I feel dazed and long to take Max as far away from here as I can.

My thoughts run at a million miles an hour. All sorts of crazy theories and fears over what could have happened if the school didn’t have such stringent policies start to form in my mind.

What does someone want with Max?

No. I can’t let myself think the worst. It has to be Jacob behind this.Doesn’t it?

This kind of stunt is exactly the kind of thing my overly protective big brother would do. He wouldn’t think to check in with me or realize that the school has a permission system, he’d just show up and surprise us. It’s the reason why he’s not on the list of approved guardians. If I let Jacob back in too much he’ll go right back to being too involved in my life, treating me like a child and acting more like a father than my brother. Not that I don’t understand why. He’s twelve years older than me and growing up, our dad was absent, and our mom wasn’t around much, he’d been the one to raise me.

I feel a lot better now I’ve rationalized that it must be him. But just to be safe, I decide I’ll call him when we get home and ask.

We get in the car, and I ensure Max is safely strapped into his seat. “Did you have a good day at school kiddo?” I ask as we pull out of the parking lot.

“Uh-huh,” he replies, fiddling with his seatbelt.

“What did you learn?”

“We learned about dinosaurs!” he says animatedly, and I can tell that this heralds a new obsession for him.

“Oh, that sounds fun! You’ll have to tell me all about them later,” I reply trying to sound excited while desperately wanting to steer the conversation toward the man at the school gates. “Did anything else happen?” I ask cautiously, as I glance back at him in the rearview, I can see him squirming, uncertain if he should confide in me. “You know you can tell Mommy anything, right?”

He nods and then seemingly decides he can tell me. “Daddy tried to take me home today, but the teacher wouldn’t let him.”

“Maxi, that wasn’t your daddy sweetheart. It can’t have been,” I say gently. I know I need to emphasize how important this is without scaring him.

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