Page 63 of Single Teddy
Valentin had already started stacking other numbers to see which ones had the same height, and we worked on those for about half an hour and they took to the exercise quickly, which was very encouraging.
At some point, Barnes passed by the room with a beer in hand and a scowl on his face.
I ignored him. It was rare that I got the chance to spend so much time with only two kids in class, and I was really enjoying seeing their eyes brighten a little as they grasped a concept and understood what I was trying to teach them. And for the hundredth time, I thanked whoever had invented these number blocks because they were an absolutely brilliant visual aid for math.
“Okay, I need to go soon, but we’ll work on reading next time, okay? Do you want to hold on to these blocks or?—”
“No. Take them!” Niko said and shoved them back in my tote bag.
I didn’t ask why, but I did as told.
“Are you boys safe?” I whispered, my heart breaking for not being able to do more.
“We’re okay,” Niko said, but Valentin just pursed his lips.
“You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
Niko looked back at the entrance, and I stopped talking. I didn’t want to make trouble for them, but I would definitely be having a conversation with them in class tomorrow. If they turned up.
“Right. I’ll get going. But can I use your bathroom first?” I asked, and even though Niko showed me which way to go, I went the other way.
I located the kitchen, which could only be described as derelict, with an empty pantry. Then I made my way upstairs, even though they were creaky as fuck.
I made it all the way to the top of the stairs when Mr. Barnes appeared from a door and shouted.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he shouted, shutting the door hastily and rushing to square up to me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was looking for the bathroom.”
“Downstairs,” he grumbled and practically pushed me down.
Once I was back on the ground floor, he all but shoved me into the bathroom, and I took a moment or two before I turned the tap on and breathed in. I needed to plant the bug before I left, but where?
I couldn’t do it in the bathroom. Going back upstairs was a death sentence at this point. I guessed the best bet was the living room, where we had our lesson.
“Okay. Let’s do this,” I mumbled, turned the faucet off, flushed the empty toilet, and came back out.
The dad wasn’t there anymore, so I made my way back to the living room, but the boys weren’t there anymore either.
I looked everywhere, tried to find the best place, and when I heard footsteps from the hallway, I took the bug off and shoved it under the armchair’s pillows.
My hand came back all sticky, and I didn’t even want to know what was down there. I didn’t have the chance to find out anyway because Barnes appeared in the doorway and glared at me.
“Can I help you?” he grumbled.
“Oh, sorry. Yes. I thought I left my bag here before I remembered it was on my arm,” I laughed.
Damn. That was a silly lie, but I hoped it was believable enough to not make this guy mad.
He grimaced, clearly not amused, and I came out of the living room. I got all the way to the front “door” with him as my shadow behind me. I turned and smiled.
“Are the boys around? I wanted to say bye to them,” I said.
“The boys are in bed. And you should go home now too,” he said with a marbled expression.
“Right. Sure. Yeah,” I said and got the hell out of Dodge before he had half a mind to pick me up by the shirt again and kick me out.
Teddy’s car wasn’t where it had been parked before. My stomach clenched and my throat tightened for a moment. Until I checked my messages.
