Page 27 of Barefoot Chaos
Her eyes lowered to my outstretched hand before snapping back to my face, eyes ablaze. "You're the one daring my son to jump his motorcycle? What were you thinking?"
I visibly pulled back, I was so surprised at her accusation. "I-I'm sorry?"
"You should be. Look at him!" She tilted her head in Gabe's direction. "He's in a medically induced coma. He has a concussion and they want to make sure the swelling goes down before waking him up."
I shook my head, my eyes focused on Gabe. Tears blurred my vision seeing him motionless like that. I couldn't look away, even when Mr. Brown finally spoke up.
"Ms. Martinez, I'm sorry to see your son in this condition. I truly am. However, I think we need to investigate what happened before we place blame." His forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, though the temperature was bordering on glacial in the room.
"I have his phone. His last text was to his best friend, James. He said he had to do this dare or he'd never hear the end of it. What else could he have meant?" Ms. Martinez was back to glaring at me, skewering me with her eyes.
The tips of my ears burned under her accusation. I willed myself not to cry in front of her, even though it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I loved my students, no matter how irritated they made me on a day-to-day basis. I couldn't imagine how scared she must be right now, seeing her son lying in a hospital bed. The shame of her accusation was making my head pound, even though I was thoroughly confused as to how this could actually be my fault.
I dragged my eyes away from Gabe and focused on his mother. "Ms. Martinez. I absolutely hate to see this happen to Gabe. I'll do whatever I can to find out what happened last night. We'll make this right, you'll see." I nodded my head, vowing to myself that no matter what, I'd see this thing through and make it right for him and his family. I believed whole-heartedly that the Care Dare program had nothing to do with it, but I'd prove it to her and still make sure she and Gabe got the support they needed.
Mr. Brown jumped in, pulling at his collar. "Let's let the officials investigate and then we'll talk about what can be done here. Ms. Martinez, my best wishes for your son's speedy recovery."
With that, he grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out of the room. He didn't let go of my arm until we hit the lobby, making me feel like a reprimanded little child. I didn't know what his problem was, but he'd better think thrice before touching me again like that.
When the doors opened up, spilling us into the fresh air of the parking lot, I whipped around, ready to confront his man-handling. I opened my mouth, but the words were cut off before they even started when he raised his hand in front of my face.
"I don't want to hear it." His face was ashen but there was fire in his eyes as he stared me down. "You need to not say anything to anyone. Do you hear me?"
I shook my head, not understanding what he was talking about.
He sighed, seeming exasperated with me. "Until we get our lawyers in here and the police determine what happened, you can't say a word to anyone, especially Ms. Martinez. You express anything that can be construed as guilt or responsibility and the district will be facing a lawsuit."
The confusion left quickly as I realized all he cared about was a damn lawsuit. "Mr. Brown, her son is laying in a coma right now." I was so furious. "Our focus should be on helping our student, not worrying about what the lawyers will say."
He took another small step toward me, invading my personal space. He dropped his voice and made his position clear. "You say one word, to anyone, I will have to fire you. I don't want to Hessa. You're an excellent teacher. But I won't allow this incident to ruin our school's reputation or our financial standing. Am I clear?"
I almost couldn't get words out, my throat was so clogged. "Crystal," I said through clenched teeth. I whirled around and practically ran to my car. Tears were threatening to spill over and I wouldn't allow him to see that he'd gotten to me. I hated this reaction. When I was this angry, the emotion came out in the form of tears, not the harsh put-down I wished for.
I fumbled for my keys, practically ripping the door off my poor car and heaving myself inside. I knew I needed to calm down before I drove anywhere, so I dropped my head to the steering wheel and took deep breaths, willing my heart rate to slow down.
Seeing Gabe so motionless in that stark white hospital bed made him seem so young and innocent. I was horrified that he was in that condition. I was worried about his prognosis. I was confused as to how the Care Dare program could have been responsible. I was furious at the principal for showing his true colors by only caring about lawyers and lawsuits instead of the children we were charged with caring for. I felt so alone in shouldering the responsibility of one of my students. I let the tears fall, letting myself feel all the raging emotions swirling in my body.
When the storm dissipated, only one thing sounded right.
I lifted my head, wiped my cheeks, and picked up my cell phone. I hit Kai's number and prayed he'd pick up.
"Hessa?"
"Kai." I only got out the one word. I wasn't sure where to start and I knew I couldn't trust my voice yet.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Kai's voice immediately took on an urgent tone. I could hear noise in the background but couldn't make out where he might be or if he had time for me.
"Sorry. Yes, I'm doing okay. Is now a good time?" Maybe I shouldn't have called. Maybe I should have gone home first and sorted out any documentation about Gabe's Care Dare.
"Of course I have time for you. And if I was busy, I'd make time. I'll ask again: what's going on?" Kai said it so matter-of-fact, like it was obvious he had time for me. Maybe there was more to that kiss the other night than I originally thought.
I shook my head, forcing myself to stay focused on Gabe. I didn't have time to dissect kisses or relationship statuses. "I just visited one of my students in the hospital. His mom said he was dared to jump his motorcycle over a car last night and he didn't clear it. My principal threatened me not to talk about it because of a potential lawsuit, but you should have seen him, Kai. He was so small lying there in that bed! I have to figure out what happened. I have to help his mom. There'll be hospital bills and I'm sure his motorcycle is trashed. And that's just if he pulls out of the coma okay! What if he doesn't? Or if he does and he has impaired brain function!"
"Hessa!" Kai barked into the phone cutting me off, which was just as well. I felt the hysteria climbing back up my throat. I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel again, phone pressed tightly to my ear, and focused on taking deep breaths.
"Ono, you have to stay calm. Let's talk about this and sort everything out, okay? Where are you?" Kai spoke softly, the smooth cadence of his voice doing more to calm me than the meditation breaths I was still working on.
"I'm in my car in the hospital parking lot off Beach Blvd."
