Page 57 of A Scandal in Homeroom
His family. Of course. He had to think of them first.
“This is a warning,” he continued. “Pull a stunt like this again and I’ll ask CPS to rehome you.”
It felt like a punch to the solar plexus because suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I had to work past it, force myself to take in air. “I’ve been here two years. I only have a year until I’m eighteen, then another eight months after that until graduation.”
“That’s right. Up until now you’ve been real easy, Reen. But when we realized you snuck out tonight, Sally was upset. Wanted to go look for you, call the police. I told her you were probably off with some boy and that settled her down. If you’re going to keep doing that, making her upset like that, then I have to make a choice. A hard one. You understand?”
I nodded tightly.
He approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. It was heavy, but it wasn’t comforting, and it took everything in me not to shake it off and tell him not to touch me. That he wasn’t some benevolent figure in my life who could offer me some sage advice.
He was just the guy who took the state’s check. The second I stepped out of line I was just a piece of luggage to be rehomed.
“Reen. Reen,” he said, forcing me to look at him. “You’re a good girl. I know this. I also know you’ve had a shit time of it up until now. I want to do right by you. I do. Sally and I were talking, and we thought if you didn’t go to college that you still were going to need a place to live. We could keep you on here. You’d have to get a job, pay board and help toward food and bills, but at least you wouldn’t be on your own. But only if you’re willing to follow the rules. Our rules.”
“Yes, sir. That’s a really generous offer. Thank you.” I hoped I sounded humble. Grateful. At the very least I was polite.
Inside, I wanted to scratch his eyes out with my nails and tell him to take his pity and his board and shove it up his ass.
“Now, no more of this nonsense. I mean it. I don’t care who the boy is.”
“It wasn’t a boy. I was just hanging out with friends, and I fell asleep.” At least he would have a story to tell Mrs. Sumner.
“Hmm. Well, last warning.”
I nodded because I knew it was the fastest way for him to leave. Quietly, he shut the door behind him.
He’d done what he’d set out to do. If I got caught sneaking out again, I was going to get rehomed. I would have to go through the process of moving in with a new family.
What if I couldn’t even stay in Haddonfield?
A new school. No friends.
Fuck my life!
I walked to my laptop and opened it. Immediately, I pulled up the online bank app and logged in. Satisfied when I saw the balance. There was enough there to start a life. A down payment for an apartment. At least a year’s worth of rent. A used car.
I could give up the game, keep clean while I was still in school, then, once I’d graduated, I could leave. That was the smart choice. The safe bet.
Would I be allowed to give up the game? Somehow, I didn’t think telling Moriarty I was grounded was going to go over very well. I had to try, though. Mr. Sumner left me no choice.
I needed to finish this out. With Janie and Beth. I needed to at least have that.
Undressing, I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and fell into bed. I wanted to sleep the entire day away so I wouldn’t have to face anyone. Mrs. Sumner, Moriarty, Coyle.
I might have, too, if I hadn’t been woken up a few hours later by my phone blowing up with texts and calls.
Reaching for it, I read the slew of messages from Beth which basically broke down into a garbled mess of Fitz being accused of vehicular assault against Wick, which wasn’t true, and landing on her last request and wincing.
She needed Locke’s help.
13
Saturday Night
Thornfield Home
Locke
