Page 50 of Her Big Bad Wolf
When I returned to school, the majority of kids were still napping or at least having their quiet time for those who refused to take a nap.
“Did you find them?” Mary asked in a hushed voice.
“Yes. They are safe.”
“Oh, thank the Lord. Last I heard, Kyle was struggling to find someone to take all three of them. Do you know what he’s going to do? Jason and I discussed taking them in, but I just don’t know if we have it in us to keep up with them. It’s a lot.”
“I know. It’s okay. Right now, they are staying at Isaac’s. At least until Kyle can find other arrangements for them. Their reputation for trouble makes people leery to commit to them. It’s so sad because they are great kids. They’ve just reacted to bad situations.”
“Isaac is keeping them? And Kyle thought that was the best option?”
I sighed. “For now. It was sweet of him to offer.”
“Sweet? Isaac? I’m not sure we’re talking about the right man.”
I rolled my eyes. I knew all the horror stories about him, or at least the overinflated lore people in the Pack spread about him. But who really knew him?
“He’s not as bad as you make out.”
She eyed me suspiciously and then shrugged. “I suppose if anyone knows what those boys are going through it would be him. Maybe this will turn out to be a blessing for all of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything. Just forget it.”
“Mary Westin, you know damn well I’m not going to just forget something like that. What are you talking about? Why would Isaac understand what they are going through?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Isaac was a sweet kid too when he was young. Then around maybe Mason’s age, his mother died. It was sudden and his father had never been in the picture. He lost his whole world. Fortunately, he had a grandmother who was a saint of a woman. She took that boy in and helped him deal with his anger and frustrations. But unfortunately, she passed away a year later. He was so angry. We passed him through one foster family after another until he finally found a match. They had a boy around his age. The two of them hit it off instantly. They were as close as brothers. Closer even. Isaac and Freddy Wyman.”
I gasped.
“The boy who killed himself?”
She nodded.
“I was in middle school when that happened. He was several years older in high school, but I remember the day ithappened. Everyone was talking about it, crying. They brought in counselors for anyone who needed to talk about it. It’s not something I could ever forget. Isaac was close with him?”
“They were stronger than blood.”
“What happened?”
“I’m not exactly sure. There had been reports of bullying. Isaac swore Freddy didn’t kill himself. He was adamant someone else had. The two known bullies were who he blamed, but all evidence said otherwise. Isaac wasn’t the same after that. He became withdrawn, spent all his time indoors, and became this hard, bitter person. He locked himself away from everyone and faded away himself, a ghost who doesn’t really exist.”
But he does exist, I wanted to argue but refrained.
“So you see, he could prove to be a great resource for the boys, or it’s possible he’s too far gone for human companionship at this point. I honestly haven’t seen him in many years so I have no idea what sort of man he’s turned into. On paper and by most accounts he doesn’t actually exist.”
I’d heard enough for one day. I didn’t press for more or ask what she meant by that. I just prayed that he and the boys would survive the day.
One day at a time,I reminded myself.
In the meantime, I tried not to let it all distract me and strived to be as present as possible for the kids in my class.
The afternoon passed quickly and soon I was saying goodbye to the last child of the day.
I took a few minutes to walk through my clean up routine and reset everything for the next day. It made a huge difference to the start of my next day and something I’d been slacking on lately.
Satisfied that everything was done, I walked down the street and picked up a couple pizzas before driving over to Isaac’s.
