Page 37 of No Perfect Love

But I know. Even when she says it, I know that Karen hurts her son. As I pull Ciara into a hug and promise her that I’ll take care of it, I swear that she’ll pay for what she has done to her son. Her sweet, misguided boy, who doesn’t have anyone to trust.

“Miss James.” Ciara sniffles. “Can you fix it? Can you help him?”

Pain still breaks through and her body still trembles with the anxiety of telling me, but her voice also holds hope.

“I can fix this,” I tell her. I mean it, too.

Teachers don’t have much power, if any at all. But we have the truth and by law we are mandated reporters of child abuse.

Not only that, but my best friend is the school nurse. His sister is a social worker, too. I know for a fact that anyone wanting to hurt Lucas ever again will have to go through me.

“I need you to come with me,” I tell her quietly. “We’re going to get Nurse Keller, and we’re going to go to the principal. I’ll do the talking, Ciara. But I need you to be with me, okay? So that we can help Lucas.”

I sniff, wiping my eyes again to get myself under control. Looking up at the clock, I see that we only have a few minutes until the bell rings.

“We’ve got to go, now. I’m going to have the front office call your mom and have her come get you for the day, too.”

When Ciara stares at me like I’ve hurt her, I hug her again. “You’re not in trouble, Ciara. I promise. But I think it’s best if maybe you get to relax this afternoon and come back to school refreshed tomorrow.”

Thoughts of what will happen with Lucas fill my mind. Sadly, there is a higher than normal chance that he’ll get upset at whoever he feels is responsible for what will happen to him as a result. If Ciara is right and Lucas has a back covered in bruises from his mother, and he tells even one of us about it, he will not be going home. Never again, if I have something to say about it.

“Let’s go, sweetie.”

Ciara grabs her backpack, and I hold out my hand for her to take. After checking the hall, we head in the direction of Chris’ office and quickly step in and shut the door.

The smile on his face falls when he sees the tears in both our eyes. In an instant, he isn’t the school nurse anymore. There are only a few reasons that a teacher will walk a crying child into the nurse’s office, while crying themselves. Chris puts the pieces together in front of my eyes, but I shake my head slightly.

“Not Ciara. I need you to call Lucas Keller in, please. After we finish with the principal.”

Rage, more fierce than anything I’ve ever seen in his eyes, fills the air around him. He purses his lips together, nodding slightly just as the bell ending lunch recess rings through the halls.

“I’ll watch your class for you.” He steps to the door before turning back to me with a grimace and eyes that reflect the sorrow quickly filling every fiber of my being. “And I’ll make a discreet call to Bria. I’ll make sure she’s the one who handles the case.”

“Okay.” I wait for him to go before turning back to Ciara, who clutches my hand like the lifeline it is. “Do you want to stay here?” I ask her. “I can lock the door.”

That’s when Ciara surprises me. “No,” she says firmly, “I have to be the one to tell the principal, Miss James. I have to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to Lucas again.” She stares up at me with the same intensity she usually has, and all signs of innocence and insecurity are gone.

Learning the truth, that the world can be a really dark and terrible place, is not something I wish on a sixth grader. Hell, I don’t wish it for any child. Now I have two on my hands, in my class. Two very special children who need help.

“Okay.” I wipe another tear from my eye. “You are stronger than most adults I know,” I tell her as we use the back door from the nurse’s office to go straight into the front office, where the principal’s office is located. “Remember that, in the days that are coming, Ciara. Because what you’re doing isn’t easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Surprising me even further, Ciara simply nods. “What’s easy isn’t always right. And what’s right isn’t ever easy, Miss James. We still have to do it though.”

I’ve never been more proud of a student than Ciara Moore. When she tells our principal what she knows, what Lucas told her. What she saw herself. I call her mom myself and explain that I think she should come in straightaway. When she comes to pick up her daughter, I tell her as much as I can without betraying either child. I ask her to wait, though. Since we have to call the police.

And there is only one officer I trust.

“I thought you’d never call,” Carter says by way of greeting ten seconds later.

“I need you,” my voice breaks, and he loses all the amusement in his voice.

“Hey.” He lowers his voice and steps away from whatever commotion is making it hard to hear him. “Tell me what’s going on.”

I stand, locked in the bathroom in the front office, and break down while I try to get out the words.

“Avery,” his voice cuts through the din. “Avery, baby. I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

His words echo the same ones I told to Ciara what now feels like years ago, but they pack the same punch.

---