by Doreen Alsen
And they called being gay sick? Stupid, stupid bastards. A horrible thought blasted into his brain. He didn’t want to know, but he had to ask.
“Did he hurt you anywhere else?” Ruark clenched his jaw, bracing for the answer.
She swiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her whole body trembled. He was about ready to jump out of his skin until she shook her head no.
Thank God. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “We should call Momma. Those bruises look serious. Maybe you need to see a doctor.”
“No!” She lifted her head and swiveled it to look at him. “I told you, it’s my fault!”
“You really need to tell her. She’ll know what to do.”
“Don’t! I don’t want her to know!”
“At least you should…”
“No!” She jumped off the couch. “Promise me you won’t tell her!”
His heart beat in savage painful bursts as he stood.
“Stop asking me questions! It’s my business. It’s my fault. I’m a bad girlfriend. Other girls would let him do all that stuff and they’d like it.” She hung her head. “He said I didn’t love him because I didn’t want to, you know. He said there was something wrong with me because I don’t really like it.”
No. Just no. “He’s hurt you before.”
“Not really.” Shanna sounded choked. “It always kind of hurts when he, you know, kisses me and stuff. Everyone says it feels really good, but I hate it. There’s something wrong with me.”
Alden’d been hurting her all along. Why hadn’t Ruark seen it? Guilt sifted into the stew of ugly emotions he already felt. He’d known Alden was bad news. He should have paid closer attention. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” He watched what was left of her composure just disintegrate. “He’s an asshole and a bully. He beats people up just for the fun of it.” Ruark was ready to cry himself.
Jesus. Shanna was so tiny and Alden was huge. He could have done some serious damage.
“He told me I was a tease, like I led him on and stuff.” Tears welled in her eyes. “He told me he’s gonna tell everyone he broke up with me because I’m a slut. That’s what he told Cecily when he texted her.”
“I won’t let him say one wrong word about you.”
“You can’t stop him. It’s probably all over Facebook by now.” She put a hand over her mouth.
“Cecily should…”
“He’s gonna get Cecily to kick me off the cheering squad.”
“Cecily is stupid. Besides, she’s supposed to be your friend.”
“Not any more. She does what he tells her to. Everyone does. She texted me that her mother won’t let her be friends with me anymore because Momma is their cleaning lady.”
Son of a bitch. “You’re better off without a friend like her.”
“I won’t have any friends anymore. Cecily is telling everybody right now what Alden said about me. That I’m a tease and a slut.” Shanna shuddered. “Her mom is going to fire Momma, and it’s all my fault.” Waves of tears took her over. “Momma’s gonna hate me. I’m such a failure.”
“Momma will never hate you. You know that.” Ruark’s stomach lurched. Momma fired? Damn them all. “It’s not your fault. I won’t let anyone talk smack about you or Momma.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Shanna’s breath sawed out in huge noisy pants. The sound made him more and more mad at Alden. “I think I’m gonna throw up.” She pushed past him and ran to the bathroom.
Ruark watched her, feeling helpless, lost and furious.
Well, if Shanna wouldn’t do anything about it, Ruark would. He’d beat the truth out of Alden and make him pay for hurting his sister.
He was so caught up in his confusion and righteous indignation, he didn’t realize Patsy had been hiding and had heard every word.
Chapter Thirty
The next morning, Ruark managed to get out of the house without his mother seeing him. She was busy with Shanna, who wouldn’t get out of bed because she felt too sick.
It actually made his plans easier. He jammed his backpack in his locker and headed for the gym.
Gunning for Alden.
He didn’t care if he got thrown out of school. He didn’t care if he got the crap beaten out of him by Alden. The bastard couldn’t skate away from what he’d done to Shanna.
Ruark’s kicks squee-geed as he marched down the hall. That scent of the mystery lunch of the day wafted woefully from the cafeteria. Mrs. Kelly stood in the doorway of her room, nodded at him, but he just walked on by.
Alden stood with his friends underneath the score sign. Ruark didn’t think. He launched himself at Alden as hard as he could, pushing him down to the floor and against the wall. Alden’s head connected with the floor with a satisfying thunk. Then, without a word, Ruark brought his fist back and punched Alden as hard as he could. The yelp of pain Alden gave was totally worth it.
He’d had the element of surprise, and had gotten a few good belts in, but that was no more. Alden’s buddies pulled him off and held him so that Alden could use him as a punching bag. Pain exploded in his face and his gut.
“What the hell! Stop that right now!”
Ruark dimly heard Mr. Kelly explode on the scene. The kids holding him dropped him on the floor. “He threw the first punch, Coach.” Alden yelled.
“Quiet!” Mr. Kelly ordered. “Chelsea. Go get some wet towels.”
Mr. Kelly dropped to his knees next to him. “Ruark. You okay?”
He was so obviously not okay. His nose hemorrhaged blood and it ran down his face and back into his throat. He gagged on it. Pain radiated in sharp bursts from the places Alden had punched him. He could barely breathe due to the blood.
“Can you stand up?”
Absolutely. Even if it killed him, he would walk away from this. Without help.
Well, a little help. Mr. Kelly helped him to his feet, but then Ruark shook his arms free. “I’m okay.”
The student teacher came back with the towels. Ruark took them and gingerly pressed it to his nose.
“He just came out of nowhere and ran me down.” Alden complained. “I wasn’t doing nothing to him. He’s crazy.”
“You three. Up to Mr. Mason’s office right now. If your story checks out, maybe, just maybe, I won’t bench you on Friday. But as of right now, it’s not looking good. What were you thinking, three against one?” Mr. Kelly pointed his finger at them, “Don’t plan on practicing today.”
“He started it. He threw the first punch,” one of the kids, Kevin, whined.
“Mr. Mason’s office. Now.”
Ruark heard them leave. He kept his head high as he took one shuffling step forward.
Mr. Kelly studied Ruark’s face. “I’m taking you right to the nurse’s office so we can make sure you don’t have to go to the E.R. You want to tell me what that was all about?”
Ruark wasn’t about to tell Mr. Kelly. For all Ruark knew, he’d take Alden’s side. Mr. Kelly barked out a couple of orders to the student teacher and left her to deal with the custodians and other kids.
He wasn’t sorry, and he wasn’t going to apologize. Even if his mother tried to make him, he wouldn’t do it.
A real man stood up for what’s right. He protected his family.
“Okay. You can tell Mr. Mason. Come on, kid. Let’s get you checked out.” Mr. Kelly walked beside him all the way to the nurse’s office.
****
Ainslie’s day added up to quite possibly the strangest day she’d had in a long time. Shanna was at home in bed, too sick to go to school. It seemed to be a very mysterious malady, although Patsy swore that Shanna had been throwing up.
Speaking of whom, Patsy had several bad dreams during the night and ended up sleeping with Ainslie. She didn’t keep up her constant stream of conversation on the way to school, instead being oddly silent. Ruark managed to slip past her so Ainslie hadn’t even seen him this morning.
She pulled her car up in front of the Br
ewster’s house, in the spot they designated for her. Grabbing her stuff, she walked up to the door like she always did.
Oddly, Mrs. Brewster met her at the door. Handing Ainslie an envelope, she said, “Your services are no longer needed. This is the last of the wages we owe you. Good bye.”
“Wait!” Ainslie shook her head as she looked at the envelope and then back at Mrs. Brewster. “Is there a problem? Did I do something wrong?” If she had, she couldn’t remember it.
“There is no place here for you anymore. Perhaps you can use this free time to keep better track of your tramp of a daughter.”
“I beg your pardon?” No one called her daughter a tramp.
“You are no longer welcome here.” She closed the door, right in Ainslie’s face.
Her daughter? A tramp? Her daughter was no tramp—Ainslie knew that for sure. How dare that Brewster woman say otherwise?
What in holy hell was going on? Obviously, something was really wrong. She got back into her car and high tailed it home to talk to Shanna.
****
Dave juggled his briefcase, coffee, and breakfast sandwich as he tried to open his office door. Running late, he had ten minutes to meet with Joe L’Amore, the new superintendent, about the budget. Something had to go, and these money meetings were never pleasant.
He’d just managed to get in the office when his phone rang. Tossing the briefcase onto his chair, he dropped the bag with the sandwich on to the desk. He was hanging on to the coffee, phone call or no phone call. “Mason.”
“Yeah, Dave, it’s Mike. There was an incident in the gym a couple of minutes ago and I’ve got Ruark Logan here at the Nurse’s Office. He’s pretty beat up.”
“Be right there.”
“Alden, Kevin, and Leo are on their way up to see you. Leo and Kevin were holding Ruark down so Alden could use him as a punching bag. Throw the book at them.”
“I’ll be right there.” The bottom fell out of his stomach. God damn! Dave headed out his door. “Mrs. Rockwell,” he said as he passed her in the hall, “Can you please call Mr. L’Amore and tell him there’s a situation with some students, and I can’t meet with him? And Alden Bradford, Kevin Baldwin and Leo Campanello are on their way up here. Make them wait here until I get back.”
“Of course.” She sat at her desk and immediately picked up the phone.
“Thanks. And after that, please call Mrs. Logan and see if she can come down here. There’s something up with Ruark.”
The fear eating at his every step had a different edge to it. He just wasn’t going to check on a hurt student. He was going to check on a kid he very much felt to be his own.
Ruark was sitting in a chair holding a cold compress to his nose. They had his shirt off and bruises bloomed into large, fist shaped marks. The nurse was checking to see if any ribs were broken, and the kid winced every time she pushed. If Dave didn’t miss his guess, Ruark was also getting a pretty impressive black eye. Why would anyone beat up Ruark. Someone better have some answers.
“What happened?” Dave looked at Mike.
Mike’s jaw couldn’t clench any tighter. “I don’t know. Ruark won’t say anything. When I got there, Leo and Kevin were holding Ruark so Alden could use him as a punching bag.”
Son of a bitch. “Three against one? I don’t care what happened, they’re suspended.”
Mike nodded, his eyes grim. “That’s what I thought would happen. I’m sure some time cooling their heels on the bench will give them a new perspective on good sportsmanship.”
Dave looked at Ruark, but the kid wouldn’t look at him. “I’ve had Mrs. Rockwell call Ainslie, let’s hope she reached her.”
Mike nodded. “I’ve got to get back. My first period class already started.”
“Right.” He stared at Ruark, willing him to look at him. “I’m going to my office to hear what the other guys have to say. Your mom should be along, as soon as Mrs. Rockwell reaches her. Are you sure you don’t have something to say to me?”
Ruark peered at him out of his good eye. “Don’t call her. Please.”
“Too late.” He turned to the nurse. “Please keep me in the loop here.”
“Of course, Mr. Mason.”
Ruark stared at him, defiant and though his face was beaten, his spirit was not. Violence was not the way he handled things. He was far too sensitive for that. Something important had happened and had driven him to this.
Dave wouldn’t rest until he found out the truth.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Shanna? Shanna, sweetie, I’m home,” Ainslie called out the minute she stepped in her front door. A nasty stew of emotions swirled inside her. Anger, confusion, and most of all, fear.
What in the world had happened?
Shanna didn’t answer, but as Ainslie dropped her purse onto the table by the door, she thought she heard Shanna crying softly. Heart stumbling with worry, she pushed the door to her daughter’s room open.
Shanna lay on her bed tucked up into a ball, weeping like her heart was broken. Used up balls of tissues littered the bed as Shanna cried her eyes out. She rushed right over to her and pulled her into a hug. “Beautiful girl, what happened?”
Shanna flinched, like she was in pain, when Ainslie touched her arms. Her heart stilled and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. “What’s going on here, sweetie?”
Shanna let loose. Incoherent through her violent sobbing, she flung her arms around Ainslie’s neck and just let go.
Rubbing her back, her hair, Ainslie held on to her baby tight, rocking her and crooning low sounds meant to soothe. Fear swirled around her.
When the storm had subsided, when Shanna’s sobs had dwindled to hiccups, Ainslie tried to get her to repeat the story. “What happened, pumpkin? You know you can tell me anything.”
“I really messed up,” Shanna snarfled.
Ainslie reached to move Shanna’s hair out of her face. She saw the lurid bruise on Shanna’s neck and had to bite her tongue to keep calm and quiet, even as her blood turned icy cold. “You need to tell me right now what happened. I promise you won’t get into trouble.”
Face red and blotchy, Shanna shuddered. “I’m sorry, Momma. I snuck out to a movie last night with Alden, only we didn’t go to the movie, we just dropped Cecily and Priscilla off, ’cause Alden didn’t want to see it.”
“Okay.” Calm, blue ocean, she told herself. Shanna didn’t need her flying off the handle.
“He…” Shanna swallowed, sounding like she was forcing a rock down her throat. “He took us to the Quarry Overlook, you know, where all the kids go, so we could, like, you know, just be alone and stuff.” She looked so ashamed.
“And stuff.” Dear Lord. Her heart beat like a hammer on an anvil. “Is that when he hurt you?”
“It was my fault, Momma. All my fault.” She grabbed for another tissue. “I don’t really like to do all that stuff, ’cause it always kind of hurts, you know? But he’s always telling me that if I was a good girlfriend, I’d like it when he does that stuff.”
“What kind of things does he pressure you to do?” Could this get any worse?
“He’d like me to let him do everything, but I won’t. I just let him go, you know, like part of the way. Then he gets mad and calls me a tease.” Shanna started crying again.
“Is this the first time he’s hurt you?” How had she not noticed? She should have made sure Alden was on the up and up. She hadn’t because he came from a wealthy family, and she cleaned his house.
She should have known better. Guilt and shame covered her like a heavy blanket. “You have to tell me, sugar.”
Shanna shook her head. “He says it hurts because I don’t know how to do anything right, like there’s something wrong with me.”
Ainslie looked down to see her hands were shaking. “There’s nothing wrong with you. He shouldn’t touch you and hurt you. He’s the one who’s wrong.”
“There’s more, and I’m so sorry, Momma! He broke up with me, and now he’s telling
everyone I’m a slut and a whore. Cecily won’t be my friend, and she’s on his side, and she says she’s gonna make her mother fire you.” She broke down again, this time her arms around her momma’s neck and her face against her shoulder.
Cecily hadn’t wasted any time, had she? “It’s just a job, baby. I’ll get another one.” She smoothed her girl’s hair. “You’re the most important thing right now.”
Ainslie held on to her daughter like she’d never let go again. She wanted to cry herself, and tears did well up in her eyes, but she would be strong for her baby.
The phone rang. She ignored it, because she couldn’t, wouldn’t, leave Shanna right now.
****
Dave looked at the three boys sprawled in his office chairs. He could usually keep his cool, distance himself from the situation, but this felt so different. He had a personal stake in this.
He felt outraged to see how casual these clowns acted. Well, they’d learn soon. “Sit up.”
When Dave used that voice, no one disobeyed. The boys sat up.
“So, what happened to make the three of you gang up on one kid who’s only half the size of one of you?”
“He started it,” Leo said. “Alden was just minding his own business, and Ruark came in and attacked him.”
“That’s when you decided that three of you were needed to take care of the situation?”
“What do you want me to do? The freak attacked me.” Alden’s argument might have held more water if there had been more damage to him, other than his pride.
That pride was going to take another beating. Right. Now.
“So you, captain of the football team, needed help to take care of one skinny kid who doesn’t know how to fight?”
Alden’s face turned bloody red. “It wasn’t like that. The kid was crazy.”
“It’s too bad you couldn’t walk away from it. All three of you. Doesn’t give me much hope for the future of the football team. And here I thought you guys were going some place this year.”
“We are!” Kevin blurted. “This is the best team in years.”
Dave raised an eyebrow. “Think you’re going to the championships this year?”
