Shattered Poetry (Broken Lives #2)

by Marita A. Hansen

  “I’m not, he’s just bein’ a nosy cunt.”

  “I still need an answer,” the cop said.

  “Yeah, I’m Dante,” I replied before my dad could insult him again.

  The cop glanced back at his partner, murmuring something too soft for me to hear. He turned back to us, starting to read me my...

  My dad shot to his feet. “Why the fuck are you arresting my son?!”

  “He assaulted a teacher—”

  “Like hell!” My dad stepped closer to the cop, his hands already fisting.

  “Step back, sir,” the cop said, standing his ground.

  “Who the fuck is this teacher?” my dad growled.

  “That’s not for me to say, so please, sir, step back. I don’t wish to arrest you too. All we’re doing is taking your son to the station for questioning.”

  “Last time you questioned him he got off cos he wuz innocent, yet you lot intimidated him. He’s only fifteen!”

  “I was not involved with that, sir,” the cop said calmly, looking like he didn’t want the situation to escalate any more than I did. “If you wish, you can accompany him to the station. And if he comes without protest, I won’t use handcuffs.”

  “You ain’t cuffing my boy!”

  “I just said I wouldn’t,” the cop replied. “So please listen and not jump to conclusions. We want to resolve the problem, not make it worse.”

  My dad’s eyes widened. “You won’t give him back, will ya? You and those welfare bastards will take him from me.”

  I tensed, realising that was exactly what would happen.

  The cop held out a calming hand to my dad. “Sir—”

  “No!” my dad yelled. “You ain’t takin’ him. He’s my son!”

  The other cop stepped forward. He looked Samoan or Tongan, his build much bigger than his partner’s. “Whether you like it or not, he will be coming with us, so fall in line or we’ll be arresting you as well.”

  Killer rose to his feet, pulling me up with him.

  My dad spun around on him. “What are you doin’?”

  Killer muttered, “I’ll get him out,” in Māori.

  “How?” My dad glanced at the cops, probably checking if they understood. They stared blankly at Killer, obviously not knowing the lingo.

  Killer continued in Māori, “Make out you’re going with them. I’ll pull a distraction so Dante can run.”

  When the cops didn’t react, my dad nodded at Killer and turned back to the men in blue. “Fine, I’ll come with my son to the station.” He pulled me in front of him. “But no cuffs.”

  The redheaded cop opened his mouth, probably to tell him again he had no intention of cuffing me, but instead closed his mouth and nodded, the slight roll of his eyes suggesting he thought my dad was thick. “Follow me.” His gaze flicked to Killer. “You too.”

  Killer focused on the Polynesian cop instead, giving him an overly exaggerated once-over, laying it on thicker than molasses. “I’d rather follow you, big boy.” He pursed his lips, blowing the man a kiss.

  The cop blinked at him, his eyes widening. Then he shook his head and indicated for us to move in front of him, the other cop leading the way.

  My dad moved me forward, Killer following close behind, the Polynesian cop taking up the rear. Receiving stares along the way, we headed down the corridor, stopping at an elevator.

  Killer cleared his throat, grabbing my attention. His eyes flicked to the staircase. “Now,” he said in Māori. He turned to the Polynesian cop and grabbed his head, planting a kiss on the guy’s lips.

  My dad swung me around and pushed me towards the staircase, hollering, “Run!”

  I took off as the cop shoved Killer away, yelling out in disgust. I glanced back as I ascended the stairs. My dad was blocking the other cop, not touching him, but getting in his way, while the Polynesian cop was slamming Killer face first against the wall, looking like he was going to cuff him. Killer’s manic laugh followed me down the stairs, once again reminding me of the Joker.

  I jumped off the third to bottom stair and ran as fast as I could across the foyer, past people waiting on yellow seats, past the main nurses’ station. A man turned away from a vending machine, and stepped right in my path. I knocked into him, sending the both of us crashing to the floor. A shout came from the staircase. I glanced back, seeing the redheaded cop descending it. I scrambled to my feet and resumed running, shooting out through the sliding doors, almost face-planting into the side of a van as it pulled up in front of me. I darted around the back of it, narrowly avoiding the doors as they flung open.

  “Dante!” a yell came from within.

  Startled, I stopped in my tracks, surprised to see Phelia and Annabelle clambering out of the van. They looked like they’d been in a punch up, Phelia definitely coming out on the losing end. Her face was cut up worse than a collage. Her left eye was almost swollen shut, while her lips were a bloody mess, the top one split. She shoved Annabelle aside to get at me, talking so fast I couldn’t understand what she was saying, other than something wasn’t her fault and she loved me.

  A shout came from the hospital, snapping my attention away from her. The cop appeared through the sliding doors, my head-start having diminished rapidly. Pivoting, I jumped over a raised strip of grass and darted across the road, almost getting wiped out by a car. I ignored their beep, only looking back once I was safely on the other side.

  The cop was now behind Annabelle, still yelling at me to stop. Annabelle put her foot out, sending the man crashing into Phelia, the both of them going down. I saluted her, glad she was my mate, the chick always there for me, whether I needed her or not. She grinned back, looking right pleased with herself.

  Phelia yelled out for me as I turned to go. I continued onwards, not giving her a second thought, because unlike Annabelle, she wasn’t a friend. I had all the time in the world for Annabelle, but Phelia...

  I was done with her.

  For good.

  34

  Clara

  I banged the back of my heels against the veranda, doing what Dante had done only a few hours ago. I wished I could turn back time, returning to when he was here, sitting with me, staring out at the sea. But it wasn’t bright blue like earlier, night having laid a black cloak over the great expanse of water. I let out a laugh, thinking I could twist it into a metaphor of my life, all the beauty in it turning pitch black. A sob followed the laugh, an overwhelming sense of grief falling over me, the weight almost physical. I’d lost everything. My marriage. My job. But worst of all...

  I’d lost Dante.

  I looked up at the night sky, the stars not so bright tonight. Another metaphor, because my future definitely wasn’t bright, if anything, I wasn’t sure I had much of one. I wouldn’t be allowed to teach anymore. I hadn’t just lost my job, I’d lost my career. Something I loved. I wondered what I could do instead.

  Counselling.

  The thought popped into my head. I’d always liked the idea of being a counsellor, teaching just having trumped it. But who would want a convicted paedophile counselling them? I banged my heels against the veranda again, already having sentenced myself.

  Though, it all depended upon Dante’s uncle. Once the principal had gotten my message, the authorities would be called in, meaning I’d probably be arrested. But if Mr. Rakete held back on the full story, I’d most likely be let go. Hopefully. Because it was all conjecture. I really had no idea what the punishment would be for a kiss. However... if Mr. Rakete decided to tell the cops everything, Markus would back him up and I would surely go to jail. Not only that, Sinh could testify against me, burying me further.

  I shook my head, willing myself to calm down. I was getting way ahead of myself again, allowing panic to take over, because all Mr. Rakete had wanted was for me to stay away from Dante. Maybe going to Markus was his means of doing just that, and Markus did say he wouldn’t go to the police unless Dante’s uncle did. Mr. Rakete had also said he didn’t want Dante’s father to know a
bout what I’d done, aware it would set the lunatic off. Still...

  ...either way...

  I wouldn’t be allowed to see Dante again.

  Another sob broke free, then another and another, so loud they hurt my chest, or maybe that was my heart breaking. No, it wasn’t breaking, it was shattering into tiny pieces. I’d had such wonderful moments with Dante, but they weren’t enough. And they would never be enough. How could I finally find someone so beautiful, wonderful, exciting, and with so much verve, that I felt truly alive around him, then have him ripped away from me?

  “It’s cruel!” I screamed out at the sea, at the black expanse that didn’t care. “I hate you, I fucking hate you!” I screamed louder, knowing it wasn’t the sea I hated.

  It was everyone who’d stood between me and Dante.

  “I hate you Mr. Rakete!” I screamed. “I hate you Principal Sao!” I continued, even yelling out Markus’s and Lindy’s names, along with everyone else who’d played a part in me losing Dante.

  But I hated myself the most.

  Hated every fibre in my body, every breath I took, because the outcome wasn’t really their doing. I’d known all along my relationship with Dante had been doomed. Knew right from the start that it would lead to bad things. Other than a few moments of pure bliss, it was never going to end happily for us. My mind went to the poem Dante had written for his Music class, the first line for some reason having stuck in my head.

  If you sleep with me don’t dream, it will end in a happily-ever-after.

  Maybe I remembered it because it was true. But it still didn’t stop me from wanting the happily-ever-after with him.

  I closed my eyes, imagining being back in his arms, with his lips pressed against mine. Feeling him inside of me, around me. I wished I had that bottle of vodka he’d offered me, because I would drink reality away, taking myself back to being with him.

  I pushed up, intending on breaking into the gang member’s house again to get just that, but froze as a dark figure emerged through the back door. My heart jumped into my throat, knowing I was done for, the gang member...

  I blinked, all thoughts of it being Jasper’s uncle disappearing as Dante stepped into the moonlight. He looked dishevelled, exhausted, his expression drawn, his clothes sticking to his body, patches of sweat noticeable even in the limited lighting. He blinked when he saw me, as though he’d walked through a desert and I was a mirage. Then he was rushing towards me, sweeping me into his arms, squeezing me so tight it was almost painful. Sobs started racking his body, his whole frame shaking from them. I started sobbing too, so relieved to see him, but also mentally exhausted, everything that had happened today overwhelming me.

  We stood like that for God only knew how long, just clinging onto each other, the both of us crying in each other’s arms. Then I finally pulled free, needing to know why he looked so shattered. I grabbed his hand and led him into the house, directing him to the couch. Sitting down next to him, I took hold of his face and gave him a much-needed kiss on the lips, reminding myself I wasn’t hallucinating either, Dante my beautiful oasis. I allowed my lips to linger for a few more heartbeats, then forced myself to let go.

  “What happened?” I asked, thumbing away his tears.

  “Jasper’s dad is dead.”

  Relief washed over me, relief that Mr. Rakete could no longer go to the police. Then guilt followed before I could take another breath, the grief on Dante’s face making my heart ache. He looked so young in that moment, desperately in need of comfort.

  I took hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “How?”

  “The Devil’s Crew attacked my compound. They shot him and Jasper—”

  My hand whipped out of his, flying to my mouth. “No!” I cried out, Jasper’s name sending a wave of panic through me. “Is Jasper all right?”

  His expression turned pained.

  I grabbed both his hands, willing Jasper to be all right. “Please tell me.”

  He nodded, tamping down my panic, though his expression still looked strained. “Annabelle Aston called me, sayin’ the surgery wuz touch and go for a while, but that he pulled through, and should fully recover.” His face hardened. “Annabelle also told me other things. She said that Phelia’s responsible for gettin’ him hurt. That bitch ratted Jasper out to the Devil’s Crew, telling them he murdered Happy Meal and his mother. She’s also responsible for gettin’ Hemi killed as well as all the others, cos the DC would never have attacked my gang if she’d kept her stupid mouth shut.” His face turned vicious. “I fuckin’ hate her. Hate her so fuckin’ much!”

  “Sssh,” I said. “Calm down.”

  He bolted to his feet. “How the fuck am I s’posed to do that?! Hemi is dead! Kapo and others are dead too. And all cos Phelia ratted Jasper out!” He covered his face with his hands.

  I pushed to my feet. “Jasper killed the McDonalds?”

  He nodded. “He did it to protect me. He wuz right. Happy Meal pro’bly would’ve killed me eventually.”

  I pulled him into my arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “You have nuthin’ to be sorry for. I do. Cos of me, Hemi told your husband what we did.” He pulled back, his face now concerned. “Is that why you’re here? Your husband kicked you out?”

  “He didn’t kick me out, but he did leave me, and I’m here because I wanted to be closer to you, wanted to remember what we did. I was grasping at straws. Grasping at memories.”

  A soft, but sad smile ghosted across his lips. “That’s why I came too. I didn’t think I would see you again. CYFS and the cops are after me. I’m on the run now.”

  “Because of what happened at school?”

  He nodded. “I’ve got nowhere to go,” he said, his voice breaking.

  I took hold of his hands again. “Tomorrow you can go back to your dad. They won’t take you away.”

  “Yeah, they will.”

  “No, they won’t. I rang the principal, confessing that there was no assault, that the kiss was mutual.”

  He whipped his hands out of mine. “No, no, no,” he said, shaking his head, his face panicked. “They’ll arrest you. You’ll go to jail.”

  “Not for one kiss. I’ll lose my job, but I doubt I’ll go to prison for it,” I said, knowing Mr. Rakete wouldn’t be causing me anymore trouble. Again, guilt speared me. I hadn’t wanted the man dead, and especially not for Dante to lose a loved one. I hadn’t wanted any of this to happen...

  I just wanted to be with him.

  “Ring Sao back,” Dante said. “Tell him you lied, that you only said it to protect me.”

  I shook my head. “My husband said I can’t love you if I’m willing to let you take the fall. But I do love you. So no, I’m not going to ring Principal Sao back.”

  “But you’re a good teacher.”

  I smiled sadly, knowing I was passionate about teaching, just not good at it. If anything, I was a bad one, what I did with Dante proving that. “That’s not what you said before.”

  “You are! And I don’t want you losing your job cos of me.”

  “I don’t deserve it. I put you at risk.”

  “While I’m putting you at risk.”

  “That’s not for you to worry about. You’re the important one here.”

  He stepped back. “No, I’m not! I fuck everything up.”

  “That’s not true. And you’re important to me, to your father, to Jasper as well. You’re our world. You’re my world.”

  “In this moment, yeah, but what happens tomorrow? What will you do then? Cos you can’t stay in this house. Jasper’s uncle will return as soon as he’s outta the clink.”

  “As in prison?”

  “The station’s jail. He got arrested for kissing a cop, which means he’ll pro’bly return as soon as someone bails him out. So, we can’t stay ’ere.”

  “Kissing a cop?”

  “Yeah, he’s fuckin’ nuts. So, like I said, we can’t stay ’ere.”

  “I wasn’t plan
ning to. I was planning on going up north.”

  “You were gonna leave without me?” he asked, looking hurt.

  “I didn’t think I’d be allowed near you again.”

  “You were still gonna leave me.”

  “No, Dante. The authorities won’t allow me to stay with you.”

  “Fuck the pricks! I’m coming with you.”

  “But what about your dad?” I asked, saying it only because I should, even though I desperately wanted him to come with me.

  “I’ll call him, make him understand. Make him know this is what I want.”

  “You’re underage, the police will come after you,” I added, not knowing why I was trying to talk him out of it, because, again, I wanted him to come. Or maybe I was actually trying to do the right thing for once, especially after all the wrong I’d done.

  I continued, “Your dad will probably come after us too. You saw what he did with your Maths teacher.”

  He took another step back, his expression even more upset. “So, you’re dumping me?”

  I shook my head, knowing I should, but unable to make myself do it.

  “Then, I’m coming,” he said, his tone decisive. “We can go bush so they don’t find us.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, we can’t hide out in the bush.”

  “No, it’s just a sayin’. We’ll go someplace where there aren’t too many people. Or we could find a place where people hate the cops, so we don’t hafta worry ’bout bein’ dobbed in. I know a place like that not far from Aranga.”

  “I have no idea where that is.”

  “Past Dargaville, before the Waipoua forest. Or we can go even higher.”

  “What about Kerikeri?”

  “Not the centre, but maybe outside it,” he said, looking excited, as though this could work. “We could pretend to be backpackers and do fruit picking there. Actually, maybe Kaitaia will be better, well, just outside of Kaitaia. I’ve got some cousins up there who’d help me out.”

  “They could tell your dad.”

  “No way, they hate his guts. They’re my mum’s relatives, plus they’re crims, so they defo won’t dob us in.”

  “What sort of criminals?” I asked, concerned.