Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Hello,” she answers, and it sounds like she’s running.
“Hey. You busy?”
“I just got a call from the school,” she says, and I sit up now. “Aiden got hurt in gym, and I’m on my way over there right now.” I spring out of my chair, grab my jacket, and rush out of the door.
“Lauren,” I say, pulling the phone from my ear. “Aiden hurt school.” Three words and she just nods, and then I turn back to the phone. “What did they say? Is it bad? Should the ambulance be called?”
I hear a car door slam at the same time I’m in mine. “I have no idea. All they said was there was an altercation in gym class.”
“An altercation? What the fuck does that even mean?” I ask her, and she blows out a breath.
“I have no clue,” she says softly, and I wonder if I should just go get her, and we go there together.
“Do you want me to get you on the way to the school? Where are you now?” I ask her.
“I’m on my way there already. I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” she says.
“I’ll meet you there. I’m leaving now,” I tell her and disconnect, making my way to the school in record time. I get there at the same time as Eliahn, and she gets out, and worry is all over her face.
“Hey,” I say when she gets out of her car, and I kiss her. “You okay?”
“No,” she says honestly, “I’m not. I’m a mess.” Then she leans in to me, and I put my hand around her shoulder, and we walk into the school.
We walk into the office and see that Aiden is sitting in one of the chairs, and when he sees us, he starts to cry and covers his face. Rushing to him, I squat down in front of him and take him in my arms. “Shh. It’s okay, buddy, are you hurt?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head.
“Mr. DiMarco, Ms. Coco,” Mrs. Hope says. “Mrs. Lambert would like a word with you both,” she says, standing up, and I nod at her but turn to Aiden.
“What happened?” I ask him quietly. He looks down and then up again.
“Ryan was mad because I scored five goals in soccer and called me Frenchie and then pushed me to the ground,” he says to me. “I don’t like him.”
I rub his head and kiss his forehead. “Let me go talk to Mrs. Lambert and then we’ll go from there,” I tell him, and he nods his head, and I look over at Eli. “Do you want to stay here with him or come with me?”
“Honey.” She gets down next to me. “I’m going to go with Dad, and then I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” he says softly, and we get up. Mrs. Lambert stands at the entrance to her office.
“Right this way,” she says and turns, and I make Eli walk in before me. She takes a seat in front of her desk, and I sit next to her in my own seat.
“Well, it seems we have a situation,” she says, and my back goes up right away with her tone. “It has come to my attention that Aiden is not getting along with a couple of kids.”
“Is that so?” I say, and now I’m ready to rumble. “And when did this matter come to your attention?”
“It came up last week, and then this incident today only cemented it,” she says.
“Really? That’s interesting since nothing was conveyed to us regarding this issue.” I look over at Eli. “Did you get an email or a note saying there was an issue?”
“I did not,” Eli says, and I look back at Mrs. Lambert.
“Well, regardless,” she starts to say. “Aiden’s actions today are unacceptable.”
“Aiden’s actions?” I say, my blood boiling. “And what actions are those?”
“Well, there was an altercation in the gym class,” she says. “And Aiden put his hands on another student. Something we don’t tolerate around here.”
“I take it you got Aiden’s side of the story?” I ask her.
“Well, I spoke with the gym teacher,” she says, “and the other boy involved.”
“And you spoke with Aiden also, right? You know the saying that there are three sides to every story, Mrs. Lambert.” I take a second to look at her. “There are always three sides to every story.”
“The thing is, Mr. DiMarco,” she says, and I look out at Aiden who sits there swinging his legs looking around.
“Where is the other child involved in this?” I ask her, and she looks at me. “Why is only Aiden in the office?”
“Well, after getting the teacher’s side and Ryan’s, we, well …” She looks down and then up at me. “Sent him back to class.”
“Fascinating,” I say, then look at Eli who just smiles at this point. “So you brought only Aiden down to the office and had him sit like he did something wrong.”