39. Sammy
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
sammy
I walked into the school and headed straight to the principal’s office. I couldn’t say it was the first time I’d ever been there. The building had hardly been updated since I walked these halls years ago.
I wrinkled my nose as I neared the doorway. It still made me feel anxious, even knowing I wasn’t the one in trouble.
I’d jumped at the opportunity to help out Sarah. I’d do whatever I could for her. It had been a hard week and I was trying to keep myself together for Colt, but it was wearing on me.
Just have to remain hopeful.
Davy sat in a gray chair, his arms crossed and eyes on the floor. Jake sat next to him, refusing to look at his brother. Both of them looked grumpy and it was hard not to smile, because that certainly wouldn’t help anything. But I knew a brotherly fight when I saw one, and it was clear they were pissed.
Whatever they were pissed about would eventually pass.
Jake looked up at me, his eyes widening. “Where’s Mom?” he asked.
“She sent me, bud,” I said. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” He crossed his arms, shooting his brother a dirty look. “It’s fine. I know she’s working, anyway.”
Yep, I recognized that look. Couldn’t say how many times I’d given it to Cam or Hunter, but it’d been countless.
An older lady sat behind a desk and I recognized her.
“Miss Agatha,” I said, flashing her a grin.
She’d been behind that desk for decades now. Her perfume was ingrained into the walls, the popcorn ceiling, the outdated carpet. She used to scare the hell out of me when I was younger.
Her penciled brows raised. “Sammy Harlow. Never thought I’d see you again.”
“Oh, come on. I see you all the time at the grocery store.”
She smiled and tapped her pen on the desktop. “Are you here to pick up the Connor kids? Sarah said she was sending you.”
Connor kids. I tensed. I was certain the boys hated that and when I looked over at them, I saw how they’d both stiffened at the phrase. “Yeah,” I said. “She sent me to pick them up.”
Agatha leaned forward. “I thought Sarah was dating Colton Hayes.”
“She is,” I said. “She’s also dating me. And I’m dating him.” Well, part of that was a lie. Technically, Sarah broke up with me and Colt. But I wasn’t going to tell Agatha that, especially after seeing how pale her cheeks turned and how wide her eyes got.
Disapproval radiated off her. It wasn’t very often that I was reminded I lived in a small town, but I felt it at this moment. “All three of you are together?”
“Yes,” I said. “And?”
“That’s not very…”
“Very what? ”
“Well, it’s interesting, I’ll say that. Just surprised you’re dating her, given her history .”
What the actual fuck? Am I gonna lose it on this old hag?
“Sarah is a goddess amongst us all and you’re lucky there are children present, Agatha, because otherwise I’d have a lot more to say about that unkind comment,” I said lightly. I slid my gaze over to Davy and Jake. They were both listening intensely and Jake looked smug. “Can we head out?”
Her expression was sour. “I just need you to sign this log for David and Jake.”
“Davy,” I said immediately.
She cocked her head. “Excuse me?”
“Davy,” I said again. “He goes by Davy. I thought everyone knew that.”
“We’ve told them but they don’t listen,” Jake piped up.
Agatha scoffed, clearly flustered. “I mean. His name is David.”
I was about to throw hands with a woman damn near three times my age.
“Miss Agatha.” I kept my tone pleasant as I leaned in, lowering my voice so the boys wouldn’t hear me. “I have a million, and I do mean a million, Instagram followers who would love to call a school out on social media for not calling a child by his preferred name. It’s not hard. It shouldn’t be difficult to do this. Change his name in the fucking system, make sure the teachers get it right, or we will have a problem. Okay? And I’d like to add, I have no problem having my Mom get involved.”
Using the Lynn Harlow as a threat was really all I needed. Mom ruled the boomers of Citrus Cove.
Her mouth fell open. “Sammy Harlow. How dare you speak to me that way?—”
“Hand me the form,” I interrupted, still remaining calm and sweet. “If I hear about this again, I will make sure there is never another quiet moment here again. Understood?”
She shook her head at me as I snatched the clipboard, signed my name, and then straightened.
“Come on, boys,” I said. “We’re out of here.”
“They are still suspended,” she blurted out. “Sarah will need to have another meeting.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “We’ll see you there.”
Her mouth fell open again. I was already thinking about how to convince Sarah to let me come to the meeting, because this was bullshit. Even though we weren’t technically dating now…
My heart ached, but I nodded at the boys. “Let’s get out of here.”
They stood up, eyeing Agatha as we went for the door.
“Have a blessed day,” I said.
The three of us left before she could make any snide remark. The back of my neck prickled with heat. I took a steadying breath as I led the boys outside.
“Your aura is plus one thousand,” Jake said.
I had absolutely no fucking clue what that meant.
“Thanks. We’re in my car,” I said. “It’s the one over there. Do you want to call your mom?”
“No,” Davy said. “She’s at work.”
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Jake mumbled. “She’ll be upset. This whole thing was stupid, anyways.”
I raised a brow. That was a good sign they’d make up soon right? “Well… Do either of you want something to eat?”
“I just want to go home and never speak to Davy again,” Jake muttered.
Well, never mind.
I winced as I opened the back door for them to slide in. I got in the driver’s seat and turned on the car, blasting the heat.
What the hell was I supposed to do? “You know, I have two brothers,” I said. This sounds so stupid. “We used to fight a lot.”
Davy glanced at Jake, his arms still crossed. “I didn't do anything wrong. All I said to Rachel in our class is that Jake thought she was pretty because he's been saying it all year.”
Oh god. It was a girl problem.
“You can… You can go to hell ,” Jake snapped.
Davy gasped. “How dare you say that? I’m telling Mom.”
“No, don’t tell her. But I still mean it.”
I bit my lip, fighting to hold onto a poker face because otherwise I’d start laughing. “Well, that could be a little embarrassing, don’t you think?” I asked.
Davy met my gaze in the rearview and glared. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh. “So you’re on his side?”
I turned around in my seat. “I mean, all I’m saying is maybe Jake wanted to tell her that himself. Is that what made the two of you fist fight?”
Jake sighed, looking out the window. “I pushed Davy because I told him not to tell her and he did. Then he pushed me back. And I got mad.”
“Yeah, and I got mad back because you were being stupid.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have told her. Rachel thinks I’m weird now.”
“But you’re not weird. She’s the weird one.”
“You think all girls are weird.”
“Because they are .”
“Alright, alright,” I snorted. “How about we take the scenic route back to the house? And then I can make some hot chocolate.”
“Can you make more lunch for us? Because it was all good and Mom can’t cook like that and I’m tired of sandwiches,” Davy said.
So the way to Davy’s heart was food. I could work with that. I fought a smile as I glanced around and pulled out of the parking spot. “Yeah, I can do that.”
A familiar truck was idling at the stop sign across the street, and made my heart skip a beat. It was definitely David’s old truck, but the windshield was dark enough that I couldn’t see the person in it. The truck pulled out behind us as I rolled onto the quiet street.
It was probably nothing. We knew David wasn’t driving that truck anymore. Right?
I focused my attention on the road as I turned left onto a narrow neighborhood road. The school was on the other side of Citrus Cove, on the opposite edge from where Sarah and the boys lived. It was a small town though, and it wouldn't take long to get them back to the house. I decided to take the long way to give them more time to talk through their grievances.
The boys continued to squabble, but they were at least speaking to each other. It wouldn't be long before they would be best friends again. I knew that cycle all too well. I couldn't tell how many times Cam and I had gotten into it. Even Hunter and I. Although by the time I was at the age where I liked to fight, Hunter was a little too old to really get into it with me. But, if I'd had a twin? The two of us would've been at each other’s throats all the time.
I checked the rearview and frowned. That damn truck was still behind us.
My anxiety spiked. I didn’t like that. I mean, it was a small town so maybe they were just going in the same direction as us… but it felt off.
I turned right and pulled onto the country road that would loop around Citrus Cove and connect to the small neighborhood Sarah lived in.
They turned right too.
I sped up, my knuckles whitening as I gripped the steering wheel. The road curved and dipped, hugging the hills our small town was nestled in.
The truck wouldn’t let up.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
“You said the f-word,” Jake said. “Why can’t I say hell?”
“Did your Mom tell you not to say that?”
“Yeah.”
“Then that’s why. She makes the rules for us all.”
The truck sped up, riding the tail of my car. My heart pounded as I moved to the lane over, but they followed right behind.
“What’s wrong?” Davy asked, his voice pitching with worry.
“This guy is being an asshole,” I said.
Both of them turned their heads to look out the back window.
“Is that David?” Davy whispered.
“No, I don’t think so,” I said.
“But that’s his truck,” Jake said.
The fear in their voices killed me.
“If it is him, it doesn’t matter, because we’re not stopping.”
My stomach twisted as we came up on a curve. The bastard rammed into the back of my car, bumping us. The boys screamed as I gripped the steering wheel.
It hit us harder this time, metal crunching and the car lurching. I fought to maintain control.
They were trying to kill us.
The aggression terrified me. My knuckles turned white, my mind racing.
“We’re going too fast,” Jake cried.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “We’ll pull over at the next stop and call the police, okay?”
I floored it, whipping around the curve. The tires squealed, but as we came out of the turn, I was able to put distance between us and the truck.
Breathe, breathe, breathe. Keep your kids safe.
I’d been raised on these roads, but taking a curve this fast scared the shit out of me, especially with them in the car.
I needed to get us somewhere safe. There was a gas station not too far up ahead, but this road was notoriously absent of anything else.
Why did I do that? I didn’t have time to beat myself up.
The truck was gaining traction again. I had a little bit of distance between us, enough that I might be able to…
“I’m going to keep both of you safe but what I’m about to do is dangerous, okay? So tighten your seatbelts and hold on.”
I glanced back as they tightened their seatbelts and held onto each other. Davy met my gaze and I realized he was mad. Hell, I was mad too.
“ Hold on. ”
I slammed my foot on the brakes the same moment I started to turn, putting my faith in all the donuts I stupidly used to do in the grocery store parking lot in high school. The car whipped around just in time to get out of the way of the truck barreling by. I caught a glimpse of the driver and my blood turned to ice.
The woman.
The one from the theater. The one from the cafe.
I floored the gas and took off down the road going back the way we came, using the momentum to get ahead. We took the curve a little safer this time and then it was a straight shot back into neighborhoods. Clouds were gathering quickly, the temperature dropping outside. It seemed the cold front was coming in sooner than expected.
“We’re going to my parents’ house, okay? We’re okay.”
Jake was crying. Davy was holding onto him, his eyes wide. I twisted in my seat, holding my hand out.
“I’m so sorry. That was scary and I’m so sorry.”
They held my hand. And I didn’t let go until I was pulling down the Harlow family drive and up to Mom and Pop’s.
I threw open the door and pulled Jake and Davy out of the truck. The perk of being tall was that I could easily carry two eleven year olds to the front porch. Benny started barking as I rushed inside and put them down. I sank to the floor in the foyer, my heart still thrashing in my chest.
My mom’s shout echoed through the house, and she emerged from the kitchen quickly, her eyes wide. “Oh my god. What on earth happened?”
Thankfully Jake was a talker, because he launched into the story faster than I’d driven.
“There was a truck that was trying to kill us! We thought it was dad but I don’t think it was and it tried to run us off the road and Sammy drove really, really fast and then we almost died but?—”
Davy threw his arms around my neck and I hugged him. I blinked back tears, glancing up at Mom. She sucked in a breath and I could see her going into parent mode, which was certainly not something I’d mastered yet. She’d had years of practice.
She put her hand on Jake’s shoulders. “I’m so glad the three of you are safe. I think after that scare, y’all deserve some hot chocolate, don’t you? We’re going to make some calls and get our family together to help find who tried to hurt you all.”
I heard Pops coming downstairs. He scowled with concern and Mom gave him the look. “We’re making hot chocolate,” she announced.
“I need something stronger than that,” I muttered.
“Pops is already on it, sweet pea. Davy, are you okay?”
He squeezed me harder before letting me go. “I thought it was him, but it wasn’t. I saw her. It was that lady from the theater.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “We’ll find out who she is and get her out of our lives, okay?”
“Okay.” He crossed his arms. “You kept us safe.”
“I tried.”
“Your driving is bad, though.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, it is. But we’re alive.”
He nodded and followed Jake and my mom to the kitchen. Pops pulled a bottle of whiskey out of a hidden cabinet as I shakily got to my feet.
I needed to call Sarah. And Colt. And Cam and Haley and Hunter and Emma and?—
“Son, you need to sit down for a second.”
I didn’t have it in me to argue. I sat down on the couch, burying my face in my hands. I was still shaking. There’d been a moment there where I wasn’t sure it was going to work. But a quick one-eighty was the only option to prevent getting hit.
She was nuts. We needed to get her name immediately and figure out how the fuck she was connected to all of this.
Going after children was insane.
Nevermind that she knew what car I drove…
It meant she’d been stalking us. It meant she could have been the one who destroyed my apartment.
Pops shoved a shot glass in my hands and I tipped it back, the burn down my throat centering me.
“Mom is already making calls. The troops will be blowing in soon. I’ll call Bud.”
“It was David’s old truck, but he wasn’t driving. It was the lady who harassed us at the movie theater.”
He raised a brow. “So that’s why you were at the tree that night, huh?”
“Not just for her. For Colt too. For them both. I love them. ”
He paused for a moment, and then a smug grin spread across his face. “I fucking knew it.” He handed me another shot. “You know, I wasn’t born yesterday. Mom owes me fifty bucks now.”
My mouth dropped. “You made a bet on me?”
“Yeah, and I won. The day your apartment was broken into, I knew something was going on. You should have seen the way you looked at them, like no one else in the world mattered.” He handed me a third shot. “You know, your mom and I remember Woodstock ‘69. This kind of thing ain’t new.”
“Like you were there?!”
“No. But?—”
“Okay, no,” I snorted. “I don’t even want to know. Don’t even finish this story.”
He chuckled, but then his face softened. “Call Sarah and Colt, we’ll handle everyone else.”
I took it from him and exhaled. The shaking was starting to subside. More than ever, I was thankful for my family.