Chapter 6
Chapter Six
AMbrOS
A dozen other kids come out before Star does. My eyes move over each of them—all seem so much bigger than Star is. When I finally do spot her, she has her head down as she stands next to the teacher.
“Crap,” Citi curses before opening the door and hopping out. I push my door open and follow her out, hurrying over to her.
The teacher eventually spots her and straightens, a professional smile that’s fake as fuck plastered across her face. “Miss Dillion?”
“That’s correct,” Citi replies before she drops into a crouch in front of Star. “Hey, baby. Everything okay?”
Star throws herself into her mother’s arms and buries her face in her hair.
“What happened?” Citi asks the teacher, who is now eying me. I wonder what she’d think if I had my cut on, but I left it in the back seat.
“I wonder if I could have a moment of your time.”
“I’m right here. What’s the problem?”
“There was an altercation at lunchtime.”
“An altercation?”
“A fight broke out on the playground between Star and another child.”
“A fight?”
“Yes. And as this school has a zero-tolerance policy on fighting, Star won’t be allowed back in for the rest of the week.”
“I’m sorry. You’re telling me, my child was in a fight at lunch time, and this is the first time I’m hearing about it?”
“It was dealt with. There was no reason to call.”
I feel my blood boiling, keeping my gaze on the nervous-looking teacher as Citi leans back and cups Star’s face.
“Are you hurt, Star?”
Star doesn’t do anything for a minute, but eventually she lifts her hand and touches the back of her head.
“Your head hurts?”
She nods as Citi looks at me.
“Hey, princess. Mind if I take a look at it?”
She smiles and shakes her head. I move my fingers gently through her hair until she winces, which is when I see the small bald spot and a streak of blood.
“What the fuck?”
“Excuse me, but could you watch your language? This is a school, for goodness’ sake.”
“A school where Star is supposed to be safe, so tell me why the fuck she has a bald spot?”
“Wait, what?” Citi gasps.
“Little boys can be rambunctious—”
Citi slowly turns her head toward the teacher, looking like a demon has possessed her. “A boy did this? A boy put his hands on my daughter?” Her voice is cold and lethal. I have to fight not to get hard because holy fuck, there’s a time and a place, and lord knows this isn’t it.
She presses her lips to Star’s forehead before pointing at the truck. “You see Uncle Havoc?”
Havoc, with his sixth sense, must have figured out something’s up. He climbs out and walks around the truck, leaning against it with his arms folded.
Star nods.
“Go wait with him for me while I talk to your teacher, okay?”
She nods before wriggling to get free. Citi lets her go and watches her as she runs all the way to Havoc, who swoops her up into his arms. I move closer to Citi when she turns back to the teacher, who huffs in annoyance. Who the fuck does this bitch think she is?
“I’d like to see the principal, please.”
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Parker is due to leave for the day.”
“Excellent, that means he’s still here then.” Citi crosses her arms and waits for the teacher to make her move.
“Miss Dillion, I realize this is all new to you, but when it comes to Star, I’m the authority in—”
Citi cuts her off, taking a step closer.
“No. I’m the authority in my daughter’s life.
Right now, you’re just the bitch who failed to tell me my daughter was injured and is now keeping relevant information from me.
If you don’t take me to the principal, I’ll be forced to take this issue further, and you better believe I will. ”
The teacher huffs and turns on her heel. “Fine, follow me. I assume Star will be okay with her daddy for a moment.” She says the word daddy with so much disdain that I can’t hold back my retort.
“Lady, what the fuck is your problem?”
“I’ve got this, Ambros,” Citi tells me softly as I try to corral my temper.
“You shouldn’t have to have anything. This is bullshit.”
The teacher swings a door open, revealing a reception area. A woman in her fifties lifts her head, a pair of half-moon glasses resting on the tip of her nose as she takes us in.
“Is there a problem, Miss Finch?”
“Miss Dillion would like to see Mr. Parker.”
“Okay, I’ll let him know you’re here.”
She picks up the phone on her desk and hits a number before she starts speaking. “Sorry to disturb you again, Mr. Parker, but Miss Finch is here with a Miss Dillion.” She waits for a reply before nodding. “I’ll send them right in.” She hangs up and indicates with her arm for us to head on in.
The teacher strolls across the room and knocks on the door labeled “Principal” once before entering, not bothering to wait for a reply. She pushes the door open and waits for us to follow.
Principal Parker stands from behind his desk and looks over at Citi before his eyes move to me. “Is there a problem?”
“There was an incident at lunchtime between two students. A fight broke out. It was dealt with. Miss Dillion was not happy to learn her child was not allowed back in until next week.
“Ah. Unfortunately, it is our policy to suspend children involved in fighting.”
“Isn’t it also your policy to inform the parent if an incident breaks out, especially if a child is injured in the process?”
“Well, yes, of course.”
“Then explain to me why my daughter is missing a chunk of hair, and I’ve been told a boy did it. That’s it, nothing else. I assume at the very least this boy has been suspended, too?”
“The policy is very clear,” the principal confirms with a nod, but frowns when the teacher winces.
“Miss Finch?”
“Johnny Dean is a good boy with whom I rarely have issues. He was visibly upset during the altercation. He also had to receive treatment to his face.”
“So my daughter hit him, and he pulled her hair out. You still haven’t told me the rest, but I’d like you to confirm that the other kid has been suspended too.”
We all look at her. “Your daughter was the instigator.”
“That is not what she asked.”
I’m sick of this woman’s fucking attitude.
“Answer the question, Miss Finch.” The principal sighs.
The woman crosses her arms with a huff.
“Johnny wanted to play with Star. He could see she was lonely and tried to be her friend. Star wasn’t interested.”
When she says nothing else, I growl. “And?”
“And Johnny is very friendly. He tried to wear her down, but she refused. Honestly, Miss Dillion, she doesn’t try at all. I’m not sure why she’s even here to begin with.”
“She’s here to learn. So far, from what you’ve said, she’s done nothing wrong. What caused the fight?”
“I just told you,” she huffs.
I step forward. “Lady, all you’re doing is talking in circles.”
She huffs again before continuing. “Star hid under the table and refused to come out, which upset Johnny because he really was trying hard to be friends. He asked her to come out repeatedly. And when she didn’t, he reached under and pulled her out.”
I blink, looking back at Citi, who fists her hands at her side. “And then what happened?” Citi snaps.
“Star started trying to fight him off, but he eventually pulled her out. Unfortunately, all of her thrashing meant he fell and got knocked into the table behind him, clipping his cheek. He was lucky he didn’t break something.”
Citi drags her eyes from the teacher to the principal.
“What I’m hearing here, Principal Parker, is that my already traumatized daughter was continuously accosted by a boy who refused to take no for an answer.
The teacher obviously didn’t step in, so Star hid to protect herself because, clearly, consent is not something that is taught in Miss Finch’s class.
Then, again, instead of stepping in, Miss Finch allowed my daughter to be further assaulted as she was dragged out from her hiding spot with enough force to pull a chunk of hair from her head.
I have no idea if she received first aid because I wasn’t informed of the incident.
And then, to add insult to injury, I find out she is going to be expelled for fighting when she never even laid her hand on that boy.
And the boy who did assault my child is getting away scot-free. ”
She looks at me. “Did I miss anything?”
“The comment about Havoc being Star’s daddy?” I offer, adding fuel to the already scorching fire. Holy shit, watching Citi turn into a mother bear is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Oh yes. When I asked to see you and was initially refused, Miss Finch then made a snide comment about me leaving Star with her uncle. She called him her daddy with that sneer of hers when she knows damn well who her daddy is—the whole world does.”
Mr. Parker blinks at Citi, and I see the exact moment everything clicks into place. Who she is, what happened to her, and who Star is.
“When I came to view this school, I met with Vice Principal Blevins, who was wonderful and supportive. Mr. Parker, I believe you were meeting with the school board, who, I’m sure, will love to hear all about what just happened here.
Such a shame. I had high hopes for this school.
” Citi hammers the final nail in the coffin.
“Wait, Miss Dillion. This has all been a misunderstanding.”
“No, this has been a travesty. Do you have any idea what that little girl has been through?” She shakes her head, her eyes moving to the teacher, who now looks visibly worried, thanks to the principal’s reaction.
“Congratulations. You’ve just become another adult who traumatized her. Shame there isn’t a special register for assholes.”
“She can come back. Of course, she can. All of this was a mistake,” the principal blathers.
Citi shakes her head, looking disappointed. “So she can sit with her tormentor and get taught by a woman she can’t trust to keep her safe? No thanks. I’ll find a more suitable placement for her.” And with that, she yanks the door open and storms out.
I turn to face them both—the principal, looking shocked, and the teacher, looking a mix of pissed and pleased.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? All of that she just painted for you, and you still have the audacity to stand there and smirk. You have no idea the hell those two have survived. None. I know the horrors they escaped from, and I’m in complete awe of them both.
But to then have to watch someone like you, who wouldn’t last a second of the hell they endured, belittle them makes me feel so fucking ashamed just to share the same air as you. ”
I look at the principal. “I’d figure out your safety issue real quick, because I can guarantee Raven Souls won’t be patronizing this school again once it gets out what happened to their princess.”
“Their princess?” Parker chokes out.
“Star is Havoc’s niece. You know Havoc, right? He’s the president of the Raven Souls MC, and he loves that little girl as if she were his own. I dare you to tell him this was all just a misunderstanding.”
I storm out, slamming the door behind me before I stalk toward the truck. Citi is already in the back with Star, but Havoc is waiting for me.
“Explain. Citi was so mad she could barely get her words out.”
I give him the rundown of what happened and watch as his temper goes from zero to sixty in a second. He moves to storm past me, but I grab his arm.
“No. Right now, Citi has the moral high ground. You go in there and knock him out like I know you want to, you’ll fuck everything up.”
He grits his teeth, fighting to keep his temper in check.
“How about you come down to the gym with me. I said I was going to teach Citi some moves, and I meant it, but I think it might be worth teaching Star a thing or two as well. Let’s see what happens the next time a boy puts his hand on her.”
An evil grin spreads across his face before he slaps me on the shoulder. “I like the way you think, brother.”