Chapter 15
Vanessa
As I drove back to work with a promise to return in time for dinner, I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
The look of shock on Kyle’s face over our new little arrangement for the boys had confirmed that this was very out of character behavior for Isaac.
I didn’t know what to think of it and was scared to dive too deep into it.
We’d decided that for today it would be best to let the boys stay put. No one was expecting them. But tomorrow I would have their butts back in school.
There was no way to know how this was all going to work out, but for now we’d just take it one day at a time—baby steps.
When I returned to school, the majority of kids were still napping or at least having their quiet time for those who refused to take a nap.
“Did you find them?” Mary asked in a hushed voice.
“Yes. They are safe.”
“Oh, thank the Lord. Last I heard, Kyle was struggling to find someone to take all three of them. Do you know what he’s going to do? Jason and I discussed taking them in, but I just don’t know if we have it in us to keep up with them. It’s a lot.”
“I know. It’s okay. Right now, they are staying at Isaac’s. At least until Kyle can find other arrangements for them. Their reputation for trouble makes people leery to commit to them. It’s so sad because they are great kids. They’ve just reacted to bad situations.”
“Isaac is keeping them? And Kyle thought that was the best option?”
I sighed. “For now. It was sweet of him to offer.”
“Sweet? Isaac? I’m not sure we’re talking about the right man.”
I rolled my eyes. I knew all the horror stories about him, or at least the overinflated lore people in the Pack spread about him. But who really knew him?
“He’s not as bad as you make out.”
She eyed me suspiciously and then shrugged. “I suppose if anyone knows what those boys are going through it would be him. Maybe this will turn out to be a blessing for all of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything. Just forget it.”
“Mary Westin, you know damn well I’m not going to just forget something like that. What are you talking about? Why would Isaac understand what they are going through?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Isaac was a sweet kid too when he was young.
Then around maybe Mason’s age, his mother died.
It was sudden and his father had never been in the picture.
He lost his whole world. Fortunately, he had a grandmother who was a saint of a woman.
She took that boy in and helped him deal with his anger and frustrations.
But unfortunately, she passed away a year later.
He was so angry. We passed him through one foster family after another until he finally found a match.
They had a boy around his age. The two of them hit it off instantly.
They were as close as brothers. Closer even. Isaac and Freddy Wyman.”
I gasped.
“The boy who killed himself?”
She nodded.
“I was in middle school when that happened. He was several years older in high school, but I remember the day it happened. Everyone was talking about it, crying. They brought in counselors for anyone who needed to talk about it. It’s not something I could ever forget. Isaac was close with him?”
“They were stronger than blood.”
“What happened?”
“I’m not exactly sure. There had been reports of bullying.
Isaac swore Freddy didn’t kill himself. He was adamant someone else had.
The two known bullies were who he blamed, but all evidence said otherwise.
Isaac wasn’t the same after that. He became withdrawn, spent all his time indoors, and became this hard, bitter person.
He locked himself away from everyone and faded away himself, a ghost who doesn’t really exist.”
But he does exist, I wanted to argue but refrained.
“So you see, he could prove to be a great resource for the boys, or it’s possible he’s too far gone for human companionship at this point. I honestly haven’t seen him in many years so I have no idea what sort of man he’s turned into. On paper and by most accounts he doesn’t actually exist.”
I’d heard enough for one day. I didn’t press for more or ask what she meant by that. I just prayed that he and the boys would survive the day.
One day at a time, I reminded myself.
In the meantime, I tried not to let it all distract me and strived to be as present as possible for the kids in my class.
The afternoon passed quickly and soon I was saying goodbye to the last child of the day.
I took a few minutes to walk through my clean up routine and reset everything for the next day. It made a huge difference to the start of my next day and something I’d been slacking on lately.
Satisfied that everything was done, I walked down the street and picked up a couple pizzas before driving over to Isaac’s.
Much to my surprise, he already had dinner going. The delicious sent of fresh bread and garlic filled the house as I knocked and then let myself in.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that, but it just felt so right.
“Who’s there?” he barked.
“It’s just me,” I responded. “Don’t shoot,” I added at the last minute, earning a chuckle from him.
“In the kitchen.”
“I can smell that. I guess you don’t want these pizzas then.”
He turned and frowned. “You brought us dinner?”
“I guess I should have asked first. What’s all this?”
“It’s nothing. I just whipped up some fresh garlic bread and a salad. The pasta is still drying so I hadn’t started cooking it yet. It can wait until tomorrow and we’ll have pizza tonight. Thanks.”
He was oddly relaxed and pleasant.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Where are the boys?”
“In the basement.”
I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest.
“You left them locked up down there?”
“No. Or at least I left the stairs down. They just haven’t come up.”
He turned to look at me and his eyes dropped. It was then that I realized I’d pushed my breasts up and put them on full display with my stance.
My body heated as he stared unabashedly.
“Wait, did you say the pasta was drying? What does that mean?”
He pointed over to a pasta rack filled with fresh pasta.
“You made that? From scratch?”
“Of course.”
“Okay . . .”
“What? You don’t make your own pasta?”
“Never. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
He sighed and squeezed his temple like just the thought of that was giving him a headache.
“I can take the pizza home with me if you don’t want it.”
“No. It’s fine. I like pizza.”
I didn’t want to admit to him that I practically lived on the stuff.
“You can toss one of those down to the pigs in the basement.”
“Would you stop calling them that, please? They’re just kids.”
“Kids who take all my food,” he grumbled.
I opened the door to the basement and yelled down.
“Boys, it’s dinner time. Come on up and wash your hands.”
No one came.
“See, they don’t want to come up, so just give them one and leave them down there.”
“It’s pizza,” I added.
Suddenly three sets of feet came racing up the stairs as fast as they could.
“Pizza?” Mason asked, licking his lips.
“Go clean up first.”
I didn’t miss the stench that assaulted my nostrils as they ran to the kitchen sink to wash their hands.
“They stink like pigs, too,” Isaac muttered.
“Food and then baths. Am I clear?”
“What if we refuse?” Noah asked.
“Then you don’t get pizza, just salad.”
“I like salad,” Cam said.
“But still, no bath, no pizza.”
“I like baths, too,” he added. “And pizza.”
“Take a seat.”
I set the pizza on the table and turned to ask Isaac where the plates were. Before the words were out of my mouth, the boys were grabbing slices and shoving them into their mouths. They were eating so fast that Cam choked on some cheese.
“Woah. Slow down and chew your food,” I told them, but they didn’t stop as they each ravished one piece and reached for another.
I grabbed the box away and held it out of reach so they would listen to me.
“We are not animals, certainly not pigs. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Ms. Vanessa,” they said in unison.
“Let’s prove to Mr. Isaac that we do know how to behave.”
“I was just so hungry, and it was so good,” Noah said.
“Yeah, and everyone knows if you don’t grab and scarf it, you’ll be hungry later when there’s none left,” Mason said.
“Or you get hit for sneaking food later,” Cam added.
“You were the one who set the whole pizza down. Normally we just get one slice between the three of us,” Mason told me.
“One slice for three growing boys?”
They nodded.
“That’s barbaric. There is plenty of pizza. I don’t want you making yourselves sick, though, so slow down. And we’re going to practice manners at this table. Isaac, could we start with plates, please?”
He handed me four. I frowned. “There are five of us.”
He started to protest but instead, grabbed another.
I set the table as he brought over the bread and salad.
“Okay, now we’ll all sit down.”
When Isaac didn’t immediately follow my lead, I looked up and then inclined my head towards the open chair.
He rolled his eyes but sat down.
“Now, tell me about your days,” I said, as I began dishing out salad and adding another slice of pizza to each plate along with a slice of Isaac’s bread.
I took a bite of bread as I waited.
“Holy shit! You made this? Mmm. This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
The boys watched me and then they all grabbed their piece and tasted it.
“Good,” Mason praised.
“I love it,” Cam said.
Even Noah happily ate it. “Really good.”
“We don’t talk with our mouths full, boys. But really Isaac, this is delicious. Thank you.”