Chapter 39
Sophie was about to get out the kids’ laptop to do some messages when her phone flashed with a call. School office.
‘Mrs Warner? It’s Mrs Penning from Carrinya Public School.’
Sophie detected something in her voice and felt panic clutch at her stomach. ‘Yes?’
‘There’s been … an altercation … between Charlie and another student.’
‘What? An altercation?’ Sophie’s thoughts spiralled. An altercation. What did that mean? A fight? Did she mean Charlie had been in a fight?
‘We need you to come up to the school.’
Ten minutes later Sophie pushed open the school office door.
‘This way, Mrs Warner.’ Mrs Penning led her down the hall, stopping outside the principal’s office where she knocked gently.
The first person Sophie saw as the door swung open was Leo Berry, who was sitting next to his dad with his face resting on an icepack. Then she saw Charlie. She sat down beside him, scanning his face for signs of injury but saw none.
She was about to speak when Lauren Berry appeared at the door, breathless.
Leo looked up at her, glassy-eyed, and lifted the icepack away from his face to reveal the full extent of the injury.
Sophie gasped at the sight of his misshapen eye, ringed by a deep purple bruise. Had Charlie done that to him?
‘Oh my god!’ Lauren cried, lurching towards her son, hugging him awkwardly from one side. She glanced at Sophie, then scrutinised Charlie’s unscathed face.
‘Did you do this to my son?’ She glared at him, her voice a low growl.
Charlie scoffed. Sophie shot him a look.
Steve sat forward. ‘Lauren, calm down.’ He put a firm hand on her knee, but she pushed it off.
‘Lauren, I need you to have a seat,’ the principal said firmly.
Sophie looked at her, registering her presence for the first time.
Agnes Holthouse was a short stocky woman who reminded Sophie of a British Bulldog.
She stared at Lauren over the top of glasses that sat on the end of her nose.
Lauren sat. When Mrs Holthouse gave orders, people followed them.
‘Please refrain from speaking directly to Charlie again.’
Lauren glared at her. ‘Well? What does he have to say for himself?’
Steve cleared his throat again. ‘Lauren, Mrs Holthouse was just telling me what happened. It seems that Leo hit Charlie first, and then Charlie retaliated.’
Sophie exhaled, surprised and reassured by the new information.
Steve looked at his son. ‘Is that true, Leo?’
Lauren scoffed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Leo would never hit anyone. There’s obviously been some mistake—’
Steve raised his hand to stop her from speaking and looked at Leo, waiting for a response. After a long pause, Leo nodded, his eyes on the floor.
‘What? You did? Why?’ Lauren demanded.
Charlie smirked. ‘See! I told you that!’
‘Be quiet,’ Sophie murmured through clenched teeth, troubled by the cocky edge in his voice. The lack of remorse. He slumped back in the chair as Mrs Holthouse wrote something in her notebook.
‘Why did you hit him, Leo?’ Steve asked.
Leo looked at his dad, then over at Charlie, then back to the floor. He shrugged.
‘You’re going to have to do better than that, mate,’ Steve said firmly.
Leo closed his eyes and repositioned the icepack higher over his eye. He mumbled something.
‘I can’t hear you.’ There was clear frustration in Steve’s voice now.
‘I said, ask him!’ Leo said, this time loud and clear.
They all looked at Charlie, who turned his palms up and shook his head. ‘I don’t know.’
Lauren sighed and looked at Mrs Holthouse. ‘Do you think we could possibly have a conversation without them here?’ She tipped her head towards Sophie and Charlie.
‘I think we’ve done enough talking,’ Mrs Holthouse said.
‘Regardless of who said what, fighting is unacceptable at Carrinya Public School. It’s my job to ensure the school environment is safe for all students.
’ She glared at Leo, then Charlie. ‘Boys, you are both suspended for the rest of the week. Do you understand?’
Leo nodded. Charlie shrugged.
‘Do. You. Understand?’ she repeated, loudly and slowly.
‘Yes, Mrs Holthouse,’ they mumbled in unison.
As Sophie drove home from the school with Charlie in the passenger seat, his face turned towards the window, two thoughts ran through her head.
The first filled her with dread: What will Ryan do when he finds out Charlie got suspended?
His temper had been getting worse lately and this would be sure to set him off.
But the second thought was worse: My boy is turning into Ryan.
She shuddered as Leo Berry’s battered face flashed in her mind. It was just a matter of time before Charlie hit adolescence. He was already teetering on the brink of it. What sort of man would he be? An angry man like his father? A man who hurt people?
‘What do you think Dad will do when he finds out?’ Charlie murmured, still facing the window.
‘I don’t know.’
She put a gentle hand on his leg as he let out a sob. ‘It’ll be okay,’ she said, even though she wasn’t sure it would be.
But it turned out she was right. When they told Ryan what happened, he wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he looked at Charlie with new-found pride. He even put his arm around his shoulder and gave a little speech about not being a victim. Charlie shot her a wary look. A confused half-smile.
As she watched them, that thought came to her mind again: My boy is turning into Ryan.