Chapter 36
Rachel
I snuck around the back of the house and collected Axel from Heather, rather than risking talking to Dante again. Heather tried to protest, saying she enjoyed picking Bee up from school, but I insisted.
I kind of got the impression that Heather was threatened by my return. It was no secret that she was incredibly fond of Bee—and Axel now that she was getting to know him—and I knew she believed my return meant she would be out of a job.
That was so far from the fucking truth. I recognised a good thing when I saw it, and Heather was an absolute treasure. I wouldn’t be letting her go without a fight. But I also had to put my foot down sometimes, and this was one of those occasions.
However, once she found out we were going to be visiting my parents, she relented, telling me that it would be good for Bee to meet some more family members.
She clearly had no fucking idea who my mother was. No one benefited from having her in their life.
The drive to school had managed to clear my head a little, at least. I put on Baby Shark for Axel, and even found myself singing along to it, doing the silly hand gestures whenever we were stuck at a red light.
Oh, to be a kid again. Things were so simple then.
I realised that I had overreacted somewhat at the clubhouse.
But I wasn’t used to having anyone relying on me.
It was different when I was working. I got paid to have these responsibilities and commitments.
It was completely different to have someone relying on me because I was a member of the community.
I had never been considered a valued member of anything—hell, I don’t think I had ever been considered a valued girlfriend, partner, daughter…
anything. Of course I would be happy to help out with events and fundraisers. It just caught me off guard.
I pulled up at the school, parking in one of the reserved spots as Heather had instructed me to, and waited for Bee, my eyes trained on the doors.
After around five minutes, I noticed Bee sitting by herself on the school wall.
I looked around, noticing other children walk straight by her.
They would say goodbye to others, but most of them ignored her.
My heart clenched when I noticed that every so often, Bee would try to catch the eye of one of her classmates, but not a single one of them paid her any attention.
I climbed out of the car, locking it behind me after making sure the window was cracked, and walked a few steps towards her. I never left Axel out of my sight for a second, but I did make sure that Bee could see me.
“Oh, hello!” A beaming red face appeared in front of me. “Are you here to collect?”
“What else would I be here for?” I snapped, trying to look around her to get Bee’s attention.
“I’m Mrs Baillie. Who are you here for?”
“Bee… I mean, Amy. Amy King.”
“Aw, Amy! How lovely. And you are?”
“Busy. Can I just go and collect her, please?”
“Amy is waiting by her classroom door. We are not permitted to let the children leave the grounds without an authorised guardian.”
“I’m her mother.”
She frowned at me. “We were under the impression that Amy’s mother had passed away.”
“Stepmother,” I clarified through clenched teeth.
“I see. Do you have the password?”
“Excuse me?” I almost laughed, blinking at her like she had lost her goddamn mind.
Which, to be clear, she absolutely had.
“We are used to her being picked up by Heather. Because we are not familiar with you, we need a password. I’m sure you can understand! You can never be too careful when safeguarding children.”
“I don’t know the password.”
She pulled a regretful face. “I’m afraid I can’t let Amy leave with you in that case.”
“You are aware that she prefers to be called Bee, yes?”
“We didn’t consider that to be an appropriate nickname for school.”
“And what if her name had been Beatrice? Would Bee still not be appropriate?” I was one step away from pulling this woman’s head off. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “If you just ask Bee to come here, then she will let you know who I am.”
“I’m afraid that wouldn’t be possible. Could I take your name, please? As I’m sure Amy’s stepmother would be aware of the circumstances surrounding her ability to communicate.”
“Forget it. Just wait there,” I hissed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and scrolling through the contacts.
Fuck!
I didn’t have Heather’s number. Why the fuck didn’t I have Heather’s number? That left me no choice. I pressed dial on Dante’s name and gave Mrs Baillie a tight smile.
“What?” He snapped. “I’m in Church, Rachel. It’s not a good time.”
“What’s the password to pick Bee up?”
“I’m in Church. Can’t you ask Heather?”
“Oh gee, why didn’t I think of that? I don’t have her number, genius! And you could be off the phone and back in your precious Church by now had you just cut the sh… nonsense,” I said, shooting a glance at the teacher, “and given me the password.”
He laughed down the phone. “They won’t let you collect her, will they?”
“It’s not funny, Dante. Just give me the word.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear as I heard a commotion in the background, and then Vienna’s voice came through.
Oh, for fuck's sake, this is all I need!
“Hiya, Rachel! Where you at?”
“I’m at my wit's end. Just give me the password, this is getting silly.”
“What type of room has no doors or windows?” He asked.
“Vienna, please—”
“Dante, she’s saying my name and begging me. It’s getting awkward. I’ve got a semi now.”
My cheeks flamed, and I turned away from the teacher, praying she hadn’t heard. I pressed the phone to my ear, hoping to drown out Vienna’s booming voice.
“I will slice your eyelids off and make you watch as I shave your useless beard off if you don’t tell me,” I hissed at him.
“I just told you!” He snapped, sounded affronted.
“You gave me nonsense about rooms !” I looked over at my shoulder, seeing Bee walk over with one of her other teachers. “Come on, Vienna. They’re going to ring the police soon. Be a good hair buddy,” I said, playing on our nickname for each other.
“What type of room has no doors or windows?” He repeated. “It’s an easy one.
“Is everything okay?” Miss Baillie asked, straining her neck to look at me. I nodded over my shoulder and turned back to the phone.
“The fucking coffin I’ll be putting you in,” I hissed in a hushed whisper.
He made a buzzer noise. “Incorrect. Let’s try again. What's—”
“Give me the fucking phone!” Dante snapped, followed by more commotion. “It’s mushroom, Rachel. The password is mushroom.”
“Why would it be mushroom? What a ridiculous password.”
Dante hung up without another word, and I turned to the teacher, pushing my hair off my sweaty forehead. “Sorry about that. Mushroom. The password is mushroom.”
“And the numbers?”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!
Bee took it upon herself to sigh heavily, roll her eyes, and then walked over to my car, ripping the door open and slamming it behind her.
I took my cue from her and walked away from the teachers, hearing them yell in the background that they would have no choice but to call the authorities if I took Amy off the school grounds without their permission.
I waved at them over my shoulder and climbed in the car, pulling off before they could stop me.
I wouldn’t put it past them to dive in front of the car.
“Did you have a good day?” I asked Bee as we pulled onto the main road, looking at her through the rearview mirror.
She shrugged.
“I saw you sitting by yourself. Are you making friends?”
She glared at me.
“I know it’s not easy. But I could—” Bee pulled a book out of her bag, opened it, and raised it until it was covering her face.
Conversation over, I guess.
“You know, you could have saved me from that awkward conversation at any point,” I said, grinning at her to let her know I was joking.
She reached into her bag and pulled out her tablet, quickly scribbling something down before turning it towards me with a big smile.
Where would be the fun in that?
“Touché. Fancy writing the numbers down for me, so that next time we don’t have to go through this?”
She shook her head and put the tablet back in her bag. But she was still smiling, and there was a happy gleam in her eyes. I took that as a win.