Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Delaney
With a smile on my face and a cup full of coffee, I step into my classroom and flip on the lights. Walking over to my desk, I set everything down and turn on my computer. While it does a quick update, I walk over to the board and write down the day and the date.
As I’m capping my marker, a knock makes me turn toward the door. Principal Marshall and Assistant Principal Mrs. Lynch stand side by side with solemn looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately.
“Would you mind coming to my office Miss Harris? We would like to speak to you,” Principal Marshall says.
“Are my students okay? Is someone hurt? Did something happen?” I ask rapidly, fearing the worst.
Mrs. Lynch offers me a sympathetic smile. “Your students are fine, but we need you to come with us.”
I nod, giving them a brittle smile. With a shaky hand, I set the marker back down and walk toward them. As we head down the hall, I wipe my sweaty hands onto my pant legs. A feeling of dread rolls through me.
Something is wrong. Something bad is happening, and I just don’t know what. Mrs. Stephensen shoots me a questioning glance as we walk by her classroom, and I look at her helplessly.
Did someone else’s parents ask to be removed from my classroom? Do they need to update me about one of my students? Oh god. What if Blaine managed to do something else to ruin my happiness?
I’ve been so happy lately that I’ve almost forgotten about all the bullshit he’s pulling. Not until it slaps me in the face.
They shut the door behind me as we step into the office. Without having to be asked, I take a seat across from Principal Marshall’s desk. Mrs. Lynch takes the seat next to me and turns her body toward me.
“Sorry for the early morning interruption, but what we have to discuss couldn’t wait,” Principal Marshall says.
“Can you please tell me what’s happening?” I beg.
They share a look, and Marshall takes a deep breath. “Delaney, you know I think you’re a fantastic teacher, and before this year, you’ve been perfect. Parents and students love you. Then this year things have changed. I talked to you about the concerns.”
“Concerns manufactured by my ex. Ones I’ve reported to the police, per your suggestion,” I cut in.
“We understand that this isn’t a situation of your making exactly, but we’ve reached a boiling point,” Mrs. Lynch says gently.
“What does that mean?” I ask, heart racing.
They share another look, and Mrs. Lynch nods.
Principal Marshall opens a tablet on his desk, unlocks the screen, and slides it to me. “This was sent to us last night.”
With shaky hands, I press play. I can’t help but gasp, hand flying over my mouth as I watch the video. Someone recorded Tank and me through my bedroom window. You can tell that they have the camera pressed up against the glass, and despite the horrible angle, you can tell exactly what’s going on.
“Don’t come, Warren,” I hiss as I press a button a remote control.
Tank groans as he pulls me roughly down onto his cock. Both of us have our heads tossed back in bliss, and you can hear the faint buzzing in the video from the toy I have in him.
Tears roll down my cheeks.
This…
This can’t be happening.
“As you can see, a video of you having sexual relations was published on a porn site. When you filled out your onboarding paperwork, you signed it saying you would never post explicit content,” Mrs. Lynch says softly.
“Because of this, we are going to have to let you go,” Principal Marshall adds.
My head snaps up, and I look back and forth between the two of them. “Excuse me? You’re firing me?”
“We have to. When parents find out that this is out there, they won’t want you to be around their children,” Mrs. Lynch says.
“This is bullshit, and you know it. You can very much tell that I didn’t know this was being filmed. It’s clear that neither of us knew we were being watched, and because some sick pervert took something that was private and uploaded it to the internet, I’m being punished?” I scoff.
“Our hands are tied,” Principal Marshall says.
“I’ll sue you for unlawful termination. You can’t do this to me. If I did it on my own, sure, that would be one thing. But someone filmed me without my consent. I’m the victim here,” I say, my voice getting louder.
“Calm down, please, Miss Harris,” Mrs. Lynch says.
I turn toward her. “Calm down? Did you really just tell me to calm down? I just found out that some sicko watched me in my house without my consent. That I’m going to have to go to the police station and make another report.
Only for you to add salt to the wound by firing me. Would you really be calm right now?”
She raises her hands and looks away.
Principal Marshall sighs. “I’m sorry, Miss Harris, but our hands are tied, as I said. I do recommend that you go to the police and report this incident as well. Hopefully this will be the motivation they need to figure this all out for you.”
My hands shake as I rub them up and down my face. “When does the termination take place?”
“Immediately,” he says, cutting me deeper.
“But my kids. I need to…”
“You are not allowed near the students,” Mrs. Lynch says, cutting me off.
“What about the things in my classroom?” I ask, heart breaking.
“You can come back after hours to collect your things,” Principal Marshall says.
“We will send one of the teachers to your room to collect your purse and whatnot so you can leave before anyone sees you,” Mrs. Lynch adds.
I close my eyes, my mind racing a million miles an hour, but only one thought plays on repeat.
This can’t be happening. This has to be a nightmare.
Tank
All day I’ve been waiting to escape the shop to go check on Delaney. When I texted her at lunch, she told me that she went home early, feeling sick. Which surprised me because she was perfectly fine when I left her before work.
Then again, when you spend time with a bunch of little kids, I guess the plague can hit you when you least expect it and with little warning. Or maybe she’s not actually sick but left early because of her period, which was Sloane’s bet when I told her.
Still not sure what’s wrong, I don’t show up empty-handed. I have soup, crackers, some meds that are supposed to help with congestion and stomachaches, along with popsicles that will help you stay hydrated and tampons.
I want my girl to have options and to know that I got her no matter what life throws at her.
Jumping off my bike, I grab the shit from my saddlebags and head up the steps. When I knock, no one comes to the door, but I hear the TV playing softly, making me frown.
Maybe she’s asleep?
Reaching for the handle, I turn it and find that the door is unlocked.
I step into the house and see that all the lights are off.
My girl is sitting in the dark, with a blanket over her lap as the TV plays across the room.
She’s not staring at it, though, but instead across the room at the bookshelf.
“Laney, you okay?” I ask.
“No,” she rasps.
“Give me one second.”
I take the supplies into the kitchen and put them away before joining her.
“Okay, you told me you weren’t feeling well, so I got you some soup and shit. Sloane thought it could be period-related, so I grabbed some tampons. I would have gotten you ice cream, but I was afraid it would have melted on the ride over here,” I say as I approach her.
She hiccups, shoulders shaking.
“Shit, are you crying?” I ask as I take a seat next to her, pulling her into my arms. “Baby, what’s wrong? Does your head hurt? I can get you some shit.”
“My head hurts but not because I’m sick,” she chokes out.
“Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it,” I plead.
“They fired me,” she hiccups through her tears.
“The school fired you? Why?”
She looks up at me with devastation in her eyes.
I will kill whoever hurt my girl this way.
“There’s a video out there. On the internet.
It is of me and you being intimate. They claim that I violated my contract because it was posted to a porn site, even though I wasn’t the one who posted it, nor was I aware it was being recorded.
I am going to sue them,” she sobs. “I have to sue them. How could they do this?”
“Are you fucking serious? You were fired because some fucking pervert recorded us?” I ask, trying to keep my anger in check.
“That’s exactly what happened. They didn’t care that it happened against my will but only that the parents wouldn’t be okay with it if it came out. Basically told me I was collateral damage,” she cries out.
I hold her tight, my body tense with anger.
Her ex.
There’s no one else who could be behind this. That fucking parasite. I should have killed him, and honestly, the only reason I haven’t up until now is because I was afraid of how she would look at me once she figured it out.
Because Delaney would figure it out. It would only be a matter of time.
“Is that why you were sitting in the dark?” I ask, putting the pieces together.
She nods against my chest. “I was afraid to turn on the lights. If he were watching, he would get sick enjoyment out of my tears. I won’t give him that.”
I squeeze her tighter to me, and she all but crawls into my lap.
“This is so messed up,” I mutter.
“I know. I’m just…I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t know he was capable of this.”
“Did you file a police report?” I ask, dreading her answer.
“Yes. I went by myself.”
Fuck. I was afraid she would say that. Now with the police looking into it, the club and I can’t exactly grab him and then take him out to sea.
“You didn’t ask Erica or me to go with you? We would have.”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t want to bother either of you.”
Something about her tone tells me that’s not quite the truth.
“Baby, are you ashamed of what we were doing in that video?” I ask, dread filling me.
Delaney leans back and touches my face gently. “No. Absolutely not. What we have is beautiful and ours. I won’t be ashamed of what we do. I’m ashamed, though, that I spent years with a man who is clearly intent on destroying everything in my life.”
“But if I hadn’t encouraged you to be with me, none of this would be happening.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not true. He still wouldn’t be happy that I’m not with him. That I walked away. He doesn’t want me happy without him. It has nothing to do with you or what we do and everything to do with him and his shortcomings.”
Relief fills me.
Thank fuck. If she were ashamed, I don’t know what I would do. It would break my heart, that’s for sure.
“So what now?” I ask.
She curls into my side. “Now we wait. Hopefully the cops can do something with him. End this once and for all, within the law. I need to find a lawyer to sue the school.”
“And if they can’t?”
She squeezes me tightly. “Then I look the other way when you take it into your own hands.”
“Would that ruin what we have going?” I ask, heart racing.
She shakes her head slowly. “No. I know who and what you are. I’m not going to ask you to change. I want to feel safe again. I need to.”
Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head.
Just when I think she can’t get any more perfect, she goes and says some shit like that. Proving that she really is right for this life despite my first impression.
“I should call Smoke. Fill him in,” I murmur into the dark.
“Just five more minutes,” she begs.
“Okay, baby.”
Five minutes. I can do that.