A New Hope (The Second Chance Series Book 2) (13 page)

The next morning Trent rang The Peterson’s door bell. When Leslie answered he saw the clear handprint marring her porcelain skin. “Good morning Detective Greeves.” She greeted brightly.

“Good morning. May I come in?” He said with a slight smile.

“Sure. You know you’re always welcome here.”

When he stepped in she shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen. He was greeted by everyone when he stepped into the room. Not only Karla, Andrew and Elliot, but Conner, Callie and Rylee as well.

“Good morning everyone.” He said to them all. “I stopped by to talk to Leslie and Andrew, but it looks like I’ll be getting you all.”

“Have a seat and we’ll talk.” Andrew said and motioned to a stool at the bar.

“Thanks.” Trent said and seated himself. “We arrested Chase yesterday. He spent last night in juvie. We also arrested his father. Mr. Logan is charged with a couple different things as well.”

“How is Chase?” Callie asked before she could stop herself.

“As well as can be expected.” Trent answered and turned to Leslie. “Are you wanting to press assault charges on him?”

“No.” She answered quickly. “I don’t want him locked up, I want him to get the help he needs.”

“Okay. There are a few issues we have to work out, but with his father in jail we won’t have a problem with some of them.” Trent said then looked straight at Andrew. “Is there a place we can talk privately?”

“Sure. We can go to my office.” Andrew told him and motioned for him to follow. 

Once they were gone Karla turned to Leslie. “Is he going to be alright, Leslie?”

“I don’t know sweetie, but you know that Trent will do everything he can to get him the help he needs.”

“Just like he did me.” Karla said and was instantly transported back to that day.

As she was lost in thought and the others finished their breakfast, Trent and Andrew sat in Andrew’s office talking.

“You went to see Mr. Logan earlier this week right?” Trent asked.

“Yes, Mark Newberry and I went to tell him our concerns about Chase. I got the suspicion that something was wrong then, but I had nothing but a gut feeling to go on.”

“Okay. Last night, after Chase got to the juvenile detention center, he was changing into the jumpsuit they issued him and the guard in the room with him noticed welts across his back. The report states that some were older, but others were fresh.”

“What kind of welts?”

“They are roughly the size and shape of a man’s belt. The guard took pictures of them, but Chase refused to tell anyone where he got them. I’m going to talk to him later today, with a representative from DCS present since his father is in jail and refuses to speak to anyone, even with his lawyer there.”

“You mean his father isn’t even getting the kid an attorney?”

“Nope. His exact words ‘If the boy was stupid enough to get himself in this kind of trouble he can figure his own way out of it.’ So I doubt there will be any help coming from him.”

“When are you planning on talking to him?”

“A couple hours, why?”

“Let me make a few phone calls. I think I can get Bob to come down and act as his representative.”

“That would be great. He’s the best.”

“Yes he is and he’s already been informed about my feelings. I talked to him at Karla’s party.”

“Wonderful. Now I have to go. I have to try and get Stewart Logan to cooperate with me.”

“Good luck with that.” Andrew said with a small grin. “He didn’t seem like the cooperative type to me.”

“Believe me, he isn’t, but I’m good at my job.” Trent grinned and they left Andrew`s office together.

After Trent left Andrew walked back into the kitchen. “I’m going to be in my office for a bit before my shift starts. I need to make a few phone calls.”

“Okay Andrew. How’d it go with Trent?” Karla asked hesitantly.

“It went good. We’re going to try to get Chase the help he needs.”

“That’s good. If anyone can do it, it’s Trent.” Karla said with a small smile.

“I’ll come out and say bye before I head to the hospital.” Andrew told them and walked out of the kitchen again.

“Okay everyone. There isn’t any point in thinking about all of this. What happens will happen and we don’t have any control over it. Why don’t you all go watch a movie or go outside or something?” Leslie said to them all.

“Outside.” Karla said with a smile. “Girls verses boys volleyball. Rylee, can you call Dominic and see if he can come over for a couple of games?”

“I’ll text him right now because that sounds like an excellent idea.”

Ten minutes later all the kids were in the back yard warming up for the game. Leslie was cleaning the kitchen and Andrew was on the phone with his lawyer.

“Vince, I know what I’m doing. That kid needs help, not jail time. If you won’t help him I will find someone who will.”

“Andrew, we’ve been friends a long time and you know that I’ll help you any way I can. I’ll call down and inform them that I am his attorney and they cannot speak to him without me and a DCS representative present. Does that work for you?”

“That’s all I ask. See if you can get him to talk to you. I also need the name of a good substance abuse counselor.”

“Jacquie Morgan. She’s the best one I know for teens.” Vince said and Andrew could see his smile even though they were on the phone.

“Well that was quick. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Jacquie and I have been seeing each other for almost a year. It’s getting pretty serious.”

“Congratulations. Now if you’ll give me her number I’ll give her a call and have her contact the DCS caseworker I’ve talked to. They can work out a schedule for Chase.”

Vince rattled off the number and Andrew sent a quick text to Bob. When Bob immediately sent a reply Andrew smiled. Apparently Bob had already contacted her and they were meeting at that very moment. Andrew smiled to himself as he walked back into the kitchen to let Leslie know everything before he headed to the hospital.

The next two weeks passed swiftly. Trent and Bob kept them informed about Chase, but so far there was very little progress. On the first day of school Leslie drive Elliot to school and walked him inside. At registration last week she had informed the school about Elliot’s dyslexia and the special techniques Karla had taught him to help him read. They assured them both that they could help him, but Leslie was skeptical.

“You have you cell phone with you right?” She asked him before they entered the building.

“Yes ma’am. I have it in my backpack.” He answered with a smile. They added him to their cell phone plan last week.

“Okay, good. If anyone, student or teacher, gives you a hard time, call me and I will be here as quickly as I can.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He responded.

Leslie smiled at him and lovingly ran her hand down his hair before she opened the door and they walked in. She looked around for a minute and then looked down at him. “Remember where your first class is?” She asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be fine today.” He assured her and walked toward his first class. Once he was out of sight, Leslie walked to the office.

“My name is Leslie Peterson and I need to speak with Mrs. Pence please.” She told the secretary.

“Just a moment, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” She said and sat in one of the chairs.

A few minutes later Principle Leigh Pence came out of her office. When Leslie had met her at registration she had seemed abrasive and slightly uptight. Looking at her now she was still getting that same impression.

“Mrs. Peterson, is there something I can help you with?” She asked in a no nonsense voice.

“Yes there is. May we go to your office?”

“Sure. I have morning announcements in twenty minutes so we need to make this fast.”

“I just have a couple of questions then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay. Take a seat and ask what you need to.”

Once Leslie was seated she jumped right in. “Is there a no bullying policy in place here?”

“Yes. We are very strict about bullying. If a child is being bullied then we will do everything within our power to make sure the one doing the bullying is dealt with.”

“That’s good. Now my second question is a little more difficult. What happens if the one doing the bullying is a teacher?”

“What do you mean? Our teachers do not bully their students.”

“Ma’am, there are cases all the time where a teacher bullies children with learning disabilities like Elliot’s and I am wanting to know what the policy is if this were to happen.”

“It isn’t something we have even encountered here, but I can assure you that if it does we would handle it.”

“Well I can assure you that if it happens I will make sure something is done about it. No matter what I have to do.” Leslie told her and stood from the chair.

“Is that a threat, Mrs. Peterson?”

“No Mrs. Pence, that’s a promise.” Leslie said and walked out of the office with a smile on her face. She had made her point.

****

Elliot walked into his first class and took a seat in the middle of the room. When the teacher came in and closed the door he started getting nervous. Sure, he had told Leslie he would be fine, but he wasn’t so sure.

“Good morning everyone. My name is Ms. Mesman. Welcome to the wonderful world of Science class. This year we will be learning a lot of cool things, but today I want to learn about y’all. We’re going to go around the room and I want everyone to tell me their name and five things about them that no one could guess just by looking at you. I’ll start. My name is Dea Mesman. I am 33 years-old and have been teaching for 10 years. I have two daughters, ages 6 and 3, and two cats. I am deathly afraid of spiders.”

They went around the room and everyone introduced themselves. When it was Elliot’s turn he slowly stood up. “My name is Elliot Matthews and I just moved here from Texas in June. My Dad and Nana both died over the summer and now I live with my sister and her parents. I will be thirteen next week and I love spiders.” When he said the last part he smiled a little at Ms. Mesman and she mockingly shuddered.

The girl next to him stood up as he sat down and started talking. “My name is Malinda Carpenter and like Elliot, I just moved here too. I’m originally from Phoenix Arizona, but my dad took a job here and we moved in mid-June. I have two older brothers, two younger brothers and a twin sister named Madison. My brothers call us M&M.” She rolled her eyes at her brothers’ nickname and sat back down.

When she sat down and the next person stood up, she looked at Elliot and smiled. He blushed a little because she caught him looking at her and her smile grew wider. When everyone was finished Ms. Mesman let them get up and talk for the remainder of the class.

“Hello, Elliot.” Malinda said from directly in front of him. “What’s your next class?”

“Hey, Malinda.” He responded as he looked at his schedule. It took him a few seconds to focus on the words, but when he looked up and said, “Language Arts,” Malinda smiled again.

“Mine too. Maybe we can walk together.”

“We can do that.” He responded and smiled back at her.

When the bell rang a few minutes later they had gotten to know each other a little and they continued talking as they walked to their next class together. Once inside they sat next to each other and talked until the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The rest of the day passed in much the same way. Elliot met several people, including Malinda’s twin and one of her younger brothers. He never once felt uncomfortable around them, which was a new feeling for him. When the day was over and he was getting in the car with Leslie he was grinning from ear to ear.

Karla’s day didn’t go as well as Elliot’s had. There was a new boy at school who had been watching her all day. He was a nice looking boy, but the way he watched her was a little creepy. Especially since her and Conner were together all the time. During lunch he approached their little group and introduced himself.

“Hello. My name is Travis Carpenter and I just moved here from Phoenix”

“Hey, I’m Conner Newberry, this is my twin sister Callie, our best friend Rylee McNabb and my girlfriend, Karla Hall.” Conner introduced them all.

“Oh cool, you’re a twin too. I have an identical twin brother and my younger sisters are identical twins too.”

“Wait. There are two of you? Are you both wearing the same shirt?” Karla asked, it was all starting to make more sense now.

“We are. My brother has a bad habit of dressing like me. Why?”

“I have seen the two of you several times today and thought it was the same person. One of you keeps staring at me.”

“That would be Trevor. He’s the quiet one, but he’s always watching people. It creeps most people out.”

“Yeah, it’s had Karla pretty creeped out today.” Callie said with a grin.

“It had me pretty irritated.” Conner told them. “I thought I was going to have to say something.”

“Conner, you have nothing to worry about. Karla only has eyes for you.” Rylee told him with a smile.

“Anyone who looks at you two can tell that she wouldn’t walk away from you for someone else. Anyone would be crazy to even try to get her to.” Travis told him.

“You got that right Trav.” Trevor said from behind him. “Trevor Carpenter. Nice to meet you.”

Karla smiled a little and introduced them all to him. “So the dark beauty has a beautiful name.” He said with a smile.

“Dark beauty?” Travis asked with a chuckle.

“Oh yes, dear brother. Karla is a dark beauty with sparkling emeralds for eyes.” Trevor said with a smile. “I knew she was taken the moment I laid eyes upon her.”

“Trev, would you please stop talking like you’re in a Shakespeare play?” Travis asked his twin,

“If I must.” Trevor said and rolled his eyes. “Hey guys. Nice to meet you.”

“Let me guess,” Rylee said with a grin, “You’re a drama clubber.”

“Oh yeah.” He answered with a grin. “My heart lies in the theater.”

“I would have never guessed.” Karla said dryly. “You know that creepy staring thing you do is weird right?”

“I don’t stare, I observe.”

“Well your observations are creepy and weird then.” Karla told him. 

“I’m sorry. It honestly wasn’t my intention to creep you out. I’m a people watcher and there is something about you that I can’t figure out. I can always figure people out.” Trevor said with a confused look.

“Oh really. Why don’t you tell me what you think you figured out about me?” Rylee challenged.

“You’re smart, which I determined from the Pre-Cal and Advanced Chem books you have sitting beside you, you’re funny and you bring your friends up when they’re feeling down. But, if someone hurts someone you care about you’re a shoot first and ask questions later kind of person.” Trevor said with a grin at the shocked expression that had formed on her face. “Judging from you expression I’m spot on.”

“Wow. You are pretty spot on.”

“Okay, do me.” Callie said with interest.

“You’re also smart, which is something I can say about all of you, but you’re not as happy as she is. You have a sadness in your eyes that dims the sparkle in them. You’ve been hurt recently and you’re confused.”

“Okay, how did you figure that out?” Conner asked. He wasn’t sure he liked this guy.

“When she looks at you and Karla or Rylee and Dominic she gets a lost look in her eyes. A deep sadness that only the loss of someone you cared about can cause.” Trevor answered, looking Conner in the eyes. He didn’t miss the irritation in Conner’s tone.

“My boyfriend and I recently broke up.” Callie offered.

“That explains the sadness.” Trevor told them then he turned to Conner. “What to know what I observed from you?”

“Sure.” Conner said, “This should be good.”

“You aren’t just a brother to your twin, but to Rylee too. You would do everything you can to keep them both, and Karla, safe. Your love for Karla goes deeper than the normal teenage love we all have. It excites you, but it scares you too because you can’t explain it to anyone, even yourself. You look at her like she’s a precious flower and will wilt away if you don’t give her constant attention. You know she isn’t so you back off a little, but you are always close in case she needs you.” Trevor grinned at Karla’s expression. “Karla is the one I can’t figure out.”

“I’m not a puzzle that needs to be figured out. I’m a person with feelings and emotions, and you staring at me is causing two emotions to take the forefront.” She said in an irritated tone. She really didn’t like this boy. “One of them is irritation. You think you have us all, with the exception of me, figured out and I have to say you’re pretty accurate on some things, but those things aren’t who we are. We are people and who we are changes daily. I am not the same person I was last year at this time and neither are they. The second emotion is dislike. You are not a very likable person and if you keep staring at me, trying to figure me out, I may be forced to do something I have never done before.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” Trevor said mockingly.

“I may be forced to punch you in the face.” Karla said and walked out of the cafeteria just as the lunch bell rang.

“Wow. I have never seen Karla like that.” Rylee said in surprise. “You have really irritated her Trevor. She’s normally the calm
let’s talk this out
type of person. I’m the one with the temper, but something about you ignites a fire in her that I’ve never seen.”

“I think that under her calm demeanor is a volcano that could erupt at any moment.” Trevor said with a smile. He really liked Karla and loved being able to get under her skin. Now if he could just get Conner out of the picture he could have her.