The Bad Boy (23 page)

I didn’t want her
to see me like this, so I decided against calling her right now to
pick me up. I needed time to myself, to calm down before I saw
anyone. I don’t know what I look like and I wasn’t in the mood for
questioning.

My phone vibrated
in my back pocket and I quickly took it out a small hope thinking
it would be Jared. I don’t know why I even bothered. Unknown,
flashed on the screen. Confused, I answered and asked.
“Hello?”

“
Emilie? Is this Emilie?” A woman’s voice asked. It sounded a
little familiar.

“
Uh,
yes. Who is calling?” I was surprised my voice sounded normal. Like
I hadn’t been crying at all.

“
This
is Mrs. Hanglinton…”

The rest of her
words slipped right past me as I felt my heart stop and the phone
dropped to the ground.

My footsteps were
hesitant as I made my way across the street. My thoughts were
everywhere and I felt like I wasn’t even myself. It felt like I
wasn’t even part of my body as I stopped in front of the little
café shop. It was all supposed to be done. I was supposed to move
on. It’s called forgive and forget. I forgave, now why isn’t anyone
forgetting? I sure as hell was okay with forgetting.

Her blonde hair
was pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head, her outfit
very professional and neat. Her face was perfect, nothing on her
was out of place, except for the fact that she had sadness in her
eyes and her lips were turned into a frown.

Nothing was
perfect anymore when your son is sent away to a rehab for beating
his girlfriend and being abused too.

Sucking in a deep
breath, I walked to the door and opened it, stepping into the
heated room. The bell above the door rang and Mrs. Hanglinton’s
head snapped up. Our eyes locked and I felt everything come rushing
back to me, like a gush of wind smacking you in the
face.

The way she
always treated me like her daughter when I came over, our talks we
had about
everything
, cooking dinners with her or going on
vacation and tanning at the beach or going to the spa. She was
nothing but a nice woman and now as she looked at me, all I could
think was she hated me.

Who wouldn’t? I
was the one who got her son sent away, made her personal life
public on the news, and maybe even destroyed her family. I know for
a fact, she was here to tell me off and say how much she couldn’t
stand me.

But I was shocked
when a sad smile slipped onto her lips and she rose from her chair.
When I reached her, she pulled me into a tight hug and after a
moment of hesitation, I returned it, barely.

“
Emilie, sweetie. It’s so good to see you.” She pulled on my
hand and gestured to the empty seat across from hers.

“
It
is?” I asked taking the seat she offered. She took hers and shot me
a confused look.

“
Of
course.” She pushed her bangs out of her face that were hanging
across her forehead before wrapping her hands around her coffee
cup. “Sorry dear, I didn’t order you anything. I didn’t want it to
get cold.”

I held my hand
up. “I don’t want anything, thank you.”

She nodded and
her eyes lowered to her own coffee. She slowly took a sip and
looked anywhere but at me. I fiddled with my fingers, feeling like
a complete idiot for coming here. I should have just hung up when
she called me. I shouldn’t have agreed to come and see her. I
should have gone straight home after school today.

Thinking of
school sent my thoughts to go to Jared. Last night, when he
rejected me was the last time I saw him. He wasn’t in school today
and going to his house to see if he was okay was out of the
question. In fact, Hailey wasn’t in school either, along with Matt.
Both phones were off when I tried to reach them, so I guess that
was why I came here to meet Mrs. Hanglinton.

I had to get my
thoughts off other things and she was a perfect distraction. Even
though I had no idea what she wanted to talk about, I knew it had
something to do with Conner but I didn’t want to sit at home and
sulk about Jared, so I took this option.

“
You
are probably wondering why I asked you to come here.” Mrs.
Hanglinton finally spoke up taking a sip of her drink.

“
I
have a feeling I know what the topic is going to be.” I stated
running my fingers along the edge of the table, playing with the
chipping paint.

“
Emilie, I want you to know I am not mad at you nor do I blame
you for any of this.” Her words made me look her in the eye with
astonishment.

“
Mrs.
Hanglinton—“

She put her hand
up. “Dear, you are not to blame.” She shifted in her seat looking
around before staring me in the eyes again. “Conner is getting the
help he needs because of you. I wish it didn’t happen the way it
did but because of you I am thankful.”

My jaw was on the
table by now as this woman in front of me thanked me for getting
her son sent away. I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing.

“
Do
you hear what you are saying?” I almost yelled but remembered we
were in a public place, so I whispered it fiercely. “You are
thanking me for getting your son sent away. I pretty much destroyed
your family!”

A small laugh
emitted from her mouth and she placed her hand on top of mine
squeezing it. “Emilie, Conner is getting help that I never knew he
needed before. He’s better where he is and I’m such a horrible
mother for never knowing what was going on with him.” Tears rimmed
her eyes and I felt a tug in my heart.

“
You
are not a bad mother.” I warned holding onto her hand. Boring my
eyes into hers with determination. “Nobody would have noticed what
was going on with him. You were always a good mother to him and to
me…” I chocked back the lump in my throat. “I’m so very sorry that
this has happened to you. You don’t deserve any of this and neither
does Mr. Hanglinton.”

Her eyes went
cold and her mouth thinned into a line. Did I say something wrong?
She pulled her hand away from mine and placed both of them in her
lap. “Richard, he…” Tears started rolling down her face.

My eyes widened
and my mouth parted open with realization. Oh God no… anything but
this. I slouched back into my seat, staring at Mrs. Hanglinton
without knowing what to say. I felt my hands run cold as images ran
through my head.

Images of Conner
and his dad. Not the goods one that I always remembered from when I
was around the two. No, these images were ones of intense violence
and screaming pain coming from Conner. I took memories of what
Conner did to me and put him in my place and his dad in
his.

How could Mr.
Hanglinton do that to his own flesh and blood? How could he go on
like the perfect father when behind the curtain he was beating his
own son? What were his reasons? His motives? I felt pity for Conner
because he had his reasons to do what he did to me. He was scared
from his father but what did Mr. Hanglinton have as an excuse to do
that to his son?

I leaned across
the table and placed my hands on Mrs. Hanglinton’s face. Her eyes
were bloodshot and she was sobbing. “You have no idea how repulsed
I am with myself and my husband.” She chocked on her sobs and
ducked her head.

My heart went out
to her. It was heartbreaking to watch a grown woman break down in
front of me, in front of random people about how her family turned
out to be something she never thought they could be. “Listen to
me,” I demanded my own tears forming, “Conner loves you and for
everything you did. He doesn’t blame you for anything! You can’t
know everything and protect him from everything. Some things are
going to happen to him. The best thing for you to do is be with him
and let him know you always will be. If you give up, so will
he.”

She placed her
hands over mine and gave them a squeeze. “That’s why I came here
actually.” I sat back in my seat but didn’t let go of her hands.
She needed the support and I would give it to her.

“
Why?”
My voice was hoarse from on the edge of breaking down.

She gave me a
smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Mr. Hanglinton is going away
to prison,” More tears fell and she closed her eyes for a second,
taking deep breaths when she opened them again she continued, “His
company was suffering and he turned to drugs, drinking and those
were the reasons for his actions towards Conner. I never knew why
he didn’t act out on me but by God, I wish it was me instead of
Conner.”

“
I’m
sorry but I’m not following. How does this involve me? Do you need
something from me?” I cocked my head to the side.

She shook her
head. “Oh sweetie no, no, no. I couldn’t take anything from you.”
She scooted closer to me and smiled lovingly at me, “There are more
charges against Richard and his time in prison will almost be life
time.” I nodded with my eyebrows furrowed. “With him being out of
the picture, I decided, it was time to move on and that’s what I am
doing. I’m going to move away and closer to Conner. I’m going to
start over and be there for Conner.”

My eyes finally
freed the tears and I pulled her into a hug without warning. My
lips were trembling as I squeezed her close to me, as close I could
get with the table between us. “I wish none of this had happened to
any of you, Mrs. Hanglinton but I am so happy that you are taking
action.”

I pulled back and
laughed wiping my tears away. She smiled brightly at me and also
wiped her tears. “I know you are thinking ‘why is this woman
telling me all her problems?’ but I have good reasons.”

“
And
what are those?” I smiled.

“
I owe
you an explanation Emilie. You deserve one after what Conner did to
you. He wasn’t the only victim in this and I want you to know that
I am always here for you because you are like a daughter to
me.”

My heart squeezed
at her words and I nodded. “Thank you for not blaming me. Thank you
for calling.”

She stood from
the table and pulled her coat on, tightening the waist belt around
herself. “I also wanted to say good-bye before I head off. You
deserve that also.”

I stood up also
and wrapped my arms around her thin waist, placing my chin on her
shoulder. “I hope the best for you and Conner.”

She pulled me
back at arm’s length and sent me a loving smile. “Thank you for not
pressing charges against Conner either. It helps me out
tremendously and shows how wonderful you truly are dear. I owe you
so much. Remember anything you need, I will be there for
you.”

I nodded and with
a quick kiss on the cheek, she was walking out the door. I watched
from the store window, as she got into a limo. Her door closed but
not before she blew me a kiss and smiled. I watched as the limo
drove off down the road and finally started putting on my jacket
when it was out of sight.

The bell rang
from over the door as I stepped out into the night air. It had to
be around six by now and the sun was pretty much set. It was cloudy
out so mostly it was dark. There wasn’t much noise going on, since
the streets were pretty much empty.

I tucked my hands
in my pockets as I walked down the sidewalk. I debated on calling
Hailey to see what she was up too and why she missed school today
but decided against it. She’s most likely with Matt and if all went
well, I didn’t want to interrupt for no reason.

I would just wait
until tomorrow to share my news and hear hers. I was also hoping to
talk to Matt and see if he could talk to Jared. When that thought
came to my mind, I stopped walking and scolded myself. I wasn’t
going to become that girl who started stalking the guy she
liked.

That’s right, I
liked Jared McKingsley. Too bad, I’m a fuck up and ruined any
chances I had with him. I don’t know if he felt the same way about
me but now I will never know and I could only blame
myself.

Trying to get my
mind to take a different track, I started kicking a pebble around
when I heard noise. I usually would have ignored it but it was
coming from the town’s park and it didn’t sound like a normal sound
you would hear at night.

It sounded like
someone groaning… in pain.

Looking both
ways, I quickly moved across the street closer to the park. It was
so silent around there, that I could probably even hear a leaf
falling. Voices started speaking.

“
Can’t
get your brother to fight this one can you pussy?” Another groan
echoed and I put a hand to my mouth to stifle the gasp that
escaped.

“
Your
such a wuss. No wonder girls don’t want to date you.” A sickening
crack sounded as I grew closer. I was so shocked, that I didn’t
even realize how slow I was moving.

A loud laugh came
from the scene and a snide remark, “Please. That isn’t the reason
and we all know it.” A pause came and then the person continued,
“Isn’t that right bitch.” The disgust and venom in the voice wasn’t
hidden at all.

I finally reached
the crowd but stayed hidden in the dark.

About five guys
were in a circle and I lowered my eyes to see a foot poking out on
the ground from the circle. There was someone in the middle and I
take it those sounds were the poor kid getting beat up. My fist
clenched as white hot rage took over my body.