It Started with a Crush by Piper James

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sage

Iwasn’t afraid of getting fired. I knew I didn’t break any official rules. Even if the Turners took that picture straight to the next school board meeting, nothing would come of it, other than them making themselves look like assholes.

And they were assholes. Most of the staff at Red River Elementary had already come to that conclusion before any of this happened. They were petty, spiteful people, and I wasn’t afraid of them.

I’d been carrying an ace up my sleeve for a couple of weeks now, just in case they refused to let their ridiculous accusations against Daniel go and continued to call for a more serious punishment.

I hadn’t mentioned it to Chase. I kept it to myself, hoping this whole thing would blow over, and I’d never have to use it. Unfortunately, the Turners stayed true to form, and I was going to have to show all my cards.

But resolving this issue with the parents from hell didn’t resolve anything between Chase and me. Even with their threats off the table, we would still have to hide our relationship. We’d have to sneak around, hoping to not get caught again.

Because I might not have ammunition to use against the next person who caught us. They could blabber it all over town before we had a chance to figure out how to deal with it. I would lose the respect of my students’ parents and possibly even my fellow staff members.

But even worse, Daniel could catch wind of it. He’d find out we’d been lying to him, and he’d be devastated. He trusted us both, and we’d broken that trust. I’d fallen in love with that little boy, and I could never forgive myself for hurting him like that.

As for his father…I didn’t really know how I felt. I liked him a lot—probably too much. And I knew I hurt him when I ran out of the restaurant like that. And when I ignored his calls and refused to read his text messages. I just needed time to think. I knew if I talked to him before making a firm decision about my future, he’d convince me that what we had was worth whatever risks I was adding up in my head.

Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. All I knew was that I needed to decide for myself what was and wasn’t worth it.

And if I’d be able to repair my heart when his work here was done, and he took himself and Daniel back to California. Without me.

“Good afternoon, MissBarlow,” Karen Turner said as she entered my classroom, stressing my name like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Turner. Mr. Turner,” I said, nodding at each of them in turn before motioning them toward the chairs I’d placed in front of my desk. “Thank you for coming in. Please, have a seat.”

“Unless you’re ready to suspend that little pervert for violating my daughter, I’d suggest you not waste our time,” Mr. Turner said as he sat down.

Jesus. I always thought he just kowtowed to his overbearing wife, agreeing with whatever she said. But it appeared as though Mr. Turner did have a mind of his own, and it was just as twisted and ridiculous as his wife’s.

I looked from him to Karen, and that bitch’s face lit up with a dark, satisfied grin.

“I can see you’re nervous, dear,” she said, her voice dripping with false concern, “but there’s no need to be. We haven’t shown anyone the picture of you and your secret lover, and we won’t…as long as you do what we want.”

“Which is what, exactly?” I asked, playing dumb and giving them enough rope to hang themselves with.

“That boy deserves to be punished,” she said, her smile dropping. “He needs to be suspended, at the very least. I’d say three weeks would be enough time for him to learn his lesson. Do that, and I’ll delete this picture and forget I ever saw you two together.”

“And if I don’t?” I asked, tilting my head to study her.

“I’ll go straight to the school board and file a complaint against you. You’re giving that boy preferential treatment because you’re fucking his father.”

I held perfectly still, keeping my face impassive even though I was flinching on the inside. I knew she was wrong, but hearing my fears spelled out for me—that everyone would think I was showing bias for Daniel because of Chase—it stung.

“That sounds a lot like blackmail, Mrs. Turner.”

The three of us turned toward the sound of that voice. Mr. Walsh stood in the open doorway, leaning casually against the jamb as he arched a dark brow at Karen. I’d come clean to him about everything, telling him about dating Chase, the Turners seeing us, and their threats. He’d been great, assuring me I’d done nothing wrong, and that he’d help me resolve this issue with them.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” I said, my voice filled with false regret. “I asked the principal to join us as a witness of this meeting. I guess I should’ve let you know he was out in the hall listening to your threats. Oops.”

Karen’s face paled, followed quickly by a rush of heat that made her skin look splotchy. Her lips were drawn in a tight line as she looked back at me. She looked like a tea kettle about to whistle. I wouldn’t be surprised to see steam coming out of her ears.

“I don’t care who fucking listens,” she gritted out. “I hold all the cards here.”

“Do you?” I asked, smiling as I slid open my desk drawer.

“What is that?” she asked as I pulled out a stack of papers.

“It’s been brought to my attention that Madisyn has been exhibiting bad behavior on the playground recently,” I said calmly as I dropped the papers on the desk in front of me and folded my hands on top of them.

“What are you talking about?” Mr. Turner asked, his voice gruff and demanding.

“The playground monitor told me she approaches Daniel Perry every day, begging him to play with her.”

“No. She. Has. Not,” Karen hissed.

“Oh, yes. She has,” I said, trying like hell to keep the glee out of my voice.

I wouldn’t normally use a child’s behavior to my own advantage like this, but fuck, I needed to get these assholes off my back. For good.

“She’s tried to hold his hand on multiple occasions. Daniel shakes off the unwanted attention and walks away, like he’s supposed to. He hasn’t tried to get her into trouble, and he definitely hasn’t hit her, because he’s a good boy.”

“I hope you don’t think these lies are going to get us to back off. We know exactly what you’re doing here, and it’s not going to work,” she said, lifting her nose into the air.

“I assure you, it’s the truth. There are witnesses, including the monitor and several classmates who’ve seen her approach him at least eight times and touch him without consent.”

“This is ridiculous,” Mr. Turner huffed.

Yeah. It was ridiculous. Just like their vendetta against an eight year old boy was fucking ridiculous.

“But wait, there’s more,” I couldn’t resist saying in my best infomercial narrator voice.

Picking up the top sheet from the stack of papers I pulled from my drawer, I read it out loud.

“Daniel,

I’m sorry I hit you. I didn’t mean it, and I hope you forgive me.

Madisyn”

“What is this?” Karen shrieked, but I ignored her and picked up the next note, reading it aloud like the first.

“Dear Daniel,

Why won’t you talk to me? I said I was sorry, and

I promise not to hit you again. If you want to kiss

me, you can.

XOXO, Madisyn”

“This is preposterous,” Mr. Turner shouted, but like his wife, I ignored him and picked up the next note.

“Dear Daniel,

My parents said I should be mad at you, but I’m not.

Do you like me? Check yes or no

Love, Madisyn”

I dropped the paper to the desk, then picked up the whole stack and held it up in the air.

“Should I go on? There’s several more, each one making it increasingly obvious that she wasn’t victimized or even offended by Daniel Perry. And instead of it being one incident that was quickly resolved, we have an ongoing case of harassment because I assure you, Mr. and Mrs. Turner, he checked no.”

“Both Sage and I have talked to Madisyn,” Mr. Walsh said, pushing himself off the door jamb to approach my desk. “But she continues to make advances toward the boy.”

“We called you in today for a conference regarding her behavior, not Daniel Perry’s,” I said. “And since you’re so determined to see him suspended for three weeks for a single offense, what would you suggest for your daughter? I have at least eight documented in-person interactions on the playground and six notes I’ve collected during classroom hours. If my math is right, that would be…”

I paused, making a big show of tapping my chin as I did the math.

“…forty-two weeks, which would put her returning to school in late November of next year. She’d have to repeat the third grade, of course.”

Okay. I knew I was being extra-salty, but fuck, they deserved this. I wouldn’t really suspend Madisyn—but they didn’t need to know that.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Karen said, her face even paler than before.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Mrs. Turner,” I said, leaning forward. “You are going to drop this. You are not going to say another disparaging word about Daniel Perry, to me or anyone else in this town. If I hear so much as a whisper that you’ve been trash-talking that little boy again, I will encourage his father to file a complaint with Mr. Walsh, and Madisyn will receive further punishment.”

They both looked up at the principal, and he nodded solemnly. He actually suggested we suspend her when she refused to stop harassing Daniel, but I talked him out of it. I knew I could get through to her, and I’d actually had a breakthrough on Monday when I held her in-class at recess—before running into the Turner’s during my date with Chase. She hadn’t spoken to Daniel since.

These people didn’t deserve my patience and understanding, but Madisyn did. She wasn’t responsible for her parents’ behavior.

“And you’re going to refrain from speaking out against Miss Barlow, as well,” Mr. Walsh said, and my gaze flicked to him with surprise.

This wasn’t part of the plan. I wasn’t doing this for myself. This was for Daniel.

“What she does in her private time is no one’s business but her own. I’ve seen no indication that she’s shown any kind of favoritism to the boy. In fact, she convinced me not to take harsher measures with your daughter. Because she’s an excellent teacher and a good role model. She believes everyone deserves second chances. And even fifteenth chances, where Madisyn is concerned.”

My eyes got a little misty at his unwavering support. I was really lucky to work here, doing a job I loved. I couldn’t do anything to put my position here at risk. It was too important.

I knew what I needed to do.