I couldn’t deny the pit that formed in my stomach at the thought of his presence not being there tonight. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I anticipated his long body climbing through my window and settling down onto the floor. No words spoken, just an abundance of angry, hot tension lingering in the air between us. I hated the pity, but I loved the comfort. My heart was torn in two.
He had to have known that a small part of me was too weak to put up a fight. I could have locked my window at night, but I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I blamed it on the damaged twelve-year-old girl inside of me. She wasn’t as strong as seventeen-year-old Hayley. She was scared, and worried, and felt helpless in almost every situation of her life. Things were out of her control five years ago, and they were out of control now, too.
“Hey, you ready?” Piper dangled her keys in front of my locker, her backpack slung over her shoulder.
“Yep, let me grab my chem book real quick.” I reached in to grab my book and heard her sharp inhale of breath.
“Don’t freak, but I think I just saw your social worker.” My stomach dropped, remembering my face this morning when I got ready for school. You could still see the marks from the gravel on Friday night. There were tiny scratches all along my cheek, and if you were to lift up my shirt, you’d see some nice scratches there, too.
Piper grabbed my arm in reassurance. “Maybe she just has a meeting with Headmaster Walton.”
I shrugged quickly and shut my locker. “Let’s go before they come looking for me.”
She nodded, and we briskly started to walk down the hall and head for the doors. Right as Piper’s hand touched the handle, Headmaster Walton’s voice echoed down the hall.
“Miss Smith, a word please.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
Piper took her pink lip in her teeth and gave me a worrisome look. “I’ll wait for you.”
Shaking my head, I started to walk backwards. “No, don’t you have something going on at home today? Some dinner or something?”
Her face fell.
“I’ll take the bus; it’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I gave her a half-smile and turned around quickly so she wouldn’t argue with me. I made my way to the office’s oak doors where Headmaster Walton was waiting for me in all his glory.
He didn’t come out of his office much. I never really saw him roam the halls. He was securely tucked away in his large, expansive office with hundreds of books lining the built-in bookshelves. I couldn’t blame him. If I could hide out in there, I would.
Once I was within spitting distance, Headmaster Walton glanced at the scratches on my face. His brows furrowed as he turned around and walked back into his office. I gave Ms. Boyd a nervous smile, clutching my backpack for dear life, and headed in after him.
Ann was standing near his desk, wearing a skirt and a blouse, with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t look like her normal, sunshine-y self, and that didn’t sit well with me.
Alarms went off in my head. My stomach felt queasy.
“What happened?”
Acting dense, I brushed my hands down my plaid skirt. “What do you mean? I’m fine. In fact,”—I met her eyes—“I got a perfect score on my world language test today.”
“Cut the shit, Hayley.” Headmaster Walton, now sitting at his desk, sighed heavily at Ann’s choice of words. “What happened to your face? Was it Pete?”
“And who is Pete?” he asked, placing his hands flat on his desk.
Ann answered sharply without taking her eyes off my face. “Her foster father.”
“No. It wasn’t Pete.” I was hoping she couldn’t tell I was sweating underneath my uniform. Even the backs of my knees were sweating. “I fell at the game.”
She rolled her eyes. “You fell at the football game and got scratches all over your face? I don’t think so.”
I mean, it technically wasn’t a lie.
I huffed. “Do you want a witness?”
“No, I want you to tell me the truth! If your foster parents aren’t treating you correctly—which we both know they aren't—I need to know, Hayley.”
A sarcastic laugh erupted. “Are we going to do this again?” I evened out my tone, trying to remain calm, but the thought of Ann making this bigger than it needed to be almost sent my nerves through the roof. I’ll be damned if I go to a group home. “Ann, I’m not lying. Pete did not do this. Things are fine at home. Pete doesn’t talk to me. I don’t talk to him. Everything is fine.”
“I don’t believe you.” She shook her head and looked at Headmaster Walton. “Have you heard anything? What about that gir