“Great, thank you.” I bent over to kiss him before slowly walking out of the room, knowing full well he was staring at my ass.
I was really hoping Astrid would meet me. She was my only hope at figuring out why I had the mark.
Philip met me in the hallway. “You are not to go inside.”
“Are you in my head?” I asked.
“No. I know you well enough to know you’re impatient and stubborn.”
“Uh-huh. I just want to talk to her.”
He studied me for a moment before nodding. “Follow me.” He led me to the door to his room. “Wait here.”
I watched as he went inside, leaning to the side trying to see something. Anything. But he closed the door too quickly. After a few minutes he called out, letting me know she was listening.
I felt silly talking to a door, not even knowing if she could really hear me. I lowered myself to the floor in front of the door and crossed my legs.
“Stell? Can you hear me?” A weak grunt sounded from the other side. It was her. She was listening. “I don’t really know what to say. I just want you to know that whatever has happened… Whatever you’ve done I know it wasn’t completely your fault. I hate what your parents did to you, and I hate that you went through it alone. I’m sorry I was such a shitty friend when you were always so wonderful to me.”
She made a noise. It was low, but it sounded like a sob.
“I know I can’t fix what happened. I can’t save the day. I know that. I’m still angry and hurt, but I want to help you. You sent Liam that note about the treatment working… That must mean the loving and caring Stella I grew up with, is still in there somewhere. Philip says Cybil had something to do with what you’ve done. I need to know if that’s true, and if it is, I want to help you fix things.”
Silence. It extended for a long time before I gave up on her responding.
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll be going. I’ll come back when you’re all healed up.”
I stood and turned to walk away when I heard it. It was weak, but I heard her say, “I love you.”
My heart leapt in my chest, and I felt hopeful she’d be okay. Not any time soon, but one day.
The drive to the Academy was short and a jolt of excitement hit me when I opened the front doors. I loved it there… Now that I was no longer a student. I’d hated it when I was a kid. Now it was somewhere I could help kids figure out who they are, find ways to be themselves without fear of judgement. It was my happy place.
“Ember!”
I turned around to see Simon, a ten-year-old who had been bullied because he was chubby. Shifters can gain weight, it’s difficult, but we can. But in Simon’s case, I think it was just his body. He’d held onto his baby fat longer than the other kids, and I found him to be adorable.
I knew that he’d grow into a great man, chubby or not. In the meantime, I’d shown him ways to protect himself if the harassment went beyond name calling.
It’s hard to stop all bullying with shifters. We have different hormones than humans and when we are kids, we can be real assholes. And if you follow the story of my life, the asshole never grows out of a lot of us.
“Why aren’t you in class, young man?” I teased as I knelt for a hug.
“I saw you walk by and asked to go the bathroom. You haven’t been here in a while.” He buried his face in my neck as I rubbed his back. “I missed you.”
I pulled him back so I could see his face. “Have the other boys been giving you trouble?”
He smiled the proudest smile and shook his head. “Uh-uh. I beat up Billy and now we are best friends! I even have a girlfriend.” His face turned bright red.
I laughed at his rapid-fire way of speaking. Boys were the same no matter their age. They fought and then were best friends five minutes later.
“A girlfriend? And what is it you do with this girl?” I asked, taking his hand and leading him back to his classroom.
“We hold hands and walk around the playground during recess.”
It was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard. “Well, I’m really happy for you, little man. And I’ll be here more often now. I’m on my way to sign up for more hours.”
“Yay!” He jumped for joy and hugged me before he ran back to class.