I pointed with my finger so he’d know where to go, but I kept my words to the conversation at hand. “You’re right. She came. I’m a liar. You drove by the front and didn’t see me because she picked me up in the two minutes it took you to stroll to your car. I wasn’t hiding behind the pillar by the door. And I didn’t trudge home, either. I also didn’t get soaked in the rain. Oh, and while I’m telling the truth…I slept in my bed Saturday night, not on my back porch. I slept under my blanket, all nice and dry, not in my wet jacket. I got sick because it’s January and cold, not because I slept outside after fighting my way home in the freezing rain.” I released a dramatic exhale. “Wow, I feel so much better now that I’ve told the truth.” Fury-filled sarcasm coated every word as tears raced down my face. It was a frustrating mix of emotions.
The Jeep slowed to a stop, but we weren’t at a red light or a stop sign. I turned my head to see why we weren’t moving and caught his questioning gaze. His brow had a heavy, deep crease in the middle, and his nostrils flared. His breathing had caused his chest to rapidly rise before quickly deflating. It was an expression I’d never seen on him before. Was he angry with me?
“What are we doing, Mr. Taylor?” I asked in a meek voice.
“You slept outside? Why would you do that?”
I instantly regretted ever opening my mouth to begin with. I’d done it out of anger, furious with him for dismissing me so easily. Yet now, with the heated intensity radiating from his rigid body, I wished I’d kept my mouth shut and allowed him to assume I’d lied about it. I had no strength left to lie or tell the truth. Tears came easily, and ran in tracks down to my chin, effortlessly falling to my lap. I didn’t even have to try to cry. It was as if my body needed to purge itself of the grief and wouldn’t let me stop it.
“Aubrey…”
“She wouldn’t let me inside, okay? Are you happy? I didn’t have my keys with me because she was supposed to pick me up, so I couldn’t get inside. All the doors were locked. She wouldn’t even come to the door.” I had no idea how much of that he could understand over my sobs. But I assumed it was enough to get the picture.
“Why would she do that?” He didn’t sound baffled, more angry than anything, like he was appalled at my mother’s actions. “It was raining all night and the temperatures had dropped into the thirties. What human being does that? I wouldn’t even leave my dog outside in weather that cold. No wonder you’re so sick.”
A horn blaring behind us snapped his attention back to the present. We hadn’t moved from the spot in the middle of the road. He lifted his foot off the brake and started to follow my silent directions again.
“My mind was elsewhere that morning. I had gotten a glass of ice water and a few cubes fell from the dispenser. I thought I picked them all up, but I guess I didn’t. The ice melted and apparently she slipped on the puddle while I was gone. It pissed her off. She got back at me by not picking me up. She swears she thought I had my key and would’ve let myself inside, but I don’t know how she wouldn’t have known that I wasn’t sleeping across the hall from her. She says she had no idea.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I gave you my number for that exact reason.”
“I didn’t have it with me. I don’t carry around that sticky note everywhere I go.” I pointed to the right, instructing him to turn down my street.
“Why didn’t you program it into your phone?”
I sat up and pointed once more, this time, to my house. He pulled into the driveway and I unfastened my seatbelt, finding any excuse to stall my answer. “I don’t have a phone,” I said, mortified. Everyone had a cell phone but me.
“You don’t have a cell phone?” His eyebrows practically reached his hairline.
“No. My mom says if I want one, I’d have to pay for it. And for the same reason I don’t have a car, I don’t have a phone. I can’t afford it considering I can’t have a job. She makes me pay for things when I have no way of doing so. It’s one more way of sticking it to me.”
“Doesn’t your dad pay child support?”
I leaned back into the seat, resting my head on the support behind me. I had zero energy left, yet he continued to question me. Couldn’t he tell when enough was enough? Defeated, I answered, “Yes, he does. Yet that gets paid to my mom, and she says it’s for food, electricity, and water. I get clothes and shoes when I need them. A phone isn’t a necessity.” I’d heard her say that so many times, that it no longer angered me to repeat it.
Without a word, he exited from the Jeep. I silently followed him with my eyes as he made his way around the front to my side, opening it for me. It took me a second before stepping out, wondering why he’d done this. And then I stood still, watching as he walked to my front door.
“What are you doing?” I asked from where I stood next to his vehicle.
“You need someone to take care of you, Aubrey.”
I slowly dragged myself to him, never taking my eyes off his. “You don’t need to do this, Mr. Taylor. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it long enough.”
“This may be true, but you’re sick. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Please don’t question me—and unlock your door. Now.” He spoke with so much authority, I couldn’t argue with him even if I had the energy to do so. I couldn’t fight him, because I knew he’d win. I didn’t stand a chance.
Nerves took hold of me once he was inside my house with the door closed behind him. I’d never had anyone over before, especially a guy, and more importantly, a teacher. My mind became flooded with fears and worries, causing me to freeze in the middle of the room with him at my back.
His warm hands held my shoulders as he led me to the couch against the wall in front of me. “Just lay down. Tell me where I can find a blanket, and I’ll get you all set up before I leave. I don’t want to make you more uncomfortable than you already are. I only want to make sure you’re okay before I leave. Something I should’ve done Saturday night.”
“I’m okay. You don’t have to do this. I’m in the house. I’m safe.”
“Why did you hide from me? Why did you make me think you’d been picked up when you hadn’t been?”
My bottom lip trembled and my shoulders sagged. “I didn’t want to chance you stopping my mom and talking to her. I know how you feel about her, and I didn’t want you to say anything.”
He spun me around by his soft grip on my shoulders until I collapsed into his chest. I covered my face with my hands, crying into his warmth as his arms circled me, holding me there.
“Mr. Taylor…”
“Axel. Please, call me Axel when you’re not in my class.”
I shook my head and pulled away from him. “I can’t do that. You’re my teacher. You shouldn’t even be here—in my home. This is wrong. You could get in trouble, and it would all be my fault.” My words flew out of my mouth, slurred from my tears and the effects of fever fogging up my brain.
“You need a friend, Aubrey. You need someone you can count on. Yes, I’m your teacher, and yes, I could get in trouble for being here. But you need me, and I won’t turn my back on you. My hands are tied here. I can’t do anything else to protect you other than just being here for you. I refuse to let you suffer alone.”
I shook my head and furiously swiped at the falling tears on my face.
“Just relax on the couch, please. And tell me where I can find a blanket.”
“I can’t. I have to make dinner.”
“You’re sick.”
“She doesn’t care. I have to make dinner.”
Mr. Taylor—Axel—stood back with his hands on his hips and stared off into the kitchen before turning his attention back to me. “What time does your mom come home?”
“Between five thirty and six.”
He glanced at his watch and sighed. “Okay. We have about two hours before she’ll be here. You rest while I make dinner. What does she like?”