“And…? You told them about your mom, right? About the abuse?”
She shook her head and dropped her gaze. “No. I couldn’t. She quickly excused it as a misunderstanding, saying she was at some work function that night and didn’t know I’d been locked out. And then she went on to say how it was noble of you to look out for me, but that you should’ve gone to her first before buying her minor daughter a cell phone behind her back. So I lied to them to protect you, and I said you were under the impression that my mom knew about it. But I maintained that we were nothing more than friends, and that nothing inappropriate ever took place.”
I closed my eyes as I recalled the events of the following morning. Being called in early for a meeting with the principal under the guise of it regarding my permanent position at the school. I remembered the surprise I got when I learned what the meeting was truly about, and I’d walked into the lion’s den without a moment of preparation.
“I wanted to let you know about it, but my mom wouldn’t leave my side. She made me hand over the phone as soon as we got home, so I couldn’t call you. I tried sneaking out that night, but I found her on the couch. She knew I’d try to get to you, and she prevented every move I made. I didn’t want you to be blindsided by it like I was. I’m sorry, Axel. I’m sorry this happened to us, but it wasn’t my fault. I did everything I could to protect you. But then I went to school the next day, rushing to your classroom to warn you, only to find you leaving with a box of your things in hand. I chased after you…didn’t you hear me?”
“I was being escorted off the premises,” I said in a deep, whispered monotone, the images of that morning fresh in my mind. “It didn’t matter what I said to them. They made it clear that I’d crossed a line. They didn’t have enough to fire me, but they had enough to make me resign.” I glanced up and caught her glistening eyes. “I heard you, but at the time, I was under the impression that you threw me to the wolves. And had I turned around to acknowledge you, I’d lose my defense that our relationship was innocent.”
“I tried going to your house that weekend to explain, but everything was gone,” she cried, letting another lone tear slip down to her chin. Everything about her, from her voice to her shaking hands, screamed weakness, yet she remained strong with a firm hold on her tears. The woman in front of me was not the same girl I’d walked away from. This one could hold her own, and I’d never felt prouder.
“What did you expect, Bree? I was ostracized. I was the teacher—the adult—taking advantage of a minor. It didn’t matter what the truth was. The damage was done. And to add to it, I was under the impression that you were behind my crucifixion.”
“That was your first mistake, Axel. What reason would I have to do that?” she asked, sounding desperate for an answer. The anger that had fueled her fight moments before seemed gone, or at the very least, it had waned.
I couldn’t answer her, because the one good reason I thought she had, no longer seemed valid. But it did cause me to ask her about something she said earlier. “When you said you made one decision for yourself, one you’ve never regretted…what was that?” I had some deep need for that answer. Her words wouldn’t leave me alone until I knew what she’d meant by them.
Bree took another step forward, closing the gap between our bodies. Her stature had become relaxed, softening with every inch she moved. That’s how we always were together, no matter how deep the pain, how blazing the fury, or how profound the sadness, the love we shared always seemed to win out. “Loving you. I’ve never regretted it, nor will I ever. Because that one choice I made, the one thing I’ve ever done for myself…it saved me.”
“I don’t follow.”
She tenderly touched my cheek, grazing her thumb over my unshaven skin. The heat from her palm penetrated me, burning me to the core. The intensity of her touch told me that this would be a defining moment for us. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that in the end, you finally saved me. Something more powerful than either of us intervened, and because of you and my love for you, I made it out the other side a happier, stronger, better person.” Her hand dropped before I could touch it. “But I really do need to get to my car,” she added, her fight now completely gone.
I nodded and moved back to give her space to walk out and grab her boots by the door. We headed to my truck and I opened the passenger door for her before climbing in behind the steering wheel.
“No more Jeep?” she asked as she glanced around the cab.
I shook my head and cranked the engine. Having her next to me in yet another vehicle proved to be too much on my recently fried emotions. My chest felt as if it’d been stomped on repeatedly, only to be revived again moments later. Bree had that effect on me. She could spin my head in so many directions, causing me to lose my bearings, and then with one touch, one look, one soft-spoken word, she’d ground me again.
After a few minutes of strained, awkward silence, I broke it with a question. Something I desperately needed the answer to. Something I’d gone years worried about, and I couldn’t refrain from asking any longer. “What ever happened to your mom?”
She fiddled with the clothes in her lap before inhaling slowly and answering. “She died about a month and a half after you left. Things got really bad at home after she found out about you.” Her voice remained low and filled with sadness, which ate at me and flooded me with regret. “Right after the Fourth of July, I got really sick. I thought it was the stress of being at home with her, but then it got worse. She wouldn’t take me to the doctor, and she told me it was my punishment for what I’d done. She said I deserved it for being a whore. So one day while she was at work, I went to the hospital. I don’t even remember how I got there, to be honest with you. I was so delirious and weak. I was dehydrated, so they hooked me up to an IV line and started running a bunch of tests. That’s when they saw the cuts on my back that hadn’t quite healed all the way. They asked about it.” She paused and took a breath, growing too quiet for my comfort.
“Please tell me you told them the truth?” I pleaded with her, needing to know she’d somehow been safe without me.
She sighed and nodded. “I didn’t want to at first, but the nurse was very persistent.” Bree turned to me as a small smile crept up on her lips. “She reminded me a lot of you, calling me out on my lies and headstrong in her determination to find the truth. So after I saw the doctor and got some of my results back, I finally broke down and told them everything. Everything, Axel. About who my mom was and how she always managed to brush off every incident, getting away with it for so long because of who she was. I guess I’d finally found my reason to fight back—my reason to stand up for myself. They gave me some medicine and called the police, but I wasn’t allowed to leave until the officer showed up. I had to retell the entire story to him as well before he drove me to the police station. They had to keep me in protective custody until my dad showed up.”
I stopped at a red light and turned in my seat to face her, shocked at what she’d told me. “And then what happened? How did she die? What happened to her?” The questions just flew out of my mouth as I impatiently waited for answers.
“The cops questioned her, then they came back to take pictures of my injuries—the healing marks on my shoulder blades and the scar on my eye. They had my medical records from when I’d been admitted for broken bones—some were from her and some weren’t. I had to explain each one. They said an investigation would be started, but that I couldn’t leave the county until they had all they needed. So my dad got a hotel room and we stayed there.”
A horn honked from behind me, alerting me that the light had turned green. I pulled up and parked on the shoulder of the road, unable to drive any farther until I’d heard her whole story. “Go on.”