Page 83 of Need You To Choose Me

The bile rises up my throat as more questions start to surface in my mind, but before I can do anything about it, my phone rings.

Sliding my hand in my pocket, I pull it out, noticing the unfamiliar number on the screen. I raise the phone to my ear and press the answer button. “Hello?”

“Mr. Walker?” an older feminine voice says.

“That’s me. How can I help you?” I ask slowly. The voice sounds slightly familiar, but I’m not sure where to place it.

Aaron lifts his brow in a silent question, but I just shake my head. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but for some reason, I could feel the trepidation rising inside of me.

“My name is Mrs. Dawn. I’m calling from Bluebonnet High. I’m afraid there’s been an incident.”

My fingers tighten around the phone as I feel my blood run cold. “What kind of incident?”

Did something happen to Daniel? Did he get hurt? Did?—

“Daniel got into a fight with another student.”

Cursing softly, I run my hand over my face, as I mutter, “Of course he did.”

“Mr. Walker?” the woman asks.

“I’m sorry, I’m still here.”

“Both boys have been suspended, so we need you to come to school to pick him up.”

I let my hand drop to my side. “I’m on my way.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” I ask the moment we step into the house.

It takes everything in me not to slam the front door behind me and yell at my oldest son, but somehow, I manage to keep myself in check.Yelling at Daniel rarely solved anything. On the contrary, really.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Daniel grumbles, his gaze fixed on the floor. He starts to turn around, but I grab his shoulder and tug him back.

“Oh, no you don’t. What the fuck, Daniel? Fighting in school? Not just that, gettingsuspendedbarely a few weeks in? Are you trying to set a new record of how quickly they can kick you out?”

“Well maybe then we can go back home.” Daniel lifts his gaze and glares at me. His lip is busted and slightly puffy. A dark bruise has already formed around his left eye, closing it shut. The other kid, on the other hand, looked worse.Much worse.

“This ishome,Daniel. If you get kicked out, you’re out. The next closest school is a few towns over. But I guess you could always go and get a job.”

Anger shines in his gray irises. Anger and something that looks a lot like shame. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud. No, he was too stubborn, too proud, to admit it out loud.

“This is not my home,” he spits out, his cheeks flaming hot. “Just because you have a new girlfriend and a kid on the way doesn’t make this place my home.”

This time, when he spins on his heels and starts toward the stairs, I don’t try to stop him.

“Fucking hell,” I curse once he’s out of earshot and run my hand over my face.

This was so messed up. I knew it would be; I didn’t expect Levi and Daniel to jump at this all enthusiastically and accept Savannah into our family, but… I didn’t expect this level of hatred at the idea either.

“Did I hear Daniel?” I turn around to find Mrs. Maxwell standing in the doorway of the laundry room, a basket with folded clothes in her arms. She gives me one look before asking, “What happened now?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling the headache building behind my temples. “Daniel got into a fight at school. He’s suspended for a full week.”

Her gray brows shoot up over the rim of her metal glasses. “So fast? You’ve barely been here for a few weeks.”

“What can I say; the kid is talented.”

Mrs. Maxwell tsks. “What that boy is is troubled. The divorce messed him up.”

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