“And I told her that …” Her bottom lip trembles. “I told her that not having a mother had nothing to do with my behavior because I have the greatest dad ever.”
She turns on her heel and bolts toward the hallway.
“Ken!” I shout.
“Leave me alone!”
Her feet pound against the stairs. The sound is punctuated by her bedroom door slamming.
“Fuck,” I say, rubbing a hand down my face.
Megan comes to me. She burrows the side of her face into my chest. She holds me tight despite the mud, dirt, and oil all over me.
“Give her a second,” Megan whispers. “Let her have a minute to herself.”
I close my eyes and focus on steadying my breath. Megan’s embrace helps. It centers me. And I’m sure it helped Kennedy today too.
“She’s a good girl, Chase,” Megan whispers.
I wrap my arms around Megan and kiss the top of her head.
Thank God she was with Kennedy today. I’m eternally grateful that my daughter didn’t have to battle the school alone. But I wonder …how long has this been going on? Has this happened before? Why has she never said anything to me?
Have I been wrong this whole time? A stream of memories floods my mind.No, I haven’t. She’s snuck out, stolen my truck, gotten detention—gotten suspended.
Is this a stage? Are there layers to all of this that I haven’t seen? Have I been focusing on the wrong thing?
More importantly, when does it end?
“I hate that this is where we are,” I say. “That it got to the point that she got into a sparring match with a fucking teacher, of all people. Did I miss something?”
Megan pulls away. “In her defense, her teacher is horrible. And if I can offer some advice—someone needs to contact the superintendent or school board about her. If she’s acting this way to Kennedy, she’s probably not the only kid she’s messing with.”
“I’ll tell you what I did. Mrs. Falconbury said if I had a mother, I’d know how to behave.”
What else has she said to my daughter?
I grit my teeth. “Yeah, well, I’ll be seeing Mrs. Falconbury again, and it’ll be less pleasurable than the first.”
“Want me to go with you?”
I look at Megan. “Actually, why am I just now hearing about this? Why didn’t you call me today?”
“Because what would you have done?”
I look at her.That’s not the point.
“You asked me to handle things, Chase. I handled it. You were however many hours away, and she was safe. There was no need for you to hurry home. You can handle it now.”
I raise a brow. “That’s not your call to make.”
“What?”
“This is a big fucking deal—especially if the school isn’t doing what’s right by Kennedy. I should’ve been there to advocate for her. Why did no one call me?”
“Probably because I’m on the emergency list becauseyouadded me.”
I scrub a hand roughly down my face.This is not going well.
