I need to let Martha know she’s free to hex away.
Paul sighs and moves his hands around her body. Her little jump makes his hand’s destination clear as he asks his next question. “What’s in it for me this time sweetheart? Besides putting the little fat bitch in her place?”
This mother fucker needs to be hit once, or twenty times, in the fucking face.Taylor leans up in an uncomfortably familiar way and whispers in his ear. Based on the disgusting look on his face, Paul ishappywith her response.
He nods and quickly grabs the phone. “What do you need me to say?”
Taylor slips off his lap and falls to her knees in front of him. “You’re just calling the county’s School System Central Office as a concerned uncle. Your sweet nephew has been complaining about his teacher’s inappropriate behavior.” Taylor says as she undoes his belt.
I look away as she reaches into his pants and meet Billy’s dark eyes.
“Joeyisone of Becky’s students, right?”
“Yep.”
“She’s not answering her phone.” I mutter to myself as I pace the tainted office.
Billy sits in the only remaining office chair. I threw the other one out of the office once the video finished. Billy said that nothing else was said, so I didn’t have to seePaulfinish.Disgusting piece of shit.
“Why does he hate her so much?” I keep on muttering. I’ve always known Paul was scum, but this is beyond my imaginings of the depths of depravity he’d go to for some petty dislike. This is full onloathing.
Billy clears his throat from the other side of the desk, but when I turn back to him, he’s staring at his cellphone.Wait.I stop walking. “Call Becky! Maybe she’ll answer your call. Mine went straight to voicemail.” Billy nods his head in acknowledgement.
I expect him to ask me for her number, so when I hear him say, “It went straight to voicemail,” I narrow my eyes at him.
Before I get a chance to call him on it, he rolls his eyes atme. “You gave me her number ages ago when your dumbass left your phone at home. I ain’t got any designs on your woman, Carter. Chill the fuck out.” I let out a dry chuckle a little after he finishes what, for him, equals a speech.
“Yeah, I know. Shit man, I’m sorry. I’m a mess.” He only grunts in response. I start pacing again. His phone rings, breaking the silence of the dark room.
“It’s Joey’s school. Just a second.” Billy starts to get up, but I practically leap on him.
“What are you doing? Answer it on speaker!” I try to grab his phone, but he holds it up and out of the way. I lean over him, continuing to reach for it. “Dude, stop. What if it’s Becky or something!”
“Get off me you oversized toddler!” Billy snaps. One hand holds me back by my face while the other is holding the fucking lifeline to Becky out of my reach.
“Carter!” He shouts.
“What,” I snap back, voice muffled by his stupid giant paw.
“Let me answer the fucking phone.”
“Oh.” I back off immediately, and he answers the phone on speaker.Good boy.He cuts me a look right when I have that thought, and I nearly piss myself thinking I said it out loud. But then he looks down at the phone with a raised brow.
I try to ask “what” with my eyes, but it’s an obvious fail when his expression does not change. When I say nothing, he speaks up. “Could you repeat that please, Ms. Farris?”
A voice responds from his phone. “Of course, Billy. And honey, just call me Jill. I just know your boy is one of Ms. Duchamp’s students. I want you to know that she was just sent home on administrative leave because of an accusation of inappropriate behavior.”Goddammit.I start to say something when Billy slaps his hand over my mouth, again. “I just wanted to know if that sounds like something your son would agree with or not?”
Hand still covering my mouth, Billy responds “Nope, not Joey, ma’am. She’s his favorite teacher.” He stops to let his words sink in. Then he asks the question I was needing the answer to. “She’s not in trouble now, is she Jill? I know that would really disappoint my boy.”
I nearly lick the fucker’s hand to get it off me, but he must sense the desperation I feel because he has the instinct to remove it first. Now free, I still remain silent. A faint clicking comes from the other end of the line before she answers. “Yes. She was just sent out of the school. My niece has it out for her. Ms. Duchamp is crude and annoying, but she works hard. These kids need teachers like her.”
Her words register, shocking me with multiple revelations at once. First, I’m shocked if this is the Jill I’m thinking it is, with the peacock, then she’s someone Becky has always complained hated her. She saidwitcha lot when describing her. And peacock, of course. Secondly, she’s calling Billy to defend her in the most condescending way a person could. Lastly, she just threw her family under the bus without a second of hesitation.
I vaguely remember Jill babysitting me. I think she did it one time. Supposedly, I wastoo strong willed for all the wrong reasonsandcouldn’t keep quiet long enough for a person to think.I’d had sitters say worse, so no hard feelings on my part.
“You need to both go to the board meeting on Thursday this week. Push the issue. Tell them what you told me. I have to go. I’ll be making some more phone calls. Goodbye, Billy goat.”
I start cracking up the minute she hangs up, and once I see that Big Boy Billy goat is actually blushing, I completely lose myself to laughter. He swings at me halfhearted and I dodge out of the way, but my clumsy ass hits the floor. The moment I’ve gotten myself up to my knees to stand back up, the door to the office flies open to reveal Trevor standing there.
