“My darling boy, I’ve explained.” Turning to me, she cocked the gun. “Get over there.” She motioned with her other hand. I didn’t know who was crazier, her or her son. How the hell had they kept it quiet for so many years.
“What the hell. You fired me isn’t it enough?” I needed to get out of there now. Could I make it to the window and jump out? Thank God my classroom was on the first floor. Maybe she was just trying to scare me? She wouldn’t really shoot would she?
“No not at all. You’ve been corrupting my son, making him love you. All these years I’ve protected him from sluts like you. If I’d realized how you were you’d never been hired. I take care to make sure everyone is perfect here.”
“Stepford teachers?”
“Something like that. The families pay a lot to send their children to this school, nothing is going to taint its reputation. I spent too many years building it.”
“Mother, you can’t hurt her I won’t let you.”
“Be still. You’re turning more into your deadbeat father every day. This is her fault. If she hadn’t come in to your life you’d still be my precious innocent son.”
“I never touched Bob. Never.”
“You didn’t have to. Your slut ways contaminate everything you’re near. I’d hoped all the regulations would make you quit. If you’d been smart you wouldn’t have come back this year. That was your first mistake. Talking to my son was your second. But there won’t be a third. I’m going to make sure of that.”
“You won’t get away with this. My boyfriend is on the way, he texted me, he should be here any minute.”
“He’ll be too late. I bolted the front door. He won’t be able to get in.”
Insane. Totally. She probably has been for years. Why didn’t any of us notice it before? How could all the teachers miss so many signs? “He’ll find a way. You can’t do this. What about your precious school? If you kill me you’ll lose everything.” I needed to get out of here now, before she used the gun.
“Don’t be stupid. Your body will never be discovered and if it is they’ll figure it was your druggy boyfriend who did it.”
She had a point. It would be difficult for anyone to believe this old woman wascapable of murder, but I was about to find out.
“No, Mother. I know you don’t like her. I promise I’ll be good. Please don’t hurt her.”
I had to give Bob credit for standing up to her, it didn’t look like it happened too often. I almost smiled my thanks but realized it would just flame the fire.
“Be quiet. You know better than to disobey me.” Before my eyes Bob shrank about three inches. She’d probably been terrorizing him his entire life. Poor guy. Still if it had to be him or me I’d rather it be him. Did that make me horrible? Maybe, but I wasn’t ready to die. I’d finally opened my heart to love again and I wanted to see where it took me.
“Why did you hide Bob all these years? Why not just admit he’s your son?” Maybe if I kept her talking I could figure something out. Maybe those bad TV movies weren’t so far off. The longer she talked the longer I had to figure out how to get away.
“Because I was never married. His father impregnated me and left me to join some band and I never heard from himagain. He told me he loved me. Stole my virginity, ruined my life. My parents threw me out and so I came to New York, changed my name and hid my pregnancy.”
This explained so much. No wonder she hated me dating Flame, but why hate me? What the hell did I ever do to her?
“I put myself through school and became a teacher. I had Bob and kept him hidden from everyone. When I could afford it I hired a woman to watch him and we told people he was hers.”
“I don’t understand. It was only what twenty-five years ago? People had babies when they weren’t married then.”
“Not me. My father was a preacher in Indiana. I was shunned. I had to repent and everything was perfect until you came here.”
“What did I do?”
“You were a bad influence on Bob and the other teachers. All the new and radical ideas, arguing to change the traditions we hold dear at this school. Who are you? You’ve only been teaching a year, what do you know?”
Great, so as far as she was concerned I was trying to steal her son and her school. She was insane but telling her that wouldn’t keep me alive. I needed to think of something fast. I could still try to make a run for it and jump out the window. I might make it, she might not pull the trigger in time, but she might. I didn’t have any other option and I started to back towards the wall of windows.
The crash of glass shattering startled her and she turned just enough for me to try to grab the gun but she was fast. Too fast considering she was close to sixty and looked like a strong wind would blow her over.
“Get back! Keep your filthy hands off me and my son, you slut.”
I was getting tired of this slut shit. Enough already. I’ve slept with two guys that does not make one a slut I don’t care who you are. It was good I was angry, more angry than scared.
“You can try, but trust me I’m not going to be easy to kill. If you think I’m going to just stand here while you shoot me, you really are out of your mind.” Shit, I wasn’t supposed to say the last part, but hell evenher eyes looked crazy. I was waiting for her to foam at the mouth. Now if only that crash turned in to Flame I might actually get out of here in one piece.
