Emilio doesn’t do commitment. I’ve heard enough stories. Rumors. The thought that he’ll tire of playing family is a feeling I can’t shake.
On top of that, I’ve given up on my mom being available for Luis. I need to take matters into my own hands. This, at least, is something I feel confident in working out.
I walk into my first period class with Luis on my hip. The bell will ring in just a few minutes, so I’ll need to make this quick. The rape charges against Miguel were dropped, and he’s since been charged with securities fraud and money laundering in addition to extortion. I have no idea what all they found, but the combined charges can lead up to a combined twenty years behind bars and over five hundred thousand dollars in penalties and fines.
He’s in jail now, but his bail hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon, and Mom is frantically trying to figure out a way to pull the money together for his release. We don’t have it. Miguel doesn’t have it stashed away somewhere that I know of either. Which is a relief.
It’s insane how ignorant she’s behaving. But the fact that the rape charges were dropped just confirms in her mind that he didn’t do it. He has her convinced the rest is false. Misunderstandings or mistakes made by his associates. She is completely blind to the fact that he’s a criminal and a rapist.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for Miguel to be innocent. My mom loves him. Truly and completely loves him, but she didn’t see the look on his face when confronted with Allie in the kitchen. She didn’t hear his admission of guilt. And that’s what that was. An admission. He knows what he did, and the fact that he won’t be charged for his crime is wrong.
I’ve never had a great relationship with Miguel, but I never had issues with him either. He was just always … there. It creeps me way the heck out to know that all this time, I’ve been living with a rapist. Would he have done to me what he did to Allie if given enough time and opportunity? What if he tried to hurt Luis? He’s just a baby, unable to tell me if anyone tries to hurt him.
I shiver just thinking about. It keeps me up at night. Knowing he was there. I’m glad I never left Luis alone with him. Never trusted him enough to watch my boy.
Heading toward Mr. Albert’s desk, I consider what I’m going to say just as his head lifts from a stack of assignments he’s been grading, judging by the red pen in his hand.
“Ms. Sousa.” He gives Luis a curious once-over. “Can I help you with something?”
I shift Luis’s weight to my other side and nod. “Yeah. Sorry. I won’t be in class today. Actually, I probably won’t make it all week. Again.” I exhale a sigh. “I was hoping you’d let me make up this week’s assignments somehow, and any quizzes we might have coming up since I missed Friday’s exam?”
His lips purse and he looks a little closer at the baby boy in my arms. “He yours?”
I nod and offer him a small smile. “Yeah, he’s mine.”
He nods to himself. “Okay. When you first enrolled we were informed you had a child. I didn’t realize he was so young. We’ll make it work.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. You have no idea. I promise to stay on top of things. I can even drop my assignments off daily after school gets out. Whatever you—”
“Ms. Sousa, I believe you misunderstand me.”
My stomach drops. What? I thought…
“I didn’t mean I would send you home with independent study assignments. I meant you could continue coming to class and bring your son with you.”
“To class?” No way am I hearing him right. What high school teacher is okay with a nine-month-old in their classroom?
“Yes. And before you leave I’ll have you write down the names of your other teachers and get things sorted out with them. If they don’t want you in the classroom you can use the teacher’s lounge to do your assignments away from other students, or perhaps the library if you’d be more comfortable there.”
Emotion clogs my throat and my vision blurs. “Why?” The single word passes my lips in a whisper, and I suck in a shaking breath as I struggle to maintain my composure. “Why are you jumping to help me like this?” Because that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have to go out of his way for me. Emailing me assignments and letting me retake tests is already going above and beyond but this … letting me complete my senior year as a student. This is so much more.
Mr. Albert stands from his chair and moves around his desk. He reaches a tentative hand out and Luis latches onto his finger waving his arm and jabbering away with a drooly grin on his face.
“Ms. Sousa, you are one of the brightest students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. You are diligent. Studious. You think outside of the box and your creativity in thought knows no bounds. You can make something of yourself should you decide to. Having a child does not mean you have to sacrifice your opportunities. If anything, it means you must get a little … creative in how you achieve your goals.”
I sniff and blink away my tears. “I really appreciate this. You have no idea. But, I’m not so sure the school will let me—”
“You let me take care of that, okay?”
I nod just as the bell rings, signaling that first period is about to start.
“Do you need to miss today or do you have your materials and everything you need for your son with you?”
“I just have to run to my locker. But I have all my things.” It’s part of why I decided to come in person originally. To pick up some of my books I’d left behind the last time I was at school.
“Good. Do that and hurry back. We’re covering the devastating effects of European diseases on native populations. Wouldn’t want you to miss any of it.”
I smile and rush to grab my books, ignoring the startled looks of my peers as I hurry through the hallway and to my locker. I shove Luis’s diaper bag inside, grabbing his favorite toy and a bottle out and shoving that into my backpack before grabbing my history textbook and heading back to class.
