Bad Boy's Baby Girl

Kindergarten Teacher

*Cade's POV*

Walking into school this morning I find myself searching around for Monroe. I don’t see her in the halls and when the warning bell rings, Xander and I head for the Chemistry classroom. When we get there I find her already seated at her table, she’s laughing at something her friend says and her smile makes my heart skip a beat.

Fuck, I’ve barely even spoken to the girl. How is she affecting me like this? I tear my eyes from here and convince myself it’s just because she’s new here. Everyone is fascinated by shiny new things aren’t they? That must be it. I’ll hook up with her once and the novelty will wear off.

The rest of the day passes relatively uneventfully and, more than once, I find my eyes wandering over to her. She, once again, kicks our asses at volleyball so Brett and I owe Jason and Xander a beer. 

While we walk out to the parking lot, Mackenzie jogs over, and for a second I’m convinced her boobs are gonna pop out the top of her tiny tank top. Not that that would be the worst thing in the world. The girl does have nice t**s.

She stops in front of us and says, “So, I’m throwing a party at my place this Saturday. My parents are going to be out of town so I figured we could have a little back to school get together. Everyone is gonna be there.”

Before I can stop myself I blurt out, “What about the new girl?” I can feel Xander’s eyes on me when Mackenzie rolls her eyes and huffs before replying, “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” I just raise my eyebrow, indicating I want a real answer. She sighs in defeat and says, “I haven’t asked her yet but I will since this whole school is apparently obsessed with her.”

I nod and say, “We’ll be there.”

“Um, one more thing. Could you guys bring, you know, stuff?” She says cryptically.

Xander looks amused as he replies, “Yes Mackenzie, we’ll bring the weed. Don’t we always?” 

She claps and says, “Yay! Can’t wait!” And then bounces away to her friends. The four of us are pretty much the suppliers for the school when it comes to drugs. Mostly weed, some ritalin around exam time and other s**t if people make special requests. It’s a good way to make some money and our supplier isn’t too picky about deadlines. Whenever we sell what we have, we give him the money and he gives us more.

I turn to the guys and say, “I’ll check in with Stu this evening to get more, I don’t think we’ll have enough for the party.” Xander nods, agreeing with my assessment and then says, “So, are we not going to discuss your question about the new girl?” 

“Nope,” I say, turning around to head for my car, which I had intentionally parked across the row from Monroe’s bike this morning. I look around and see her waving goodbye to her friends one row of cars over. I change my pace so that I make it to my car at the same time as she gets to her bike. I yell across the aisle at her, “Nice bike!” I kick myself. What a lame thing to say.

She raises an eyebrow at me. I can see her trying to solve some kind of puzzle before she politely replies, “Thanks,” and then puts her helmet on and quickly drives away. 

When I make it home, Hanna and Lily barrel rush the door and jump on me. They’re lucky I’m fast enough to catch them. “Hey cuties! How was your day?”

“Good!” They reply at the same time.

“Can you make us a snack?” Hanna says. 

“Didn’t Mom make you one when you got home?” 

“No, she had to go upstairs with Daddy.” s**t. That’s never good. I put them down and tell them to go play and I’ll make them a snack in 5 minutes. I kick my shoes off and then tiptoe up the stairs and listen through their door.

I hear my mother’s voice first, “Seriously Ben? Our daughter’s kindergarten teacher? Do you understand how embarrassing it was for me picking them up at school today and seeing the looks and whispers from all the other parents? The least you could have done was be discreet about. Jesus Christ.”

“I really don’t give a s**t Sue. You will just have to get over yourself. If you don’t I can and will put you right back in that trailer park where you belong.”

I clench my fists and my jaw tightens. God I would love to beat the s**t out of this guy. But I know it would probably only lead to me getting an assault charge and then I wouldn’t be able to be here for her. No, I’m gonna go to a good college, get a good job and then I’ll be able to support her and my sisters so she can leave his ass. It’s unfortunate that she’ll have to endure this for a few more years but it’s really my only choice. 

I tiptoe back downstairs and cut up some apple slices and then call the girls into the kitchen. Just as they run away to go play, and I load the plates in the dishwasher, my mom turns the corner into the kitchen. She gives me a small smile that doesn’t reach her eyes and says, “Hey kiddo, how was your day?” 

“Better than yours,” I say and give her a hug. She rests her head on my chest and sighs before saying, “I guess you heard that huh.” She pulls aways and I nod. She hides it well, but I can see that everytime he pulls something like this, it cuts deep in her heart and weighs heavy on her.

I don’t get a chance to say anything else before Ben walks into the kitchen. I glare at him as he walks by and grabs a beer out of the fridge. He turns to me and says, “Can I help you?” as he stares me down. I just clench my jaw and don’t say anything. “That’s what I thought,” he spits out as he heads to the living room.

I head up to my room and start pacing about, making myself more and more angry. I decide to go for a run to burn off some energy before I do something I’ll regret. I throw on some shorts and my runners, deciding not not to wear a t-shirt. It’s a sunny day and farmer’s tans are not my look. I stick my head into the living room, “I’m going for a run.”

Mom replies, “Okay, dinner is at 6.” I just nod, pop in my headphones and start running.

An hour later I return home and hop in the shower quickly, throwing on some clothes before heading down for dinner. 

At dinner, I zone out while the twins talk animatedly about their day at school. Once we’re done eating, I clear the table and help Mom with the dishes before heading up to my room. I shoot a text to Stu and he replies quickly saying he can meet me at our usual spot in 45 mins. I text Xander telling him I’ll pick him up in 30. As much as I like Stu, I don’t trust him enough to go alone.

I grab my bag and tell mom I’m going to Xander’s and not to wait up. Once we have the weed, we head back to Xander’s.

“Wanna come in for a beer?”

“When have I ever said no to beer?” 

We walk into his trailer and immediately I notice Frank, his dad, passed out on a chair with an empty bottle of jack in his hand. Nothing unusual. He’s basically been like that since Xander’s mom died of cancer a few years back. Xander grabs two beers from the fridge, tosses me one and we make our way up to the roof and take a seat on the fold out chairs. We sit there quietly for a few minutes, sipping or beers before he says, “So, how’s things at home?” 

I look at him and reply, “Ben f****d my sisters’ teacher and everyone found out. She won’t admit it to me, but I know she’s really hurt by the whole thing.”

“God that guy is a piece of shit.”

“Yup,” I say, taking another swig of beer. “How’s your dad been?” I ask.

“Getting worse every day. He was already passed out when I got home today. I’m honestly just expecting his liver to give out any day now.”

“Sorry, man.”

“Nah, it’s all good. I’m pretty much over it now. Just gotta get through the year and start over in College.”

I nod in agreement. We both finish our beers and I head home for the night.