They were in the middle of dinner when the knock came. Dad answered the door. “Mr. Johnson, good to see you again. Please come in.”
Aiden tried to push back the nervousness. Every one of these visits since the incident in the woods made him feel like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Aiden had always been a good kid, and he didn’t like being involved in something so bad. He hated hiding it, lying about it. But he had to for Dylan’s sake, and that part of it he didn’t regret.
“Hello, Aiden.”
“Hi, Mr. Johnson.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Dad offered.
“Water would be fine. Thank you.” Mr. Johnson took a seat at the table. “How are things going, Aiden?”
“Better.” That was the truth, although progress was slow. He’d had a talk with Ms. Yang about his grade, and they’d discussed what he thought was fair. Not participating in matches meant he couldn’t get an A, as that was a large part of class. Not a B either. Currently he was earning a C plus, and although such a low grade made him a little ill, he knew it wasn’t fair to expect more.
“That’s good. So the counseling is helping?”
Aiden nodded. “And I’m training with Tiago outside class.”
Mr. Johnson’s eyes widened a little. “Really?”
“Yeah. He dodges my spells. Not that I’m using anything too strong or dangerous. He can’t block like the kids in gym class. He’s just sort of a moving target.” Aiden got the image of a shooting game at a fair with little yellow ducks to knock down. Only he pictured jaguars interspersed with the ducks. He glanced down and held back a laugh.
“Interesting,” Mr. Johnson said, then thanked Aiden’s dad when he set a glass of water in front of him. “How is Tiago doing?”
“Good. He’s making a lot of progress with his reading. He’s struggling with class, but he told me he’s not failing any of them.” Aiden felt a glow of pride for how much he’d helped Tiago. The boy still got frustrated and embarrassed, but training at the pit seemed to help him see it as an exchange. And Aiden certainly didn’t mind the excuse to spend more time with him.
“I knew you’d be a good tutor. Is he giving you any trouble? You sound like you’re getting along.”
“We are.” Aiden wished they could get along even better… No, that was stupid. Tiago couldn’t be into boys. It was just a stupid, hopeless crush. “No trouble at all. He has this… aura of toughness, but he hasn’t gotten into any fights and he doesn’t pick on anybody.” Which was good, because Aiden couldn’t stand bullies. He wouldn’t be helping Tiago if the boy picked on the other kids. “He even gets along with Dylan.”
Aiden was a little surprised Dylan hadn’t asked Tiago over to play video games. Maybe he didn’t like Tiago that much, or maybe he was stuck on the idea that Aiden was his only friend. As much as it made Aiden feel special, he would rather Dylan had more friends.
“Well, that’s interesting. I was worried there might be problems between them.” Mr. Johnson took a sip and lowered his voice. “I confess that was one of the reasons I asked you to help Tiago settle in. I was hoping you would act as a buffer between him and Dylan.”
That made Aiden wonder yet again why Tiago was the way he was. “What’s up with Tiago? Why did he surrender to the wardens? He says his parents didn’t come with him, so where are they? What happened to them?” Aiden pressed his lips together. Maybe he shouldn’t be asking.
“When he’s ready, if he’s ready, Tiago will tell you himself.”
Aiden sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be asking you for his personal information.”
Mr. Johnson smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with being curious. So how is Dylan? Are his grades improving?” He chuckled. “I’d ask him myself, but it’s so much easier asking you.”
Aiden laughed too. “I bet. He’s doing good. Way better than last semester. I knew he was smarter than he let on, he just didn’t apply himself.” He winced internally. That made him sound like a parent.
“Mm-hm.” Mr. Johnson took another sip of his water. “No fights? No… problems?”
Aiden knew what he was asking. His parents had gone into the living room, but he knew they could overhear them so he had to be careful. Good thing he didn’t really have anything to say. “No. Conner keeps trying to start fights, but the hall monitors are watching now.” He wished he could trust that the adults would handle everything, but at least he knew they were taking things more seriously.
Had Mr. Johnson said something to them? Or was it the principal’s idea?
“Good. Is there anything you want to discuss in private?” he asked in a low voice.
Aiden thought about it, but the things that were troubling him were things Mr. Johnson couldn’t help with. How to stop Dylan from feeling so much guilt, what to do about his crush on Tiago, whether he wanted to date Hanna again. “No.”
Mr. Johnson finished his glass of water and stood. “All right. I’ll see you next month.”
Yes, he had been coming once a month. Were monthly visits going to be a regular thing now? Was it because the warden didn’t trust Dylan, or did he not trust either of them?
* * *
When the phone rang, Hanna tensed. Her father answered, and when she heard his first angry question, she knew her fears had been confirmed. From upstairs she couldn’t make out everything, but she heard enough to know. She glanced at the window, having a momentary fantasy of jumping out and running.
To where? Anywhere, just away.
Footfalls thudded up the stairs, both her parents coming up to yell at her. Her father pushed open the door, he and Mother glaring with a hint of yellow in their eyes. “That was Conner’s father. He said Conner saw you with that fae boy at lunch. We told you to stay away from him.”
Hanna hugged her stomach and looked at the floor. She thought about lying, saying Conner made that up because he was mad and wanted to get her in trouble. But the other werewolves in the pack would back him up, and her parents didn’t look ready to take her word over theirs.
When she didn’t say anything, her mother prompted her. “Hanna.”
Dominant energy rolled through the room. She hated this, being so weak and helpless. “I just sat with him, that’s all.” It was hardly more than a whisper.
They came into the room. She wasn’t afraid of them hurting her, not like Conner had. They’d spanked her when she was little, but not for years now.
“I will not have my daughter dating a fae or anything else.” Her mother sighed and said in a gentler tone, “I know this is hard, but we need to stay with our own kind.”
Why? But she didn’t dare ask. She didn’t want another lecture. “We’re not dating. I broke up with him, like I said I would. We’re just friends.”
“And we’re supposed to believe that after you already went sneaking around with him?” her father asked.
Hanna thought of the misery of the past several weeks, and before that, what things had been like with Conner. Suddenly it was all too much and she couldn’t stop the tears. She expected the sadness, but was surprised to find she was angry too. “What am I supposed to do? Be alone all the time? I don’t have a pack at school anymore. Or do you want me to get back together with Conner?” She looked up, meeting her mother’s gaze for just a moment. “Would you be happier if I had a boyfriend that hit me?”
“No,” her parents said at the same time. “Of course not,” her father added. “You never should have let him do that.”
“You should have left him the first time he put his hands on you,” her mother said.
Her father growled. “You should have kicked his ass.”
It was great to know she was such a failure. “I’m not like you.” She wiped at the tears, smearing them all over her cheeks.
Her mother sighed. “You can’t let people treat you like that.”
“Aiden didn’t treat me like that.” Hanna’s voice was soft again as she stared at the floor. Dylan didn’t either. The most feared boy in school had been nicer to her than her own boyfriend.
“Just because he’s nice to you and Conner was an abusive asshole doesn’t mean we’re going to allow you to date outside your kind,” her father said.
With a surge of anger, Hanna got to her feet, hands clenched at her sides. “I promised I’d break up with him and I did. You never said I couldn’t be friends with him. That… that’s too unfair!” Arguing with them made nervous sweat break out on her body, but she also felt a little thrill. She was so tired of people treating her like she was weak. No… she was tired of being weak.
“Conner can tattle on me all he wants. I’m going to stay friends with Aiden, and eat with him at lunch, and if you really think dating him is so horrible then I won’t. And you’ll just have to believe me.”
Her father’s eyes narrowed, brown irises bleeding into yellow again. “If you lie to us about this, you’ll be sorry.”
Her anger faded and she sank back down on the edge of the bed. “Yes, sir.”
After another glare, her parents left, not quite slamming the door behind them. Hanna stared at it, wondering if she’d just won an argument with her mother and father.