Christmas at Chamberlain: A Sweet Christmas Rom-Com (Chamberlain Academy Rom-Coms) by Becca Wilhite

Author:Becca Wilhite [Wilhite, Becca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-20T16:00:00+00:00

12

PATRICE

The boy woke me early this morning with apologies. Standing at the side of the couch. Stammering. Hair rumpled from sleep. He said something was happening and he wanted me to be aware. He said the damage had already been done and there was no fixing it.

Then he asked me if I’d be willing to listen to him.

My first instinct was to walk across the room and wake his father, let him deal with Hayes and whatever emergency he had caused, and never speak to either of them again. But I closed my eyes and counted to ten in three languages before I stood up. Told Hayes to wait a moment. Folded my blankets to buy a minute to compose myself. Then followed him to the Hall’s front door.

The entrance was filled with the snow-covered giant tree. It leaned against the wall as if its trip inside had exhausted it.

A group of boys, red-faced and trying not to laugh, lay on their backs on yoga mats, staring at the ceiling. When I looked over at them, they attempted to fake sleep. I was in no mood to deal with their antics.

“Upstairs,” I told Hayes.

He followed me. I heard his feet on the stairs. He hadn’t even put on his shoes. All the way up the steps, I walked in silence, sifting through all my questions, concerns, assumptions, and anger.

So much anger.

But the staircase is long. And the murmur of voices from downstairs didn’t carry well. The sound of students waking was low. Slow. Far away.

I unlocked the office door and led Hayes inside. Again.

He sat on a chair, stared at the floor, and told me his story.

“Last night, when we went to get shovels? I grabbed a few friends. We followed Mr. Carraway into the shed. He unlocked the door so we could get in, and then since we’d have to come back in to put the shovels away, he left it unlocked. It was the smart way to handle the snow cleanup. None of this is his fault.

“While we were in there, we saw other tools. Mowers. Weed trimmers. Leaf blowers. Rakes. And an axe and a few saws.”

He looked like he was about to be sick.

“I didn’t go back out with them when they left the Hall in the night. I didn’t help. But I didn’t stop them, either. When they got up, I heard them. I pretended to be asleep so they’d leave me alone. I woke up again when they pushed the tree into the Hall. They were quiet, but the doors were open and the wind was cold. Then someone ran to the cafeteria and got foil, and the guys tossed foil balls into the branches. Someone found a supply of toilet paper and they threw that into the tree, too.

“I watched from my place on the floor. I could see they were having a great time. I wasn’t about to stop them, because I knew they wouldn’t stop. But I knew they’d gone too far.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.