Love and Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Author:Kimberla Lawson Roby [Roby, Kimberla Lawson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, General, Contemporary Women, Fiction
ISBN: 9780061851933
Google: 3K3W6ax3Q3kC
Amazon: B000NJL76O
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

CHARLOTTE

“Ms. Charlotte,” Tracy called up the stairs to me.

“Yes?”

“Marissa’s principal is on the line for you.”

“Thanks,” I said, picking up the phone in my bedroom. “Hello?”

“Mrs. Black?” Ms. Keller said.

“Yes. How are you?”

“Well, unfortunately, I’ve had better days, and I’m sorry to tell you that we have a real problem here.”

“Is Marissa okay?”

“She’s fine, but one of the other students caught her in the girls’ bathroom striking matches and waving them around and then dropping them in the toilet.”

“Dear God. When?”

“Not long ago. Marissa was in one of the stalls and the young lady who went to report it to her teacher heard her striking matches, and when she pushed open the door, Marissa just looked at her and struck another one.”

“Ms. Keller, I am so sorry that this has happened.”

“I’m sorry, too, and I’m going to have to ask you to come pick her up. We don’t have any choice except to suspend her for the rest of the week, and I’m going to have to suggest that you and your husband take her somewhere for professional counseling.”

“I agree.”

“She’ll be waiting here in my office until you arrive.”

“Thanks so much, and I should be there in about a half hour.”

I grabbed my purse and headed down to the main floor and told Tracy that I had to drive over to the school to get Marissa. I didn’t go into details, but I would definitely confide the situation to her when I returned because now Marissa needed to be watched at all times. This whole obsession with fire—I couldn’t erase the flashbacks that were now taking control of my mind, flashbacks of our house burning down to the ground. I could still see Aaron being dragged away from the scene and being driven off in a police car. Now, though, in the present, I had to worry about my own daughter doing the same thing, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Yes, there was counseling, but what if it didn’t help her? What if she truly was a bad seed and was destined to commit crimes?

I rushed out of the house, into the car, and drove out of the subdivision. I needed to talk to someone, and while I knew it should have been Curtis, I dialed my mother instead.

“Mom?” I said when she answered.

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

“Not good,” I said with tears rolling down my cheeks.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Marissa.”

“Is she okay?”

“No. I mean, nothing’s happened to her, but the principal just called to say that she was playing with matches in the bathroom at school and she’s been suspended.”

“Where did she get matches from?”

“I don’t know.”

“Has she done anything like this before?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you or Curtis or anyone, but a couple of weeks ago, I came into the kitchen and caught her playing with the burners on the stove. She was waving her hand through the fire like she was enjoying it.”

“Oh no. Did you ask her why?”

“No, because once I got her attention, she turned everything off and went up to her bedroom.

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