“Where you going?” I asked.
He turned around. “I have a mess to clean up, don’t I?”
I rolled my eyes. “Get back to coloring another picture like the one you just finished. I’ll clean up the mess.”
Cody was way too excited to get back to his bed. I passed by him and left his room, knowing that I had a call to make and it wasn’t going to be too easy, but it had to be done. The sooner the better.
Chapter Five
Tasha
Bullies Beware
That night, I had just gotten up the nerve to call Dana and tell her that I probably blew her relationship with Mr. Wilde when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and didn’t recognize the number, so I cautiously answered it. “Hello?”
“Tasha, this is Matt, I know it’s late, but I need your help.” The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine and caused my stomach muscles to clench.
“Hello Mr. Wilde.”
“No, please call me Matt.”
“Okay, Matt,” I said and instantly smiled.
“I called to offer you a second chance, because I really do need a sitter and Cody loves you. He hasn’t taken to anyone the way he has to you. You’re all he has talked about since you left,” he said, and I had to take a few breaths to control my enthusiasm.
“I would love to come back and hang with my little bud. And, I appreciate the opportunity to show you that I’m much better than what happened today. It was my first day as a babysitter, and I got carried away with the fun activities and didn’t spend as much time on the responsible tasks. I understand that now and will change that completely.”
I sighed in relief. Thankfully, I didn’t have to disappoint Dana, and part of me wanted to see Matt again—I mean, part of me wanted to see Cody again.
“Great. I’ll have someone over to prepare meals for you guys, so you don’t have to cook,” he said and then repeated himself. “You should have no reason to even go in the kitchen or touch the outside grill, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” I wouldn’t let him down, because he was giving me this second chance and that was more than any other boss had given me. “Thank you for this opportunity to come back and work for you,” I stated.
“Just please…don’t make me regret it,” he said.
His voice was stiff, but I could understand. After all, I set fire at his house and, though not intentionally, I held responsibility for the life of someone so precious to him in my hands. “I…I won’t,” I stammered.
“Alright. Have a good night, Tasha, and I’ll see you Monday. Please pick Cody up from school at 3:15. I will text you the details.” Before I could respond, he hung up.
I sat back and pondered his call. About thirty seconds later, the text with Cody’s school address came through. I glanced at it and pushed the phone off to the side. It was true that I had a great time with Cody and I didn’t want that to end, but I needed to be more careful and I would.
***
Monday, I pulled in front of Manchester Prep Academy at 3:15 sharp. I followed a line of cars that were picking up their kids and scoured the yard to see if I could find Cody. When I found him, it wasn’t a sight I wanted to ever see. He was talking to some boy and then the boy put his hands up to Cody’s chest and pushed him. My jaw dropped as I watched the fiasco unfold in front of me. Cody just stood there and took it, like he had no other choice. The boy pushed him again harder, until Cody fell to the ground. I looked around and no one was even attempting to help Cody out. This didn’t sit well with me. The boy laughed and walked away, while Cody was in a heap on the ground.
“I don’t think so, little man,” I mumbled. I swerved out of the spot I was in and nabbed a parking spot in the front. I jumped out of the car, only grabbing my car keys, then locking the car. I dodged the cars that were still coming through the line, until I reached Cody. “Cody?” I whispered.
He looked up at me and his face was all red and tears were in his eyes. “Hey,” he sadly replied. He stood up and started to move away, but I grabbed his hand and forced him to look at me.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly. My goal was to just get to the bottom of it and then kick some ass if necessary.
“I just wanna go,” he said sadly.
“Does that boy always bully you?” I asked.
His face was a masked face of fear. “It’s really alright. Sometimes, he wants me to bring him money for lunch and if I forget, like today, he’ll try to remind me never to forget.”
I knelt down in front of him. “Little buddy…that is never alright. You understand?”