Until December (Until Her 5)

“I’m with my kids. We’re waiting for a bus to take us to the high school to meet their parents.”

“I’ll meet you there.” I squeeze my eyes closed.

“Okay.”

“Keep it together, baby,” I order, and I listen to her pull in a shaky breath. “I’ll be with you soon.”

“I have to go. The bus is pulling up now.”

“Love you.”

“I love you.” She hangs up, and I drop my phone to my lap and scrub my hands down my face pulling in a few deep breaths to get myself under control then put the engine in Drive.

When I reach the high school, I don’t even bother searching for a parking spot. I park on the grass near the front of the school and then jog toward the fields, where a large crowd of people is gathered. I search through the sea of faces, looking for December, and almost fall to my knees when I find her standing with my mom, and her parents. I rush toward them, and like she senses I’m close, she turns and locks eyes with me as I eat up the distance between us.

“We’re okay. Everyone is okay.” She falls into my arms then looks up at me. “I… I need to make sure my kids all find their parents.”

I nod, and she takes my hand and leads me over to a group of young children who all look nervous.

“Okay, you guys. I want you all to hold hands and follow me. We’re going to move away from the crowd so it’s easier for your moms and dads to find you.” She smiles reassuringly then leads the kids to a section of grass. She has them all sit down in a circle, and my mom and hers sits with them as her dad and I help December direct parents to their children. When the last little boy is walking away, held tight in his mom’s arms, she turns to me and I wrap my arms around her, holding her close as she sobs.

“What happened?” I ask, still not sure of what took place. Really, I don’t know if I have the stomach to handle knowing what happened.

“One of the teachers, Mr. Jetson….” She hiccups. “I guess he was fired last Friday at the end of day. The…. the principal saw him walk into the school today and went to talk to him and ask him why he was there. He… he pulled out a gun on her and tried to shoot her, but she managed to get out of the way. The… the janitor saved her. He heard the shot and was able to sneak up on Jetson and take him down before he was able to hurt anyone.”

Jesus, I hold her tighter and bury my face in her hair. Having seen this same thing play out on the news way too fucking often, I know exactly how lucky each and every person in that school was today. “Until the police came to clear my room, I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was there were shots being fired in the school and it was my job to protect those kids. I was so scared.”

“I know, baby.” I run my hand down her back. “I know, but you’re safe. They’re all safe.”

“Yeah,” she whispers, leaning back to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “Can… can we get the boys and go home now?”

“Yeah, baby.” I tuck some hair behind her ear then kiss her forehead, nose, and lips before turning her and tucking her under my arm. I look at my mom and her parents. “We’re going to find the boys and get them home. If you’re up to it, you can join us for dinner.”

My mom looks at December and her face softens. “I think you and your family need some time alone, honey. I’ll be over—”

“You are our family,” December cuts in, reaching out her hand toward my mom, who looks at it for a moment before taking it and pulling her away from me for a hug.

When she leans back, she takes a hold of December’s face. “Have some time with your boys, I’ll be over later. Okay?”

“Okay.” December whispers and mom nods before letting her go so her parents, who are standing close, can hug her. When they release her, I tuck her back against my side.

“We’ll meet you guys at the house in a bit,” Asher says placing his arm around his wife who’s crying.

I lift my chin and let out the breath I feel like I’ve been holding forever then take my woman to go get our boys and take them home.

_______________

“I’m glad you’re okay.” I hear Mitchell say later that evening as I’m dumping pasta into the pot of boiling water on the stove.

“Me too,” Max says, and even though I can’t see them from where I’m standing, I still know the three of them are sitting side by side on the couch, exactly where they all ended up as soon as we got home.