Love You Better (Better Love 1)

Ivy nods, then turns back to Principal Grey. “Jacob was acting in self-defense.”

“Like hell! If this boy—”

“Sir, you need to calm down. You are acting irrationally, and if you cannot conduct yourself like an adult, I will have to request Principal Grey remove you.” The man’s eyes flare at Ivy and he grits his teeth, but she turns back to Principal Grey, who looks both amused and intimidated.

“Principal Grey, I am aware of your zero-tolerance policy for fighting. As per the handbook, I expect you to give Kyle the full three-day suspension for his aggression against my brother.” When Kyle’s mother starts to protest, Ivy throws her hand up in a “stop” signal, but never takes her eyes off of Principal Grey.

“Given the nature of this scuffle, as you called it, and the fact that Jacob was acting in self-defense, he will receive no punishment, and you will make sure that Kyle is instructed to stay away from Jacob for the remainder of the year. You will switch his classes immediately, as

I have proof that this is not the first time Kyle has bullied Jacob. Kyle’s behavior is becoming more violent.”

She pulls a manilla envelope out of her messenger bag and hands it to the principal.

“In there, you will find documentation of other instances when Kyle has bullied, insulted, taunted, and harassed my brother, and the dates of phone calls I have made to inform you of Kyle’s behavior. There are copies of harassing notes that Kyle has left in Jacob’s locker, as well as the names of witnesses—students and teachers—who were present when these events occurred. Principal Grey, you and your staff have allowed this to go on for too long. I understand that you are busy and there are a lot of students in this school, but bullying is a serious offense, and you have been negligent in your unwillingness to step up and stop it. There is no excuse.”

Principal Grey looks shocked and effectively scolded, and I have to hold back my chuckle. I want to go full-on Jesse on this room and shout, “hell yeah, that’s my girl,” but I refrain. Because I am a fucking teacher. Hah.

Ivy turns now to Kyle and his parents. “Make no mistake, what Kyle has done to Jacob is assault. I will be photographing his injuries and including them in my file along with the other evidence. You need to find a way for your son to harness and manage his aggression, because you are raising and enabling a bully. If you don’t find an outlet for him and he uses my brother again as an outlet, I promise you that I will press charges. I will charge him for assault, and I will throw the book at you.”

Ivy turns back to Principal Grey. “Thank you for having us in today. I feel this meeting has been effective, and I trust we should have no further issues. Now if you’ll excuse us, I have places to be. Let’s go, Jacob. We’re done here.”

And then she just walks out with me and Jacob in tow, leaving everyone else in that office utterly speechless.

“Can you really do all that?” Jacob whispers to her as we walk to the car.

She shrugs. “Maybe. The important thing is that they think I can.” They share a triumphant grin, and my chest warms.

I fucking love this woman.

The ride back to Ivy and Jacob’s house is ominously quiet.

Ivy plans to stay at her mom’s tonight, and she and I will drive back early tomorrow, so she can make it to sit for her 9 a.m. LSAT. I completely forgot about her test, and I’m surprised she’s so calm about it. When I pull up outside of the house, Ivy sends Jacob inside, and the sense of unease I’ve been harboring grows.

Fuck. This won’t be good.

“Thanks for being there today. I really appreciated it.” Her voice is almost robotic.

“Of course. You don’t have to thank me.”

Ivy takes a deep breath. The unfeeling coldness of her blue eyes punches me right in the gut before she even opens her mouth.

“Kelley, I don’t think this— you and me—is a good idea right now. I think we need some distance.”

I’m dumbfounded. “Distance.”

“Yes. Distance.”

“You need distance from me.” I reiterate, and my eyes fixate on her fingers fidgeting in her lap. It’s the only sign that this might be difficult for her.

“I really appreciate you coming with me today, but the truth is that this likely wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been so distracted over the last few weeks.”

“Distracted. I’m a distraction.”

Ivy at least has the decency to wince, but it’s gone in a flash and back is her pointed stare. “Yes. I’m sorry, but yes. I’ve neglected Jacob entirely and that’s unacceptable.”

“Ivy, what happened with Jacob today was not your fault.”

She shakes her head. “I was negligent, and this fight was the result. I’m lucky it wasn’t worse. I thought I could do this, balance everything and you. I thought I wouldn’t fail in the other areas. But I was wrong, and I did fail, and it’s because I lost focus. I have a plan, and I can’t afford to waste time on a fling.”