Shaw
Aftermymeetingwith the two teachers from the Natural Sciences department, I was looking forward to having a quiet lunch with Ari. Before he arrived, though, I was informed about an incident in the music room that required my attention. With a sigh, I left a note on my desk in case he returned before me, then went to investigate.
Some kid had superglued the mouthpieces of the horns, and I had to deal with two hysterical teens who got stuck to the instruments. EMTs had to be called in, since we didn’t want to risk peeling their lips off. While they were being tended to, I had to do the lecturing bit, then have the teacher keep the class together until someone admitted what they did. It was a shit show to handle the issue, and it was almost an hour later before I could return to my office.
“That bad?” Lauren, the new temp, asked when I walked in.
“I swear these kids are going to put me in an early grave.”
“But you’re so good with them.”
I snorted. “If I’m able to reach one, I consider that a success. Will you hold my calls? I’ll be having lunch now.”
“Sure thing.”
“Thank you.”
As I entered my office, the scent of delicious food filled my nostrils and made my stomach growl. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Where was Ari? He must have been here, as evidenced by the paper bag on the desk from which the delicious aroma emanated.
“Ari?”
The bathroom was empty. No sign of him at all. Had he gone back out? Why hadn’t he called or texted me ?
Frowning, I walked to my desk and stilled. Something wasn’t quite right. I cocked my ear and listened, and there it was. A soft humming sound. But where the hell was it coming from? I checked the bathroom again, but the sound faded. As soon as I returned to the desk, it increased.
Typical Ari. He couldn’t wait until later. I walked over to the door and locked it. Without acknowledging him, I took my seat and opened the paper bag. Goddamn. How was I supposed to have sex when I was this hungry?
No fingers undid my zipper, though I had expected it. A shiver ran down my spine. Had I gotten it wrong? I pushed back my chair, grunting as I squatted and peered under the desk. Ari was lying in the corner, huddled in a small, tight ball.
“Ari.” I pushed the chair farther out of the way, but there was no way I would fit with him, and he didn’t move. “Ari, please, baby. Come to me.”
I should never have let him go out on his own. He reacted this same way when his father had trespassed and scared him in the kitchen. He’d been fine when he left, which meant only one thing.
No matter how I cajoled, Ari wouldn’t leave the comfort of his space. I could wait him out until he snapped out of the mood he was in, but it hurt something awful seeing him like this. Where was the smile he’d had for me before he left? The teasing and sexual desire? It was all gone and what was left in its wake was this shell I didn’t know how to relate to.
In the end, I had no choice but to push away the desk. It was heavy and made a god-awful sound scraping over the floor, but the overwhelming need to get to Ari was more important. When I pushed the desk back far enough for me to get to him, I caught him by the armpits and pulled him out. He knocked me over on my ass and climbed into my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck in a viselike grip.
“I saw him,” he said with stiff lips. “He followed me.”
Just as I’d feared.
“I know he scared you, baby, but remember what I said to you? You’re not alone in this. We’re going to work through it. Take all the time you need to calm down, and then we’re going to talk about this.”
I helped him with his breathing until he gradually relaxed against me. I rubbed his arms, warming him up as he felt uncommonly cold to touch.
“He’s not my father,” Ari murmured.
“You didn’t run into your father?”
He took a deep breath. “I ran into him, but he said he wasn’t my father.”
“I wouldn’t consider him one either, given the way he treated you.”
“No, Shaw.” He clutched the front of my jacket. “He’s not my biological father. He told me that when he accosted me at the restaurant.”
I frowned at Ari. “That doesn’t make any sense. You would have known if he was your father.”
He shook his head. “I was too young. I didn’t know him. He didn’t play any part in my life until Mom sent me to live with him.”