Page 55 of Bad Man on Campus

By the time I get to the day care it’s ten minutes until closing and I’m twenty minutes late for practice. Beau and Bell run into my arms the second I walk in the door.

“Mrs. Perini called to let me know you were coming.” The director rolls her eyes. “I’m surprised she’s gone this long without being late. Don’t let that one take advantage of you, Glory.”

I nod and make a motion to keep it down in front of the twins because it’s their mother she’s talking about.

We all walk outside and she locks the door and heads to her car in the parking lot. I’m tempted to ask her for a ride, but she calls out and says, “Sorry I’m in a hurry, but I have a dentist appointment I need to get to.” And she disappears.

Shit. I watch her car drive away and remember the wagon. I wave like a maniac and let out a whistle, but she doesn’t hear me. I slip out my phone and call her number. Direct to voicemail. Double shit. I’m a stupid fucking moron because Director was in such a hurry I forgot to ask her to borrow the wagon.

“Well kids, it’s you and me.” I hold onto their hands and close my eyes. Shit. We’re standing on the street and my first instinct is to call Kace again, but he’s in practice right now for the next hour. Besides, he’ll see my text in the unlikely event he gets out early.

“Let’s go home. I’m hungry,” Beau says, tugging on my hand. Belle leans against my legs looking ready for a nap. She’s so much smaller than her brother considering they’re twins.

“Okay, kiddo. I need to call for a car and we’ll be on our way.” I cross my fingers and hope to hell Uber has rides with car seats, because I can’t carry the kids home and no way they’re up to walking a mile. Not at the end of the day. Maybe if we could get to the student union building we could wait there for Kace to get out of practice. But Beau tugs again and Bell yawns and moans, a suspicious pre-crying sound.

I pull out my phone and tap on the app and make my request. “Let’s walk,” I say and haul Belle into my arms, hanging onto Beau’s hand. After a few minutes I get a ping from Uber.

The Uber car pulls up and I’m about to open the door when I see it has no toddler seats.

“Hey, I thought I ordered a ride with toddler seats?” I peek my head in the window, trying to think about what this means, what I should do. Is it like a taxi and booster seats aren’t required? I have no idea. The driver looks at me with a blank stare.

“You know—booster seats. For little kids. So they can wear seat-belts safely?”

“Let’s get in.” Beau tugs on my hand while I hold Bell in my arms, which are going to fall off before long because the strain is turning to a hot sting through the meat of my muscles. Eying Beau, I wonder if he’s big enough to sit on his own. It’s a close call, but it’s only a short drive, so I open the door. I sit in back holding Belle, strapping us in together and then I strap Beau into his seat. It’s only a two-mile drive. I nod at the driver and he pulls onto the road. Traffic is quiet.

Before we get far I see another car coming our way and it looks like Kace’s car. He must have got my text message. Practice must have got out early after all. The unlikely event.

“Here comes Kace, babies. He’s come to rescue us.” I point in his direction. “You can pull over,” I say to the driver. I have every intention of getting my phone to call Kace and let him know it’s us he’s about to pass, but I don’t get the chance.

Beau yells, “Kace to the rescue!” Then he snaps his seatbelt off and jumps from his seat, launching himself up. It all happens so fast, and yet I feel like time has slowed and I see every movement unfold in painful detail.

Beau grabs onto the driver’s arm and when the car swerves, he grabs the guy’s head for purchase. That causes the driver to jerk the wheel violently to the right, while Beau hefts himself forward to climb into the front seat. At the same time, our car heads into the wrong lane. The lane where Kace is driving toward us.

I feel the jerk of the breaks, the screech of tires, see Kace viciously turn his car away as we head for him, momentum and the law of inertia—an object in motion tends to stay in motion—works against him.

The sudden breaking by our driver hurls Beau forward against the dashboard and I scream, tightening my arms around Belle and feeling the dizzying horror freeze me. But in the next instant the loud crash of metal against metal as our car smashes into Kace, jars me both physically and mentally. Air bags go off, Belle screams and for a second the loud crunching sound of steel against steal sends me to hell, to my past, to the accident three years ago when Sky was fatally injured and died that night.

Chapter 17

Kace

This time the police test me on the spot for alcohol and I let them. They test the Uber driver too while Glory holds onto Belle and hovers over Beau where the EMT works at checking him and moving him. Tears stream down her face.

The EMT wants to check me, but I resist as Glory comes to me where I lean against my wreck. As she reaches me, she lets go of her control and weeps uncontrollably in my arms.

“You know each other?” The EMT asks, mild surprise registering in his otherwise cool, calm face. I nod.

Another EMT tries to pry Bell from Glory’s arms but Belle screams no and Glory assures her she’s alright.

“Give us a few minutes and you can look at her,” she says, her eyes begging, because Glory doesn’t want to let go of Belle any more than Belle wants to let go of her.

Firefighters and the EMT from the second ambulance finally remove Beau from the car.

A policewoman asks Glory gently for identification and says, “I’m sure your son will be fine, he’s awake and his cuts look shallow—”

“He’s not my son,” she says, her teeth chattering. The officer, a young woman, raises a brow. “Then who is he? We need to notify the parents.”

“We called,” I say. Right after we called you. Mr. And Mrs. Perini are on their way.”