Free Someone Like You by Kathryn Shay Page A

and said, “I know.”
    o0o
    The door to the office opened and two other two gym teachers came inside. Nick asked Jenkins to cover his next class and dragged Brie down the hall to an empty room. After he closed the door and turned to her, she said, “You know ?” Her pretty features were taut with shock.
    “Yes.”
    “How long has this been going on?”
    “Not quite a month. I caught a glimpse of him dressing in the locker room and sat him right down to talk to him.”
    “Oh, Nick, his father knows he’s hurting himself and he’s still doing it? Some of those cuts were fresh.”
    This was going to be tricky. For one thing, Nick was in unfamiliar territory with how he’d handled Matt but he’d gone on his gut. “The mayor doesn’t know.”
    “ What ?”
    “Keller doesn’t know. Not that he’d care. Listen, Brie, stuff’s been going on at Matt’s house that’s unhealthy.”
    “Is Matt being abused?”
    “Yes. But not physically. It’s more psychological abuse.”
    “Did you report that? To his counselor? To Dylan?”
    “Um, no. Only suspicion of physical abuse has to be reported.”
    “So what? If he’s cutting himself, there are real issues in his life. I know you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for Matt, but still…”
    “The boy said he’d run away, or worse, if I told anyone.”
    She shook her head. “Nick, he’s a child. You can’t give into emotional blackmail like that. He needs help.”
    “He’s getting help. He wouldn’t talk to one of the counselors here. So I set him up with a really good therapist, Rich Barton, who has his own practice. He handles cases with our kids when they’re beyond the scope of what we can deal with.”
    “I’m totally confused. So his father knows about the counseling but not why he’s getting it?”
    “The mayor doesn’t know about any of this.”
    “How are the sessions being paid for?”
    Nick just stared at her.
    “Oh, my God, you’re paying for his therapy so you can keep this quiet.”
    That ticked him off. “No, I’m paying for it so Matt can get the help he needs without pushing him over the edge.”
    “Nick that’s so generous of you, but the counseling can’t be helping if Matt’s still cutting.”
    “You know it doesn’t work that way. Overcoming problems takes time. Matt signed a waiver for Rich to talk to me, and he thinks he sees some improvement in the boy.”
    “All right, I get that.” She pushed back her hair. “But he’s still under our care. And his parents have rights.”
    “His mother is dead and his father is the cause of most of his problems.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “Oh, I do, Brie.”
    “No, he’s a child,” she repeated. “He needs our guidance. He’s not making good choices.”
    “Actually, he’s not a child. He turned eighteen before football practice started this summer.”
    “Football?”  She slapped a hand over her chest. “Oh, my God, you’re not keeping this quiet so he can play until your undefeated season is over, are you?”
    Nick didn’t remember anything knifing his heart like her words did. Searing pain shot through him. He couldn’t speak for a minute, then he cleared his throat and lifted his chin. She was right, Matt’s welfare was at stake. “Damn it, Brie, that’s not why and you should know me better than to think it is. I’m doing what’s right for Matt.”
    She stood there as if she didn’t know she’d sliced him to pieces. “We have to go see Dylan now. Tell him. Alert the mayor.”
    Nick scowled. “That’s the worst thing we can do. But I’ll call Rich and see what he says.”
    “I’m sorry, Nick. I can’t ignore this. I’m telling Dylan.”
    Now panic replaced pain. “Please, Brie, trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”
    “I can’t. Too much is at stake.”
    “Everything’s at stake.”
    “That’s why I’m going to the principal. It will be better if you come with me and explain your side.”
    There were sides? “No, I’ll find