A Year Full Of Surprises

A Year Full Of Surprises - Chapter Sixteen.

Chapter Sixteen…

I began to breath sharply. What if the police did realise my parents were druggies? They would contact social services and in turn I would be taken away from them. 

Mr. Armstrong leaned from the seat in front of me and gripped my hand, as it was the only thing he could reach. “Calm down Jess. You just need to pull out of this. Just tell the police you’ve decided you don’t want to press charges and they’ll drop it.” He said calmly, as if it was the simplest solution in the world. 

“It’s not that easy!” I exclaimed. “I don’t want you to get fired either.” 

He turned back round, letting go of my hand and running his own through his hair. He didn’t look torn between whether it was me or him who was going to have to sacrifice something; he looked distressed that I was unwilling to just drop the case and save myself. “Look, I can’t force you to do anything, but I’m telling you that it would be better for you to just drop the case. I can find another job. I don’t need to be teaching. You can’t find other parents though Jess.” He reasoned. 

I sighed. I knew he was speaking the truth. I should drop the case and just let Mr. Armstrong find another job. Zack might not even win the case, I didn’t know how strong his argument was. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I couldn’t bring myself to let Mr. Armstrong be fired. “I’m sticking with my story.” I replied, keeping a strong and steady voice. 

He nodded, but still looked annoyed at my decision. When we got to my house, the drive was empty, meaning the house would also be empty. I was pleased to say the least. I didn’t need even more questioning about why I was being dropped off by my teacher and Mel’s ‘brother’ Matt. 

I thanked them both for the ride and exited the car. Just before I got out, Mr. Armstrong grabbed my wrist. “Think about it. Think about dropping the case, please.” Before letting me go and allowing me to leave. 

I decided I didn’t need to think about it. I had already made my decision and it was the right one - definitely the right one. I didn’t have anything to consider and that was final. 

I had nothing to do, but to sit and wait for someone to get in, which wasn’t something I looked forward to. I decided to check my phone and I noticed I had a message from Mel. She was apologising for leaving without me whilst I was speaking with Mr. Armstrong earlier. I noticed how she didn’t mention Leonie whatsoever. 

I was throwing my phone up in the air and then catching it again in boredom, when it began to ring, successfully scaring the life out of me. An unknown number was displayed on the screen and I was cautious when I answered it. 

I was surprised when I heard the voice speak ‘Hello’ down the phone. “Mr. Armstrong?” I asked, shocked. 

He coughed slightly. “Yeah, hey Jess.” He sounded sheepish.

“How did you even get my number?” I asked, taken aback. I wasn’t complaining or annoyed, just shocked. 

“It was on your records, and I…er, thought it would be useful so that I could let you know when I had spoken to the police.” He explained. 

Well, to be fair that did make sense. “Okay.” Was my only reply. 

“The police have just come to my house. I thought you should know. They said they wanted to question me further, in an out-of-work environment. It still sounds like they believe you over Zack's, they just were asking me to go into more detail in my take on the story.” He recalled the events of his visit from the police. “They didn’t ask about anything that we hadn’t discussed, so I think everything’s okay.” He finished.