Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(84)

I had a text from Riley. All it said was, I’m in trouble.

Yeah, no shit, kid.

I couldn’t believe this. Riley never got in trouble at school. She’d started an altercation? Did that mean she’d gotten in a fight? What a fucking mess.

By the time I pulled into the school parking lot, my head felt like it was going to explode and send my eyeballs popping out of my skull. I found a spot and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to go in hot and make an already shitty situation worse.

Although Riley was definitely grounded until she was twenty.

I got out right as another car pulled into the lot. I had to do a double take. What was she doing here?

Nora parked and got out of her Jeep. She was dressed in a rumpled cardigan over a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and her running shoes. On any other woman, I wouldn’t have noticed the outfit. But on her, it screamed that something was off. Nora Lakes always looked perfectly put together no matter the setting—whether she was out for a run, lounging around the house, going to work, or out to dinner.

This outfit didn’t match or coordinate or whatever the right word was. It was like she’d just thrown on whatever was closest and left the house.

But really, why the hell was she here?

She rushed over to me, her long ponytail so loose it was falling out. “I didn’t get her text right away. What’s going on?”

“Whose text?”

“Riley’s.”

Riley had texted her, too? I had no idea how to feel about that.

I also had no idea how to deal with the sense of relief that poured through me when I realized she was here to help.

Or how good it was just to see her.

Which was messed up. It had been less than twenty-four hours.

I shook my head to clear it. “I don’t know what’s going on. The school called and I’m here.”

Her eyes met mine, a silent question in her expression. Can I come with you?

The decision wasn’t exactly conscious. I just started toward the school office. “Let’s go.”

She fell in step next to me and we went in. The office manager checked us in and gave us visitor name tags. We followed the office manager down a short hallway to the principal’s office.

The nameplate on the door said Janelle Teague. I’d seen her at a back-to-school night last fall but I hadn’t met her in person. She sat at her desk, dressed in a light gray shirt. Her brown hair was pulled back in a slick bun and she had serious, no-nonsense air. About what you’d expect for a middle school principal.

Let’s be honest, that’s a tough age. I wouldn’t have been able to do her job.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. St. James. Please, both of you have a seat.”

Riley was slumped in a chair with her backpack in her lap. My first instinct was to look her over to make sure she was okay. Regardless of what the office manager had said on the phone, I wanted to know if she’d been hurt. But she looked fine. Miserable, but not injured or in pain.

My second instinct was to be furious with her. A fight at school? And at the very end of the school year? Yep. Grounded. Forever.

“This is Nora,” I said as we took our seats. “What’s going on?”

Principal Teague folded her hands on her desk. “Riley, why don’t you explain.”

Her eyes stayed firmly on the ground. “I got in a fight.”

“You started a fight, Riley,” Principal Teague said.

“What were you thinking?” I asked. “You’ve never been in a fight in your life. You know better than that.”

Riley slumped lower.

“It was a free day in PE,” Principal Teague said. “The students were outside on the field. According to the victim, Riley attacked her without provocation.”

I stared at my daughter like I didn’t know who she was. “What? Who was the other kid?”

“Katie,” Riley mumbled.

“Katie? I thought she was your friend.” I could practically feel my blood pressure rising. “This is insane. What were you thinking? You can’t—”

Nora put a hand on my arm and I stopped short.

“Riley, what really happened?” Nora asked, her voice soft.

“She attacked another student during class,” Principal Teague said, a hint of irritation in her voice.

Nora ignored her. “Ry, honey. What’s going on?”

Riley sat up straighter. “I thought Katie was my friend. I told her about my mom and I thought she wouldn’t tell anyone. But she told Ryan Hutchison and they made all these memes about me and sent them to everyone. They mostly say stuff about how my own mother hates me.”

Red hot fury poured through me. I clenched my fists but Nora put a hand on my arm again.

“Honey, do you have any of these memes on your phone or know where we could find them?” Nora asked.

“She has my phone,” Riley said.

Principal Teague hesitated, but handed Riley her phone. Riley tapped the screen a few times, then gave it to Nora. She swiped through the memes while I watched, each one feeding my rising fury.

Nora held up the phone. “These are just the memes. The comments are worse.”

“Did the school know about this?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“We can’t be responsible for policing every social media app,” Principal Teague said. “But yes, we were aware that there were some inappropriate things being said online.”