SKYLAR
My aunt gave me my Christmas present early. Two days early, to be exact.
The conference room in her high-rise office looked out over the city. Tall, bare windows, a table that could seat at least twenty people and a piece of paper that could ultimately decide Blake’s future.
“Ms. Wyld,” the receptionist’s voice boomed from the phone speaker. “Mr. Mason and his son are here.”
“Send them back,” my aunt said. She glanced between me and Cody who sat next to his parents. They remained stoic, and it was obvious neither slept well last night. Their faces were pale with dark circles under their eyes. Cody didn’t look a whole lot better.
I slid my hand to his knee, and he gripped it like I might run away. Every muscle in his neck was strained, and his jaw jumped and twitched.
“You ready?” My aunt waited for us both to nod and then stood. She straightened her already starched blazer and walked around the table to let them in.
If time could stand still, it seemed to as she pulled open the door. Every inch took an hour, and with each step, my nerves flashed like lighting strikes.
“Mr. Mason, Blake, please have a seat.” My aunt’s tone was sharp, authoritative and unemotional. She was so practiced at the art of control; it was questionable if anything could rattle her.
Mr. Mason was an older version of his son. His hair was a little darker, more wrinkles marred the pretty-boy features, but their expressions were identical. Calculated, arrogant, victorious.
Blake smirked at Cody, and even had the audacity to wink in my direction.
Cody shifted.
“He wants to get a rise out of you. Don’t let him,” I whispered, holding on to his arm to keep him from standing.
My aunt walked around the table until she found her wingback leather chair and sat. “I assume introductions are unnecessary.” When no one said a word, she continued. “Mr. Mason, I see you chose not to bring representation. Is that correct?”
Blake’s dad casually released the top button of his suit coat and grinned. Not the kind of grin that was amused. The kind that was cunning. “I see no need to waste $1,000 when this meeting is pointless. I’ve talked with my lawyer and with the school. Principal Rayburn does not have the authority to punish an act that occurred almost two years ago. And the school board feels no need to take such action. Blake understands what he did was wrong and was operating under peer pressure. Taking this conversation past this room is a waste of both our time and resources.”
Mr. James’s jaw ticked and the man who embodied the word meek stood, enraged. “Your son not only assaulted ours, but videotaped his humiliation!”
Mr. Mason never flinched. “Blake made a poor choice because he was trying to impress some punk. Since then, he has taken Cody under his wing. Has defended him. Protected him. You should be thanking my son, not conjuring up some silly lawsuit.”
I thought Cody’s dad was going to lunge across the table.
“Mr. James, if you cannot remain calm, I suggest you wait outside,” My aunt reprimanded.
Cody’s dad dropped back into his chair, but he remained stiff and shaky.
“Can we move this along? I have another meeting this afternoon.” Mr. Mason’s blasé attitude had me ready to stand and scream myself.
“Of course.” I knew from my aunt’s tone that things were about to get ugly. She was ticked, but you would never know by the mask of calm on her face. “As I explained in my letter, we plan to move forward with both civil and criminal charges of harassment and assault against your son. What I didn’t mention is that we plan to group it into a six person lawsuit against each boy identified in that video.”
“My son was a minor, Ms. Wyld. A stupid kid who made a mistake.”
“The courts will probably agree with you.”
I jerked my head toward her. What the heck?
“However,” she continued, “I am more interested in the media impact. You own a hardware chain, isn’t that correct?” She shuffled some papers. “It just went public on the stock market a few years ago. Congratulations.”
Mr. Mason’s neck flushed purple. “Are you threatening me?”
“Absolutely not. I’m simply warning you. As you see, my niece here is devastated about what happened and, unfortunately, very eager to share her thoughts and the video on social media.” She eyed Blake. “I bet you know a lot about the power of the Internet.”
Blake squirmed. Her tone made it clear we knew he was responsible for Lindsay’s attacks, even if we couldn’t prove it.
Enjoying the shift in power, I shot a big, fake, cheesy grin at Blake and his father. “Daddy’s twitter is up to twenty million followers. And they’ve all been so supportive since his death. They are ready to do anything to help me cope.” I pulled out my phone. “Maybe I should get them started.”
“Skylar, please.” My aunt scowled in my direction. “Mr. Mason, I am personally sick of the media phenomenon that surrounds my brother’s band. But, I’m afraid when they find out that Donnie Wyld’s daughter is heartbroken over the documented bullying of her boyfriend, the outpouring will be, what’s the word…” She tapped her lips with a polished nail and smiled. “Oh yeah…epic.”
Blake looked at his dad, and it was the first time he didn’t seem smug. “They’re just trying to scare us.”
“Shut up. You’ve done enough damage.” At his tone, Blake retreated into himself like an abused child.
I refused to feel sorry for him.
Blake’s dad let out a defeated sigh. “What’s it going to take to settle this? Money?”
Mr. James slammed a hand on the table. “I wouldn’t take a cent from you, your slimy b-”
“Mr. James, please.” The tension crackled again, leaving a strained silence in the air.
My aunt slid the paper I had been staring at over to Blake’s dad. “I’ve laid out our expectations. First, you will disenroll Blake from Madison High.”
Blake lurched forward. “What? NO!”
“I said shut up!” Mr. Mason’s angry words rattled the molecules in the air. “I’m finished bailing you out, and I’m certainly not losing my reputation over your stupidity.” He studied the paper. “What else?”
“Blake will sign a no contact agreement for a period of one year. The order will include my niece, Mr. James and Lindsay Clark. If he breaks the agreement, the video will go straight to the media.”
Blake stood, shaking. His ears were bright red, his eyes like a rabid dog’s. “You can’t do this! I never touched him!”
Mrs. James spoke up for the first time, her voice calm despite her tears. “You participated and you laughed. You watched that horrific moment and thought it was funny enough to document on film. Then you came to my house and pretended to be his friend. You had my trust and my respect. Now, all I see is that sneering face on the camera. If it were up to me, there would be no settlement. I want you to experience the same humiliation Cody did.”
The broken words from Cody’s mom shifted the atmosphere. Blake sat slowly and whispered something to his dad who shook his head and pushed him away. Our agreement gripped in his fist, Mr. Mason stood. “I need to run this by my lawyer, and I will get back to you.”
My aunt stood as well and put out her hand. “Thank you. You have forty-eight hours until I file.”
Mr. Mason shook it begrudgingly and smacked Blake’s shoulder, ready to leave.
Blake sat stunned, his mouth open, his stare unfocused. “What about wrestling?”
His father rolled his eyes and nudged his son. “Madison isn’t the only school with a wrestling team. Now, get up. I have another meeting to get to.”
No one said a word, including Blake, who finally stood, his shoulders drooping as he walked to the door.
I turned to Cody, who never took his eyes from Blake the entire meeting. I saw the sadness in Cody’s expression. Justice had been served, but there was still no winner. Signing the piece of paper didn’t change Cody’s memory of that day. Nor did it change the fact that Lindsay had tried to take her own life.
I brushed a thumb across his cheek. He captured my hand and kissed the skin on my wrist. The familiar pain in his eyes was one I’d wanted to take away a million times.
“This is a victory,” I said.
“I know it is. I’m just waiting for it to feel like one.”
His words were truth. The hard part was yet to come. Moving forward. Finding the courage to face the past. And, the hardest of all, finding a way to forgive.