Chapter Forty-One
Carina
Carina hadn’t bothered to pack a lunch today. There was no way she was going to be able to ingest anything, not with her stomach all tied up in knots. She looked up at the clock.
12:14.
Her gaze drifted to the open classroom door. Maybe he wasn’t coming. She got up from her desk and was making her way over to the white board when she heard a pair of voices just outside the door.
“Oh, Mr. Ross!”
Carina knew that voice. Everyone did. Karen Filbert was the head of the school’s PTA. She had her nose in everything; there wasn’t a school function, fundraiser or sporting event she wasn’t linked to in some way. She was also the school’s gossip queen. “Mrs. Filbert, lovely to see you. What can I do for you?” Eric asked.
Carina divided her attention. She kept her ears open, listening to the conversation that was taking place a few feet from her while her hands remained busy as she listed some behavior management strategies on the board.
“Do you have a moment to discuss the clothing drive the PTA would like to sponsor for the holidays?”
“Absolutely, how about tomorrow morning? Eight-thirty, okay?” Eric sounded genuinely interested, which pissed Carina off. He was such a snake, able to lie and manipulate without missing a step.
“Oh, sure. I was hoping you would have time now, but I guess that’s fine,” Ms. Filbert continued. “See you then.”
Carina’s hand trembled as she continued to write on the board. This was it. She had to work quickly. She heard him enter her classroom. With her back to him, she took a deep breath and said, “You’re late, Eric.” She had lost track with what she was scribbling on the board, but that was the least of her worries. “Which is very unlike you,” she said, still not turning to face him, still not showing him an ounce of respect.
Just as she had hoped he stormed over, grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to look at him.
He was furious. But she wanted him fuming. A little more and she would have him there.
“Your answer, Carina?” He tightened his grip. She didn’t react to the pain. There was no way in hell she would give him the pleasure.
“First, I want to know when you took those pictures of me.”
He eased up on his grip, but didn’t let go of her wrist. Eric smiled. “You mean the night I took you to that Greek restaurant on South Street?” He chuckled. “You were so sleepy after dinner, so incredibly compliant. It took the strength of three men not to take you that night. But the night was not lost. I was able to obtain those pretty little photos as you rested peacefully.”
Her eyes narrowed. She thought about the three glasses of excessively sweet Greek wine he’d pushed on her. The groggy, unexpectedly severe hangover the next day.
“You drugged me.”
“I get what I want, Carina. You should have known I would take steps to ensure your compliance.” He shrugged. “I had to take precautions. Beneath that sweet and loyal exterior was a woman who I knew could be strong-willed and defiant. Who could challenge me. Who may have even been foolish enough to want to leave me.”
Eric had rarely discussed his parents while they were dating. But from the little she had gathered, they did not have a healthy marriage. According to Eric, his parents’ screaming matches, heated accusations and physical altercations had often brought the police to their door. And then one day, Eric’s mother had filed for divorce. Less than a year later, his mother had married a co-worker of hers.
Carina had felt terrible that Eric had witnessed all of that, especially at such a young age. But she also knew there were two sides to every story. Eric had painted a very damning picture of his mother, the cheater, the woman who had broken up his family and left her husband. As gently as Carina could, she had asked Eric if his father had been completely innocent, if he had cheated, like his mother had accused him of. Eric had answered her with silence and a look that told her never to go down that road again.
And now she knew why.
“Did you also predict that I would say no, that I think your attempt to blackmail me with photos that I didn’t consent to is pathetic?”
He grabbed her by the neck and pressed her against the white board. His thumb hovered just above her windpipe. “I don’t care for this side of you, Carina.”
“Strange,” she whispered. “Josh likes every side of me, every curve.”
Eric took her by the throat and bashed her head against the board, his face mottled with fury. “What are you going to do, Eric? Hit me again, like you did in your office? Maybe fracture my other cheek this time?”
He released her throat and backhanded her. She would have gone down, but the sight of Mr. Atkins running toward her gave her the strength to remain standing. Eric was so blinded with rage that he didn’t see it coming. Within seconds, the former Marine had Eric face down on the floor with his arms pinned behind him. Carina had never seen this side of Mr. Atkins. He was no longer the warm teddy bear, the family man who wore ties with school buses on them. No, that man had mutated into a soldier right before her eyes and was taking care of Eric Ross without breaking a sweat. With his knee in Eric’s back, holding him down so the shit couldn’t move, Mr. Atkins withdrew his cell phone from his suit coat pocket. He dialed a few numbers, and in a neutral military-like tone, Mr. Atkins said to the other person on the line, “I need an ambulance and the police sent to Glenview Elementary at Fourth and Wilson Street. I just witnessed one of my teachers being assaulted. Possible head injury. Her attacker is Eric Ross, principal of Glenview Elementary.”
At the sound of his name, Carina felt herself exhale. It was over. Her legs finally gave out, and she slid along the white board until she was sitting on the floor. With her head leaning against the wall, her face throbbing and no doubt swelling up, she stared at Eric. And at how far he had fallen.
***
Josh
Josh stuffed his laptop into his bag and left class. If he hustled, he could still surprise Carina and meet her on her lunch break. He covered the distance within minutes, but as he rounded the corner, Josh immediately encountered an ambulance pulling away from the school and three police cars parked in the fire zone. His heart sank. No one had to tell him why the emergency vehicles were there. He just knew.