A Mate for Lu - Amy Bellows Page 0,34

from his plate. My heart feels so full I can barely breathe.

It’s almost like we’re a family.

“Is it true that we’re going to eat dinner with you three times a week?” Jesse asks me.

I turn to Sam. When Jesse says it like that, it sounds very suspicious.

“We thought that would be nice. What do you think?” Sam says.

Jesse pushes the rice around their plate with their fork. “I think it’s a good idea. If you’re friends, there’s no point in pretending you aren’t, right? That would be a lie.” There’s an edge to Jesse’s voice. They know.

Sam’s foot retreats from mine underneath the table. “You’re right.”

What will Sam do if Jesse asks him outright if there’s something going on between us? Will he stop seeing me?

Sam may be my mate, but that connection is frighteningly unstable. And he’s holding my child in his arms. If we’re going to have dinners like this, I’m not just risking my heart anymore.

I’m gambling with Mary’s too.

22

Sam

Lu and I fall into an uncomfortable rhythm. Skyping at night, texting during the day, and dinner with the kids when we can. Missing Lu becomes a permanent ache in my chest that never quite goes away.

Worrying about Jesse is the same.

By the time Friday rolls around, I’m bound and determined to visit Lu during Mary’s nap. Between the book fair, my work meetings, and Jesse’s fainting spell, I never managed to make it over there. At ten in the morning I give him a call.

“Hello?” his voice is weak, almost raspy.

“Hey. How are you?”

He doesn’t say anything for a minute. “I’m… I’m fine.”

“Are you sick?”

“I don’t know—” The sound of him retching comes through the phone speaker.

He’s vomiting, and I’m not there to take care of him.

“I’m coming over okay?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m your mate. I should be the one to take care of you while you’re sick.”

My phone beeps. I pull it away from my ear to see who’s calling. It’s the number from Jesse’s school. “Hold on, I need to take this other phone call, okay?”

“Okay.”

I answer the second call.

“Hello, this is Sam speaking.”

“Jesse Stewart has just been suspended for fighting. We’ll need you to come get them within the hour and meet with the principal to discuss their behavior.”

Jesse got in a fight?

“What happened?”

“Please come to the attendance office, and we can discuss the incident in person.”

The line goes dead.

I text Lu to tell him that I need to pick up Jesse and head out the door to the school. Jesse’s never gotten in a physical fight before. Not even with their own siblings. They’re not eating normally, they don’t want a gender reveal party, and now they’re hitting people? What is going on?

Did someone try to hurt them? Were they simply acting in self defense?

I drive like a mad man, and even risk parking in the bus lane to get there as soon as possible. It takes me a few minutes to find the attendance office, but when I do, Jesse and another kid are sitting in plastic chairs near the entrance. Jesse’s eyes look a little puffy, but otherwise they seem unharmed. The other kid is a different story. They have tissues stuck up their nostrils and masking tape across their swollen nose. There are band aids scattered all over their right arm and the right side of their face.

Did Jesse do that?

I approach the man behind the front desk. “I’m Sam Stewart. I’m here to speak with the principal.”

He picks up the phone next to his computer. “Jesse’s dad is here. Uh huh. I’ll send them in.” He waves his hand toward the dark hallway.

Jesse stands. They keep their head down as we make our way to the far door on the right. I’ve never been to see the principal for bad behavior before. Not when I was a kid, and not with any of my other children. This is a first.

I knock on the door with gold lettering that says, “Mr. Church.”

“Come in.”

The man sitting behind the desk is a younger omega in a suit who stands as we enter. “Good morning, Sam. Please have a seat.”

There are two dark wooden chairs across from his desk. All of the furniture looks like remnants from the seventies. I sit, and Jesse sits beside me.

Mr. Church clasps his hands on his desk. “As I’m sure you’re aware, Jesse was in a fight this morning.”

Jesse manages to duck their head even lower.

“Do you want to tell your dad what happened?” Mr.