Flawed Perfection

Cade Ledger shifted, rolling his neck as he exhaled a deep sigh. He hated conference week more than most. Though he was good at pretending otherwise, he wasn’t a social person. Working as the counselor for the school district was taxing enough without all the extra meetings.

He made a point of being a part of all meetings with parents involving bullying. He also liked to sit in on parent-teacher conferences with the students he worked one-on-one with. It helped him get all the information he could, even if it wasn’t expected of him.

Now, as the long linoleum halls were slowly clearing of children, he knew more parents would be coming. He looked around the classroom, which was decorated with a whimsical wonderland theme.

Vines hung from the ceiling with tiny dragons hanging from them. Fairies could be spotted all around the forest setting walls. The whole room was fun and free-spirited, so unlike the teacher who ran it.

“Is the big bad biker hiding?” Dakota scoffed, entering her room with a smirk.

“Why would you ask that?” Ledge replied, smiling up at his friend from her seat.

“You only hide out in here when you’re on the verge of calling it quits.” She replied, waving her hand in dismissal. “I’m not really in the mood to whip you back into shape today, though. So you should head to the principal’s office. He’s looking for you.”

“Seriously? You’re going to throw me to the wolves? Just like that?” He frowned.

Dakota laughed, rolling her eyes and placing her hands on her hips. Ledge groaned, knowing that the posture meant she was getting ready to rip him a new asshole if he didn’t do something. He loved Dakota but couldn’t handle being chewed out right now.

“Fine, fine.” He raised his left hand, waving it at her. “I’m going. Do you know what he wants?”

“He has to leave, but a parent needs to be notified that their child is suspended for fighting. You agreed to take on the title of acting vice principal on top of counselor.” She shrugged unsympathetically. “If you need help, ask.”

“I didn’t realize he would stop searching for a fucking replacement,” Ledge responded, standing up with a sigh and smiling at her. “Most days, it’s fine. I’m just tired. Thanks, though, Kody.”

She shrugged before turning and kneeling in front of a bookshelf and starting to organize it. As brash as Dakota Thompson could be, she was an amazing person. Ledge had known that long before he learned details about her past.

The whole MC had been told the basics when she was attacked at the mall with their leader’s fiance there. At the time, while Ace pursued her, she still pushed him away. Ledge couldn’t be happier that the pair had finally become an official couple.

Ledge still couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy, though. He had spent his life trying to improve the lives of children around him, and he loved it. However, it didn’t satisfy that longing for a family he had always felt.

Ledge was happy for Wild and Ace. They had both fought like hell to get their women and deserved all the happiness in the world.

Ledge loved Amelia and was thrilled that Wild and Leah were expecting another baby near the end of the year. With their two Tech’s boy and Rouge’s baby girl, the clubhouse always had kids in it.

Ledge loved all of them and enjoyed being able to get down and play with them. He didn’t just want to be an uncle, though. He wanted to be a dad; he always had.

His mother’s constant nagging for grandkids didn’t help the matter. It was a topic almost every Sunday dinner though. Either he or his sister would be questioned thoroughly before dad would finally put his foot down.

Shaking the thought away, Ledge headed back to the school’s main office. He hoped that the secretary had security footage already pulled up so he could see what had actually gone down. Ledge convinced the principal two years ago to allow Tech and Savage to install the cameras.

More than once, the footage had saved an innocent kid from getting in trouble. They also help keep track of certain problem children. Like every school, they had their gang of bullies.

Just then, Ledge got to the office door. He took a deep breath, straightened his jacket, then pushed the door open. The small white room had a couple of inspirational quotes hung on the far wall behind a tired-looking woman with frizzy red hair.

“Oh, Mr. Ledger. Thank you for coming. Mr Drake just left. Jace Hilton is waiting in the principal’s office; his mother is on the way.” Sabrina prattled off. “Jace got into a fight with Tyler Hayes. He got pumbled, but since he threw the first fist, Mr. Drake feels we need to make a statement.”

Ledge rolled his eyes. Mr Drake, the principal, was always looking to make a statement. It wasn’t always bad, but he had a habit of not listening to both sides of the story.

“Thanks. Is the security footage pulled up?” Ledge asked.

“Oh, no. I can send it to his computer, though.” Sabrina replied easily.

“Thank you. I’ll go talk to the boy.” Ledge told her.

“Good luck. The boy won’t say a word in his defense or otherwise.” Sabrina frowned. “It’s strange, but he’s just sitting there glaring at the wall.”

Ledge frowned, nodding before pushing the door to the office open. “I’ll take care of it. Thank you, Sabrina.”

When he entered the room, a young pre-teen boy turned to face him with a downcast expression. His short, light brown hair was cropped. His pale blue eyes were almost silver, and his fair complexion was so light he looked almost translucent.

He was adorable, and Ledge couldn’t help smiling at the boy, “Hi, your Jace?”

The boy nodded, his expression sullen and untrusting. His expression spoke clearly what he wouldn’t. He already believed that no matter what he said or did, Ledge would be against him. Instinctively, Ledge wanted to prove the boy wrong.

“Would you like to tell me what happened?” Ledge asked, sitting on the edge of the desk facing the boy.

“I hit him.” Jace shrugged, glaring down at his hands.

“You want to tell me why?” Ledge asked, and the boy shook his head. “Looks like Tyler got a couple of good licks in. Are you hurt badly?”

Jace just shook his head again, and Ledge sighed lightly. He nodded before rounding the desk to watch the security tapes before the boy’s mother showed up.