The Bad Boy of Waterloo Road

Chapter Seven.

"He's still being neglected Lindsay!" He exclaimed, trying to make me come to terms with the hard facts. "He's 17 and doesn't have a job. How does he manage to provide and look after himself?" He asked, causing me to shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know, but please don't go getting Social Services involved! We hardly know anything. We've got next to no evidence that he is being neglected or abused yet." I justified in the hope he would drop the conversation and forget that it ever happened.

"Lindsay, I can't just turn a blind eye to this!" He admitted, taking a sip of my tea. "I won't be getting the SS involved just yet but I will be keeping a record of it. If I am informed or overhear anything else that raises alarm bells, I will have no option but to contact them." He informed me, allowing me to simply sigh.

I couldn't help but feel guilty because I have really dropped Finn in the shit. A part of me is hoping that no further information gets discovered in regards to this situation. I need to put an end to this conversation and soon, so I thought now was the best time to distract my dad with yet another issue that has been going on in my life lately.

"I think it's about time you found out about something else." I confessed, watching my dad's facial expression turn from disappointed to perplexed.

"What?" He simply questioned, obviously pushing for more information on what I was trying to get at.

"I think I've got a stalker." I admitted, searching through my phone to find the text conversation containing the messages exchanged between myself and the Anonymous contact.

"Don't be stupid Lindsay!" He exclaimed, letting out a small laugh because he must have thought I was going mad.

I felt it would be easier to show my dad the messages instead of me trying to explain everything to him in great detail. He took the phone from my fingertips and read through the conversation as I sat intensely watching him. The more he studied the messages, the more his facial expressions changed. Once he'd managed to get his head around it, he handed the device back to me, sighing deeply as he did so.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked, running a hand over his face frustratingly.

"Only since yesterday afternoon. However, the whole school knows about yours and Sian's little secret. Whoever sent me those messages also sent a message to everyone at school." I told him, watching him stand up from the stool he was just sat upon.

He walked over to the alcohol cupboard and pulled out the bottle of half drunk Malt Whiskey and a glass. He poured the tipple into it before screwing the cap back onto the bottle and took a massive gulp of the liquor in the glass.

"Why didn't you come and see me earlier on today? Oh yeah, you were too busy taking drugs that's why!" He yelled angrily as he leant against the kitchen counter, slipping one hand into his trouser pocket as his other was firmly gripped around the sides of his glass.

"Look, the real reason I took the drugs was to shut out everything that was happening! As much as you think Finn forced me into smoking it, I can assure you that he didn't." I cried, still trying to fight Finn's corner. "I know I have disappointed you but I am not a child anymore! I make my own decisions and I take responsibility for my own actions!" I yelled, feeling my eyes start brimming with hot tears.

"But that's the thing...you don't! You cover up for people who are supposedly your friends!" He bellowed back as he swigged the rest of his whiskey in his glass and poured himself another glass.

"Because that's what friends do!" I screamed, wanting him to just look at things from my perspective. "Yes, Finn was wrong bringing drugs into school but surely I should still be punished as well. It's not just me and Finn involved in this. Josh smoked it as well!" I confessed in anger, purposely name-dropping Josh because if anything, he should be punished as well.