(Complete) Joe Walch was in love with the girl of his dreams. Everything was perfect until it all changed...
Ella Burke had a wonderful family, a job she loved and a man she was completely in love with until her dreams were shattered.
Can Ella lear...
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The last sixteen months of Joe's life had been horrible and he had no one to blame, but himself. He could still remember the stinging on his face, as a reminder. He knew she hated him, the message had come through from Owen. He also knew she had a boyfriend, although Natalie wasn't convinced.
"How can she like him if she cries every time you're mentioned." Natalie had argued.
Joe didn't want to make her cry. It was the last thing he ever wanted, but it was the only thing he did. He had just wanted to see her and talk to her. He hated for Owen to do his dirty work, but maybe Owen could talk to her when school started. If it wasn't for the fact he knew the man must hate him, he would go and see Tim. Would Julie be sympathetic? No, he didn't think so, nor would Ava.
Meanwhile, his own brother was angry with him because he forced him to move. Part of his awful year and almost a half was, because of the trouble Caleb got himself into. Joe felt guilty, because he was so into his own problems he hadn't watched the kid well enough. Joe should have known better as an educator of teens. Caleb was pissed, because he wanted Joe to take him to the lake he had heard about.
Joe shook his head. "Sorry, no can do, bud."
"Why not?" Caleb asked, angrily. He was always angry.
"Because I'm not welcome there anymore. Maybe Owen will take you one day, but summer's almost over. I'll take you to the ocean. It's like ten minutes away."
"Whatever." he walked away and slammed the door to his bedroom in the crappy apartment Joe had rented.
Was he crazy to move back to Maine? He had to get Caleb away from the kids he was hanging out with. If it wasn't for Tommy the kid would be in juvie and have a record. Joe only knew about the drinking and if Caleb told anyone the extent of what he had been up to it would have been Leah. Joe wouldn't drop the ball a second time. The kid would be going to the high school where Joe was teaching. Their apartment was in a huge complex called Pineledge and was close enough to walk to school. If Joe had a late meeting Caleb could walk home.
"Listen." He called through the closed door. "If you don't want to check out the beach, then I'm bringing my stuff to school to start setting up my classroom. Do you want to come with?"
"Go to school in the summer? Fuck no!"
"Fine, then stay here and mope. Maybe if you're in a better mood later, we can go check out the beach and get clams or ice cream or something."
Joe spent half his time when he wasn't with Caleb tracking his phone to make certain the kid was where he should be. He wasn't concerned about him getting into trouble yet, since he had no friends. He did worry about him trying to return to Massachusetts on his own. Joe was too young to be the parent of a moody seventeen-year-old. The truth was after the year Caleb had, Joe really couldn't blame him. Caleb took their mother's death hard and he hated Whitney with more passion than Romeo loved Juliet or was it Joe loved Ella.
