With a softened face, he gently rubbed Lucas's shoulders. "It's a reasonable thing to be scared of… I'm really sorry you have to go through feeling like that. It's painful to watch, in all honesty. I'm really, really sorry." Mr. Brennahan stated in a quiet tone.
Lucas nodded a bit, struggling to meet Mr. Brennahan's eyes. "I'm sorry again, sir… uhm… w-we should probably keep going to the office, yeah?" He asked weakly.
Mr. Brennahan slowly nodded in return, letting go of Lucas. "Do you want to sit out here? I can get you if I need you, if you want to." He offered in a gentle tone.
"I… uhm… alright, sir…" Lucas replied softly, sitting down when he was instructed to. "Just call me whenever you need me, sir."
"Alright, Lucas… and if you need me, you're welcome to come in." He stated gently, before walking into the office.
Lucas nodded a bit and patted the seat next to him so Cody would hop up onto it. He tapped one foot on the ground anxiously while he waited for Mr. Brennahan.
It wasn't a decent amount of time before Mr. Brennahan came out, a somewhat frustrated look on his face. He attempted to mask it with a smile towards Lucas. "We're good to go. Everything's been taken care of that can be taken care of."
"Are you sure? What happened? Is there anything I can do to help?" Lucas asked, getting up with Cody. He still seemed tense and fidgety, obviously not having relaxed since Mr. Brennahan went into the office to begin with.
"It's nothing for you to worry about. Adult stuff." Mr. Brennahan stated gently, coming over and ruffling his hair some. "You need not worry about it. But, if it will make you feel any better, I can tell you that Cody is able to come with you to school."
"Thanks, sir… what about Melissa, though?" Lucas asked, whistling to Cody to get him to follow them back outside. "Is everything gonna be okay?"
“I… I’m hoping so. I think things are gonna work out… eventually.” Mr. Brennahan mumbled, sighing weakly.
Lucas nodded tentatively. "What did they say, sir? Are they going to do something about the people bullying Melissa?"
“They can’t do much about it, unfortunately. They said they’d look into it, but that’s about it.” Mr. Brennahan stated as he looked to Lucas. “I don’t know what I can do…”
Lucas sighed, unsure what to do either. "Uhm… I can try my best to stick close to Melissa, sir, but we only have so many classes together. There's not a ton I can do besides that, and they'll probably lie if the principal asks them any questions. Did you show him the notes?"
“Lucas, you shouldn’t have to do that. You’re not her body guard.” Mr. Brennahan whispered, getting in the car. “The school and teachers should be able to stop kids from picking on my daughter.”
"But they probably won't, sir…" Lucas sighed. "They'll 'look into it', but those kids' parents will just pay them off to let them off the hook or something. If they won't do anything, I will."
“Lucas…” Mr. Brennahan sighed weakly, leaning back in his seat. He looked exhausted as he pinched the bridge if his nose. A heavy sigh left his lips, as he just sat there for a couple seconds in silence.
Lucas fidgeted with his hands for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, sir, but I… I can't just let this slide. It'll only get worse and they'll start hurting Melissa and I can't let that happen."
Looking over to him, he let out another weak sigh. "I know you can't… and I really don't want to let it. But I don't want you getting hurt, too." Mr. Brennahan admitted in a soft tone. "I don't want either of you getting hurt. But I don't know what I could do— besides pulling Melissa from school, that is."
"Right… but we can't just pull Melissa from school…" Lucas sighed and looked away. "Much as she hates it there."
"She'd probably be more upset having to transfer to schools. I wouldn't just let her stay home all the time— She has to graduate at some point." He mumbled, starting the car back up. "I really don't know what to do for her…"
"Yeah, me either… unfortunately, I have even less influence than you do. I doubt they'll listen to me." Lucas pulled Cody closer to himself and kept petting him.
Mr. Brennahan nodded just a bit, shoulder dropping some. “Well… I guess we have to wait and see what happens. I hate the idea, but I don’t really have any other option.”
Lucas nodded as well. "Yeah… I can try my best to keep her safe, sir. I just… can't be with her 100% of the time, unfortunately."
“I don’t expect you to be. You can’t possibly be with her all of the time.” Mr. Brennahan mumbled some, looking over to him. “But thank you…”
"Of course, sir. I'll do my best." Lucas gently scratched behind Cody's ears, humming softly to himself.
As the silence fell between them, Mr. Brennahan started tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. Looking over to Lucas, he hesitated before speaking. “Can I get you something for dinner, when we get home? I know it’s getting kind of late.”
"Hmm? O-Oh, um… you can if you want to, sir, but you don't have to." Lucas smiled gently, still seeming a bit antsy with nerves.
“Do you have a preference whether we pick it up, or go home, then?” He asked softly, looking over to Lucas. “Because I’m okay with taking you anywhere.”
"I don't have a preference, no… anything is fine, sir." Lucas dipped his head politely and kept petting Cody, who was pretty sleepy by now.