Now she knows my biggest secret, too.
FOUR
SUTTON
Cooper leaves within a blink.
I turn over my shoulder and watch as he storms down the stairs.
I should go after him, but I’m glued to the chair. There is a battle going on within me. The devil on one shoulder is convincing me this is payback for what he did in high school. That finally I have the ammo to do exactly what he did to me. On the other shoulder, the angel is reminding me that he used to be my friend, that our families are close, and I could help him.
My case study…
Still frozen to my seat, I pull my phone out of my backpack and dial Dr. Manning.
“Sutton?”
“Hi. Morning, Dr. Manning. I’m sorry to be calling you this early. I hope I’m not interrupting any—” There is an echo of child laughter from her end, and I realize I am interrupting. Of course I am, her niece is visiting. “Never mind.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in your first session right now?” she asks, ignoring me, and stopping my thumb from hitting end.
“About that. Is there another student available?”
“Is there a problem with Mr. Carmichael?”
Yes? No? Maybe? Everything is a problem when it comes to Cooper.
One of the reasons I look up to Dr. Manning is her no bullshit mentality. Meaning she isn’t going to accept my half a decade’s worth of dislike and rivalry as a valid excuse.
Still…I try.
“We don’t see eye-to-eye. We have a pa?—”
Dr. Manning hmms. “I see.”
“Not like that. We’ve never been romantic before.”
“Okay,” she says leerily. “Whatever is going on between the two of you, put it aside. This industry requires you to be unbiased. And there is no other option. This is a requirement from the department chair, Sutton. You have a choice: work with him or we drop the independent study.”
I sigh, a long, drawn-out huff. “Fine.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you next week.”
The line clicks at the sound of a squeal in background.
I groan, slouching forward till my forehead hits the table in front of me.
My worst nightmare is coming true.
I need Cooper Carmichael.
Checking my watch, I’ve wasted twenty minutes of the time I allotted. I’ll figure it out, but in the meantime, I need to clear my head, and I now have an hour back in my day.
Any spots in your next class?
Elliot
