I will not cry, I thought to myself.I’ll rescue her when they walk away.
The thought hadn’t even settled in my mind when Sawyer unwrapped the garbage bag from around the can. All I could do was watch, frozen, as he tied off the end and started walking toward the mainentrance of the library.
As Rich and Ethan followed, one of them jostled my shoulder and roused me. I stumbled forward, trying to catch up.
“Hi, Sawyer,” the librarian said sweetly to her prince. “We have people to do that, you know.”
“I know, ma’am,” he said politely. “But something in here kind of stinks, so I thought I’d take it out to the dumpster myself before it ruined our night.”
She looked at him like the sun rose and set on Sawyer, and let him go.
There was nothing I could do.
Sawyer could talk his way out of everything and anything. No adult ever distrusted him. He wielded power no one but his father and older brother had.
As I blinked back tears, I could feel Dev hurry to my side.
“What was in there?” He asked, smart enough to already know the gist of what happened.
The concern and love in his voice steeled me. “Squeakers.” My voice held a lofty determination. I was going to get her back. I’d jump in that dumpster and find her myself, even if I was labeled the Trash Queen for the rest of my life.
He inhaled a sharp breath. He knew what Squeakers meant to me.
“You can’t, Brie,” he said, hurrying after me. “You’ll get in trouble. You’ll never hear the end of it.”
I marched after Sawyer.
“Brie Casey.” The librarian’s voice was harsh with warning, and when I turned, her glare made my heart sink. I felt so small.
That’s all it took. I turned and trudged back to Dev, tears in my eyes.
I cried myself to sleep every night for weeks after that.
Why couldn’t I just ignore them?I kept asking myself.
I let them see how angry they made me. They saw how much Squeakers meant, so they pushed. If only I hid how important she was to me, nothing bad would’ve happened.
It was all my fault.
CHAPTER 4
SAWYER
After depositingBrie at her classroom, I march back to my office on high alert. I don’t know what the hell Brie’s doing in my school, but seeing her again after all these years reignites all the savage instincts I thought I grew out of.
I’ve got to get a grip on myself.
CHAPTER 5
BRIE
My breath fogsout in front of me as I trudge out to my car.
It’s been a long day. A long thirty-six hours. A long few months, really.
The kids in my class are all sweet, but I could tell their feelings are hurt. A teacher they loved basically ghosted them. I’m not complaining since that’s why I have a job, but it’s going to take some time for them to trust me.
That, along with the knowledge that Sawyer’s my new boss, not to mention the fact I’m in Blue Ridge in the first place . . . basically my life is imploding.
