Michelle shook her head. “I’ll sleep at yours tonight, and we can ride back together tomorrow. Who cares if anyone sees us arrive together now?”
“Fuck.” Audrey squeezed her eyes shut, thumping a fist against the upholstery. She’d really lost her job. Keeping it to herself all day had made it feel almost surreal, but now that Michelle knew ... denial slipped away, leaving only hurt.
“I know.” Michelle reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze before she backed out of the parking spot.
“Why did Stuart tell you? Is he telling everyone?”
“No.” Michelle pressed her lips together, and there was something else on her face now, something Audrey didn’t know how to read.
“Michelle?”
“Not while I’m driving. I’ll tell you everything in a minute.”
“I don’t understand why Stuart would tell you, and only you, that he’d let me go. Wait ... does he know about us? Is that why he fired me?” Audrey was spiraling. The tears that had built inside her all day just kept falling, and somewhere along the way, anger had built up in her chest too. Now it all combined to leave her feeling slightly hysterical.
“No, he doesn’t know about us.”
And that was all Michelle said until she pulled into Audrey’s driveway. She’d never been gladder that she’d rented a house so close to campus, because a longer drive might have been too much right now. And thank god she’d rented, since now she’d have to leave.
“I don’t want to leave,” she gasped as she and Michelle walked to the front door. Her hands shook so badly that Michelle took the key from her and unlocked the door, then ushered her inside. “I can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you right before I have to leave.”
“Hey.” Michelle embraced her again, one hand rubbing up and down Audrey’s back. “We’re in this together, okay? You haven’t lost me because you’ve lost your job.”
“But I’ll have to move. I need a new job ASAP. I have no idea how I’m going to pay my student loans in the meantime.” She pulled back, trying to make sense of the chaos in her brain. “What didn’t you tell me in the car? Why were you in Stuart’s office?”
“Because he offered me the Women in Art class—”
“Oh,fuck him!” Audrey saw red, rage scorching her from head to foot. “Well, at least one of us got what she wanted today.”
Michelle reared back as if Audrey had slapped her.
“I just can’t believe this fucking day,” Audrey ranted, but now she felt ashamed. She was taking her anger out on Michelle when she’d done nothing to deserve it. “Sorry. I’m angry at Stuart, not you.”
Audrey blew out several deep, shaky breaths while Michelle watched her with big wounded eyes. “I’m happy for you. Really. You deserve this class. You’vealwaysdeserved to have this class, more than I ever did. You’ve worked so long and hard for it, and I ... I’m glad that you’ll get to teach it. Plus, it’s such an important class, and I’m really glad it’ll still be on the syllabus next year after I’m gone.”
Michelle crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you quite finished?”
“Um, yeah. I’m just ... sorry.” She was rambling, but this whole conversation had a weird undertone she wasn’t sure how to read, and despite what Michelle had said, Audreydidfeel like she was losing her. Their careers were about to send them in different directions, and Audrey couldn’t ask Michelle to uproot her life and follow her the way she’d done for Kelly. Shewouldn’t.
“If you had let me finish ...” Michelle gave her a hard look, then turned and walked to the window, her back to Audrey. “I turned him down. I don’t want your class.”
“What?” Audrey shook her head. “But this was your dream for so long ... please call him back and take it. Please? I want you to have it.”
“It’s a little late for that.” Michelle turned to face her. “Because I quit.”
“Quit what?” Audrey asked stupidly because surely she didn’t mean ...
“I quit myjob.” Michelle’s tone was harsh. “This is my last semester at Northshire. I’m done.” She swiped her hands against each other and held them out in front of herself in an “I’m done” gesture. “They needed to cut a member of the faculty from the payroll, and now I’ve done that for them, so the sensible thing for them to do would be to hire you back—permanently this time—and that’s exactly what I told Stuart before I left his office.”
“Wait ...” Audrey wanted to scream because what the hell was happening right now? Michelle had quit in some misguided attempt to fall on her sword and save Audrey’s job? “I didn’t ask you to martyr yourself for me. What the fuck? I mean, thanks but no thanks. I wouldneverhave asked you to do that.”
Michelle’s nostrils flared. “I didnotmartyr myself. Jesus.”
“You sacrificed your job to try to save mine. What would you call it?” Audrey demanded. “Now I feel even worse than I already did, and I won’t even feel good about it if he hires me back.”
“If I sacrificed anything for you, it was when I decided tostay.” Michelle’s voice had dropped. She looked at her hands, shoulders slumped. “I stopped applying for jobs in the UK because I decided I could bear a few more years at Northshire if you were by my side, but without you there? No, this was the final straw. I’ve wanted to quit for a while. Youknowthat. I just hadn’t had the guts to actually do it. I was afraid to quit before I had something else lined up, but I’m not afraid anymore. I hate it here, Audrey. You know better than anyone how much I hate it!” Her eyes flashed, and her bottom lip trembled. “So I finally did what I’ve been wanting to do for years, and I quit.”
Audrey opened and closed her mouth, struck speechless. For a moment, they faced each other as the air snapped with tension and hurt feelings. Audrey’s heart was about to beat out of her chest.
