“No worries,” I assured him. “If you remember, I’m the one who showed up at your place demanding answers. So really, it’s my own fault. Although, I might have to kick Justin’s ass. He went white as a ghost when we started talking about the accident.”
“You told him before you told me?” He sounded genuinely offended that I’d opened up to a coworker who I’d previously thought hated me, while telling him I didn’t want to talk about it.
“Well, I kind of had to. My hip locked up again and I damn near fell on my ass,” I admitted. It hadn’t been a shining moment. I needed to remember that I couldn’t do everything I wanted, and I needed to learn to say no rather than allow the other teachers to get me out on the makeshift dance floor. I might be the youngest and most inexperienced of the bunch, but that didn’t mean I was the wild child. Far from it. Last night, I learned that I was mild in comparison.
And while I was a lightweight, I wasn’t so much of one that three drinks had me falling to the sticky, dirty floor in what might be one of the seediest bars I’d ever been in. Okay, that was probably an exaggeration, but I knew well enough that I’d been spoiled by the bars on campus, which were always new and updated to keep the students begging to spend the allowance many of them got from their parents.
“Well, and I suppose it worked out for the best,” Michael conceded. “I probably owe him both a thank you and an apology. I’ve been a dick to him.”
“So I’ve heard,” I scoffed. Unlike me, Justin was well on his way to hammered last night and apparently decided I was his safe shoulder to cry on. “And yeah, I think he’d appreciate you telling him that you know you were unfair to him. Which you were. He was just trying to help you and you shoved him out of your life.”
I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and kissed Michael, who hadn’t bothered to get out of bed. The dick thought it’d be funny to let me know he was going back to sleep because his mom was bringing Jagger in today. That freaked me out a bit, because it almost felt like I was meeting the parents without him. I was also annoyed because I didn’t want to be stuck in the school all day, I wanted to be curled under the blankets with him, talking about everything that still needed to be discussed, and then hopefullynottalking for the rest of the day.
“Hey, are your parents watching Jagger tonight?” I asked at the last minute. It wasn’t my place to press the issue, but I honestly hoped he said no. Now that he and I were back in a good place, I wanted to be at their place as much as possible.
“Yeah. Mom’s feeling a lot better now,” he answered. “Last week, Dad brought him back here at bedtime, but that makes for late nights for him. This week, Jagger will stay there one night and tomorrow Dad will bring him home when it’s time for bed.”
An alert sounded from my pocket. After almost being late one day, I set a series of alarms to go off so it wouldn’t happen again. And since I was further from the school than I was at home, I’d still be cutting it close.
“I have to get out of here,” I told him quickly. “I’ll try calling you at lunch, but if I can’t, I’ll text.”
I hated leaving him when there was so much we still needed to talk about. While I wanted to believe he knew what he was doing last night, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of the worry that he’d wake up after I was gone and realize he couldn’t do this.
“No worries, I know you have other things to do besides worry about me,” he said, trying to minimize the importance of me following through.
“Nothing is more important to me than not screwing up,” I responded adamantly. “And I don’t want to screw up with you. But right now, I’ve got to get to school and pray I have time to grab a cup of coffee before they open the doors.”
Justin was leaning against the wall outside my door when I turned down the kindergarten corridor. He followed me into the room and stood nervously, watching me unload the books from my bag. Yes, I was still so green I carried a notebook with tips from my adviser in college and one of my textbooks with pages flagged for easy reference. Justin strained to see the titles but didn’t mention anything if he understood why I had them. I worked hard to come across more confident than I felt about being the one responsible for my students getting a solid foundation for their education.
“Did you need something?” I prodded when he still didn’t explain why he was waiting for me. It was nearing the uncomfortable stage where I felt as though I were on display for him.
“Yeah, I just… I wanted to apologize for last night,” he told me, staring at the brightly colored area rug under his feet. “I probably crossed the line and said some things I shouldn’t have. And it was really out of line for me to go on the way I did about Michael’s issues. I should call and apologize to him, because that wasn’t my story to tell.”
It was adorable to see how distraught Justin was over feeling like he’d betrayed a friend’s confidence. It also told me everything I needed to know about how desperately he wished the circumstances between them were different.
“It’s true that it wasn’t your story to tell,” I agreed. I couldn’t let him off the hook on that. Even though I knew teacher’s lounges were havens for gossip, I wasn’t a fan of it. “But as for the rest, don’t feel bad. We all need someone to talk to sometimes. And if it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure Michael’s secretly glad you did put two and two together. I doubt we would have figured out that connection on our own. It’s weird, you know, to know that that night was such a turning point for both of us in different ways. And that we’re now friends without even realizing that we were so key in shaping each other’s lives as they are today. I was going to wait until I knew what I wanted to say to him, but after I left the bar, I couldn’t wait, so I stopped by his place on my way home. We talked a bit about everything, and I’m hoping it’s going to help him to know he’s not the monster he’s allowed himself to believe he is.”
Justin’s shoulder drooped as he released the tension he’d been carrying around. Then, he looked up at me with a quirked brow. He tilted his head to the side as if he was once again trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together. “You seriously went to his house on your way home last night? Damn, you don’t waste any time clearing the air when you’re upset, do you?”
Not when it really matters.The words were on the tip of my tongue but I bit them back. He was far too observant for me to give him any unsolicited information. “You should have figured that out yesterday. If something’s on my mind, I’m not good at keeping my thoughts to myself.”
The first bell sounded, letting the students know they could enter the building. “I should probably get to my room,” Justin said. “When Michael gets here, ask him to stop by my room on his way out. I know we won’t be able to clear the air, but I want to at least see if we can set up a time to talk.”
“He’s not coming this morning,” I told him, quickly realizing it might seem odd for me to have that little piece of information. Still, I couldn’t keep myself from continuing. “Jagger stayed at his grandparents’ house last night, so Michael’s parents are bringing him in today.”
Justin’s complexion blanched. I made a mental note to ask Michael just how close the two of them were, because Justin’s reaction seemed out of place.
“Justin Fox. Get over here and give me a hug.” Both of us turned to see an older couple standing at the door. The woman beamed proudly as she held out her arms, waiting for Justin to appease her. Jagger pulled out of her grasp and rushed to my side. Everyone gave us curious glances as I gave him a quick pat on the head.
Her tiny frame was dwarfed by Justin as the two embraced. She let him go and took both of his hands in her face. “You’re still just as handsome as ever.”
“It’s good to see you.” Even though I didn’t know him well, I got the impression Justin was stunned and having a hard time finding the words he wanted to say. He turned and looked at Jagger and me watching them and grimaced. “I couldn’t believe how big Jagger’s gotten when I saw him the first day of school.”
“Yes, he’s certainly turning into quite the little man,” she praised, offering Jagger a kind smile. “So much like his daddy it terrifies me some days.”
Her eyes brightened, as if it had just dawned on her that I was in the room. I straightened as she crossed the room and dropped my hand from where it had been resting on Jagger’s shoulder. “I’m Bonnie Underwood, Jagger’s grandmother,” she introduced herself. I took her hand in mine and winced at how strong her grip was. “I’m assuming you’re Mr. Collins?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I confirmed. “It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. Are you feeling better?”
