No, it’s mine. I paid her off. I lied to Fritz and Christopher.
Knowing the blame landed on me, and not Samantha, was a gut punch. It would’ve been easier to blame her, but Fritz’s words seemed to penetrate my heart. I did throw money at my problems, not even realizing it was an issue. No longer though. Knowing I survived three weeks without any credit cards or frivolous fund brought me a sense of pride and joy. It was the same pride and joy I felt after receiving the Teacher of the Year award.
I spun in the chair to eye the glass award I got last year, to hold it and remind myself I worked hard and could get through this. But it wasn’t on the desk where I kept it.Weird.I frowned, trying to remember if I’d moved it for any reason, or maybe someone cleaned my room last night.But the crew never moved things on my desk.
Huh.
I opened a few drawers and hoped to see the flash of glass with my name on it. It didn’t make sense for me to misplace it. Sure, I cleaned the shelf from time to time, but for it to disappear? No. That didn’t make sense. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a rueful dread crept into my spine. Maybe it was all the shit with Samantha that had me thinking the absolute worst. This was a simple fix. It had to be. I probably moved it, or maybe it fell and someone cleaned it up. That made the most sense, even though my gut warned me this wasn’t a coincidence.
I took a sip of the tea Christopher brought me just as Timmy walked into the room with a big yawn. “Good morning, Timmy. You’re early today.”
He finished his yawn, and like most days, he went from zero to eighty. “If you eat a lot at night, a lot in the morning, and a lot at lunchtime, you make a baby.”
“Oh, really?” I asked, amused at this random conversation. It was just what I needed to pull myself out of the weird funk.
“Yes. My mom is growing a baby from all the food. My dad makes the food and feeds her. I eat a lot, too, but Mom says I don’t grow babies. You be careful with the food, Ms. Carter. You’ll grow a baby.”
I snorted into my mug, enjoying the real laugh and smile. All my drama could wait until later—distracting myself with littles was the best plan of action. We went over our ELA lesson and then math, and soon enough, it was lunchtime, and after getting them into a line and taking them to the cafeteria, I was ready to hang out with Christopher and live in our bubble a little longer. When a couple minutes went by, I figured he’d gotten caught up with someone or something. It wasn’t unusual for students to need help or a parent call to come through at lunch. But five, then ten minutes went by, and he wasn’t in my room.
Now that I thought about it…Samantha had never shown up that day either. Was she in his room? I shoved my food to the side and stood up, needing to make sure she wasn’t in his class telling him half-truths. My outburst at her could’ve made her retaliate. Fear and absolute worry had my chest heaving as I bolted into the hallway and strode into Christopher’s classroom. It was empty, which was a relief and a curse. If he wasn’t there, then where was he?
Where was Samantha?
I walked as fast as I could to the teacher’s lounge and spied through the glass window that gave a peek into the room. Larissa was laughing with Marisa, Maggie, and Martha. No sign of Christopher or Samantha though. My sixth sense tingled like something was wrong. Where else would he, and Samantha, be?
This wasn’t good. My stomach felt like a ten-pound rock sat in it, growing each second Christopher failed to show. Did he see the pictures Samantha took? Did he think it was someone else?
No. That didn’t make sense. I gritted my teeth and searched every classroom on the way back to my room, still not seeing a sign of him anywhere. My nervous energy needed an outlet, and I couldn’t sit down as more time went by, my gut absolutely a mess with worry. It wasn’t until ten minutes later that the familiar thud of his footsteps sounded in the hallway, and I spun, seeing him stop just inside my classroom.
Wide eyes, fists at his sides, jaw tight, and Iknew. Samantha had told him the truth. That was the only explanation for the hate in his eyes.
“Do you have it?”
“Have what?” I asked, taking a step back at the anger radiating off him. “Have what?”
“All that money,” he said, shaking his head and curling his lip up in disgust.
Shit. “It’s not what you think,” I said, my voice losing its flare. All that dread, worry, and anxiety was exactly because of this moment. All these weeks leading up to it, and my brain seemed to shut down. All the explanations I had prepared in my mind turned to absolute mush seeing the hurt on his face.
“Oh, it’sexactlywhat I think.” He sucked in a breath, glaring even harder at me to the point I recoiled. There was no longer any tenderness or warmth on his face. It was pure fury, and my throat clogged up.
“Christopher, wait…” I said, unsure what to say, how to make this right. “I just—”
“You just what?” He stepped into my room, hands on his hips as he barked out a laugh. “I fell for it. Bravo.” He clapped his hands a few times, the loud slap of his skin together making me jump. “Your act wasincredible.”
“It wasn’t an act.” I swallowed hard and stood up. He was as approachable as a raging bull. His gaze shot to my feet, warning me to not take a step farther, and I stopped. “Noneof it was an act. What I feel for you has nothing to do—”
“Stop. I was right about you. God, I’m such an idiot. Just like my goddamn father.” He rubbed his temples and looked up at my face, all traces of tenderness gone. “You must feel good at night, falling asleep knowing your entire life is bullshit. All of it is a lie,” he said, spitting out the words and his face getting red. “The students, the staff, your friends…they have no idea who you are, who you really are, but I don’t care. I’m done. I’m done with you. Don’t talk to me again, Gilly. You’ve done enough to me and my family.”
He stormed out of my classroom, and I went numb.
Devoid of feelings or emotions as all areas of my life were imploding. I knew my money was going to get in the way of my love life. My worst nightmare had come to life, and I couldn’t stop the sob from escaping. I cupped my hand over my mouth and stifled the sound, feeling my heart break into a million pieces.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Grace was toobusy to hang out, Fritz said heneeded to get out of town,and Christopher didn’t answer any of my texts. It didn’t matter what I said. He was stubborn—something I admired and hated about him, and his mind was made up. My stomach soured thinking about his issues with his dad, with his friend’s ex who had taken all the money from him, the emotion in his voice when he talked about Kayla’s lack of college fund. His aversion to money made sense. I understoodwhyit bothered him—it shaped his life in dark moments, and I got it.
What I didn’t get was how it was an absolute deal breaker. Yes, I kept my inheritance from him, but it didn’t change anything about us. Not how I felt, or how I would act.
