“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping the tear.
“That idiot,” Devon said. “I swear to God I’m going to murder that man.”
“Devon.” I cocked my head.
“What? I’m just saying. Nobody hurts our teacher and our friend and gets away with it. We all have your back. Don’t we?” He stood from his chair.
“Yeah!” The students shouted in unison.
“Sit down, please,” I said. There was no use hiding it. They knew, so I had to come clean and move on. “It’s complicated,” I said.
“It’s always the Mr. Darcys.” Emma shook her head.
I breathed out a laugh. “Unfortunately, you’re not wrong.”
“We got you, Sam,” Jarod said.
“Thank you.” I smiled and picked up my copy ofPride and Prejudice.“Okay. Let’s talk about why Mr. Darcy almostruined everything by being incapable of communicating his feelings.”
“Sounds like some other guy I know,” Devon said, and the class agreed.
Somehow, being surrounded by teenagers who cared more than they let on made the ache in my heart a little more bearable. I was going to be okay. I knew it, and they knew it.
Weston
I was broken inside, and Finn didn’t care with his daily rants about what a stupid man I’d become. His relationship with Greta was going strong, and I was happy for him. But there would never be a story where I’d go out with them. Greta hated me now. She called me a vile human being who deserved to rot in hell. She wasn’t wrong.
I was sitting in my office getting ready to sign a contract when my door opened, and Kylie walked in.
“Good news, Weston. Your reputation is restored, and the board couldn’t be happier. I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.” She grinned.
“Not now, Kylie.”
“What is going on with you? You’ve been in a funk and a bad mood all week. Did you and Sam have a fight?”
“Samantha and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
“Huh?” She gripped her chest. “Why? Oh my God. Here we go again. I’m going to have to quit. I can’t keep doing this.”
“Stop.” I raised my hand. “I will not go back to being how I was. I promise.”
“Why aren’t you seeing each other anymore?”she asked.
“It’s complicated, and I don’t want to discuss it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”
“Okay.” She stood from her chair. “Wes?”
“Yeah?” I looked up.
“For what it’s worth, you are not your grandfather. I know I barely knew him, but I know what kind of man he was. You are nothing like him. Remember that.” She turned and walked out of my office, then stepped back in. “I forgot why I even came in here in the first place,” she said. “Next Friday night, you have to attend the homecoming game at Manhattan High.”
“Why?” I frowned.
“You’re being honored, and they’re going to honor you on the football field after the game.”
“No.” I shook my head.
“You don’t have a choice. The press will be there.”
