Page 136 of Enzo

“Yes.”

She knows.

The awful mess I've been trying to keep away from this place has followed me straight through the school doors.

“Is he the man you met in Venice?”

She's pieced it together. Enzo. Luca's project. Venice. Me. Hearing it laid out like this makes everything so much worse.

“Is it, Molly?” she presses. I hear a heavy edge of disappointment in her tone. Of all the people I never wanted to disappoint, Miss T was at the top of my list.

I nod.

“The video from Venice has only recently been brought to my attention, among other things—”

Heat rushes through me. I want to disappear through this chair. Every word somehow makes this worse. This isn't New York. This isn't a hotel or a street full of journalists.

This is my school. The place I love so much I never want to leave.

The media attention has now impacted my job. The children. Miss T. The safe little world I worked so hard to build. And somehow chaos has found me here, too.

Enzo and I shut ourselves away in my apartment and stopped looking at what was happening outside, but now, trouble has found me and I can’t run away.

“I ... I ...” My voice sounds hoarse. I can't formulate a sentence. I can't defend myself because there is no defense.

“I wish you’d said something, Molly. I could have been on top of things. I would have known how to handle it.”

Handle what? Be on top of what things?

“That first video appears to be circulating again, along with a second video in which you and Mr. Knight are clearly seen dancing.”

I shift in my seat. The air in the room feels heavy, and it becomes harder to breathe.

“And because you have been identified, so has the school. The parents aren't happy and neither are the school board.”

My heart races inside my chest and sweat lines my neck.

“Do you have anything to say?” Miss T asks. Her usual softness has gone. She's not only angry with me, she's disappointed, and that is so much worse.

I try to work my mouth, try to moisten it, but fail. “That's why there were people at the main gate?”

“Yes.” Miss T sighs and sinks back in her chair. “I've had calls from parents this morning.”

“About me?”

“About the attention surrounding you. About photographs and videos online.”

My eyes brim with tears, but I bat my eyelashes, and swipe my thumb, wiping the tears away. “I'm sorry that I've disappointed you ...”

Miss T lets out another sigh. “It's not disappointment, Molly. I wish you'd told me. I wish I'd known rather than been blindsided by parents.”

“I'm sorry. I took those clips because I wanted to share the night with you. I sent them to someone else by mistake. I didn't even know who Enzo was then.”

She waves a hand at me. “What you do in your private time is your business, Molly. Unfortunately, in this instance, it has affected the school.”

I can barely move. Can barely breathe. This is about something more.

“Some parents are concerned about their children's privacy and safety.”