“I’m going to cut right to it, Miss Krause. I had a visitor yesterday who shared with me some…news. Do you know what I’m talking about?” His cool gaze pins me to the seat, and I barely mange to shake my head no.
“There are allegations about you having a romantic relationship with Mr. Ryan.”
His sentence steals my breath, and I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to break. “It’s not true! Who told you that?” I wish he’d reach out and hold my hand, because I’m having difficulty being strong. This can’t be happening.
“Do you know Wyatt Chasely?”
“It’s not t-true, Mr. Stephenson. I swear. Wyatt is, he’s messed up!” I cry. Tears slip from my eyes and track down my cheeks as I stare into Mr. Stephenson’s open, concerned face.
“He said you left him to start a relationship with Mr. Ryan. He said he came here to confront you at school back in September, and he caught the two of you.”
“No!” I scream, the sound harsh to my own ears. “Wyatt c-came here with m-me when I m-missed all that school. H-he sexually a-assaulted me here and Mr. Ryan s-s-saved me. Oh, God.”
I break. I break so completely that I’m pretty sure my heart is lying on the floor. I cry until my eyes burn, and my throat hurts. Mr. Stephenson wraps an arm around my shoulders, and then I sob into his shirt. I break down and tell him my own version of the truth. I tell him about how I was handling things before school started. I tell him about my relationship with Wyatt, and how I tried to break it off. I tell him about missing those days of school, Wyatt messing with my car, the assault, and Mr. Ryan saving me.
What I don’t tell him is that I fell in love with my teacher. And that I’d give anything in this moment to have him back here with me.
Instead, I tell him we developed a bond, but I lie and say it isn’t romantic. That it’s based solely on trust. Somehow, Mr. Stephenson seems to believe me. And then he says the words that free me from my personal hell.
“I’m glad you were honest with me, Tatum. I suppose it was lucky Mr. Ryan had an out of town emergency, and I was able to talk to you first. I have a feeling he wouldn’t have been so quick to betray your trust. Things might have been a bit trickier then. I know how much you’ve struggled over the past year, and I’m glad you finally found someone to confide in.”
I dry my tears on my sleeve and breathe deeper. The worst seems to be over.
“He talked me into seeing a counselor. I actually had my first appointment last Monday,” I tell him, breathing my first true breath in twenty four hours. I’m overcome with relief.
“Did he now? Well, fill me in. We have some catching up to do, and I’d rather not send you to class until you’ve calmed down.”
***
“Trey! Are you here?” I call out into Jacoby’s empty living room while kicking off my shoes. I need to tell him everything that’s happened. He has to know that everything is going to be okay.
Rounding the couch, I head towards the kitchen for a bottle of water. If Trey didn’t answer, he must not be here. He’d have no reason to be upstairs. When I reach the entrance to the kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks.
Jacoby.
“Care to tell me why you’re calling out Trey’s name in my house?” His tone is stern and low, but it isn’t mean. He looks so tired. Exhausted would be more appropriate. Dark purple rings surround his eyes, and his hair looks like he’s run his hand through it a hundred times. His clothing, a black T-shirt that clings to his biceps and dark blue faded jeans, is wrinkled as if he slept in them. Even in his disheveled state, he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. My eyes drink him in, and I can’t actually believe he’s here.
“You’re here.” My voice is whisper soft and pained. Tears prick my eyes. He’s really here. My mind spins with all the what-ifs I’ve been trying not to think about for the last day. I reach out to steady myself on the wall as a wave of dizziness crashes over me.
“I had to leave town, but I’m back. What’s going on? Is it Wyatt?”
“You’re here!” I cry and rush him. I slam into the warmth of his hard body and tightly wrap myself around him. His scent envelops me, and I bury my face into his neck. The tears flow freely down my cheeks, but I don’t care. He’s really here.
“Sweetheart, what’s going on?” His hand strokes my hair comfortingly, and I cling to him. I never want to let go.
“I-I thought you were g-gone!” I cry into his neck.
“Shh. I’m here now. I’m sorry I had to leave, but I’m here.”
The sound of the front door opening makes me pull my head away from his warmth.
“Tatum! You here?” Trey’s voice booms throughout the main level of the house.
“Seriously, what the fuck is this?” Now Jacoby sounds pissed as he pushes me gently away from him. I want to tell him everything, but just then, Trey rounds the corner.
“Motherfucker! You’re back. Jesus Christ, don’t fucking leave like that again.” Trey walks over and pulls Jacoby into one of those back-slapping man hugs. Jacoby’s confusion is written all over his face, and I’d laugh if I wasn’t so relieved.
“What is this? You two are acting like I just came back from the dead. I had to handle some shit back home. You want to explain to me why you both come into my house looking for each other?”
“Cool your shit man, it’s not like that. You left without telling anybody. What do you think we’re doing?” Trey seems up to doing all the talking, so I let him. I don’t know if I can get my words out without breaking into sobs again.
“I sent you a text, asshole,” Jacoby replies.
“Dude, you told me you had to leave. Didn’t say where, didn’t say when you’d be back. Then you left your fuckin’ phone here while you took off to who fuckin’ knows.”
“I just told you, I went back home.”
“We know that now. Didn’t you think we’d worry? You left after that motherfucker threatened to expose the two of you. Do you get what I’m saying to you?” Trey’s anger is rising, but realization just dawned for Jacoby.
He turns to me with a grimace on his face. “Sweetheart, I am so sorry. I didn’t think. I had to get home, so I left as soon as I could. I didn’t realize I left my phone until I was already on the plane. My mind was a mess. Are you okay?” He reaches for me, and I go willingly into his embrace. I can’t blame him for having his own problems to deal with. I’m too relieved to get upset with him. I trust he had his reasons, and I know he’ll explain it to me later. Right now, I just want to be back in his arms.
“I’m okay. I was just worried. What happened back home?” Trey gives me a look, and I know what he’s thinking. When am I going to tell Jacoby about last night? And how is he going to react when he hears I fell asleep cradled in his best friend’s arms?
“Maybe we should sit in the living room so I can fill you in. You want a beer, Trey?” Jacoby lets me go to lean in the fridge and fishes me out a bottle of water.
“Yeah, man. You sure you don’t want me to go? I don’t need to intrude on you two.”
I want to scream at him to stop making eyes at me. We can talk about me until my voice box freezes up, but right now, I want to talk about Jacoby.
“Nah, I owe you an explanation, too. It’ll be easier to just say it once.”
We all walk to the sofa. Trey sits on one end and Jacoby on the other. I climb onto Jacoby’s lap, his arms automatically cage me in, and he buries his face in my hair. God, I missed him. I’m so glad this nightmare is over.
“So what happened?” I ask. I want to talk, and then I want him to take me to bed. Even if all we do is sleep.
Jacoby runs his fingers through my hair. “Right after we had our run in with Wyatt, I got a phone call from Brent. He’s Harper’s brother,” he says to me before continuing. “Their mom, Carol, has been sick. He called me a month ago to tell me she wasn’t expected to make it until Christmas.” Jacoby stops and clears his throat. We’ve only touched on the topic of Harper’s family, but I can tell whatever happened is hard for him.