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“So, let me guess.” Dr. Lewis clears his throat. “She resigned and transferred because you broke up with her? Or is it because you were planning to try and keep your position here?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know why she did any of that. I. I did break things off with her when Madeline threatened to make it known to everyone about the relationship. She did all of that on her own. She’s a smart woman. But a heartbroken one. She’s got a lot on her plate, and I know I’ve made it all worse for her.”
“Sounds like you really care about her,” Dr. Lewis comments, and I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or genuine in the moment. It could go either way.
“I do care about her,” I tell him. “I care more about her than I’ve ever cared about anyone except my son. Madeline just sent me in a spiral. She tried to use the situation to blackmail me into giving her full custody of Connor.”
“She’s never around.” He scoffs, shaking his head. “The woman is clearly batshit crazy. I’ve never heard of such idiocrasy. She’s out to ruin your life in all the ways she can. I don’t understand it.”
“Me, either. But she is getting married and moving overseas. All I can hope is that somehow, I can figure out a way for Connor to stay with me full-time.”
He nods, and for the first time, I see a flash of sympathy on his face. “I understand your predicament is a tough one. And I knowthe loss of this job might not help you, but I can’t... I can’t go against the policy. You disclosed the relationship.”
“That’s okay. Because to be honest, Dr. Lewis.” I let out a sharp breath. “I fully intend to fix the fucking mess I’ve made of her and me. If she’ll let me.”
Dr. Lewis gives me a half-smile. “Well, let me write up the paperwork for you to sign, and you can be on your way.”
31
Melody
“Well, here we go,” I tell Dorian as I pull up alongside the curb. “This is probably the last day you’ll be coming here without me.”
“I know!” He breaks into a huge grin, and it makes my heart soar. “It’s going to be so cool having you around all the time.”
“I’ll be in the elementary school, but yeah. I get what you’re saying.”
“That’s connected to the middle school.” He pushes open the car door. “And that’s close enough. I won’t have to worry about you being late to pick me up. I’ll just come and find you.”
I laugh, shaking my head at him. “I still have to go through the final interview, so don’t get too excited just yet. They could turn me down.” Not that I think they’re going to.
The entire faculty has made it pretty clear they’re more than happy to hire me for the job. It’s not exactly a dream opportunity, but it’ll help. It pays enough that I don’t have to dig into our savings.
And that’s more than I can ask for right now.
“Have a good day at school, Dor. Love you.”
“Love you,” he calls back at me as he heads toward the front doors with the other students.
I have about thirty minutes to kill until my interview, so as I pull out of the car line, I go and hunt for a parking spot.
Fran shouldn’t be in class yet, and if I sit too long on my own, I’ll start to overthink.
And miss Aiden.
I haven’t even heard from him since everything happened, which I think is a sign that he doesn’t really care about me. Maybe I was something to pass the time with.
But deep down, itfeltlike more. We had such good moments.
And it felt like he understood me.
“Good morning,” Fran sings over the phone.
“Morning.” I giggle. “How’s your day going?”
“I haven’t really started it, but I guess it’s good. Will asked me to be his girlfriend last night.”
“What? That’s amazing,” I squeal. “I’m so happy for you. Congrats. No more wondering about whether or not you’reexclusive.” The topic makes my stomach hurt, threatening to bring back the conversations I had with Aiden, but it’s not fair to Fran. She deserves for us to celebrate this win.
