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“Bye, Ryder. Good luck.” I love you. The words were there, just as much as the feelings were. I just couldn’t say them, yet. It wasn’t the time. At least, I didn’t think it was.
“Be good, angel.” He hung up and the silence from him not saying the words stung. I just wanted to hear them. I wanted his feelings to be as real as mine were. Even if I wasn’t ready to say anything.
After hanging up with him, I got calls from both Jake and Sebastian. I told them the same thing. The gifts were amazing but they didn’t need to compete for me with gifts. I didn’t need gifts. I turned them both down for dinner and retreated into my home to find Avery as Mallory watched our yard go from golf course material to something more. By the time we went to sleep that night, all of us crashing on the couches together, we had an outdoor patio that we could cook on in our outdoor kitchen and enough trees in the front yard to start a juice company when they were older.
I held Avery’s hand as I fell asleep and decided to ignore the pressing negative feeling at the back of my mind. Things were fine. They were better than ever and I just needed to relax and enjoy life.
Things weren’t fine, though, and by the end of the next day, I ‘d know all too well how not fine they were.
40
***Fiona***
“Jay, your lines are perfect. Honestly, I’m so impressed. I’ve seen artists who have been tattooing for three decades not hold a line so steady.” I tapped the table next to Jay’s slab of faux skin. “The creativity is impressive, too. When I assigned the project, I never imagined this. Good job.”
He grinned up at me. “I told you, Ms. Carter. I’m going to be the best tattoo artist ever. You can come to me when you’re ready.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I will. Do you think you’ll offer your old art teacher a discount?”
The class laughed and another boy raised his voice. “Old? Ms. Carter, you’re the same age as my sister.”
“Yeah, you’re not old, Ms. Carter. You’re young! You are getting a little thick, though…” Brianna winced. “In a good way!”
I watched as the rest of the class told her off for calling me fat and then waved my hands around to get their attention. With a giant smile on my face and a feeling of euphoria, I told them what I’d informed HR of that morning. “I’m pregnant.”
They erupted in cheers and the classroom was so loud that I didn’t hear the chaos in the hallway at first. When I did, my heart stopped and I immediately assumed the worst. Before I could get to the door to lock it, Jay held up his phone.
“Hey! Jake Moreno and that famous chef guy are in the office! Everyone’s freaking out.” HE looked at me. “Can we go? Please!”
Before I could answer, a few students at the back ran out of the room, shouting excitedly about seeing famous people. I didn’t have a chance of controlling the chaos once the classroom door was open and my class could see the hallway full of their peers hurrying towards the front hallway. I considered staying at my desk and just pretending like nothing was happening but I knew I had to face whatever was coming my way head on if I had any chance at coming out the other side with my job.
I joined the throngs of students in the hallway and inched my way through the crowd, protecting my stomach from excited elbows as I went. The front hallway was even more crowded and it didn’t take me long to see why. I’d already known the guys were going to be there, but I hadn’t expected them to be with Sebastian, all three of them looking like rock stars. They were each carrying flowers, Ryder holding a bunch that looked more like weeds he’d picked on the side of the road, and they were each brooding at each other like big boys on the playground.
I wasn’t sure if it was their obvious angst towards each other or the fact that they didn’t even seem to realize they were causing a riot that shocked me more. I could see the PE coach trying to push the kids away closest to the guys but there wasn’t a lot of progress being made. Not until Principal Hendrix made his presence known.
“If this hallway isn’t cleared of students in the next sixty seconds, I will suspend every single one of you! If you think I’m kidding, stick around! Now go!” His voice rattled around the room and hung over us for a beat before the words registered and the kids scrambled. His eyes found mine in the newly formed spaces and they narrowed even more. “In my office, Ms. Carter. Now.”
The guys heard my name and they each turned their heads to find me. Their eyes softened when they spotted me but whatever they saw in my face changed that softness into something harder, something wary. I glared at them, so horrified by them standing there, and motioned for them to go. They needed to vanish and leave me to whatever punishment Hendrix was going to see fit to thrust upon me.
Hendrix was pacing behind his desk when I joined him and his face was blood red. I’d never seen him so angry and I knew before he even opened his mouth that he was going to fire me. It didn’t stop me from going through the different stages of grief.
“I had no part in whatever that was, Principal Hendrix. I swear to you. I had no idea they were here.” Denial quickly turned to anger. “I don’t know why they did that. I definitely never told them to come here. I could shake them. This isn’t the place for grand gestures!”
“Be quiet, Ms. Carter!” Hendrix exploded at me. “You’re fired! You have been a disruption to education for the last time. I am going to make sure that no one in the state of Texas ever hires you again as an educator. You’re a liability!”
Bargaining. “No, Principal Hendrix! Please, don’t do this! I’m pregnant. I need this job. I need to be able to support my family. The students need me. They need art. The guys will never come here again, I swear. I’ll do anything, Principal Hendrix. Just don’t fire me. Please!”
“Stop it! There’s nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise. You’re one giant liability and I won’t take anymore risk with you. You just need to leave. I’ll have Janice pack up your things and send them to you. Along with your last paycheck.”
Depression. “I… I’m sorry, Principal Hendrix. I love my job. I need it. Without it, what am I supposed to do?”
“Maybe take a few classes on professionalism, Ms. Carter.”
“My purse…”
He pushed a button on his phone. “Janice, get Ms. Carter’s purse from her room and any other personal items.”
Acceptance. I turned and walked out of his office, my head hung low. Janice walked past me as she went in the direction of my room and I felt her look, felt her studying me, but I just sat on the bench outside of the office and waited for her to come back.
