Walking in the Shadows (17 page)

“Even saying that isn’
t being easy on me,
”
h
e replied
,
leaning back in the couch.

“
Here
,
”
I said as I handed his present and sat down beside him.

“Sexy
scholarly transportation
!
H
ow
will you keep your hands off my tie when I have this?”
Tad teased
,
holding the bag out in front of him and shaking it.

“I’ll be able to, but
Jaz
might
slip in a
puddle
of her own drool,
”
I retorted with a smile.

He rolled his eyes
.
“I don’t get it
…
”

“You’re a young, hot teacher, all t
he girls are dreaming about you,
”
I explained with a shrug.

“It’s awkward you know,
”
h
e replied
,
his face sullen.

“I bet it is, especially when you also
have Jennings chasing after you,
”
I sighed while I thought about her sleek blonde hair and long locks. She was the opposite of me in every way.

“Ughh…Jennings, th
at woman just won’t give up. I’
m about
to file a harassment complaint,
”
Tad placed the bag in hi
s lap and echoed my sentiment with a sig
h of his own.

“Uh, oh
,
what did she do now?”
I wondered
,
trying not to sound too nervous.

“She keeps insinuating my ex-girlfriend is nuts and so am I for holding on
for
so long.”

“And what do you think?”

“
It’s worth it in the end if we’
re on the same page,
”
Tad replied as his eyes searched
my face for an answer.

“Yeah…”
I trailed off.

“Yo
u want to watch a DVD?” Tad suggested
,
stuffing h
is papers into
his
new
bag
with no intention of grading any of them.

“Sure,
” I answered
standing, “b
ut pretty much all I have is Jane Austen movies.”

“Eh, that’s fine
, but I can’t guarantee I’
ll be able to stay awake.”

“You nev
er do,
” I teased
smiling over my shoulder as I put the DVD in. Tad
lay
d
own on the couch and smiled
up at me
.
“
Where am I
supposed
to sit?”

“No one can see us,
”
h
e replied
,
tapping the area in front of him.

“If
Jaz
could
see
this
she would be
so
jealous,
”
I commented as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my hair.

“She has a boyfriend you know,
”
Tad mumbled.

“She does?”
I asked
,
not really caring.
I could feel his breath on my neck and was trying to stop myself from turning my head and pressing my lips hard against his own.

“Yeah, she’s dating Brad,
”
h
e replied softly
,
and I wondered what he was really thinking about.

“That’s news to me…I wonder why she never told me?”
I replied, and in that moment I felt a pang of pain. I was supposed to be her best friend, and she was the only one I had.

“I think
it’s
new
.
I saw them making out at the mall a few days ago. She probably hadn’t
had time to tell you,
”
Tad reassured me with a squeeze of my waist.

“I
don’t really care,
”
I huffed
.

“Well, she’s
your only friend?”

“Not really a friend,
”
I lied.

“Why do you close yourself off from everyone?”
Tad asked
,
leaning up and looking down at me.

I pulled away from him as I sat up
and stared
at the TV.
I was
quiet
for a moment before speaking,
“It’s too risky to let people in.”

“You let me in.”

“And look where that got us
because I ha
d to lie to you about who I was,
”
I added
,
shaking my head.

“It’s not all that bad…”
h
e commented
,
rubbing my back.

“Next week we’
ll just
be student and teacher again
. You
can’t tell me this is what you though
t
our relationship would end up like
.”

“I wouldn’t turn back the clock and ignore the gorgeous girl reading Chaucer
. You make me too happy,
”
h
e responded
,
putting his head on my shoulder.

“Sometimes I wis
h we were in a Jane Austen book. I
t was so much easier back then. The only thing that could come between us would be money and status and that wouldn’t matter to me.”

“Or me,” h
e agreed
, kissing my shoulder
.
“Want to open your present?”

I
nodded my head and he handed me the package. When I opened it I found a fine embossed leather journal.

“How did you know I use
d
to write? I never told you that,
”
I asked in shock.

“I’m your English teacher
.
I can tell a good writer and one who loves it wh
en I see it,
”
h
e replied
,
moving a piece of hair out of my face.

“I haven’t written anything since my parents died—
well besides for school,
” I whispered
as I ran my hands over the blank pages.

“Why?
”

“I guess I’
m afraid what will come out…anger…sadness…
guilt…
fear,
”
I explained
,
shaking my head.

“You need som
e outlet for all those feelings,
”
Tad suggested
as he
pulled
me back into his arms.

“I’d rather keep them in.”

“
Vera
…”
h
e whispered
kissing my hair.

“Someday I’ll write again,
”
I replied
,
letting my body give into his, and for the most part Jaz was forgotten.

“You shoul
d
—
you m
ight be surprised in a good way,
”
h
e said as I turned to face him.

“Thank you for the present
;
it was very nice of you.”

“You do
n’t seem happy
?”
h
e asked as his eyes paced across my face.

“No, it’s not you. I just feel lik
e something is coming to get me
,
and
I can’t shake the feeling.”

“I won’t
let anyone
,
or anything hurt you
ever
again
,
”
h
e promised, his eyes showing
that
he really believed he could protect me from the world.
I knew better though, the world was a cruel place.

“You never called me!”
Jaz
exclaimed
,
leaning on the locker next to me
with
a pout plastered on her face.

“Sorry, I wo
rked almost every day last week,
”
I explained with a shrug.
The truth was that I was upset with her for not filling me in on her new relationship with Brad.

“You’re not fooling me
,
Vera
. I know your parents help you out. There’s
no way that you could make enough t
o afford the payments on that TDI
,
let alone the insurance!”
Jaz
divulged
with a look of understanding. “I get you’re a hard worker
,
though. I’m not saying
you’re
not, but they
’d probably
let you have some fun every once in a while!”

“You might be a bit right
Jaz
, but p
lease don’t tell anyone?” I replied
,
feeling that she did actually have my interests in mind.
In fact, she kind of sounded like Kirsten.

“So
,
why didn’
t you call me? I overheard Lily
say sh
e saw you at the mall all alone.
I would
have totally loved to come with,
”
Jaz asked
,
looking hurt.

“It was a spur of the moment thing.”

She pointed to my bulging pocket
.
“Cell phones are for spur of the moment things. I could have met you there, I mean I do have a car, not a good car like yours but it runs!”

“Sorry,
Jaz
,
next time I’ll give you a call,
”
I reassured her with a small smile.

She held up her pinky
.
“Promise?”

I couldn’
t help but laugh
.
“Yeah,” I replied
linking my finger with hers, “s
ure.”

“You do smile!” s
he commented
as
her brow furrowed
.

A commotion caught our eyes
and we both tur
ned to see Tad speaking
to a group of guys
with
his arms crossed and his face red.
He threw his hands up and yanked on his tie, and the look on the group of guy’s faces was of complete fear.

“Uh, oh. Knightley’s temper is at it again. Mike looks totally embarras
sed and Brad is coming this way,
”
Jaz
whispered
as she
nudged me
.
“I have Brad wrapped around my finger now. He asked me out before winter break and now he is practically in love with me.”

“Do you like him?”
I asked
.
I couldn’t help
myself;
I really did want to know.

“Yeah, I really do,” s
he replied
with a smile
.
“Brad, what just happened with Knightley?”

Brad kissed
Jaz
’s head before answering
.
“Mike just got his ass handed to him. Knightley overheard a conversation we were h
aving
,
and
I guess
he didn’t like it much
.
”

“And what were you talking about?”
Jaz
probed
,
her eyes narrowing at him in suspicion.

He looked at me and then looked at his feet
.
“Err…nothing.”

“It didn’t look like nothing—now tell
me word for word what happened,
”
Jaz demanded.

“
Babe, it’s kind of embarrassing,
”
Brad replied with his voice hus
hed.