Scurrying from their seats and into a jumbled line, fifteen first graders slung their backpacks over their shoulders, tripping over one another to be first to the door.
“Miss Cooper, will you be here tomorrow?”
Emily walked over to the wide-eyed girl, her dimpled smile waiting patiently for Emily’s answer. Emily knelt down in front of the child. “I sure will. Mrs. Nelson won’t be back until next week.” The little girl’s smile widened as she brushed wisps of blonde hair away from her face that’d made their way out of a tight braid. The bell chimed, and the race began. “Don’t forget to bring in your permission slips for the field trip next month.” Emily glanced down the line as each child hastily shuffled past her. A percussion of “Okays” erupted along with a rumble of chatter through the hall as they fled from the room, excitement dotting each tiny face.
On a sigh, Emily stood and made her way to her desk where she gathered papers she needed to grade. After shoving them into her canvas bag, she scooped up a novel she’d begun reading during her lunch break. Walking over to the door, she gave the cla.s.sroom one last glance and exited the room. She’d barely turned the corner when she ran smack into Laura Fitzgerald, another subst.i.tute teacher who’d started a few weeks before. Native to New York and what Emily would consider a “Club-O-Holic,” Emily was pretty sure what she was about to say.
“Just who I was looking for. We’re going out tonight.” The tall, leggy brunette smiled, her brown eyes wide with excitement. “Webster Hall’s having ladies night this evening. Wanna come? Brooke, Cary, Stephanie, Angie, and Melinda are going. I know it’s a Thursday, but hey, you only live once, right? We’ll all snooze while they’re in library tomorrow.”
Clubbing a.s.sumption correct, Emily smiled and continued making her way past the front office. “I can’t. I’m going out to dinner tonight with my boyfriend.” Emily shrugged into her coat. “Next week?”
Laura frowned, then realization crossed her features. She raised a plucked-to-perfection brow, a curious grin sliding across her lips. “The new boyfriend?”
Smiling, Emily nodded and made a show of checking her watch. Wanting to pick up something to wear for the evening, she’d planned on trekking a few blocks over to a small boutique Olivia had showed her when she’d first moved to New York. Still needing to stop at the post office to drop off a change of address, she knew she’d be pressed for time to get ready.
“Maybe swing on by after dinner?” Laura asked hopefully, keeping pace with Emily as she pushed through the front doors.
“Yeah. Maybe. I’ll text you later.” As they stepped out into the frigid, mid-December air, Emily wrapped her scarf around her neck. “I have some papers to grade. If I can get them done early enough, I’ll come out for a while.”
“s.h.i.+t,” Laura exclaimed, turning back into the building. “I forgot my keys. Sounds like a plan. We’ll be there after ten.”
Emily waved and watched Laura disappear into the school. After sliding on her gloves, she started down the stairs. The parking lot had mostly emptied, the school busses gone. A winter breeze plucked at the hem of her pencil skirt as she reached in her purse for the forms she would need to give to the post office. Her heart fluttered when she glanced at Gavin’s address. Still afraid they were possibly moving too fast, Emily soaked in the fact that when Gavin looked at her, his eyes moved over her face as though memorizing every line and curve. He’d easily led her through the maze of conflict they’d found themselves in with love and determination she’d never experienced. In difficult conversations, he’d mentally held her hand as though keeping her from falling off a cliff. He soothed her, loved her, and admired every flaw she had. But above everything, he’d never given up on her. Two magnets drawn together from the beginning, even when she’d threatened to tear them apart, Gavin was the one who kept them together. Emily simply cemented their fate when she showed up in Mexico. A trip she’d never regret.
Sighing with warmth from a future filled with the unknown, but one she was sure would bring them to where she and Gavin needed to be, Emily’s stomach fell away when she heard Dillon’s voice calling her name. Her pulse pounded, the sound of it loud in her ears. A small gasp left her lips as her eyes widened, her vision filling with darkness in the bright, late afternoon sun. She s.h.i.+vered and turned in his direction. Arms crossed, leaning against his car, he stood across the street, his eyes pinned to hers. Without a second thought, Emily pulled her phone out of her purse.
“What are you going to do, Em? Call the cops?” he yelled, his voice stinging through the air like a hive of angry bees. “I’m more than a hundred feet away from you, and I’m not on the school property.”
Emily didn’t look up, nor did she answer him. She opened her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed 911. When the dispatcher came on the line, Emily heard Dillon laugh.
“911. What’s the nature of your emergency?” the female asked.
“I need an officer at Hamilton and Stone Avenues,” Emily stammered. Her eyes snapped between Dillon and the half-empty parking lot.
Dillon shook his head, his smile maliciously bemused as he strolled across the street, both hands tucked in his pants pockets.
Unable to move, terror chained Emily to the ground as she watched him step onto the sidewalk. Panic beaded in her stomach. “I’m in the parking lot of Brody Elementary School. I have an order of protection against my ex, and he’s here.”