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32
Hollis stood back as Lexi brushed past her on her way out. She wandered into the living room to find Kate sitting on the couch with a tumbler in her hand.
“Hi,” Hollis said, swallowing. It was obvious something was wrong. She’d never seen Kate drink hard liquor, and as Hollis got closer, she could tell that Kate had been crying, her eyes red. “What’s happened?” she asked, leaving her bag on the arm chair and coming around to sit beside her, taking her free hand in hers.
Kate took a swig, finishing what was left in her glass. She leaned forward to put it on the coffee table, and a tear trickled down cheek. She reached up to wipe it away with the back of her hand. “I think we should take a break,” Kate said, avoiding her gaze, her voice rough.
“What?” Hollis dipped her head, desperate for Kate to look at her. “Did something happen?”
Kate shook her head, but Hollis remembered something. Dave had left the kitchen after Kate had, saying he was going to get his suitcase out of the car. He couldn’t have known what Kate was to her. Nothing had been out of place. They hadn’t been sitting too closely together.
“We just should,” Kate said with a sigh, taking Hollis away from her thoughts.
Hollis lifted her hand to Kate’s cheek. “Kate, talk to me. Please.”
Kate closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly, and Hollis’s hand fell away.
“Everything was fine this morning,” Hollis said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm the racing thoughts in her head. “Did he say something to you? After you left? I’ll kill him.”
“I don’t want to complicate your life any further than I already have,” Kate said in a rush, pushing herself off the couch.
Hollis was up in a second, grabbing her hand, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. “Kate, I need you to talk to me,” she said, her voice wavering. “Whatever’s happened, we can fix it. You just have to tell me.”
“We can’t.” Kate’s hand slid out of Hollis’s as she shook her head. “It’s…” She took a breath. “He’s my professor.” She pressed her lips together. “And he said that if I didn’t stay away from you, I wasn’t going to graduate. I need to pass his class, and obviously, that’s not likely at the moment.”
“That fucking asshole.” Hollis ran her hand through her hair as Kate started to pace. “I’m so sorry, Kate. But we can fix this.”
“No, we can’t. I’ve put off my education before, and I can’t do it again.”
“Hey,” Hollis said, putting her hand on Kate’s hip to slow her steps. “Look at me. I’m going to fix this,” Hollis said when Kate had turned to face her. “Do you trust me?”
Kate held her gaze. “Yes.”
“Then let me sort this out.”
“You should go.”
“I was just out for dinner with Jen. And that’s where I still am if he asks,” Hollis said, lifting her hands to Kate’s cheeks. “We are not ending this, because he wants us to. Not after all the shit he’s been up to.” She wrapped her arms around Kate, holding her, hating that Kate had even been put in this position.
A plan was already forming in her mind. There was no way that she was going to stop seeing Kate for Dave’s benefit. Not a chance in hell.
33
Kate found a seat in the last row of the lecture hall, more than ready to get this semester started. She dreaded being back here, in Professor Clarke’s class, but the sooner she graduated, the sooner she could see Hollis.
The last two weeks had dragged by, and while they’d exchanged a few texts, they hadn’t seen each other. Hollis kept telling her to trust her, and that’s all Kate could do, even if she didn’t think there was any other way out of this besides waiting. Even if Hollis told her tomorrow that she was officially divorced, there was no guarantee that Professor Clarke still wouldn’t fail her.
The last few students found a seat and settled in for the lecture. A few moments later, the side door opened, but it was a red-haired woman who opened her laptop and plugged it in before dimming the lights. Kate pulled up her schedule on her phone. Had they changed the rooms again? She scrolled down to her class. No, this was it.
She looked up to see the slides illuminating the room, and the woman adjusted the microphone before she spoke. “Hello everyone. My name is Professor Fagan. I’ll be taking over this course in place of Professor Clarke.” A hum of whispered conversations spread throughout the room. “Please,” she said, waiting for the noise to die down, “Stop by my office if you have any questions or concerns. But for now, let’s get started.”
Kate tuned out what her new professor was saying, her mind jumping to a conclusion that she really wanted to be true. Less than five minutes later, she gathered her things and slipped out the door, her phone already in her hand.
She called Hollis who answered on the second ring. “Hi,” Hollis said. Her voice always managed to lift Kate’s mood.
“Hey, are you free to talk?”
“Hm. I’m between meetings.”
