“You’re walking funny.”
“Yeah, why don’t you tell us, Miss Juliette?”
Cathryn stood in the doorway, arms crossed, smirking.
I ignored her and turned to Cassie.
“Just some stiff muscles from exercising,” I said with a smile.
“Don’t mind me,” Cathryn added. “I’m just here to borrow some chalk.”
She knew about Kade, but not the baby.
Yet somehow, it didn’t seem so bad now.
This child was wanted. Loved.
I almost placed a hand on my stomach.
It was just as well I hadn’t—Cathryn was still watching me as she walked out with a pack of chalk.
The sheriff and the teacher.
We were already the talk of the town, and that gossip didn’t need any more fuel.
?? ?? ??
After a well-deserved nap, I packed for my sleepover at Kade’s. I was excited to see what his home looked like—and secretly hoped to see his handcuffs again. He was coming straight from work, in uniform.
I grabbed my phone charger and stuffed it into the side pocket of my case.
My phone rang.
Mom.
It persisted.
I answered, already bracing myself for impact.
“You run out of the house, surprising us, and you don’t even follow up with one single phone call, Juliette. Is this how I raised you? After everything we’ve done for you. You’re the most selfish—”
All the old feelings of inadequacy, shame, and guilt hit me at once. I hung up before the rest of her vitriol could spill through the line.
I tried to breathe. Slow. Deep. But my chest heaved anyway as the tears came—hot, fast, and endless. They’d made me wish I’d never been born more times than I could count.
I wiped at my face, trying to quiet the sobs. It was grief, anger, and a million other emotions that I couldn’t name. I could never treat my students like this—let alone my own child.
The phone rang again.
I silenced it, tossed it onto the bed, and went to the kitchen for paper towels to clean my face.
I was still blowing my nose when the buzzer went off.
My eyes closed.
I didn’t want Kade to see me like this—weak.
Then he pressed his finger to the buzzer and held it down continuously.
