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He was right. It was probably best to lay low. But as I crawled into my empty bed, all I felt was alone.
*
I woke to sunlight streaming in my window. My back and neck ached like I had slept on a pile of rocks. I massaged my neck and rolled over to get my phone.
“Crap!” I said when I saw the time. I had slept in. I must have forgotten to set an alarm last night.
Spring classes at Utah didn’t begin for another week, but I had a lot of preparations to make. Course schedules to plan, lecture notes to outline. Not to mention I was technically supposed to be holding office hours in the week leading up to classes, in case students wanted to meet with me to discuss anything.
I showered, dressed, and tied my hair up in a ponytail. I was out the door in under ten minutes. And, to my immense relief, there weren’t a gaggle of reporters waiting by my car.
It felt weird to drive to the university while all of this drama was going on. Like playing checkers during the Super Bowl. Now that I had slept on it, I considered my position with fresh eyes. Isabella was going to punish me for this. She would probably kick me off the cheer team outright. I think part of me had accepted that possibility a long time ago.
Once I got that out of the way, I began to smile. Brody and I were in a public relationship. Once the paparazzi got bored of us—and they would, eventually—we could do whatever we wanted. Go out to eat together, go to team events.
We could be ourselves. And that was an exciting prospect.
Halfway to work, my mom called. I considered ignoring it and dealing with her later, but then I decided to rip the BandAid off.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she demanded. “If the reports are true and this has been going on for a while… You could have told us at Christmas. Why keep it a secret?”
“I considered it, Mom. I really did. But then Dad started insulting Brody, calling him a cocky Texas boy…”
“Don’t blame your father for this,” she replied. “You were being untruthful before that. You lied to us. You claimed you were seeing some warehouse worker.”
“Technically, I didn’t lie,” I said. “I said I was dating someone who worked in the receiving department at a big company. Which is a hundred percent true.”
“Are you happy with yourself?” she said, acid dripping from every word. “Tricking your poor mother with a technicality? Is that what they teach you in school these days?”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Mom. I should have come right out and told you the truth.”
There was a long sigh on the line. “Does he at least make you happy?”
I smiled even though she couldn’t see me. “He does, Mom. He makes me incredibly happy.”
“Then we will support whatever you do. We have always been supportive, haven’t we?”
“You have. And I’m so lucky…”
I trailed off as I pulled into the faculty parking lot. The main entrance to the Department of Geology and Geophysics was surrounded by news vans, reporters, and camera crews.
Guess they figured out where I work.
“Mom I’m going to have to call you back.”
I pulled into my normal parking spot and waited. The urge to drive back home was strong. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. But I was supposed to be in my office, and I was already late…
I put my jacket hood up to conceal my hair, grabbed my bag—the bag Brody had given me for Christmas—and slipped out of the car. There was another entrance to the Department of Geology and Geophysics building around the side. If I kept walking that way and never looked over…
“There she is!” someone shouted. “That’s her!”
I was wearing heels, which kept me from taking off at a dead sprint. A dozen reporters and camera crews intercepted me before I made it to the building. I was bombarded with questions, but I kept my hood up and my head down until I was at the side entrance. I scanned my University ID, opened the door, and made sure to close it behind me so nobody could follow.
When I reached my department on the third floor, I found all of my colleagues pressed against the outer windows, watching the chaos outside.
“Professor Fox,” said Lamar McHolmes. “It appears that you have become quite famous.”
