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31
Elizabeth
The loud laughter and chattering at the table pulls my attention away from my phone. I’ve been checking it repeatedly all morning, hoping to see a call or text from Brenden. He didn’t call during his normal time last night. I tried to ignore the gnawing worry in my gut at first, but eventually gave in and called him. My call wasn’t answered or returned.
“What are we giggling about?” I ask the woman beside me. I only know her as Casey’s mom, but I feign interest as I force a smile on.
Volunteering for the PTO at Maddison’s school was the last thing I felt like doing today. I forgot how painful these things can be, but I’m trying to make the best of it.
“The new school counselor just walked by. That man is so fine it’s criminal.”
My stomach twists with guilt. Maddison has never talked to me about her visits with the counselor. I don’t know anything about him or what they talk about.
“I didn’t even know there was a new counselor,” I admit.
The woman narrows her eyes, her mouth thinning with judgment. I’ve never fit in with these women, and they’ve never been shy about making that obvious. But things got a lot worse after Xander died, and I stopped showing up.
“He’s been coming here for some time now. The other counselor went on leave and isn’t expected back until next year. I’m hoping she decides not to come back, though. He’s much easier on the eyes.”
I have zero interest in checking this guy out, but it might be a good time to meet the person who’s been talking to my daughter. I’ve been meaning to reach out for some time now to check on Maddison’s progress. She seems to be doing well, but I walked around with blinders on for so long, it’d be nice to hear a professional’s opinion.
“Where might I find the counselor's office?”
“Why?” Casey’s mom drawls, her eyes scanning over me with disgust.
“Oh, I was hoping to see this guy for myself,” I lie.
It’s better for her to think I’m going to hit on the counselor than know I’m going to talk to him about my daughter. This town doesn’t need more of a reason to gossip about my family.
The woman’s red glossy lips frown as she uses her well-manicured hand to point toward the office. “Third door on the right.”
“Great, thanks.” I stand up and make a quick exit, my hurried footsteps echoing through the nearly empty lunchroom.
As I make my way toward the office, my stomach tightens from the ball of nerves growing inside me.
I’m on my way to talk to a complete stranger about my daughter—a person who possibly knows things about her I don’t. A person who probably knows things about me they shouldn’t.
I pull my cardigan tighter around me as my blood chills with worry, my eyes focused on the ground. My body slams into something hard, bringing me to an abrupt stop. The impact leaves me dazed, and it takes me a stunned moment to realize the barrier I ran into was actually a person.
I look up to apologize to the human wall and my breath catches. “Brenden?” He looks impossibly sexy in the dark-rimmed glasses he’s wearing, briefly distracting me from my thoughts. “What are you doing here?”
My heart sinks as he sighs, his lips curving into a frown and eyebrows drawing together. This is not the kind of greeting I’m used to getting from him, and with the absence of his call, I’d already been feeling like something was off.
“I work here.” His tone is flat, his jaw clenched and posture tense.
An alarm sounds in my mind. He works at Maddison’s school and didn’t tell me. Every time I asked about his job, he went out of his way to avoid the subject.
“Well, I was looking for the school counselor. Do you know where I can find him?”
He closes his eyes, his nostrils flaring with his deep breath as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Brenden?”
“This way.” He motions for me to follow him then turns and walks away.
Brenden
My head throbs as we make our way down the short hallway to my office. I had way too much to drink last night, wanting to hide from this inevitable conversation with Lizzy. Now I’m being forced into it unprepared.
