Walking in the Shadows (36 page)

“So everyone knows I’
m Abbi Martin?”

“Goi
ng back to school might be tough
,
” Tad observed with a deep breath
.

“There
’
ll be a lot of people with a lot of
questions
,
and
the media frenzy is ridiculous. It should calm after the
tr
i
a
l, which you will have to
testify in,
” Todd
added
,
not
ask
ing
if I was willing to put myself under the microscope. I assumed I had no choice.

“Great,” I whispered
,
closing my eyes again.

“It won’t be too bad. She has
no way out of this one and Lily
is being tried as an adult
,
”
Todd reassured me
,
and I opened my eyes to see him with a calm smile.

“I
t’s still going to suck,” I reiterated
.

“I’ll be there too,
” Tad added
.

“I hate that I dragged my teacher
into this,
”
I commented as I watched
the detective carefully.

“You would be dead if I wasn’t involved
,
” Tad explained
.
“Any teacher with my knowledge would have done the same thing.”

“Okay, so now what?” I asked
,
trying not to smile at Tad’s sarcasm.

I was getting used to being traded off between visitors, and I was surprised that three days after waking up I still hadn’t see Jaz. I wondered if it was her knowledge of Tad and I that kept her away. That thought suddenly tossed me out of my sleep in panic—would she tell?
When I opened my eyes I
was surprised to
find
Jaz
sitting by my side
. She had her hand over
mine and she squeezed it
when she saw
my eyes
were
open.
The girl had impeccable timing and despite my dream I still
leaned up and wrapped my arms around her.

“It’s nice to see you,
” I whispered into her hair.

“It
’s nice
to see you too,” s
he replied
with a sniffle.

I pulled away
.
“I’m okay
;
why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry I don’t
mean to—I’
m just so happy you’
re okay
…
a
nd I’
m glad you want to see me,
”
s
he said
,
looking down at her hands and picking at her fake nails.

“Why wouldn’t I
? You’re my best friend!” I asked, shaking my head at her.

“You’
ve
never actually said that before,
”
Jaz
replied with a slight smile.

“Well, you are.”

And I meant it.

“Mr. Knightley saved you?”
Jaz
probed as a full smile came over her face.

“Yes.”

Jaz reiterated to me that the news was saying what Todd had explained to me earlier in the week. Her eyes went wide as she said, “
I wouldn’t have tho
ught Knightley would have a gun
.
”

I could tell she wanted to know the truth of what had happened.

“Jennings tried to kill me with
my
gun
. Did you think I
’
d have a gun
?”
I asked.

“I
’
d have tho
ught
so
if I had known the whole story
. I guess it makes sense
that
he had a gun because
he knew he would have
to protect you sooner or later,
”
Jaz observed.

“It s
eems it
somehow turned into a Romeo and Juliet story anyways
,
didn’t it? Even tho
ugh you warned me to be careful,
”
I commented with a laugh.

“No, I think it’s better than Romeo and Juliet
because neither of you are dead even
though you both
would have died for each other
.
”
Jaz
put
her head in her hand as if to swoon.

“So
,
you never suspected?”

“No, not really
,
but everything came together when you
almost tackled that policem
e
n,
”
s
he replied
,
and her eyes widened in mock shock.

“I wasn’
t going to tackle him,
”
I retorted as I crossed my arms.
I was going to maul him.

“You were about to do something stupid…it
’
s bett
er this way—no one knows but me
.
”
S
he looked
proud to hold such a secret, and my worry washed away as I took in her thrilled face.

“Indeed.
”

“So…how long have you known Knightley?”
Jaz asked
,
leaning forward.

“Since two or three month
s before school started,
” I explained
.
“I didn’t realize he was going to be one of my teachers though.”

“That first day in class when he looked so angry—he was angry at you!”
Jaz
realized
.
“
And
that poem was about him
,
wasn’t it?”

“
Yes and
yes. It was the hardest school year ever
, is the hardest school year ever
,
”
I
said
,
leaning back and looking at the ceiling as I remembered it wasn’t over yet.

“How did you bare it?
Me saying all those
things about your boyfriend! I’
m so embarrassed!”
she
gushed as her face turned apple
-
red.

“Eh, I knew they were true and at ti
mes you were thoroughly amusing,
”
I responded
,
looking at her squirm with a smile.

“Thanks…goodness…the reading to me in bed comment! Ahh!”
S
he threw her hands up and smacked her forehead.

“That one was great.
I loved it!”

“Does he read to you in bed?”
Jaz
asked
,
a twinkle in her eye.

I smacked her arm
.
“That’s for me to know and you to never find out!”

“Speaking of the devil!”
Jaz
exclaimed
.
“Hi, Mr. Knightley.”

“Hi,
Jaz
…uh,
how are you?”

“Good, just visiting with
Vera
—I mean Abbi…what should we
call you
?”
s
he said
,
and Tad moved uneasily on the heels of his feet.

“Abbi is fine…I’ll probably
respond to
both for a while,
”
I replied as the awkward tension built in the air.

“Anyways, I’ll l
eave you two alone,
”
Jaz
remarked
as she gave
me a quick hug
.
“I’ll text you later
.
”

“The police confiscated my pho
ne for evidence,
” I explained with a sigh
.

“I’m sure she’
ll have a new number soon t
hat she can give you,
” Tad interjected
,
nodding over his shoulder.

“I’m sure she will. Nice to see you Mr. Knightley, will you be teaching tomorrow?”
Jaz asked
,
standing.

“Of
course, see you then,
” Tad replied
,
and
Jaz
left smirking over her shoulder.

“Does she know?”
Tad asked as he watched her back fade down the hall.

“She kind of figured it out.
I apparently almost tackled the police
men
trying to arrest you. She said something like ‘your story doesn’t have to be Romeo and Juliet’
s
’
,
”
I explained with a roll of my shoulders.

He sat down and leaned back in the chair before s
aying
,
“She won’t tell
,
will she?”

“Of course not…she’s just really embarrassed about some of the things she sa
id about you to me,
”
I reassured him as I reached over and took his hand.

“Ha, they were embarrassing without
them being about your boyfriend,
”
h
e commented
,
leaning over and kissing me
.
“I
’ve
missed you.”

“Did the doctor say when they’
re goin
g to let me out of here?” I asked
, anxious to be able to be really alone with him.

“Two more days—
when
a person flat lines it
usually warrant
s
some monitoring,
” Tad remarked
reaching in his
pocket and handing me
a
package
.
“Here’s your new phone.”

“An
iPhone
?” I asked
,
taking it out of his hand
.
“The plans for these are expensive.”

“I get a discount on my plan as a part
of my teaching perks,
” Tad explained
.

“
Y
ou a
dded me to your plan?
Thank you.”

“Of course,
there’s
no point in k
eeping your own plan anyways.
They
fixed up your apartment like new for when you get out of
here,
”
Tad explained as he carefully watched my face.

“My
apartment?”
I sputtered in response.

“What’s wrong? You
’
r
e
pa
le, Abbi—are you okay?” Tad asked
as he leaned forward
,
putting his hand on my cheek.

“I can’t go back in there
—
never again. I don’t want to…please don’t m
ake me go back there ever again,
”
I gasped
.
The
thought of when I last walked through that door haunted
me
,
and
all I wanted to do was forget it. It was bad enough I would have to relive it once more to send Jennings to jail, but to go back into
the apartment again—I couldn’t.

“I wo
uld love you to move in with me,” Tad suggested.

“But that’s not plausible right now. I’ll talk to
Kirsten
when she comes in later tonight. I’m sure they won’t mind me living there until I find a new place o
r I graduate,
”
I responded with a sigh.

“Are you sure? I know how much you like living on your own.”

“Well,” I began
pulling on his tie
.
“I’m sure I’ll still be spending plenty of time at your place once the media leaves me alone.”

“Yeah, abou
t the media…I’m sure
th
ey’
re going to be waiting rig
ht outside the main entrance when you leave
,
”
Tad explained
,
and his jaw clenched with the thought.