“Fine.” I slammed the car door and waved cheerily. “Have a nice life!” I called after the car.
Marlene didn’t respond, but I felt satisfied all the same.
Chapter Fourteen
June
I had to admit that when I told Thomas he should leave so he wouldn’t miss his meeting, I didn’t actually expect him to go. But once he was gone and the apartment was empty again, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. My eyes were burning and my sinuses were choked with snot and saliva, but it was like a compulsion. I couldn’t stop – the tears just kept falling, no matter what I did.
By the time Angela got home, I’d almost tired myself out. She took one look at me and did a double-take, dropping her bag and rushing to my side.
“June!” She sounded dismayed and unhappy. “Girl, what the hell happened?” Angela put her hand to my forehead. “It better not have been Thomas,” she said. “I’ll kill that rich bastard.”
I sighed. “No, it wasn’t Thomas.” I sniffled and reached for a soggy tissue as I recounted the events that had happened that day at school. Like Thomas, Angela was shocked and unhappy that I hadn’t told her about the Andy-in-the-alley incident.
“June, those cops had no right to act the way they did,” she said hotly. “That’s like, a total breach of conduct!”
I shrugged. “They had a point,” I said miserably. “I did ask him out, remember?”
“But you don’t deserve to be stalked and harassed!” Angela shot back. “And those creepy drawings?” She shuddered. “What kind of asshole calls you a pedophile just because you won’t go out with him?”
“I don’t know,” I said sadly. I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chin, resting my chin on top. “I just wish this was a bad dream,” I said. “And that I’m going to wake up any time.”
Angela sighed. “Have you told Thomas?”
“I called him earlier.” I pointed towards the wad of bills on the table. “He gave me this, for now. He said if there was anything I needed to just ask. But I can’t do that – we barely know each other. We’ve only slept together once. I can’t suddenly start acting like I can depend on him.”
Angela licked her lips. “I want to help, too,” she said slowly. “But we can’t lose this apartment, June. I don’t make enough to cover your rent, too.”
“I know.” My heart sank. “I’ll just use this money and then pay Thomas back.”
“And they have to rehire you soon,” Angela said. “Look, this is probably some stupid school policy where they can’t have either of you around while they check things out. Anyone with a brain could see that this isn’t your fault!”
“Everyone at school hates me now,” I said flatly. “Those stupid drawings must have really done the trick.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “I thought teachers were supposed to be smart,” she said, climbing off the couch and stretching. She walked into the kitchen and two seconds later, I heard the pop of a wine cork.
“Bring me some,” I called loudly.
“Duh,” Angela replied.
When Angela came back into the living room, she was smiling. She handed me a glass of wine.
“To new beginnings,” Angela said.
We clinked and I took a long swallow, barely tasting the cheap wine as it drained into my stomach. Compared to the beautiful wines I’d drunk with Thomas, this tasted like gasoline. But still, I didn’t care – I appreciated the gesture from Angela, and cheap or not, I knew enough of it would make me tipsy enough not to care.
“I can’t believe I have to start looking for a new job,” I moaned, draining my glass. Angela refilled me without even asking. “It took eight months to get that teaching job! Eight months!”
“It’s the middle of the year now, maybe you can sub until the end of the semester or something,” Angela said. “There’s always temp work.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I hate temping,” I said. “But you’re right – maybe I should call about a sub job tomorrow.”
Angela nodded.
“I worked at Starbucks before P.S.151 hired me,” I complained, rolling my eyes. “And it was dreadful. Getting that teaching job felt like the best thing that had ever happened to me.”
Angela eyed me sympathetically and rubbed my back. “Not if you had to work with a creep like Andy,” she said. “No matter what happens, I’m sure things will work out for the best.” She raised her eyebrow. “Maybe Thomas could help get you a job,” she said. “I bet he knows a lot of business guys.”