Page 12 of The Echo of Regret

Aware that there are at least a few students within eavesdropping distance, I keep a neutral expression on my face and my voice low.

“What, Bishop? What do you want?”

“I…” He pauses, shaking his head. “I don’t know, but not this. I mean…I thought we were friends.”

I laugh. I literally laugh, and his head jerks back in surprise.

Then I sigh, tilting my head back and looking at the ceiling before my eyes return to his, asking the gods why this problem is being returned to my plate. Haven’t I dealt with enough?

“Look, I’m sorry I don’t have it in me to be the girl who can be friendly with her ex,” I tell him, my voice tight. “But I don’t. I don’t have it in me, and I don’t want to have it in me. You dumped me, and in my book, that means I have no obligation to make nice, okay? So, no, Bishop, we are not friends. Unless you have something important to say to me, I just want to walk to my car and go home.”

He blinks a few times then steps to the side. That’s another thing that’s so infuriating about Bishop—he fucking listens.

I walk past him and down the long hallway, the sound of my heart thumping loudly in my ears as I stride down the corridor until I push back out into the cool air.

Not once do I look back at him.

No matter how much I want to.

Nicole: I heard Bishop is working at CPHS

Groaning, I drop my phone back into my basket and continue browsing the shelves at One Stop Shop, Cedar Point’s grocery store, not wanting to talk about it, not even with my closest friend. Knowing Nicole, she’ll want to share everything she’s heard—what he was doing on campus, who he was with, etc.—and I’m just not up for it, to be honest.

Instead, I refocus my attention on picking up the groceries we need. I’m getting the actual items from our grocery list, not like my blind shopping trip earlier this week, but even that gets shot to shit when I’m checking out.

“Hey, Gabriela. How’s Leah doing?” Maryanne asks as she swipes my items through the check stand.

“Pretty good, thanks.”

She nods. “I heard Bam’s helping coach the team at the high school,” she continues. “You’re teaching there too, now, right?”

Gritting my teeth, I nod. “Yep.”

“What are the odds of you two working there together, huh?” She chuckles. “Such a small world.”

I just give her a tight smile, thinking it feels a little too small for my liking.

Maryanne continues to make small talk, but I barely hear it, mostly just nodding and then practically ripping my receipt from her hand as I bolt out the door. Then as I’m unloading the bags back at the house, my phone rings. When I see Nicole’s name on the screen again, I know she’s not going to give up until I answer.

After tapping the green button, I put it on speaker.

“Hey.”

“Did you see my text?”

“I did.”

“And you didn’t call me immediately?”

“No.”

“Why not? This is big news. I thought you’d want to know considering the fact that you also work there.”

I snort, rising up on my tiptoes to shove a bag of flour onto one of the higher shelves in the pantry.

“I already knew.”

There’s silence for a second, and then I hear Nicole’s voice again.

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