Page 75 of Unforgettable

“Are we done with the aquarium for today?” I asked Zach. I think we were all ready to be out of there.

“Yeah, can we go to your house, Daddy?” Josh promptly scooped Zach up and asked the worker if we could take the towels.

She nodded and waved, probably eager to get us out of the place and off of her plate.

“You okay?” I asked Amanda as we dropped behind Josh and Zach.

She sucked in a deep breath. “Yes. After I knew he was okay, all I could see were what the headlines might have looked like:‘Woman lets young boy swim in stingray tank.’” Her voice goes deep, like she’s mocking a news anchor.

“‘Schoolteacher urges child to explore more hands-on learning with deadly animal,’” I added.

She groaned. “Me being a teacher makes it so much worse. And a science teacher at that!‘Science teacher fired after incident at the aquarium.’”

“But then there’d be ones like‘Teacher throws student into stingray tank.’”

She acted surprised at the turn, and she slapped me in the stomach with the back of her hand. I took the opportunity to take her hand in mine.

A contented smile crossed her lips as she glanced down at our intertwined hands. There was an innocence and comfortability in our touching.

“Hey,” she said. “Is he okay?”

She pointed to Josh, and the best I could do was shrug. “I think he will be. Just normal drama with Sam, but… I think it might be good if you talk to him.”

“About Sam?” she questioned quietly since we were still only a few feet behind Josh. Although he was preoccupied with Zach’s continuous questions about what would have happened had he fallen all the way in the stingray enclosure.

“Yes, but also about Zach. Just, I think it would be good for both of you.”

“Okay?” There was still a question in her voice, and the closer we got to the car, the more certain I had to be that she was going to heed my advice.

“You promise you’ll talk to him?”

She eyed me curiously but nodded. “I promise.”

TWENTY-THREE

Amanda

“Hey, I have an idea,”Reed said as we all piled out of the truck. Reed squatted down next to Zach and tightened his jacket around him. Zach’s clothes were mostly dry, and thankfully, his jacket hadn’t made it into the water since I was holding it nearly all day. “Why don’t you and I go to the park around the corner while your dad and Auntie Manda go check on something in her apartment?”

Shocked by his offer, I remembered his comment at the aquarium and my promise to discuss Zach and Sam with Josh. He meant immediately, though? I couldn’t think of a reason that the conversation would be urgent enough to warrant it happening that instant, but just in case, I wasn’t going to argue.

“Check on something? What are you—” But Josh stopped arguing when Reed widened his eyes in a look that quickly conveyed that his idea was for Josh’s benefit.

“Can I?” Zach turned, seeking Josh’s permission. All it took was a nod from him before Zach gripped Reed’s hand and tugged him along.

Reed gave me a look similar to the one he’d given Josh, and I nodded my understanding.

Once the pair was out of sight, Josh turned to me, confusion knitting his brows together. “What was that all about?”

I was hesitant to throw Reed under the bus, but he hadn’t said not to tell Josh that he thought the talk was necessary.

“Reed may have mentioned that we should talk. I think he’s worried about you.”

Josh closed the back door of his truck and crossed his arms over his chest. The rapid change in his demeanor and his sudden guarded body language clearly communicated that he wasn’t keen on the topic.

“Why don’t we go upstairs and talk? This doesn’t feel like a parking lot type of conversation.”

I turned to the building without waiting to see if he followed. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I wasn’t exactly paying close enough attention to where I was going and ended up running smack into a hard chest.

---