Page 31 of When You Left Me Speechless

I wipe my eyes again and can’t help but laugh a little. My body feels noticeably calmer. “Thank you. That was all really nice of you to say.”

He smiles, “Anytime. I got your back. Do I need to go get Beth?”

“No, I’ll be okay, just going to take a few more minutes and then I’ll be right behind you.”

He gets up and knocks on the door frame before disappearing into the hallway outside the room. I almost stop him and ask about the copy room earlier today if he felt it too, but I know we can’t complicate things.

I stand and try to shake it off.

Poppy: The meeting went awful.

Lacey: Oh no, really? What happened?

Poppy: The mom flipped out and called me stupid and then stormed out. I had a fucking panic attack. >

Lacey: Nooooo. I’m sorry, babe! Do I need to come get you? Are you okay?

Poppy: No, I’m okay, now. Logan helped me through it.

Lacey: Logan?

Poppy: Yeah, he was there when it started. Helped me get my breathing slowed down and then said a bunch of nice shit.

Lacey: Is that so? And???

Poppy: And nothing Lace. It was nothing. Just a coworker helping another coworker.

CHAPTER 20: JUST YOU AND ME, RIGHT?

LOGAN

The final bell rings for the day and I’m beat. Spring break officially begins tomorrow and the kids were on a whole different level today.

I check my watch and begin to pack up my things. If I hurry, maybe I can catch Poppy before she leaves for the day. I want to check on her and make sure she is okay after that awful meeting earlier. Fuck, I hated seeing her like that this afternoon.I wanted to take her into my arms and erase all of the things Mrs. Wilson said. I wanted to kiss away all the bad feelings she was having, but I knew I couldn’t. I begin to head out the door when my phone pings, stopping me in my tracks.

Dad: Logan, are we still on for dinner on Monday?

Logan: Yes, sir. It’s just you and me, right?

Three dots appear on the screen and then disappear, instantly putting me in a shit mood. He would avoid the question.Jackass.

I shut my classroom door and sift throughmy pocket to find my keys to lock it. I hear footsteps behind me and already know who they belong to before I turn around and see her.

“Hey, you heading out?” she asks.

“Oh, hey.” I grab my keys and insert them into my classroom door.Friends, I remind myself.We decided to be friends.I can have a conversation with her and be normal. “Yeah, just locking up and was about to try to find you. You feeling better?”

“Much better. Thanks again for helping me.” Her cheeks turn a pale shade of pink. “Sorry you had to see me like that. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad I was there.”

A small smile breaks across her face. “Me too.” Her voice is so low that I question if she said what I think I heard.

We walk side by side both headed to the front doors of the school. I check my phone and there is no response from my dad. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Communication was never his strength.

“For someone about to have a week off for spring break, you look so grumpy,” she laughs.

“Yeah, well, I was just reminded I have dinner with my narcissistic ass of a father on Monday, so my spring break just got a little worse.” The words are sharper than I intended, like I’m annoyed by her question. I shove the phone back into my pocket. She stares at me, blinking. Both of us pause for a split second before we continue to walk in complete silence. I can’t believe I let that slip. She was expecting me to tell her I was tired or I was excited,some normal fucking response, and instead, I dumped my childhood trauma on her and sounded like a complete dick.

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