Page 133 of Forbidden Hearts
And with that, we walk away, and I hope to never see his sorry ass again.
thirty-five
PHOEBE
Asher and I walk down the hall, his hand is in mine, and I’m trembling. It could be the cold, the fact that I’m dripping wet, the nerves, the terror, the anger, or the lack of sleep, but I’m at the very edge of my breaking point.
The only thing keeping me moving forward is that I will not let Jonathan see me fall apart. I would rather die.
Last night was hell. I am not entirely sure how I didn’t have a nervous breakdown, but I’m pretty sure it was mostly because Emmeline was my voice of reason and kept me calm and planning possible scenarios for when I got here.
As we get to the stairs, I hear my name. “Phoebe? Is that you?”
I know that voice. It’s the sweet, caring, mothering voice of Professor Calloway.
Asher releases my hand, and I spin around to see her. “Hey.”
She walks over to me, looking slightly concerned. “Oh, it’s so good to see you. Are you okay?”
No. Not even a little. “I’m great, thank you. This is Asher Whitlock, my . . .”
“Boyfriend,” he finishes. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well, I’m Debbie. Phoebe, here, was my best ASL student.”
Asher places his hand on the small of my back. “My daughter is Deaf. It’s actually partly the reason Phoebe and I found each other. I’m sorry to ask this, but would you happen to have a towel or something Phoebe can dry off with?”
He’s just as soaked through as I am, if not worse, but he doesn’t ask for one for himself. He can pretend all he wants, but I heard his teeth rattle as well.
“Yes! Let me run into my office.”
She heads off, Asher leads us to a bench where we sit, and she returns with two towels. Asher immediately starts to dry me with his towel instead of himself. His blue eyes are filled with concern. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Dry yourself.”
“That rain came out of nowhere,” Debbie notes.
“It did. Thank you for the towels. It seems like I’m always in your debt.”
She shakes her head. “You’re not. So, you are back home and still working on your ASL?”
“Yes, Asher’s daughter is amazing, and I’ve spent the last few months with her. Taking her to appointments and working with the speech pathologist have been great opportunities to see the things I’ve been learning about in practice.”
She smiles brightly. “That’s wonderful. So, did you decide on which school you’re going to attend?”
It’s really the last thing I want to discuss, but at the same time, I owe her the truth. Professor Calloway has been kind, and I want to thank her and explain why I won’t be attending Texas after all the trouble she went through.
“I wish I had a delicate way to say all this, but I have to defer for a year. I’ve put in requests with both Vanderbilt and Texas,” I explain.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Why would you defer?”
“I’m pregnant, so I can’t exactly do it all.”
“Oh. Wow. Congratulations,” Professor Calloway says cautiously.
I smile because, what else can I do at this point? There is no reason for anyone who isn’t in my close circle to know that the baby is Jonathan’s, and there is no need for me to explain anything beyond my being pregnant.
“Thank you, but it means a change. I’m going to find something to do for the year, and then I plan to finish grad school.”
