Page 14 of A Damaged Soul
"I mean you could... " She wiggled her eyebrows.
I just shook my head with a half laugh. "We definitely aren't at that point of our friendship." And after what I said yesterday, I don't even think Rhett and I will have a friendship.
"Maybe you're right, but I think you should call him. Not text but call or maybe even video-chat. Make him talk to you and explain yourself because from what I can tell, you like the guy."
"We're just friends," I corrected her immediately.
"Sure. For now but we all know how those stories end. Just last month, we read a friends-to-lovers story, so don't tell me it's not possible."
Molly was right. She and I shared a love of reading, and each month, we would pick a different book to read and then talk about. Last month's bookwasa friends-to-lovers story, butthose two had known each other since childhood. Something I was quick to remind Molly.
"Their friendship was different than Rhett’s and mine. We legit just met last week, and for one hour, he was my fake boyfriend."
"Another great trope if you ask me."
All I could do was laugh at Molly's antics. She made for great entertainment, that was for sure. "Don't you have a classroom to prep before the kids come in?" I did my best to try and change the subject.
My friend groaned. "I'm not ready to deal with the gremlins this week."
I chuckled because I knew Molly didn't mean that. She loved teaching even more than I did. Sometimes I felt like it was because mentally they were all on the same level.
"That's a lie, and we both know it. I'm sure you have something fun planned for science."
I could see the twinkle in Molly's eyes. "Maybe but you'll have to wait and see for yourself."
Molly taught ELA and science to my math and social studies. We shared the same students and the kids always loved to tell me about the cool projects they did in class with her.
"I can't wait."
Molly slid off the desk and made her way across my classroom. "Call him on your prep and then tell me all about it during lunch." She didn't give me the chance to answer before leaving my room.
I looked down at my desk and the “good morning” text I had sent him before I came in. It still went unanswered, and any normal person would take that as a hint that the person they were talking to didn't want anything to do with them, but I wasn't normal.
Besides, I could tell Rhett needed someone outside of his work to talk to. He just didn't realize it yet, and despite his resistance, I was going to be that person.
The first part of my morning dragged on with no end in sight. I blamed it on the fact that every few minutes I was checking my phone to see if Rhett had texted me back.
Here was a hint: He didn't.
By the time I sent the kids to music class, I felt bad about how distracted I had been. Never before did I let myself give them anything but my full attention. So the only choice was to call Rhett and force him to talk to me.
Sitting down at my desk, I took a deep breath. I thought about what I was going to say if he answered.
And yes that was a big IF. I figured my odds weren't very good considering he had yet to text me back.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I hit the video-call button and waited patiently as it rang. I had myself so utterly convinced he wasn't going to answer that I nearly fell out of my chair when Rhett's face filled the screen.
"He lives," I said before I could fully comprehend that I was staring at Rhett with a face covered in dirt.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rhett
Monday mornings were our weekly training days. Matthew and Black were insistent that to stay sharp, we needed to train as often as possible, so whenever we weren't on an assignment, we were training at one of Black's off-the-grid locations.
I was crawling through the mud when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Normally I wouldn't even consider acknowledging it, but I had a feeling I knew who it was, and I had already blown her off enough yesterday that I owed her an explanation.
"Hold up," I told Matthew who was partnered with me for this specific drill.
