looks exactly the same, down to her glower. Hadley turns in her seat, confusion transforming to shock.
I glance at Mr. Beauman, who is indicating for me to take a seat.
I do. Didn’t he tell her I was coming? She’s still staring at me as if I’m a ghost. I suppose I am after leaving two years ago. As many times as I wanted to call her, I just didn’t. I couldn’t. Not after sending Dad away. We can never go back to that place.
“Now that Will’s arrived,” Mr. Beauman says, “I can announce the last pairing. Hadley Beauman and Will Carson will have the twelve to fourteen year old group.” He pushes on and Hadley finally turns in her seat. A held breath seeps through my teeth. “The schedules are up here.” Mr. Beauman points to a small table next to him. “Enjoy your lunch and please spend the next hour getting to know your co-workers. I’ll be back soon to get started.”
The room bursts into movement and excited voices. Most move towards the big sub on the table at the far end of the room. Mr. Beauman comes to my side and I stand, shaking his hand. “Sir.”
“It’s so good to see you again, Will.” He hands a stack of papers to me with a pen. “Application and waiver. You can fill these out now and bring them to me.”
“Will do.”
He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for doing this. You’re a lifesaver.”
I nod.
Mr. Beauman pats my shoulder one more time before leaving the room. I’m barely in my chair before a flurry of blonde hair catches my eye. Between Hadley’s face and her sprinting from the room I know Mr. Beauman didn’t tell her I was coming. Shit.
A plate topped with two pieces of the sub appears close to my face. I look up at a blonde girl. She delicately sits in the chair next to mine, her legs tuck under the chair. She smiles, showing her bright white teeth. “I’m Skye,” she says.
I take the plate from her. “Thanks. I’m Will.”
She opens her hand to me and I shake it. She winces. I loosen my grip.
“Is this your first year?” she asks, combing fingers through her hair.
My stomach growls. I haven’t eaten since the night before. “I worked here for three years before I left.” I bite into the food.
“Where did you go?” Her green eyes widen.
“Texas,” I say, taking another bite.
She giggles. “That’s where you got your accent, huh?”
I smile politely.
“So adorable,” she adds.
I finish most of the sub, dropping a sliver of bread onto the plate. “I need to fill this out. I’ll see you later okay? And thanks again for the food.”
A flash of disappointment etches her face but she recovers quickly. She picks up her plate and stands, walking down the aisle toward the others. I put the plate on the chair next to me and lean over the paperwork, scribbling down my name, address, and other identifying information. I’m on the waiver page when a pair of familiar tennis shoes appear in my periphery. The same ones I threw in the park duck pond four years ago.
“Hello William,” Lily says slowly. She knows very well that’s not my name. Mom never wanted me to be a junior and she hated nicknames, so in homage to my father she just named me Will.
I glance at her. “Take a seat.”
Her arms are crossed over her chest and her top lip is curled slightly. “No thanks,” she says.
“Okay,” I say. I sign the bottom of the waiver and stand up.
“Mind telling me what you’re doing here?”
I smirk. “Working.” We fall into step with each other even after two years. Lily and I were never as close as we were with Hadley, but we tolerate each other.
She presses her lips together. “Isn’t your house for sale?”
“I’m fixing up the house. And when it sells, I’m going back.”
“Good,” she says. Her eyes flick to Hadley and Carter, still in the corner of the room. “It would be best for you to do whatever you need to do here and then leave.”
I lift the papers between us. “I’m going to turn these in.” I don’t wait for a response.
I enter the hallway, making a point to relax my shoulders. Lily still knows how to push my buttons. I make my way to Mr. Beauman’s office and just before I knock, I hear Hadley’s voice. It’s wrong but I lean closer to the door, listening.
“A little warning would have been nice, Dad.”
Mr. Beauman says something, but I can’t make it out.
“Well,” Hadley continues, “don’t expect him to stick around longer than he chooses.”
Her form nears the door and I don’t have a chance to move just as the door flings open.
A version of the sixteen year old girl I left two years ago stands in front of me. I was right, her braces are gone.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hi,” she says with a shake of her head.
We stand frozen in place for a few seconds before Mr. Beauman speaks. “You all set?”
Hadley jolts and steps aside.
I brush past her. Her scent follows me. Strawberries. I place the application and waiver down on Mr. Beauman’s desk.
“Great,” he says. “I’ll see you in a few.”
I turn to the door and she’s still there, her lips parted. I open my hand, signaling for her to go down the hallway first. I struggle to keep my eyes on hers, fighting the urge to move across every inch of her body. She turns and scurries down the hall in front of me, granting my wish. She’s grown into her curves since I saw her last. Her long legs carry her quickly.
She stops at the double doors leading to the front part of the office and turns around. “Did you hear—I didn’t mean—”
“I heard you,” I say, watching her face crumble. “But you’re right. I need to get back.”
“To Texas?”
My teeth grind together. Aunt Mabel did give Mr. Beauman a version of the truth, but I can't help but wonder what Hadley knows. “Yes.”
She nibbles on her lower lip. She nods twice before freeing her lip. My gaze drops to her mouth. She leans against the door and opens it. I hold it for her, my arm grazing her shoulder.
She offers a polite smile. “Then I guess we should make the best of it while you’re here.”
I lean closer. “Sounds good to me.”
