TIFFIN 3

19

I felt out of place as I sat in my chair.

Eli's words had sunk deep and I couldn't seem to shake them off. What he said had been true and it made me feel sour. 

Did he think I was some prissy rich bitch now?

Oh who cared what he thought. He was only an acquaintance. 

Or was he? 

Eli had always been... a magnetic soul. No matter how anyone treated him, he always made sure they left with a positive compliment weighing on their minds.

He was a firm believer in letting grudges go. The complete opposite from my husband. 

He'd protected me from my bullies to the best of his ability. He was fairly known around campus and kids respected him enough to ease up. 

I'd never actually thanked him, but always had the nerve to proceed on my merry way.

How selfish I had been. 

Pulling out of my reverie, I heard a notification ding on the computer. Moving the mouse, I saw the email icon. Much to my confusion I had a new contact. 

It read: 

From: TRedd78@gmail.com

Think fast. 

What? 

pondering on the username, I couldn't think of anyone with the name Redd.

Like the idiot that I was, the prospect of it being Hero swam through my mind. 

With shaking fingers, I typed:

Hero is that you?

I must have sat in my chair for twenty minutes waiting for a response though nothing was sent. I buried my face in my hands feeling the pain seep through me once more.

Of course it wasn't him. He left me like a discarded piece of trash. 

It was over. 

Right on time, Evelyn opened my office door, pausing mid- step when she caught me crying. 

"Mrs. Tiffin... are you okay?"

Looking up through my lashes I wanted to scream at her that I really wasn't fucking okay because I'd been dumped, but all that came out of my mouth was: 

"Yes, I am."

Then, like nothing happened, she proceeded reading me the protocol.