Ghost Girl

Chapter 4

By the time the final bell rang, I was dying to get home and get things ready for Zak. But at the same time, I was apprehensive about seeing him. I knew he'd be furious after I told him what Travis had done; and I would have no choice but to tell him; he wouldn't take no for an answer. First though, I had to get home, so I put Zak out of my mind as I collected last minute tests and assignments that needed to be marked.

I rushed out of the classroom and I hadn't made it two feet when I heard someone calling my name. I instantly tensed, thinking Travis was back. After I heard my name a second time, I realized that it was a fellow teacher. I turned and saw Alex running up to me.

"Hey," he said, "how are you?"

I sighed. "I've been better," I admitted as I starting walking again.

He fell into step beside me and nodded as if he understood. "Understandable. Let me walk you out," Alex suggested, offering me his arm.

I took it thankfully only because I wouldn't have to walk out alone. "Thanks," I said. But after a moment something he'd said clicked. "Wait, what do you mean 'understandable'?" I asked. I had avoided the other teachers all day so there was no way my mood would have been noticeable.

"Well after what happened with that guy yesterday..." he trailed off as he opened the door for me and he had the good sense to look sheepish.

I froze. "You saw that?" My face paled. God, I was so embarrassed. "Did you tell anyone?" I asked, panicking. I'm sure that what he had seen would easily be misconstrued into something it wasn't and I didn't want to lose my job because someone thought I was behaving inappropriately.

"Hey, Skylar, calm down." His hands cupped my upper arms and squeezed gently. "I didn't tell anyone; I wouldn't do that. I swear. And I'm not going to tell anyone either." Alex dipped down so he was looking me in the eye. "What happened will stay between you and me."

I nodded woodenly as I climbed into my car. "Thanks. I've got to go." I drove away, leaving him standing on the sidewalk looking confused. He probably thought I was crazy but I just needed to get away from there, away from the situation.

I was too embarrassed to feel bad. I thought my pitiful scene was witness to no one and had gone unnoticed. The fact that someone—especially one of my coworkers—saw me at my weakest and being attacked made me sick to my stomach

I was glad it was the weekend though; I had two days to pull myself together and find a way to explain and then move on from what had happened. Hopefully after talking with Zak, I'd be able to do both of these things.

Just the thought of Zak made my heart race. Ever since I'd broken up with Travis, Zak and I had been growing closer and I had developed somewhat of a crush on him. I knew he reciprocated some of those feelings because the comments he made always led me in that direction. Zak had taken to making them jokingly when I was still with Travis, but now they held more weight. He respected that I was with someone else at the time but I knew there was still a part of him that hoped we would turn into something more than friends. But now I was single... So where exactly did that leave us?

Maybe one day he and I could be together but right now, I wasn't sure if I was ready to get into another relationship or not. Right now, I just needed him to be a friend; I hoped he understood that was why I called him and nothing more. But who was I kidding; I wanted something more with him, I always had.

I pulled into the parking lot for my townhouse and once in the house, got busy preparing for Zak. I showered and threw a load of sheets in the wash. While I was waiting for them to finish, I had supper and a much deserved glass of wine. I was kept busy washing and cleaning; my mind distracted from itself and my ugly thoughts. It was late by the time I had everything mostly done.

I was exhausted and so I curled up in front of the television with a glass of wine and got down to some marking. Just as I was dozing off—not a good sign when marking—my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. I didn't even know who it was; I never thought to check the caller ID. For all I knew, it could be Travis. The thought made me tense up but the voice on the other end of the soothed those fears.

"Hello," said an amused Zak. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, I wasn't trying to sleep; I was trying to mark so you actually made me brighten up."

"You know that sentence made no sense, right?" he laughed.

"Yeah, I'm tired. I'm sorry. Wait," I said, finally clearing my head. "Shouldn't you be on a plane right about now?"

"Not quite. I'm just on my way to the airport. I forgot to ask you two things earlier. 1) What's your address and 2) where do you hide your spare key? I don't want to get you out of bed."

"Oh um, yeah. It's #26 Millennium Townhouse on 122nd street. And as for the key it's in the hedgehog beside the doormat."

"Alright, sounds good. Listen, I feel bad for not talking with you earlier for longer," he admitted after a moment of silence.

"Hey, Zak, no it's okay. I couldn't talk for long either. So don't worry; you'll be here soon anyway."

"Yeah, I guess. I just feel bad because you were going through a rough time and I couldn't stick around long enough to help you. But unfortunately, this is going to be another short conversation. I'm just about to get my ticket, so I'll see you soon, Skylar."

"Bye," I said before hanging up and going back to my marking.