Escaping Love (Rewrite) [Book #1]

Chapter 44

|| JACKIE ||

|| Tuesday, March 3rd ||

I'm staring at the ceiling, awake before my alarm. Charlotte was able to fall asleep after some back rubs. She's still sleeping, and my hand rubbed her back again as I can hear her calm breaths.

I felt her move, and I took my eyes off the ceiling and turned them towards her.

Her eyes are open, and her arms are only gripping me tighter.

"Morning, how do you feel?" I asked.

"Okay?" She questioned.

"Do you think you can go to work today?"

"I don't know. I feel like if I go, I'm just going to wait for it to happen," Charlotte said. "But, I should go, right?"

"I'm sure Principal Simpson and your coworkers will understand if you didn't," I said. "I can email him."

Charlotte shook her head, "I'll go in. I'll be fine."

"Okay. But, please promise to tell me, or Carmen, or Vicky, or Jack, or..."

"Jay," I heard. I looked down at her, and there were a few tears in her eyes, and I hugged her tightly. "I promise." I kissed her head, and we lay there in silence until the alarm rang.

Charlotte decided she needed a shower, and I finished brushing my teeth before she got out. When she came to the kitchen, I placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.

"Thank you."

I finished cleaning the pan and saw that she was staring at the food. "Are you not hungry?"

"No. Not much."

"You should eat something."

"I feel like if I were to taste anything, I'd be sick," she cringed, slowly pushing the plate away from her. "I'll just hydrate myself," she said, grabbing a glass and filling it with ice and water. "You know what... I'm going to head to work early."

"Baby, it's only 7:00 AM," I said.

"I'll be fine. I have a key to the side door," Charlotte said, grabbing her purse from the counter and sliding her phone into her pocket. "I'll see you later."

Charlotte kissed my lips and exited the apartment, leaving me sitting here at the kitchen table to worry for the next half-an-hour.

~~~<>~~~<>~~~<>~~~

When the bell rang for my fourth period, Linda walked with me to our English class.

"Hey. How do you think you did on the exam?" She asked.

"It was okay. It wasn't the best... But enough to not drop my grade. I hope. How about you?"

"All right. Like you said, enough to manage my grade. It was a difficult section."

"No matter what I do, I struggle to comprehend this class either way," I sighed, and we entered the classroom.

"Morning, ladies. How are you two doing?" Ms. Campbell asked.

"All right. How about you, Ms. Campbell?" I asked.

"Fantastic," she grinned and walked out to watch the halls.

I sat down and took out my notebook. My phone chimed, and I looked down at it.

Charlotte: Hi. How'd the exam go?

Me: It went okay.

Charlotte: That's good.

Me: How are you doing?