“Except that I won’t actually be licensed. I’ll have to wait another six months at the very least.”
Donna folded her hands on the table, threading her fingers together, giving me a sad look. “It wouldn’t be the end of the world.” She sounded like my mother, before she lost her husband, son, and mind. Before she fell apart, with good reason. I knew Donna was just expressing concern for me, but it made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to people, especially in academia, questioning my capabilities. She let out a breath, her shoulders loosening, slumping forward just a bit. “Promise me you won’t hang on to an unhealthy situation. Please, promise me you’ll let us know if you need to walk away. We’ll all understand, Hayes.”
“I promise if I feel I need to leave the classroom, I will.” It would take wild horses to drag me away from the one hour a day I got to be in the same room with McKenzie.
McKenzie.
She’d gone to that party and the two-hour drive back home was only spent imagining the things that could happen there. I’d been on the Holstater compound before; I went to school with Ryan’s older brother. I knew there would be alcohol and guys waiting to take advantage of drunk girls. And I also knew Nathan Patterson would be there.
I tried calling her a few times, hoping maybe she’d decided not to go after all, but when my calls went directly to voice mail, I knew she was at the compound and had no signal.
Shit.
I didn’t want to be that caveman who couldn’t control himself, but, damn it, I couldn’t control myself. She was with her friends, but her friends were all paired off, and I didn’t want to imagine what could happen to her if she were left all alone.
My foot pressed down on the accelerator and I sped up, knowing I should drive straight to my mom’s house, but that’s not where I ended up.
I could see the glowing embers of what used to be a pretty large bonfire, and I shook my head at the teenagers who couldn’t even properly put out a fire before they abandoned it. Although, it was providing a little light, which I was thankful for.
I’d parked in the lot with all the others, not surprised at how easily my memory returned and took me right to it. I’d wrestled with the decision to use my cell phone as a flashlight, knowing that if anyone saw me it would be really difficult to explain the situation without raising some red flags. So, I’d used it until I got close to the end of the path, then I’d waited a few yards away from the main campsite, in the dark, behind some trees, watching to see if anyone was still up.
There was a group of ten or so kids near the slowly dying fire, but just moments after I’d spotted them, one yelled, “Who’s up for skinny dipping?”
There were a bunch of cheers and then they all ran down the beach toward the river. I couldn’t see another person anywhere, so I stepped out from the trees, walked past the fire, and headed toward the meadow where I knew all the tents would be.
“Kenzie,” I whispered loudly, the screen of my cell phone lighting the path. I passed seven tents before one caught my eye. I knelt down next to the tent, near the door that was zipped closed, and took a deep breath. I was about 80 percent sure it was McKenzie’s tent, but I had no idea if she was in there, let alone in there by herself. What if one of her friends were in the tent? How would I explain my being there at all? What could I possibly say that would excuse me, a teacher, unzipping a student’s tent in the middle of the night? Never mind the thoughts racing through my brain at what I’d like to do to said student.
I was possibly making the biggest mistake of my life, unzipping that tent.
I didn’t care.
The zipper moved smoothly over the tines, quieter than expected, and I opened the tent just enough to pull the nylon fabric back and look inside. There I saw McKenzie, alone, sleeping. I let out a relieved sigh, then opened the tent enough for me to climb in, trying to be as quiet as possible. She started to stir as I was closing the tent back up.
“Becca?” she asked, groggily.
“No, babe, it’s me.” There was a second sleeping bag laid out next to her, I assumed for Becca, so I stretched out on my side, facing her.
“Hayes?” There was shock in her voice, confusion as well. “What are you doing here?” She pushed up on one hand, her hair falling from her face. I couldn’t stop the hand that reached out and tucked some of her crazy hair behind her ear.
“I wanted to see you,” I replied honestly, even if my urge to see her was more complicated than that.
Her eyes softened at my words. “I want to see you too, but if anyone else sees you, you’ll get in so much trouble.”
“No one saw me. Promise. C’mere.” I motioned for her to lie with me and loved the fact that she came without reservation. I opened my arms to her and she came to me immediately. Fitting herself against my side, her arm draped over my stomach and her head rested on my chest. After a few moments of content silence, she tilted her head to look up at me.