Page 10 of Promises We Meant to Keep (Love in Massachusetts #1)

ten

Each day that passed for Elia since she had confronted Kamryn only bolstered her anger. For someone who had been so insistent on helping with the Speech team, it was ridiculous that she hadn’t shown up to the second called practice of the year.

The kids had been disappointed.

Elia had seen it in their faces when Kamryn wasn’t there. They might not have said it, but there was something special about having the Head of School on the extracurricular team. Kamryn probably didn’t even recognize that.

Walking through the main living space of her house, Elia cleaned up whatever she could find that was out of place. She needed the mundane to be cathartic, but it wasn’t working. She couldn’t get Kamryn out of her mind or the anger out of her chest.

Cursing under her breath, Elia snagged her phone off the kitchen counter where she’d left it and called Abagail. She had one more day with Abagail in the country, so it was now or never to complain to her best friend.

“You can’t miss me already.” Abagail’s sweet but confident tones filtered through the line.

Normally, Elia would feel an instant ease from that, but today was different. She was unsettled by Kamryn, in more ways than she wanted to admit. But in the ones she was willing to put out into the universe, she was annoyed that she couldn’t fix those yet.

“You’ll have to tell me all about your plans for your trip.” Elia’s words were short, and she had no doubt that Abagail could tell that she was distracted by something. That was why Elia had called her in the first place, wasn’t it?

“Oh I smell drama a mile away. What’s going on?”

Elia bit back the groan she really wanted to let loose and plopped down onto the couch. The very same place that Kamryn had slept off her drunken night of dishonor only weeks ago. Where was she supposed to even start with all that had happened?

“Kamryn is making a mess of the Speech team, and she’s only been to one meeting.” Elia’s head was pounding from the stress. She really should get up and take a pill for that, but she couldn’t bring herself to stand up again. At least not yet.

“How is she making a mess of it?” Abagail at least seemed genuinely curious about it all.

“She didn’t show up. The kids were so disappointed.” Was it the kids who were? Or was Elia the one who was disappointed? Because she’d felt that pang deep in her chest. She’d just ignored it.

“Did she say why she missed it?”

“She got stuck in a meeting.” Elia put her foot up on the edge of the coffee table and reclined back. Her house was spotless. She’d spent the last three hours deep cleaning it in an attempt to avoid this phone call. And in the end, she’d given up anyway. “But that’s a poor excuse. She has to prioritize the students.”

“You’re thinking like a teacher, not admin.”

Those words stung. Abagail should know that. She’d been through everything with Elia from the beginning, all the ups and downs, the accusations, the suspension, and this last interview debacle. So she wouldn’t be saying those words without actually meaning them and the full weight that they carried.

“This is a school. Students have to be our priority.”

“They’re yours. And I’m not saying they’re not also Kamryn’s, but she has other pressing priorities. How do you know she wasn’t dealing with a student issue? Did you even ask what the meeting was about?”

Elia pressed her lips tightly closed. She hadn’t asked. She hadn’t wanted to know. She’d just wanted to be mad about everything. And she had wanted to put Kamryn at the center of all her blame. She was tired of being passed over for positions that she wanted and that she was deeply qualified for, especially for a woman who was fifteen years younger than her and way less experienced.

“They should have hired me for that job,” Elia muttered.

“They should have at least given you an interview. Who’s to say that Kamryn still wouldn’t have been their top pick? You haven’t seen her in how long?”

Elia winced. “Twenty years.”

“So maybe she’s the right woman for the position.” Abagail sounded so sure of herself, and Elia hated it. But Abagail was in corporate America, which meant that sometimes she knew and understood these things better than Elia did. “They should have interviewed you, or at least told you why you didn’t get an interview.”

Elia was pretty sure she knew why, and it was the same reason that she hadn’t applied for an administration position in two decades. She probably would have had better chances if she’d left Windermere Prep, but this was her family. And she didn’t exactly want to step out into a school that she didn’t know and understand.

“They should have,” Elia agreed. But deep down inside, she already knew why they hadn’t. They were still holding grudges, even eighteen years later. But she didn’t want to say those words out loud. She didn’t want to give them room to breathe in her space. “But Kamryn needs to realize the influence that she has on these kids. She can change the course of their lives.”

“Kamryn was your student, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And have you considered the influence you made in her life?”

Elia tensed. She’d thought about it, briefly, but she promptly avoided that one too. She was doing a lot of that lately. The world and life she’d created for herself had been turned upside down so quickly that she was still clawing at whatever she could to keep up.

“What’s really bothering you about Kamryn? Is it her lack of ability to do the job, or is it because you still want it so you’re putting all your jealousy and anger onto her?”

It was definitely the latter of the two options there. Elia hated that Abagail was so good at calling her out like this. And she hated that it was how she was feeling. Kamryn deserved the benefit of the doubt, and every time Elia moved toward it, something would pull her right back to where she was.

“What did you tell her last night?”

“I wasn’t very kind,” Elia answered instead of giving details to how harsh she’d been. She wasn’t sure she wanted to admit that, even to her best friend. “I need an ally in this.”

“You have one in me, but I’m not there.” Abagail’s voice was tight, and Elia knew there was something else coming that was about to hit her hard. “Perhaps you should find an ally on campus, something you’ve avoided for eighteen years now.”

Elia had shut down after the investigation. During it, too. The entire situation had taken its toll on her, and in order to survive it, she’d leaned only on the relationships she knew she could trust. “I was calling you because you’re my ally.”

“In everything, I promise.” Abagail smiled, the sound reaching her voice and making it sound happy. “And for the next two weeks, you’re going to be on your own. Whatever will you do?”

“I’ll survive. You know I always do.”

“Hmm. I think you should go talk to her. Tell her you’re upset about the other day and ask for an explanation—and actually let her talk this time.”

Elia swallowed a lump in her throat. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that. Even though she knew she should, that it would be important. She just hated that she was going to have to break out of her circle and make amends. It was her own fault, of course, but it still didn’t mean that she liked it.

“Fine.”

“Fine?” Abagail sounded surprised. “That was quick.”

“You’re right… for once.” It was a running joke between them. Abagail was usually right about these types of things, but they always teased each other when they could about it. “I’ll talk with her.”

“What hold does this woman have over you? It always takes at minimum a week for you to apologize to me when you screw up.” Abagail laughed lightly. “Is it because she’s your former student? Have to still play the holier than thou card?”

“Hardly.” Elia glanced at the clock to see what time it was. The sooner they resolved this conflict, the better it would be for everyone involved.

“Why are you so concerned about her?”

Why was she? It was the first time another faculty member had really irked her so much. Sure there were the ones who annoyed her, who couldn’t mind their own business no matter what Elia said or did, and the ones who just had odd quirks that she refused to play into, but Kamryn was different.

She was consuming most of Elia’s time and thoughts outside of the classroom lately. Elia kept telling herself it was because they were working together on the Speech team, but it was more than that. It really was.

“Elia?”

“It’s just an adjustment period,” Elia responded, taking the easiest way out possible. “I’ll talk to her and apologize.”

“Actually apologize?”

“Yes.” Elia’s lips quirked up slightly at the reminder. She hadn’t always been the best about doing that, but she’d tried to learn over the years to be better than who she used to be. Or perhaps it was getting back to who she used to be, before she’d run face first into the realities the world had. “Since I know my mother will ask, are you coming for Thanksgiving this year?”

“I’ll look at my calendar and let you know.”

That was Abagail’s response for everything. But she hadn’t missed a Thanksgiving in twenty years, so Elia knew it was unlikely that she wouldn’t find the time. She just wanted space to think about it. “All right.”

“Are you going now?”

“Yes. Well, I’ll text her and see if she has time now.”

“Good. Then text me to fill me in on all the groveling you’re going to be doing.”

Elia rolled her eyes and shook her head, even though Abagail couldn’t see it. “I’ll call you when you get back from your trip.”

“Better yet, I’ll pop down to the school for an actual visit.”

Elia sighed into the hope of that moment. It would be amazing to have that time with Abagail, to be able to visit with her in person. “Just tell me when.”

“Oh, I will. I need to meet this Kamryn who keeps irking you.”

Fear ran through her then. She hadn’t anticipated that being the reason why Abagail wanted to visit. And she couldn’t let the two of them meet. That would spell disaster. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you!” Abagail hung up quickly, recognizing Elia’s need to end the conversation.

Staying on her couch, Elia stared at her cellphone and debated. It would be so easy to avoid for longer, and Kamryn probably wouldn’t think twice about it. But she’d promised Abagail and herself that she would at least begin to make this right.

Elia hit Kamryn’s name on her phone and pressed it to her ear. It was now or never, and she needed to get this done and over with.

“Dr. Ogden.”

Elia paused. She’d called Kamryn’s cell phone, not the office, right? Moving the phone from her ear briefly, she checked, and sure enough she had called the cell.

“Kamryn,” Elia said. “Are you busy?”

“Uh…”

Elia clearly heard rustling of papers and clicks on a keyboard.

“I have a few minutes. What do you need?”

“Do you have a few minutes to talk in person?” Elia clenched her fist and then unclenched it. She really needed to teach her muscles to relax better. “This will be easier in person than over the phone.”

“Oh.” Kamryn sighed lightly. “Yeah, I can meet. When?”

“Now?” Elia was hopeful. If she put this off much longer, then she’d probably avoid it altogether. The sooner the better for sure.

“I’m on house duty, so you’ll have to come here.”

Elia tightened. It had been a very long time since she’d been to the dormitories. Most of the time she met up with teachers elsewhere, not that she did a whole lot of that in general. And she’d moved into a house on campus as soon as one had become available because of the accusations that had flown her way. She’d thought everyone would feel more comfortable with that than if she’d remained a house parent.

“Okay. Give me ten minutes.” Elia hung up before saying anything else. An unsettled panic rested in her chest. She could do this. She could go up to Kamryn’s apartment, and she could have this meeting.

They needed to resolve at least one problem today.