Page 94 of What He Never Knew

“Jennifer Stinson called my mother earlier today.”

I didn’t understand the correlation, but the heavier Charlie’s gaze became, the more I was on alert. Why would Jennifer call her mom, and why would Charlie need to talk to me about it?

“Okay…”

“She wanted to talk to my mom because she’s on the board at Winchester, and apparently, Jennifer wanted to voice some concerns about a particular teacher. She didn’t want to go straight to Mr. Henderson, especially because, in her own words,this teacher is a close family friend.”

I gritted my teeth. “So, me?”

She nodded.

“What the hell did she say?”

Charlie looked around us, like the conversation wasn’t safe to have in public. Then, she tugged me off to the side, to a back corner behind a booth that was vacant, looking around once more before she spoke in a hushed tone.

“She said you had taken high interest in a particular student, and she worried that it might not be aprofessionalone.” Charlie paused, eyeing me like she was looking for some sort of tell, some sort of reaction from me. “She said she ran into you and Sarah Henderson in the park one day… that you were both acting strange… and that she spoke with someone here, at the restaurant, and they confirmed her suspicions.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “That’s bullshit. No one here knows a fucking thing.”

Charlie’s shoulders fell, brows folding inward as she covered her mouth with one hand. “Oh, Reese…”

And I realized then that I’d confirmed the story without even realizing it.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Charlie’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “I thought… I was so sure there had to be a mistake. I was so sure you could never do something like this.”

“What do you meanlike this?”

Charlie looked around again, lowering her voice even more. “She’s agirl, Reese. She’s twenty-one. You’re her teacher, for Christ’s sake.Andshe’s the niece of the man who signs your paycheck. Do you not understand how grotesquelywrongthis all is?”

Indignation rolled through me like a tidal wave, swallowing all rational thought as I stared at the woman I once loved. And I knew it then, in that moment, that it truly was past tense.

Ilovedher, but I didn’t love her, anymore.

“How dare you, Charlie.” The words came out in a whisper, like my voice wasn’t caught up to my brain yet, like it didn’t want to betray my heart that once beat for only that woman in front of me. “It’s not wrong. It’s notgrotesque,” I said, spitting her word back at her. “You don’t know anything about Sarah, who is not a girl, by the way. She’s more of a woman than anyone I’ve ever met.” I stood taller, each word giving me more strength. “And you don’t know anything about me anymore. Or what I have with Sarah.”

The look of pity Charlie gave me in that moment made me want to smash my fist into the nearest wall.

“Reese…”

“No,” I said, holding up one hand to stop her from saying anything else. “I know what you must think, whatallof you must think, but you don’t know anything about us. And honestly, it’s none of your goddamn business.”

“This isn’t you,” she said, reaching for me. “I know you’re hurting, I know—”

“JUST STOP.”

I tore away from her before she could touch me, and a few patrons glanced our way as Charlie offered a smile and a soft apology. She watched them until they turned around, pulling her gaze to mine again, then.

“You don’t get to do this to me, Charlie,” I said, keeping my voice as low as I could. “You don’t get to say that you see me hurting, or look at me with pity, or feel like you have any fucking say in what I do or who I spend my time with. I’m healing. I amfinallymoving on.”

“But—”

“You already broke my heart,” I said, cutting her off as I took a step toward her. My nose stung, but I sniffed back the emotion, shaking my head. “Isn’t that enough, Charlie? Haven’t you had enough?”

The kitchen door swung open, and I turned just as Charlie’s eyes shot over my shoulder at the person who was behind us now.

Sarah.

She glanced at me first, then Charlie, and when she looked at me again, her eyes were cold as ice. She didn’t so much as nod as an acknowledgement of our existence before she balanced the bin in her hands on one hip, making her way toward the bar.