Chapter 9 Before
Before
“Don’t you think it’s a little creepy that he’s your professor? I mean, does he do this all the time?” Kiera asked.
Annabelle dipped her fork into her salad and tilted her head. “He’s only been teaching for a year. He’s, like, twenty-nine. So it’s not like he’s some old professor. And we clicked from the beginning. It’s a stupid rule. The grading is objective, no essays, so I’m not getting special treatment.”
“If you say so. When do I get to meet him?”
She wasn’t ready for Randy to be put under Kiera’s scrutiny yet.
There were no secrets between her and Kiera, and Annabelle thought of her as a sister.
They’d become friends in kindergarten and stayed that way through high school.
Kiera was now in her last year at the University of Maryland, and they saw each other only on holidays and the occasional weekend.
She had secretly hoped her friend would choose to stay in Connecticut and go to UConn like she had, but Kiera had been ready to spread her wings.
Annabelle missed her desperately but understood.
She would have studied farther from home herself if her mother hadn’t gotten sick.
“When you’re back for Christmas break. Promise. He won’t be my professor anymore, and we’ll be able to go public. He’s nervous about anyone finding out right now.”
Kiera arched a brow. “I hope he’s not a player. I’ve never seen you this head over heels.”
“I like him a lot, but I’m keeping my head. Right now, Randy’s about the only good thing in my life. Mom is getting worse every day. It’s so hard.”
Kiera reached out and put her hand on Annabelle’s. “I’m so sorry. I’ve always loved your mom. You know I used to wish she was my mom. I hate that you’re both going through this.”
Kiera was the only person other than her aunt that Annabelle would let visit her mother.
Her mother had been well-liked, and friends and colleagues tried to stay in touch.
But as she grew worse, Annabelle knew that her mom wouldn’t want them to see her in the state she was in.
After a while, they stopped trying, and Annabelle was grateful.
Her aunt Celia lived in North Carolina and was seldom around.
At times Annabelle wished she lived closer, but due to the distance, she hardly knew her aunt, so she wasn’t sure she’d be much comfort anyway.
“Your mom loves you. I know you guys don’t always see eye to eye, but take it from me, you’d miss her if she was gone,” Annabelle told Kiera.
Her friend looked down at the table, then back at her. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That must have sounded so ungrateful.”
Annabelle shook her head. “No, no. I’m just saying. Anyhow. You’re getting pretty serious with Marshall. What are your plans after graduation?”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but we’re getting a place together. I think I’m gonna end up staying in Maryland.”
Annabelle forced a smile. She liked Marshall, and she was happy for her friend, but she couldn’t help but feel bereft at the thought of Kiera living two hundred miles away. “I had a feeling. Ugh. I’m going to miss you. Does this mean you’re going to be a Ravens fan now?”
Kiera chuckled. “You know I’d never abandon my Patriots.”
They finished their lunch, and Annabelle checked her watch. “We’d better get moving. Your train leaves in an hour.”
The ride to the train station was filled with general conversation, and Annabelle felt a deep pang of sadness when it was time to say goodbye.
She held back her tears as they hugged, and she watched as Kiera disappeared into the station.
Their lives had turned out so differently.
Kiera was enjoying the traditional college experience, making new friends, going to parties, and doing the whole sorority thing.
Annabelle had wanted that, too, and her mother had taken her on the full college tour her junior year of high school.
She’d narrowed down her choices; her top three had been Boston College, Cornell, and University of Chicago.
She’d been accepted at all three. She’d decided on Boston College but had felt guilty about leaving her mother.
“Nonsense,” her mother had said. “It’s time for you to fly the coop. I’m happy for you. You worked so hard, got a full ride; there’s nothing holding you back. I can’t wait to see all the great things you’re going to do.”
They’d gone out to dinner to celebrate, and it was one of the happiest nights of her life.
But then a few weeks later her mother started forgetting things, getting lost, and everything changed.
Her mother was a nurse; she knew the signs.
She got tested quickly, and the devastating diagnosis soon followed.
Her mother had insisted that Annabelle get her degree, even if that meant staying local.
And she was getting a good education at UConn.
It was just that sometimes it felt like she was in a more adult version of high school.
If she had lived at the Storrs campus, it would have been a different story.
But the Stamford campus was small, mostly commuters, so she hadn’t made any close friends.
Maybe if she’d had the time to join one of the clubs, it would have made a difference, but her free time was split between studying and visiting her mother—and now some stolen nights with Randy.
It was her last year, so she supposed it didn’t matter anymore.
Besides, if she’d gone away to school, she’d never have met Randy.
Annabelle hadn’t been honest when she’d told Kiera that she was keeping her head.
She was crazy in love with him, but she hadn’t told him that yet.
It was old-fashioned, but she wanted him to say it first. And so far, he hadn’t.
The hiding wasn’t helping either. The only time she could go to his apartment was when his roommate was on call for the night.
Randy was überparanoid about someone finding out about the two of them.
One more month, and they wouldn’t have to hide anymore.
But a part of her worried that when the semester ended, the relationship would too.