CHAPTER 3 KAYLEE
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Ashley asks as she bursts into my classroom.
I’m sitting at my desk staring off into space before the first bell rings. I shake my head a little as I try to clear it, and it throbs again at the movement. “I’m okay.”
“I didn’t think you’d be here today. I saw what happened.” She perches on top of a student desk.
“My ex’s interview or the nightclub thing?” I ask.
“Both,” she admits. “What happened at the club?”
“It’s all such a blur.” Everything feels blurry today, but I’ve been assured that’s normal for a concussion.
She looks at me in alarm. “Maybe you should go home.”
“I have an obligation to these kids,” I say.
“Kaylee, you have a concussion. It’s okay to take a day to recover.”
I clear my throat and try to gather my thoughts.
“I fell through a door and cracked my head on a granite tabletop. Ben fell halfway on top of me but tried to get out of the way and knocked into the side of the table, bruising a rib and sending a bottle of vodka, a glass of vodka-Seven, and a bottle of beer flying over the railing and onto the dance floor below us.”
Ashley nods. “Go home.”
My brows dip. “Excuse me?”
“Go home, friend. I’ll get coverage for you.”
“Why are you telling me to go home?” I ask, suddenly mildly offended.
“Because it took you a full minute to tell that story and most of your speech was slurred. You need to rest, not to try to control a classroom full of twelve-year-olds on the last week of school.”
I blink at her as I try to comprehend what she’s saying.
She’s right.
I need rest.
I got maybe four hours of sleep, most of it fitful, and I feel like…well, like my head plowed into a table last night.
“You’re sure?” I ask.
She nods. “Positive. Go lay in bed with that hottie boyfriend of yours and forget your troubles for a day. But your ass better be back tomorrow.”
I smile. “Thank you, Ashley. You’re a good friend and I’ll miss working with you.”
“I’m going to miss you, too. Stay here until I get someone, okay?”
I nod as she walks out of the room. I hang out as my students start walking into the room.
“Oh my God, Ms. Dalton! You’re here!” Charity says as she ambles through the room and toward my desk.
“I’m here,” I confirm, leaning back in my chair. “But I’m going home.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” I know my face is turning red with embarrassment as I think about what’s going to happen once the general public finds out what actually happened.
Ben and I haven’t had a chance to discuss how we’re going to spin this yet.
If any video footage that’s released really does show his hand under my skirt as we took that tumble…
maybe that’ll be the sign that we need to just finally tell my family what’s really going on between the two of us.
I’m sure it’s just the concussion talking.
We’ve both been protective over what we have since we first started whatever this is, and while I’m enjoying the risk that comes with keeping a secret, it’s situations like last night that make me wonder how in the hell we’re going to keep it quiet much longer.
One of the science teachers has prep first hour, and she walks in to relieve me. I thank her profusely before I head down to my car and drive the short distance back to Ben’s place…which is my place now, too.
He’s still in bed when I get home. I climb in next to him.
“Hey,” he says. “You okay?”
“Ashley said I was slurring and as I was driving home, I realized I probably shouldn’t have been driving at all.”
“You’re stubborn. I’m glad you’re here.” He wraps his arms around me, and I snuggle into him.
“I’m glad I’m here, too. How are your ribs?”
“Bruised.” He chuckles. “I’ll live. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”
And then we sleep.
When we finally wake up, it’s lunch time and I have about a million missed calls.
I call Ellie first while Ben tackles text replies next to me. We’re still in bed, and I put the call on speaker.
“Are you two okay?” she answers.
I glance at Ben and field the first question. “We’re both a little banged up, but we’ll be okay.”
“What happened?” she asks.
My eyes widen as I look at Ben. My brain fog made me forget the realization I had just a few hours ago that we don’t have an explanation for what happened.
“Faulty door latch,” Ben says simply. “She was leaning back on the window while we were checking out the suite, and the door opened and she fell through. I ran over to try to stop her head from smashing the table, but I failed and bruised a rib when I crashed into the table.”
“And that’s when the bottle went flying over the balcony?” Ellie asks.
“Yes,” I say. “And my glass and his beer bottle.”
“I talked to the club manager and it sounds like everybody is okay. Nobody’s pressing charges at least to his knowledge, which means they won’t need to open an investigation. It really does sound like a pretty cut and dry situation,” Ellie says.
“Thanks, Ellie,” Ben says.
“It’s why you pay me the big bucks,” she teases.
“Ben, I’d like you to post a video or go live on any platform of your choice today letting people know what happened.
I’ve already emailed you some talking points.
And Kaylee, this is a great opportunity to hit your Instagram stories with how you’re doing.
From a publicity perspective, this is the kind of thing that can help you go viral and really level you up.
Give a little insight into your personal life.
Show how this situation that could’ve been so tragic has brought the two of you closer together. ”
Has it brought us closer, though?
Maybe it will, or maybe it’s making me take a little bit of a step back.
It’s making me realize how deeply I’ve already fallen and how much pain is potentially on the table where he’s concerned.
Not physical pain, of course, though my head is still throbbing.
But emotionally…I don’t know how I’m going to get through the end when it comes.
And that interview last night just reminded me that the end will come.
I love him, and each day we’re together and each event that draws us closer makes me fall harder for him. But I’m not sure whether that love is enough to sacrifice the dreams I’ve had since I was a little girl.