“Caitlyn, I’m so sorry about this morning—”
“It’s fine,” she threw out, her chin jutting up slightly.
“No, it’s not. It was a rude thing to say, and I have no excuse. It wasn’t like me. That wasn’t the way I was raised, and I can’t even imagine what my mom would say if she knew. What’s more, it was me taking the chicken way out.”
She tilted her head to the side but remained quiet. He’d hoped she would give a small sign that she accepted his apology or that she understood, but her silence was thick between them.
Squeezing the back of his neck, he continued. “I let my concerns about becoming involved with someone who lives near me overtake everything else. So, I’m not only sorry for what I said this morning that you overheard, I’m sorry that I even had those thoughts. I’d like it if we can go back to getting to know each other again.”
Her spine stiffened, and she shook her head. “I don’t think so, Griffin. This morning really was strike three. I’m sure living across from each other, we can be amiable neighbors. But anything else would risk my heart, and I’m just not willing to do that while you decide what’s important to you. But I do appreciate the apology.”
Before he had a chance to say anything else, she stepped back and closed her door. The click of the lock snapping in place echoed in the empty hallway.
Dropping his chin, he stared at his boots for a moment before turning and heading into his apartment, heart heavy with regrets.
15
“Russ, if you have time after school, I need to see you,” Caitlyn said as her students were filing out the door.
With his backpack on his shoulder, he nodded but held her gaze. “I’ve got some time before my brothers and sisters get off the bus. Is everything okay?”
“I hope so.” Wanting him to be comfortable, she waved him toward a desk while she sat in one close by. “The other day, I saw you coming out of the gym locker room quite a bit after the last bell had rung. Technically, students are not supposed to be in there unless they are with a teacher or coach, which you and the other student were not. As a junior, you don’t take PE anymore. And you said you don’t play sports because you have to work after school. I just wanted to know why you were there.”
He glanced away, and she wondered if it was to come up with a plausible excuse. After what was probably only a few seconds but felt much longer, he sighed.
“Marcus lives close to me. He’d missed the bus and asked for a ride home. My mom lets me drive her car twice a week. We got about halfway home, and he said he left something in the locker room. I didn’t think I’d have time to come back, but he was begging me, saying he had a big project that was due today and he needed to get his work. So, I turned around and we came back.”
“And… you needed to go into the locker room with him because…” she prodded.
“He said he didn’t want to go into the locker room by himself. Marcus is kind of scrawny. He said the last time some of the jocks were near him after school, they pushed him around. He knew I wouldn’t let that happen, so I went with him.”
She continued to hold his unwavering gaze, and while she couldn’t swear he was telling the truth, she had no reason not to believe him. Finally nodding, she said, “Thank you for telling me that.”
“Are you going to report me and Marcus?”
She’d battled back and forth on what to do since seeing them. She didn’t know the other boy but knew Russ… or liked to think she knew him. The principal would probably suspend him just for being in the locker room unaccompanied after school just because he preferred to suspend easily when he had a student whose parents weren’t liable to push back. Staring into Russ’ face, she saw nothing that made her think he was lying.
Clearing her throat, she sucked in a deep breath. “Other than seeing you come out of the locker room, I would have nothing else to report. I haven’t heard any reports of anything being stolen. I’m going to trust you, and I hope you value that trust.”
“I do, Ms. McBride.”
She nodded, then tilted her head to the side. “When you think about life after high school, what have you thought about doing?”
He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “Sure as hell don’t want to keep working at the grocery store.” He leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees, his hands clasped together. “The only way to get ahead is to have some kind of training, but that all takes money.”
“What would you love to do?” He looked up, doubt moving over his face, but she rushed to continue. “What sparks your imagination?”
“You’re going to think it’s stupid.”
Rearing back, she narrowed her eyes. “Russ, have you ever known me to think any answer a student gave me was stupid? What am I always telling my students?”
Snorting, one side of his mouth curved up. “Everyone’s dream has value.”
“Right! So, what is your dream?”
“You ever see those home shows on television? The ones where they’re fixing up old homes?”
Nodding, she leaned forward slightly, giving him her full attention.
“I like that stuff. Fixing up homes. Sometimes, I watch those shows at night before I go to bed, and I think about what I would do if I was the person working on it.”
“Russ, there’s no reason that dream can’t come true. You could apprentice with someone after high school and learn how to do everything you need to do.”
He hefted his shoulders. “Yeah, maybe. But you gotta know somebody. I mean who’s gonna take on a kid right out of high school?”
Nibbling on one side of her bottom lip, her mind raced. While things had blown up between her and Griffin, she wondered if he’d be willing to take on a student wanting to learn more about the business. Uncertain what to say to Russ in case Griffin couldn’t because of the teenager’s age or wouldn’t because he had no interest, she remained quiet. Finally, she said, “Well, if I hear of any possibilities, I’ll let you know. But, until then, keep working at the grocery store, doing the best you can in school, and staying out of trouble. Then, when an opportunity comes along, you’ve got nothing standing in your way.”
He stood and swung his backpack onto his shoulder and offered a chin lift as well as his thanks before walking out of her classroom.
Ready to go home, she packed up her bags and had just closed her classroom door when Barbara and Suzette walked around the corner, smiling when they saw her. “Hey, what’s up?”
“One of the PE teachers caught a student trying to sneak into the locker rooms after school. She called the security officer, and he had some baggies of drugs shoved in his pockets. They’re wondering if the locker rooms had been used for drop-offs.”
She turned to walk with them down the hall, glad they could not see her face. The memory of Marcus and Russ coming out of the locker rooms the previous week slammed into her. Shit! Please, let it be as simple as Russ’ explanation. He’d never given her a reason to doubt him, and she didn’t want to now. Maybe if he had more future to look forward to, it would keep him on the straight and narrow path.