The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(79)

“I’m not going to let that happen,” Reed said, feeling sick to his stomach as Jackson’s words settled in the pit of his stomach as he realized that Jackson was right.

“Even if that means letting her go?” Jackson asked as he opened his door and Reed realized that he might not have a choice.

Not if he wanted to keep his promise.





Chapter 46

“What the hell am I doing?” she asked, dropping her hands away with a tired sigh and glanced back at the email that was waiting for her to figure out what she was going to do.

She couldn’t believe that she was even considering doing this. She should just go home and let Reed know that it was over, but she wasn’t ready to do that. She hadn’t been ready two months ago and she wasn’t ready now. She just wanted a little more time to figure everything out.

She’d considered asking to finish out her sabbatical, but she didn’t have any reason to do that. She’d already sent her paper in, she wasn’t taking any classes to enhance her degree, and she doubted that they’d be willing to let her stay because she’d fallen in love with Reed.

That left her with two choices.

She could tell Reed that she was going back and try to enjoy what little time they had left, which of course was the smarter choice, or she could hit Send and throw everything that she’d been working for away on the off-chance that this was going somewhere. She just wished that she knew what she was supposed to do, she thought as she shifted her attention back to the stack of essays waiting for her attention. She was hoping to distract herself from the mess that she’d made of her life only to frown as she glanced over to her left and found Reed leaning against her classroom door, watching her, and looking so incredibly handsome that it took her a moment to realize that he was talking.

“I was with your grandmother when she found out about the accident,” Reed said as he pushed away from the door and walked into the room. “Did you know that?”

“No,” she said softly as she watched as he walked around her classroom, taking in all the changes that she’d made.

“She was helping me with my homework when the call came,” he said as he shifted his attention to the replica map of the Thirteen Colonies on the back wall. “I remember watching all the blood drain out of her face when they told her about your mother, but she didn’t cry. Not until she found out that you’d been in the accident too and that you might not make it.”

He paused by the poster of the Mayflower Compact to send her a curious glance. “You remember the accident, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said hollowly as her grip tightened on the edge of the desk and she thought that she might be sick.

Nodding, he returned his attention to the posters that she’d lined the room with. “She wouldn’t stop crying. I tried everything to make it better. I broke out her secret stash of chocolate from above the fridge. I promised her that everything would be okay. I hugged her and kissed her, but nothing worked. She wouldn’t stop crying and, at that moment, I hated you,” Reed said, shaking his head with a sigh as he ran his fingers over the books that she had stacked on the windowsill.

“I didn’t even know you, but I hated you for hurting her like that. It didn’t matter to me that you were only a baby and that you’d lost your mother, I hated you and I swore that I would never let you make her cry again,” he said as he shifted his attention to the large globe that she’d helped herself to out of storage.

“So, you watched over me,” she said weakly.

“So, I watched over you,” he agreed with a nod as he continued making his way to the back of the room. “Do you know what I promised your grandmother?”

“No,” she said, watching him move as a feeling of foreboding trickled down her spine.

“I promised to look after you,” he said, trailing his fingers over the back of one chair, “and make sure that you were safe,” and then another, “and happy.”

“I am happy,” she said, watching as he absently nodded and moved his attention to the bookshelves that Matt had installed at the back of the room for her.

“I thought I could make you happy, but then I realized that I was fooling myself because I’ll never be able to give you what you deserve. I’m never going to be able to offer you anything more than a low-paying thankless job that you’re over-qualified for in a town that you couldn’t wait to escape,” he said as he made his way back towards the front of the class.

“You don’t belong here, Joey.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked as she watched him sit down at one the desks in front of her with a sigh.

“Because I’m in love with you, Joey,” he said, while she sat there, trying to remember how to breathe.

“I don’t want to play this game anymore. I don’t want to pretend that I’m not thinking about you all day or have to remind myself that I’m not allowed to touch you when we’re not alone. I don’t want to pretend that I’m not in love with you anymore and I don’t want you to go,” he said as he held her gaze.

Swallowing hard, she reached over and hit Send as she got to her feet and walked around her desk. “You love me?” she asked, never taking her eyes off him as she pulled herself up onto her desk and sat down.