Page 61 of A Royal Menace

Callie ignored me in the parking lot, burning rubber as she hauled ass out of here as fast as she could. Then, she ignored the message I sent her to make sure she was okay. She told the front office she was sick, but she wasn’t feeling ill last night or this morning when she left me that note in the kitchen. And she felt well enough to get ready and come in to work.

That means she didn’t get “sick” until after she got here. That, coupled with what Jennifer in the front office said about Callie looking upset when she ran out…

I’ve got a bad, bad feeling about this. My stomach has been churning with guilt and fear all morning, my instincts screaming that Callie somehow figured out the truth. That sheknows.

The moment my students file out for lunch, I head straight for the teacher’s lounge. I approach every staff member present, asking if they saw or spoke to Callie this morning. My frustration grows as they each shake their heads and ask if everything is okay. I ignore their questions and move on to the next person until, finally, one of the first grade teachers tells me he saw Callie talking by the coffee maker with Marissa Hargrove.

I bolt out of there with a quiet thanks, heading straight for the kindergarten wing, but I find it empty. Running back the other way, I skid to a halt in front of Jennifer’s desk.

“Have you seen Marissa?” I huff out between heavy breaths. “Did she leave for lunch?”

Jennifer shakes her head. “No, she’s on cafeteria duty today.”

“Thanks,” I say, turning and striding away without another word.

My heart pounds as I make my way across campus toward the lunchroom. I have a feeling I already know what Marissa will tell me, but there’s a tiny, infinitesimal part of me hoping Marissa will say nothing’s up. That Callie really did suddenly fall ill, and that’s why she left.

I step into the cafeteria, and my eyes search the perimeter. I find Marissa standing by the far wall, her hand outstretched as she points to a student and says something I can’t hear over the chatter. Skirting around the tables, I make my way over to her. She starts to smile when she sees me, but her mouth drops into a frown when she gets a good look at my face.

“Royal. What’s wrong?” she asks as I approach. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“What did you say to Callie this morning?” I ask without preamble.

“W-what?” she stutters, her eyes widening at my brusque question.

“Callie. This morning in the lounge. I need to know what you said to her.”

“I didn’t––”

“Marissa, please,” I cut in. “It’simportant.”

She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “We were talking about you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to gossip.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing bad,” she assures me quickly. “I just asked her how things are going between you two, since, you know, it seems like the war is over.”

“The war?” I ask, my panic subsiding as my brain tries to process what she’s saying.

“Between you and Callie,” she clarifies. “I told her it was obvious things were better between you guys lately.”

“And that’s all?” I ask.

Her cheeks bloom with color. “I told her you seemed more like your old self lately. That you hadn’t been the same since the accident. I’m sorry, Royal. It just slipped out, and when she asked about the accident, I didn’t know what to do. So I told her.”

“You told her about Hope?” I ask, my blood turning cold in my veins.

“Just that she was killed in a car accident a couple of years ago,” she whispers.

I can feel my face blanch, and Marissa must see it because she gushes another apology. I wave it off, tell her it’s okay, then spin and walk away slowly like a zombie in a horror movie.

I’m too late. I’d planned to tell Callie everything this morning, and I wasfivefucking minutes too late. And now?

Now, she thinks I’m a liar.

But I am, aren’t I?

Iliedto her. It’s only been a day, but I had plenty of time and opportunity to fix it. And I didn’t.

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