Page 6 of Overdue Feelings
Zae didn’t even flinch. “Car trouble,” he said smoothly.
“Well, glad you made it safely. I just wanted to give you a heads up. We hired a nurse late last night.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? That’s amazing!”
She smiled. “We’re thrilled. He’s experienced. Local. Went to school here.”
“That’s even better.” Zae shifted the box in his arms. “Where’s he set up?”
Voss hesitated. “Well, due to construction, we had to get creative. He’ll be stationed in the storage closet at the back of your library for now.”
I blinked. “Wait… my closet?”
“It’s all we’ve got.” She started walking. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
We followed her down the back row of bookshelves, past bean bags and craft crates. My stomach did a little flip, nerves from the morning still buzzing under my skin.
“The janitors cleaned it out late last night,” she explained as we approached the open door. “We set up a cot and a cabinet.Made it as comfortable as we could. He’s overqualified, honestly. Closed a private pediatric practice in Manhattan to move back to Harvest Hills.”
Zae raised an eyebrow. “Move back?”
Voss knocked gently on the doorframe. “Dr. Knight? Your colleagues are here to meet you.”
He stood and turned around to greet us, and all the air escaped my lungs.
“Ares!” Zae called his name first.
I couldn’t speak, just looked on in utter shock. He was older, with broader shoulders and a bald head, but his eyes were the same.
“Creek?” he said softly. “Zae?”
I couldn’t breathe. I’d buried every thought of Ares years ago when he never called, never visited, never sent a text, or wrote a letter. And now, here he was… standing in my library. In my life. Twelve years too late.
You gotta be kidding me.
“Ares.” I stared across the room, mouth tight, arms crossed. He looked different. Older, but he still had that same crooked smile and low cut. And apparently, the same habit of walking into a space like he owned it. This was my space though. My school. My woman. He didn’t have any business being here.
“Wait… Y’all know each other?” Principal Voss turned to look at us, making Creek stiffen beside me.
“Old friends,” Creek said too quickly.
Voss blinked at us, then at him. It wasn’t new for people to know someone in Harvest Hills. Everybody knew somebody here.
“Well... that’s even better. You two can help him adjust. Shoot me an email if you need me.” She smiled at the three of us before she dipped out, like she hadn’t just dropped a whole damn bomb in my lap.
“What are you doin’ here, Ares?” I asked.
“It’s good to see you, Zae.” He ignored the question.Is this nigga trying to gaslight me?I took a few steps forward, invading his space. “Can’t say the same.”
“Zae.” Creek slid her hand over my arm, calming me the way only she could, and that was barely enough.
“What the hell are you doing here, Ares? I didn’t know you even knew Harvest Hills still exi?—”
The sound of the second bell ringing interrupted my sentence. Ares was lucky I had an early morning gym class to teach.
“I gotta go,” I muttered to Creek before turning to look back at him. “Don’t think you popping up here is going to change anything.”
“I’ll see you later, baby.”
