“Wren. How can I help you this morning?” His tone is light, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I was with Maggie not even an hour ago. Upset, pregnant-with-his-baby Maggie, who left my room to come talk to him, and here he sits, not traumatized in the least, while she’s not even here.
What happened with their conversation? Did he blow her off?
“Where’s Maggie?” I ask him, my tone flat. Unfriendly.
Totally unlike me.
He frowns, sensing my hostility. “I don’t know. She hasn’t shown up to class yet. The bell hasn’t rung—”
It does exactly that, silencing our conversation.
“She has three more minutes,” he says once the bell shuts off. “She should be here any second.”
“But I know she came straight here from the dorm to speak with you,” I say, wanting him to understand that I know everything.
Something flickers in his expression but he smooths it out. Like a blank canvas. “No, she didn’t.”
“She told me she was going to.”
“We have nothing to talk about.”
“She was upset because you didn’t meet with her last night.”
The irritation is full-blown blazing in his dark eyes now. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but I do. You were supposed to meet with her last evening, and you cancelled. She wanted to talk to you about the ba—”
“Stop. Shut up.” His voice is fierce, his eyes almost black. “Stay out of it, Wren.”
I stare at him, startled he would speak so harshly to me. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
He’s lying.
“Did she leave? Should I go find her? Make sure she’s okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” he snaps. “Go sit down.”
It’s like I don’t even care anymore. I’ve tossed all niceties aside, just as he has. I need him to know that I know…everything.
“You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to her,” I tell him, my voice even. My emotions completely under control. “You need to do what’s right and take care of her.”
He doesn’t say a word, but he curls his right hand into a fist, pounding it lightly on top of his desk.
“She’s only seventeen and hopelessly in love with you,” I continue, quickly glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone’s watching us. No one really is. They’re all used to girls talking to Fig during class. “I don’t know why, considering you have a reputation. You do this every year.”
“Like you were even aware of what was going on until that asshole boyfriend of yours told you,” Fig snarls, basically admitting what I just accused him of. All pretense of the friendly, cool English teacher is gone. Now he’s just a pitiful, angry man. He lowers his voice, though I’m not sure anymore if he cares if someone hears him. “Where is Crew anyway? Oh, that’s right, he got caught sneaking around with Natalie Hartford last night. Both of them will most likely get suspended.”
His words are like a stab to the heart. He said it just to upset me and it worked.
Turning away from him, I go back to my desk, settling in my seat, staring at the door, willing Maggie to appear.
Willing Crew to appear too.
But neither of them ever do.