“Oh, no. Is she okay? Do we need to visit parents and knock their heads together?”
“She started the fight, Del. Because the kids have been picking on her for having a lesbian mum. Turns out they yell ‘dyke’ at her whenever they see her. She just…flipped. And I kinda can’t be angry with her for that.”
“No. I know fighting with other kids isn’t the way to handle it, but she’s a good kid, Hannah. I love her like my own.”
Hannah smiled. Adele was more like a sister than a best friend. “There’s something else…”
“Oh, God. What?”
“This client, the one I gave my real identity to. S-she’s Edie’s form teacher.”
The line went silent.
Had Adele hung up?
“Uh, you there?” Hannah frowned. “Del?”
“I-I’m here,” She said, her voice wavering. “Did you just say what I think you did? That your client is your kid’s teacher?”
“Y-yeah. I only found out today. I had no idea, and neither did she.”
Hannah wasn’t sure how she felt about it yet. She hadn’t for one moment expected to walk into that room to find Caroline waiting for her. It was clear Caroline had chosen to use a different surname for her escort booking, but it didn’t change the fact that Hannah had wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole this afternoon. It was just her luck, though.
“What happens if she books you again?” Adele asked, hesitancy clouding her usual gentle voice. “I mean, you’d turn her down, wouldn’t you?”
“Honestly, no. I wouldn’t. If it meant I got to spend time with her, I wouldn’t dream of turning her down.”
“You’re out of your mind, Hannah. This is going to end in tears if you don’t take yourself out of the situation now.” Adele was right, but Hannah needed so much more of Caroline. “Seriously, I need you to be sensible about this one.”
“I will.”
Adele snorted. “Except, you won’t. I know you. This is going to turn into a huge mess, and then you’ll be the one who comes out of it broken-hearted.”
Hannah’s phone vibrated against her ear. She glanced at the screen, finding a number she didn’t recognise above a text message. “Look, I should go. I have to call Mum soon to check on Edie. But can we do lunch one day next week?”
Adele sighed. “Fine. If that’s what you want. But I’m not done discussing this with you.”
“I know, I know. I’ll call you when I know what afternoon I can do, okay?”
“Miss you,” Adele said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“You will. Bye, Del.”
Hannah ended the call, scrolling straight to her message inbox. She frowned as she opened the message, unaware as to who was contacting her, but then her heart leapt into her throat.
Thank you for hearing me out this evening. I know I shouldn’t text, but I’ll delete your number now. Both your personal and business. Take care of yourself, Hannah. Caz x
Hannah reread the message several times. Trying to dissect it was pointless. But then she had to wonder why Caroline had her number at all. If she’d shown up here this evening, why had she needed to take Hannah’s number from the school system? Hannah smiled. Caroline had taken that number because Hannah told her to. And now, she didn’t want Caroline tonothave her number ever again.
Don’t delete them. You never know when you could need it. H x
A bubble appeared, sending Hannah’s heart rate soaring.
It’s for the best. Bye, Hannah. Caz x
And just like that, the thrill Hannah felt from a simple message from Caroline crumbled into a misery she hoped she wouldn’t feel. Caroline had a lot of baggage, but Hannah wanted to unpack every last item. Still, she would let it lie. And if one day in the future she bumped into Caroline, she would hope for a greater outcome.
Chapter8