Keep Me Safe (10 page)

“Okay and then?” Of course, she was waiting for more.

“And then
what
? We had a nice time. He told me he would be patient and not get wigged out by all the shit going on in my head.” The note incident was hovering in my mind and I knew I needed to tell her about it. She’d been there for me from the beginning of my marriage and I really wanted to get her opinion about it.

“Give me a break. You went out on your first
first
date in forever and all you have to say is ‘we had a nice time’? You’re holding out on me!” She pushed me in the shoulder and rolled herself back to her desk laughing, but her eyes were still on me, patiently waiting.

I glanced at the clock, trying to determine if I had enough time to tell her about the note without having to start class. I still had twenty minutes, so I figured I might as well tell her everything.

“He’s amazing, K. He dropped me off Friday night and told me that he liked me and would do what it takes for us to work out. He said he didn’t want to scare me, but he was willing to wait for me.” I leaned my head against the back of my chair and let my smile consume my face.

“Did you kiss him?” She looked like a kid waiting for the end of a fairy tale, dying to know the ending.

“Not Friday, but we did Saturday when he came over…”

“Saturday, you went out with him Saturday too?”

“No, I went to the movies with Beth and her friends. We went back to her house for drinks afterwards and he was there.” I took a deep breath, hoping her reaction to what I needed to tell her wasn’t too terrible. “I got a note, Steph. I think it was from Brent.” I rolled my head to the side to look at her and as soon as the words left my mouth, she flew out of her chair and over to my desk.

“What do you mean a note? And how do you know it was from Brent?”

“It said something about missing me, how great I smell, and he’d see me soon. When I ran into Parker later at Beth’s, I told him how sweet it was and thanked him for leaving the note on my car, but he looked surprised and told me he didn’t write it. It was like the entire world came crashing down around me.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come over! Did you call the police? That bastard isn’t supposed to be anywhere near you.” She raised her voice and I saw one of my students outside the door look towards our office.

“Shhh, keep your voice down. I didn’t call you because I was so freaked out, I hauled ass back to my house when I realized it must’ve been Brent. I fell asleep as soon as I hit my bed. When I woke up not too long after that, Parker was in my room. He was worried, so he came in to check on me. I left the door unlocked by accident I guess. He asked me to give him the note and said he would look into it when he got to work today.

“So you had to tell him about Brent, about the restraining order?”

“Yeah, I told him. I expected him to bolt after that, but he didn’t even hesitate. I’m completely amazed at how understanding and sweet he’s been about the whole thing. He really is amazing.”

“That’s so awesome. I hope he’s the real deal. You deserve someone who isn’t a prick.” She sat back down in her chair and put her glasses on. “So now what? Are you scared that he found you?”

“Yes and no. I know Brent isn’t supposed to contact me, but I honestly believe what Parker told me when he said he would keep me safe. I don’t think Brent would do anything stupid like that, at least I hope not.”

“I hope not either. I’d find that bastard and chop his balls off! He’s lucky I didn’t do it before.” We both laughed and stood up simultaneously, knowing the bell was going to ring any minute.

The school day went by quickly as it usually did. Concert band was so much more easygoing. I always enjoyed the first couple of weeks before I missed being outside in the sunshine for marching band class. At lunch time, I sent Parker a text but hadn’t heard back from him yet.

I had gone to bed early last night and slept wonderfully. When I got up this morning, I saw that I had a missed call and text from Parker at 9:15 last night. He told me yesterday he would call when he got a break, but I slept right through it. The thought made me smile.

Tried calling, you must be asleep. Hopefully it didn’t wake you, just know you’re on my mind. Sleep well ;)

Could he be any sweeter?
I came back from my thoughts and realized I was already home. Thinking about him the whole time, made a forty-five minute drive seem like nothing. I glanced over at Beth’s house as I walked up the driveway. It seemed to be a habit now, hoping to catch a glimpse of Parker. He wasn’t there, but I could see Beth in the kitchen through the blinds. As I got to my front door, my cell phone rang. I fumbled through my bag for it and quickly threw it up to my ear before I finally found my keys.

“Hello?”

“Hey honey!”

“Hey Mom!” I hadn’t talked to either of my parents in a little over a week. Hearing my mom’s voice brought me the biggest comfort every time I talked to her.

“How are you baby girl? I was going to wait for you to call me first, but I missed ya. I know you’re busy though. How is everything?”

“Everything’s good. School is slowing down some and I have a little bit of free time to just take a breath.”

“You run yourself ragged during marching season, Sadie. I’m glad you can finally take a little bit of a break.”

“How are you and Daddy?” I sat down on the couch and kicked my shoes off.

“Oh you know us, happy and trying to stay healthy.”

“I know you are. How’s Daddy’s diet going?” My dad went to the hospital a couple months back with chest pains. They didn’t find anything that warranted a surgery or anything, but they said his cholesterol and blood pressure were pretty high. They told him he needed to eat much better than he was, but Mom would be the only person who could make him do it. She never missed cooking a meal for him when he was home.

“Stubborn thing. He’s doing a lot better and he doesn’t complain about what I cook nearly as much as I figured he would.” I laughed because I knew for sure he’d whine about it. My dad was as much of a creature of habit as anyone I’d seen.

“Well, at least he isn’t being difficult. Well, any more than normal.”

“You got that right. Your dad will be just fine. How is everything there? You still okay living by yourself?”

“Everything is really great Mom. I met my neighbor last week and her family. I actually went out with her and some of her friends to the movies Saturday night. It was a lot of fun.”

“Oh I’m so glad! You never make enough time for yourself. You need some fun for yourself too.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to try and do that a little more often.”

I heard what I thought was my mom covering the phone with her hand, my dad saying something in the background.

“Sorry honey, your dad needed to tell me something. Anyway, I know when we talked a couple weeks ago, you said you were going to try and come home for Thanksgiving. Were you still hoping to do that?” Thanksgiving was a little over three weeks away and truth be told, I didn’t really have the money to buy the plane tickets.

“I wanted to, but I don’t know if I can afford it right now Mom. I wish I could, but I’ll still see you guys for Christmas, right?”

“As long as you’re still coming! It’s been too long since I’ve seen you. I’m excited to have a regular Christmas with you. Besides, I invited the Turner’s over for Thanksgiving since their kids have all moved out too. As long as you won’t be lonely. It would break my heart.”

“Well, I started dating someone…”

When Brent and I got divorced, I told my parents that he and I were just better off as friends. My parents weren’t ever the type to pry, so they took it for what it was. They told me the same things I assumed most parents did. I’d find someone perfect, someone will come along when I least expected it, everything parents tell their children after a breakup.

“Really, already? That’s great honey! How did that happen?”

“Remember my neighbor I told you about? It’s her brother-in-law. He’s actually a police officer. He pulled me over last week and then when I was at her house, I ran into him there.” I realized I had been smiling while telling her how we met.

“Well that’s great. You better make sure he knows what’ll happen if he doesn’t treat you right. Your daddy will be glad to make sure of that.” She laughed and I knew she was right. “What’s his name?”

“His name is Parker. He’s great Mom. He’s a real gentleman.”
Unlike the asshole I was married to
. “We hit it off right away. I think there’s something really great that could happen with us.” I felt completely confident telling her that. I truly believed it.

Just as I finished telling her about Parker, my phone beeped. I looked at it and it was a text from him.

“Speaking of Parker, Mom, he just sent me a message. Can I give ya a call tomorrow?”

“Of course baby girl. Take care of yourself!”

“I will. Tell Daddy I said hey, okay?”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye momma!” I hung up and checked my message.

Sorry it took me forever to text back. Had a meeting at work. You make it home yet?

I messaged him back telling him yes and went upstairs to change into my workout clothes. There was about an hour left of daylight, so I decided to run outside. When I got back downstairs, Parker had already written back. He told me he had been at work really early this morning and didn’t get much sleep after his shift, so he was going to bed early tonight. He briefly mentioned making plans for this weekend, so I said goodnight – reluctantly of course - and headed out for my run.

When I got home, I showered and ate some dinner. It was still early, so I gave myself a manicure and pedicure, painting my nails with my favorite color “Strawberry Margarita”.  I wondered if Parker had done anything with the note I gave him. He didn’t say anything about it, but he sounded like he had been busy. As long as I didn’t hear from Brent again, I didn’t care either way. I finished some school work and thought going to bed early sounded like a pretty good idea.

Eleven

Stephannie and I had just finished up second period and had one left before our planning period.

“So, we’re going out for my birthday dinner this weekend. You’re still coming right?”

“Of course I’m coming! Are we doing Friday or Saturday?”

Ever since Stephannie and I became friends and officemates three years ago, we’ve been going out to dinner for her birthday with her family. I adored her boys and her husband was so funny. I didn’t get to see them as often as I’d like since they were so busy, but what family with children wasn’t? We got together any chance we could, whether it was just her and I, or I crashed a family party they were having. I loved every minute of it.

“Friday. We’re going to Maggie’s. Probably like six or so? I don’t want to stay out too late past the boys’ bedtimes. Is that cool?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect. We haven’t hung out in a while outside of this place.” Just as I finished my sentence, the bell rang for the next class. “Ugh, is it really only Tuesday?” I joked, and walked out to my classroom to greet my students.

Third period was my Advanced Concert Band class, so quite a bit of work went into it. I spent most of the class trying to correct a timing issue with the French horn section. We were almost done when the bell finally rang.

“Alright guys, put your stuff away and I’ll see you tomorrow. Horns, I need you to practice that section. Everyone else will fall behind if you can’t come in on the right count.” I liked to think I was pretty liked and respected by my students. Very rarely were there any disagreements or a student that got an attitude with me. They knew that I was serious about my job and that music was really important to me. They worked hard enough to meet my probably too high expectations. They always felt really great when we did well at our competitions, so I think that kept them on track.

I got back to my office and Stephannie was already pulling her lunch out of our fridge. I grabbed my water bottle off my desk and took a sip when my cell phone rang in my drawer. I pulled it out and my caller ID told me it was Parker.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I wasn’t sure if you would answer. Well, could answer.” He sounded like wasn’t expecting me to pick up.

“Actually I just finished class and was sitting down to eat lunch.” Stephannie looked over at me and I mouthed ‘
Parker
’ with a cheesy grin on my face. Just as I did, I heard the second bell ring that meant everyone should be in their next class by now. The bell seemed unusually loud. “Why did I hear the school bell while I’m on the phone with you?”

I heard him laugh slightly and the breeze whistle into his phone. “Actually, I’m out in the parking lot. I sort of figured out when your planning period was from getting your text right away after you got the flowers. Any chance you can come have lunch with me?”

“Yeah of course! But I only have forty five minutes, is that okay?”

“I’ll take what I can get.” He was definitely smiling into the phone.
How freaking adorable is he?

“Alright, I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone. I stood up and grabbed my purse and put my water in the fridge.

“What’s up? He’s
here
?” She put the lid back on her lunch and stood up quickly. “Where is he? You know I have to see him!” She followed me as I walked to the front of my classroom where the door led to the parking lot. She shoved past me and stuck her head in front of the window while I looked through the glass of the other one. Parker saw us both and waved, my face heating up from just the smile on his face.

“Holy shit Sadie, he’s hot! I knew he had to be good looking, but holy hell. You better jump on that, in more ways than one, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Steph!” I slapped her on the arm and pushed the door open. “I’ll see you in forty minutes or so,” I said almost in a singsong voice.