Pieces of Me by Rachel Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

almost a whisper and his eyes pop back to mine and I’m lost in them.
    I shake my head.
    The bell rings and our colleagues begin shuffling out of the staff room to begin the day’s lessons.
    Scooping up my folder from the table I glance at the door. “Well, we’d better get to work, I suppose.”
    “Yeah.” We walk out the door and I realize his class is on the opposite side of the building to mine.
    “I guess I’ll see you later.” Smiling I give him a little wave as I turn and walk away. His voice halts my steps.
    “Shorty. It’s really good to see you again.” Turning around and taking a deep breath, I see he is already walking in the other direction.
    I whisper “You too, Jake.”
     
    I don’t see him again through the day. I avoided the staff room and ate lunch in my classroom while I marked some of this morning’s test papers. At the end of the day, I rushed to the staff room, grabbed my bag and practically ran straight to my car. I don’t know why I’m so nervous about seeing him again; I think it was because of the way my body had reacted to him this morning. I need to get over the shock of him actually being here before I can engage in a productive conversation and not look like a stammering idiot.
    “So, you won’t believe who I ran into today?”
    Cameron shrugs and stays focussed on her pasta. We’re sitting at the kitchen table having dinner and I have been tossing up whether to tell her or not.
    “I actually ran into Jake. It turns out he is the new music teacher at school.”
    Cameron shakes her head in disbelief “Holy crap! What are the odds?”
    Nodding my head in agreement, I secretly wonder if he knew that he was applying for a job at the school where I worked. No…when we saw each other in the staff room, he seemed just as surprised as I was.
    Cameron shocks me with her next question, “So is the friendship going to pick up where it ended?”
    I ponder this for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. We hardly know each other anymore. A lot can change in six years.”
    “I suppose. I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little if you know what I mean.”
    Giving Cameron a tight smile, I finish the rest of my dinner in silence.
     
    Later that night I’m sitting cross legged on my bed with a large shoebox in front of me. It’s covered in dust from sitting in the back of my closet for so long. Lifting the lid I pull out the small photo album inside and notice my hands are shaking as I open it up. The first thing I see is a photo of me and Jake when we were sixteen. We were sitting in the cafeteria at school and Lacie had taken the photo on her phone. She sent a copy to me and I had printed it up because it was such a great shot. I’m looking toward the camera and Jake is staring at me. His brown eyes are glowing and I never noticed before but he is watching me with the sweetest expression on his face…such tenderness in his eyes. I feel the tears building as I think back to the last moments we shared together.
    The ringtone of my phone drags me away from my memories and when I pick it up I see Daniel’s name on the screen. Sniffling, I quickly wipe away the tears before I answer the call.
    “Hi.”
    “Hi, Sweetheart. What are you doing?”
    “Oh not much, just…reading a book. What about you?”
    “I’m just sitting in a little pub having dinner and a glass of wine and missing you.” Smiling, I quickly pack away the shoebox of Jake memories and focus on Daniel. I spend the next ten minutes listening to him describe his adventures in the outback, before we say goodnight. Two hours later I’m lying in bed, wide awake and nervous but also a little bit excited about seeing Jake again tomorrow.
    ***
    The next morning I spend extra time applying makeup to cover the bags under my eyes. I managed to get a few hours of broken sleep but not nearly enough. I stand in front of my open closet wondering what to wear before selecting a black knee length pencil skirt and a cap sleeved