Broken, Navaura Campbell [top young adult novels txt] 📗

that she'd known Jordan, there was never a time where a client was actually brought to their house. This caused a red flag to plant itself in her mind. She waited for him and the lady to step into the living-room before she greeted her. Jordan who was ahead of her, stood next to Denise, put his arm around her waist and smiled up at this girl named Gina, “Hi Gina, this is my wife, Denise, Denise, this is a client of mine, Gina.”

Denise stared at the girl, unable to move her lips at first, because the woman Gina in front of her drew her speachless with the way she looked and wore long red hair down past her shoulders. “Nice to meet you,” The woman spoke.

“You as well.” Denise plastered on a smile as the lady shook her hand. Glancing around, Gina sprang another compliment, “Nice home.” She stated, her tone amiable. “Thank you. My wife works hard to maintain our house hold. Denise still couldn't fanthom a reason as to why he brought this woman to their home. It was so uncharacteristic of him. “Jordan, may I speak with you please.”

Jordan nodded and answered, “Let me show Gina where my office is first.”

Denise waited til he came back into the living-room before whispering, “I can't believe you just did that.”

“What?”

“That!” She hissed, gesturing toward his office.

“I just wanted to make sure you made it to your appointment. This way it's easier.”

Denise stared at him, unable to understand this decision but shrugged, “Alright, if you say so. I'm going to check the mail.”

“Yep.”

With that, Denise went outside to check the mail. After sorting through several bills and a coupon booklet from piggly wiggly, she came upon an envelope addressed to her. There was a stamp on it from the Grisham Middle School in Dover Virginia, an area a good twenty miles from home. Opening the letter, she read it:

 

145 S. Grisham Road

Dover, Virginia 23484

May 13, 2018

 

Dear Mrs. Denise Williams

1250 Penn Lane

Hampton, Virginia 23681

 

Dear Mrs. Williams, we are excited to have you join our team here at Grimsham Middle School for the beginning of the school year on August 8, 2018, we ask that you arrive at the school on August first for the New Teacher's Orientation and then again on August 7, for student orientation. We welcome you to Grisham Middle School and hope that you find your career with us rewarding. We look forward to meeting you at the New Teachers' orientation.

We have also attached a school schedule for your convience.

Faculty of Grisham middle school.

 

Denise stared at the letter, a smile on her face. She'd gotten the job. When she applied, she'd figured someone more experienced would get the teaching position at the school since she'd only taught for the first four years after obtaining her degree. Once Jordan received his first promotion and she'd found out that she was pregnant, she'd quit. She had missed it so much that around the fall of last year she'd began applying everywhere she could think of. Once such place had been Grisham Middle School. Because she'd never heard back from them, she decided to just forget the position all together, so to have received a hired letter baffled her.

Not only because of being hired, but because the blessing seemed to come at the wrong time. Everything from her pregnancy, to the fact that she'd neglected to tell her husband she'd even applied, to what was going on with her daughter, signaled the wrong timing for a teaching position. Sighing, she stuffed the letter back in its envelope and then slipped it in her back pocket.

Tomorrow, she'd call the school and tell them that because of her pending pregnancy, she would not accept the position. As she thought about this, she was saddened. She'd gotten her hopes up while applying, believing that someone would eventually hire her and now that it had happened, she couldn't accept the position. Inhaling sharply, she pushed back the tears that wanted to form and exhaled as she opened the screen door, leading into her home.

 

“Just tell her I'm busy, you know, that I can't work on the project right now.” Timothy stated, staring down at a fake chemistry test that was laying out on his bed, as he instructed Kalen on what to say to Tamarah, in an effort to not have to communicate with her. Kalen shoved the house phone at him, “Tell her yourself.” Timothy glared up at her. He didn't want to talk to Tamarah because his heart was pounding and truth be told, he was embarrassed about getting angry at her. He'd never felt that way about any girl and it was beyond him as to why he behaved in that fashion. He had dated many other attractive girls up til two years ago and never once acted the way he had with her. She seemed to get beneath his cool exterior and it wasn't pretty.

Putting the phone up to his ear, he said, “Hey Tamarah.”

“Are you ok?” She inquired, her tone light hearted.

“Yeah, why you ask?” His heart was pounding in his ears, protesting the lie he'd just told.

“You know, I just wanted to make sure because we still have to wrap up this project and I want to know when you will be available.”

“We will but now is not a good time.” He stated.

“Well, when is?”

He sighed, glancing up at the large calendar displayed on the oak colored wall in front of him. He knew he couldn't put it off, but the longest he could was Saturday, which was perfect because it was due that Monday. “Saturday works for you?”

“Saturday...but that's so close to the due date of the project. I was kind of hoping sooner.”

“Saturday is the only day I'm available.” He stated, hoping God wouldn't strike him dead for lying, but the honest truth was that he had to stay away from her for as long as he could. The way she worked his system made him wary. It was becoming more and more difficult to hide the attraction he had toward her. Working this project had brought out even more qualities he hadn't known, the most recent being that she was an awesome cook. “Alright Saturday then.” She finally agreed. They sat there, the line quiet between the two. Finally, Tamarah said, “Bye Tim, I'll speak to you another time.”

“Bye, Tamarah. See you Saturday.”

“Yep.”

Timothy waited for the line to click before he finally hung up. A lump formed in his throat and anxiety build up as he thought about the upcoming Saturday. It still wasn't far enough away.

~ ~

Tamarah hung up the line after calling Timothy and sat there pondering about how she would approach the events of the previous weekend this weekend. Timothy had been deliberately avoiding her all this week and despite her understanding of it, she didn't approve. She didn't know what it was about guys that when confronted with the truth they had a tendency to deny it and live in a state of refute. Sighing, her gaze went back to the baby growing in her stomach and she wondered if it would be a boy or a girl, if it would look like her or Tommy.

She wondered even more so if Vanessa would ever forgive her. If there was one thing she never anticipated, it was that she'd loose her best friend at fifteen. She'd bend hell and high water just to get her back. She had no one she could seriously confided in. Although she really liked Timothy, he was too judgmental of her situation. She wondered why he felt the need to be critical with her. Never had she witnessed him be that way with other girls. He was more sympathetic. However to her, he wasted no time diving right in, letting her know he disapproved. She tried to comprehend, but no matter how hard she tried, the reasoning always alluded her. She could see that he liked her, but she couldn't fanthom a guy liking a girl and not being sympathetic to their needs. Was that normal? As she thought about this, her heart beat began to speed up and she felt dread. If he couldn't be sensitive toward her, then how was she supposed to show him who she really was?

Although she still felt that earth shattering emotion when she looked into his eyes, the avoidance he worked hard at was embarassing enough. As her thoughts went to the surrounding events of the school suspension she'd received, she felt a tug of fear. She hadn't gone to school since last friday. Tomorrow was Thursday, the day she'd return to school which she knew she wasn't ready for. The stares, the guffaws, the disgust. No, she wasn't ready to walk through that building. As fear clouded her heart and mind, she buried her face into her pillow and cried, afraid to face tomorrow.

~ ~

Denise waited close to two thirty before she entered her husband's office, a good fifteen minutes after his one o'clock appointment, Gina Harrelson left. “Jordan, why did you bring that woman to our house?” She wasted no time honing in on her provocation.

“I told you why earlier.”

“It escapes my mind as to why you couldn't continue your appointment at your office and then come home in time for my appointment.”

“I told you why.”

“Yes, I suppose so, but guess what?”

“What?”

“My appointment is at three forty five and we have yet to leave.”

Jordan looked down at his watch. “Damn it, Denise, why didn't you just say something?”

“I thought you had things under control. I mean that is why you brought your work home with you, right?” Her words were riddled with sarcasm. Jordan stared up at her, “It is. We are a half an hour from the clinic. We can leave now.”

“Can you guess how far the clinic is from your place of business?” She inquired.

Jordan's gaze went up to hers, his burning bright green, with little flecks of silvery grey. “How far?”

Her tone was sour as she answered, “Two blocks.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn't know that.”

“Funny how you'd never notice a clinic around the corner from your work place when you've been there for seven years.” She crossed her arms, glaring at him, watching the feigned innocence.

“True. When you're always busy you don't have time to look around at your surroundings.”

Turning away from him, Denise cleared her throat, “I'm going out to the car.” Without another word, she walked out of his office, her heart in turmoil.

On the way to the clinic, Jordan tried to open conversation. “How do you think the baby is doing?”

“I don't know.”

“How far along are you?”

“You know what Jordan, I'm really not in the mood to talk.” She stated, her gaze turned toward the window.

“Ok.” He reached down to turn on the radio. She stopped him with her words, “Please don't.”

She didn't say anything, just continued staring out of the window. The silence was really thick in the car and Jordan knew she was upset over earlier. He hadn't thought about what it looked like to bring his client to his home, but he'd wanted to be around her. He wanted to make sure that he didn't miss this appointment. At-least that's what he told himself, however, in the crevices of his mind, he knew his reasons were not as justifiable as they sounded and it bothered him that his wife knew.

“Ok, Denise, I brought her to the house because I didn't feel comfortable having her at the office, ok.”

“I don't want to talk about that, Jordan. You told me why you brought her there and I believe you.”

“And I believe you're lying, I'd stake my life on it.”

“This is not the time to talk about this, we have an appointment to get to.” Jordan dropped the subject, but knew he'd bring it up again later.

 

When they arrived at the clinic, Jordan went to her side of the door, opened it and she stepped out. As she exited the vehicle, his gaze stared