Enemies with Benefits

Chapter Twenty-Four

Walking to my lecture hall, I didn't expect the pain in my heart to be as barging as it was. The closed door to room three eighteen stared back at me as I passed, glaring and laughing. Mocking.

Reminding.

I turned my gaze down and shuffled past like some scorned preteen, clutching tighter to the computer bag at my side and counting each clack my heels made on the tiled floor.

Until the clacking was overshadowed by the familiar Algebra-teacher's voice.

"Rachel, wait!"

I froze, clearing my throat and turning slightly.

"David, hey." I shifted on my feet, already uncomfortable. And not from the heels. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about—" he cut his words off, a light crease in his forehead appearing as he worked to take in my expression. "You talked to Leah."

Not a question. But it was still one I didn't want to answer.

I forced an awkward smile and nodded. When the looming silence in the air was enough to suck the life out of the happiest of parties, I nodded again to no one in particular and spun, heading for my own room.

"I-I'm sorry. I just...you know, I cut my losses with you because of whatever was going on with you and Caleb. So, I just...she said you didn't mind."

I didn't bother stopping again, just clutched tighter to the bag in my hand and shoved the full weight of my body into my door. A quick set-up and my nerves were on high alert. Shaking hands wouldn't do me any good, so I let my attitude rule my lectures' directions for the day. Which was about to kill any respect my students had for me.

The door opened and they started filing in.

"Let's go, let's go. Hurry up, you guys. I have a tub of ice cream and a bottle of wine calling my name, so I would love nothing more than to get out of here early today."

Groans and growls started emanating through the room as the first in sat down.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. It's just a little quiz to make sure you guys were paying attention last class." I grinned evilly, the same one I'd always hated seeing when I was a student. "Pop quiz. Derivatives. When you finish, you're free to go."

That sparked a few lights in the eyes of the half-dead college students before me. I held back another grin, knowing all too well how they felt.

"Flip the tests over." A whoosh of papers sounded. "You may begin."

_

My knee bounced and flounced as I sat impatiently in my swiveling chair. With only two students left—one, brows furrowed and squibbling some haphazard answers down and the other, gnawing on their pencil with glazed eyes absolutely not on their test—I held out hope that they'd both finish soon. As soon as the panicked scribbler stood, the dazed and confused eye-open-sleeper snapped out of it, too, deciding to stand and leave the room as well.

As for me, I was a wreck.

Somewhere in the midst of silence and rustling pages, David's words had sunk into my mess of a brain. Something didn't sit quite right, and I was too on-edge to wait for an answer, regardless of the fact that I knew he was still mid-teaching. I stood and stomped for the door, jerking it open and waltzing down the hall towards my destination.

The door of three eighteen swung open under my shove. David flinched and paused with a frown in my direction.

"Professor Saunders, a word, please?"