Chemistry E-Book

Rachael Sommers

• Herausgeber: Ylva Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 465

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

An opposites-attract, ice queen lesbian romance about finding the softest of hearts behind the highest walls. Newly minted high school teacher Lily Cross is young, bubbly, and can't wait to put her fresh ideas into practice in the classroom. Her excitement is derailed after a disastrous run-in with a colleague. Lily didn't realize she'd have to win over her fellow teachers as well as her students, but that's okay. Lily's up to the challenge. Disillusioned Eva Thomas never imagined she'd wind up as a teacher in her hometown, or worse, suffer the boundless, puppy dog enthusiasm of a new colleague. Eva has no interest in making friends—or making nice. She just wants to survive her day and be left alone. That's easier said than done when Lily Cross has you in her sights. Their clashing arguments lead to sparks and then the impossible…attraction. But how can two such different people ever work?

Leseprobe

Table Of Contents

Other Books by Rachael Sommers

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

Other Books from Ylva Publishing

About Rachael Sommers

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Other Books by Rachael Sommers

Fool for Love

Never Say Never

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, thank you to Astrid and everyone at Ylva publishing, because without them, this book wouldn’t be a possibility.

Thanks to my beta readers Gane, Danna, Miira and Sarah S. Particular thanks go to Yan for being my sounding board and helping me make improvements to draft after draft. Sarah P—thank you for helping me sound American, and for all your input on the U.S. school system. You’ve taught me a lot, and I hope I’ve done it justice.

Huge thanks to C.S. Conrad for being such an amazing developmental editor, and for helping me out with a lot of the sensitivity issues in this story. Thanks to Sheena Billett for being my copy editor and catching any English words that fell through the cracks.

Finally, Laura, thank you for everything you do for me. I’m sorry for annoying you by pronouncing everything the American way when I was writing this book. I can’t promise it won’t keep happening, but we all have our flaws. Love you!

Chapter 1

Lily stared with a sense of resignation as the departure time of each flight listed on the board changed to the same word:

CANCELED.

This was notgood.

“Excuse me?” The woman standing in front of her in the check-in line stepped toward the nearest member of airport staff. “My flight is canceled?”

“All of the flights are canceled, ma’am.” He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else, and Lily didn’t blame him. He was about to say the same thing a hundred times over.

“But why?”

His gaze flitted to the windows of Miami International Airport. The panes were streaked with rain, and the palm trees in the distance were bent in half. “Have you seen the weather, ma’am?”

She waved a hand. “It’s just a little rain.”

Lily snorted. She wouldn’t call a category three storm “a little rain”. The woman turned to throw Lily a haughty glare.

“I’m afraid there’s not much we can do. We have to wait for it to pass.”

Lily sighed. It had been a risk to travel to the airport—she’d been keeping a careful eye on the news for the past few days—but it wasn’t like she had much choice.

She’d given the keys of her apartment over to its new owner that morning.

Curling a hand around the handle of her suitcase, Lily stepped out of the line. There was a hotel somewhere in the central terminal, and if she was quick, she might be able to grab a room before everyone else had the same idea.

Trying to re-book a flight for later in the week would be much more fun if she could do it sprawled on a double bed with room service.

As she walked, Lily pulled out her phone and dialed her sister’s number.

“Christ, Daisy.” Lily jerked the phone away from her ear when greeted with the sound of a wailing baby. “I think I’ve gone deaf.”

“You’ve gone deaf? Try being in the same room. She has the lung capacity of an adult human.”

“What did you expect marrying someone who’s six four?”

“Don’t. She’s already doubled in size since she was born. She’s going to be a giant.” Emma’s crying lessened, and Daisy’s sigh of relief was audible. “Are you all right? Is your flight on time?”

“My flight is canceled.”

“What? Why?”

“Have you not seen the news?”

“I have a six-week-old baby, Lily. I haven’t watched anything.”

“There’s a storm. All flights are grounded until further notice.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” Lily’s black Vans squeaked on the marble floor as she weaved her way through the people scattered throughout the terminal. “I’m going to see if I can get a room nearby to hole up for the night.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to get here tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.” Lily shot a baleful look at the black sky through a nearby window. “Right now, I doubt it. Which means I’m probably going to miss the first day of my new job, and then they’ll fire me, and I—”

“Okay. Stop.” Daisy cut her off mid-spiral. “They’re not going to fire you, even if you do miss your first day.”

“They might.”

“They won’t.”

“It doesn’t make a good impression though, does it? I knew I shouldn’t have booked a flight so close.” Not that she’d had much choice. The move back to her hometown hadn’t exactly been planned and selling her apartment and packing up her things—as well as finishing up her last two weeks at work—had meant cutting it fine.

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have predicted this.”

“Should’ve. It is hurricane season.”

“True. You did abandon us for the sunshine of Florida.”

“Not for much longer.” As nice as it would be to be back around her family, Lily would miss Miami. It had been where she’d found herself, her place in the world, and she’d be sad to leave it behind. “Can you call Mom and let her know?”

“’Course.”

Lily spotted a sign for the MIA Hotel and quickened her pace, ducking around a group of British tourists arguing about the best way to proceed. “I hope she’ll be okay watching Hades for a while longer.”

“Please. She loves having a cat in the house again. You might not get her back.”

“She’s welcome to cat sit whenever she likes.” Lily stepped inside the hotel and joined the back of the line snaking from the check-in desk. It wasn’t too long; she hoped they had enough rooms left for the handful of people in front of her. “Right, I’d better go. I’ll call you later.”

“Bye!” Daisy hung up, and Lily tapped her foot as she waited to reach the front of the line.

“Do you have any rooms free for the night?” Lily said, when she could finally step up to the desk.

“You’re in luck,” the clerk said with a tired smile. “There’s one left.”

Lily didn’t feel particularly lucky as she forked out a hundred and twenty dollars for the luxury of not having to sleep on the airport floor.

But at least Lily was inside. And the room was nice enough, a queen-sized bed in the center and a comfortable-looking red leather armchair tucked into the corner.

Sinking onto it, Lily abandoned her suitcase by the bed and pulled out her phone. She had a call to make.

Lily hoped her new boss would be forgiving.

* * *

“Look who finally made it!” Lily was greeted by Daisy, her face alight with a broad grin, outside Arrivals at O’Hare. Lily was swept into a tight hug as soon as she was within arm’s reach, and nearly inhaled a mouthful of her sister’s hair.

When they were younger, they’d often been mistaken for twins with only a one-year age gap between them. They had the same dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, a spattering of freckles across white cheeks that were easy to redden. Lily was an inch taller—and never let Daisy forget it.

“Glad to be back?”

Lily squeezed her sister tight. “You have no idea.” Her bank balance sure was—one night at the MIA Hotel had turned into three while she waited for a space on a flight to Chicago to become available.

“How’s my favorite sister-in-law?” Alex stood beside Daisy, a baby carrier in one hand.

“I’m your only sister-in-law,” Lily said, feeling tiny standing in front of him. “And I’m good.” Lily glanced inside the carrier; Emma slept soundly within. “I see she’s stopped screaming.”

“Don’t jinx it. This is the longest she’s slept this week.” Daisy started off toward the exit. “I’m guessing you still have a job?”

Lily rolled her suitcase behind her, squinting in the late afternoon sun as they stepped outside. She regretted her decision to pack away her sunglasses. It was a warm day, and though it didn’t compare to the Miami heat, she couldn’t complain.

“I do. They were understanding.”

“I told you.” Daisy nudged Lily with her shoulder. “Wasn’t it an institute day you missed anyway?”

“Yeah, but still. It was supposed to be my chance to familiarize myself with the school and the staff.” Which she’d have to do between classes on Monday morning.

“You’ll be fine.”

They reached Alex’s Volvo, and Lily put her case in the trunk while Daisy secured the baby carrier on the backseat.

Alex slid behind the wheel and Daisy into the passenger seat, leaving Lily in the back beside her sleepy niece.

Daisy turned to glance at Lily over her shoulder. “Want to go to Mom and Dad’s or your new place?”

“The new place, I think.” As much as she’d like some of her mom’s cooking, Lily wanted to settle in as soon as possible.

Especially if she only had a day before working full time.

“I’ll let Mom know they can meet us there if they want.” Lily fired off the text and then leaned her head against the back of the seat.

She was exhausted. It had been a hectic few months between her career change and moving halfway across the country, but it felt right, and she couldn’t wait to get started on her new life.

In an old haunt.

As Alex pulled onto the highway, Lily glanced out of the car window. It had been ten years since she’d left Illinois for college. Returning only for holidays since, she was back—possibly for good.

Lily had worried it would feel like a step backwards, but instead she felt content. Her new place wasn’t quite in her hometown of High Grove, but it was only a half-hour drive—so, as her mom had said when Lily had told her she was coming back, she had no excuse not to visit.

It was small for a house but compared to the apartment she was used to in Miami it was spacious. And—most crucially—here, she’d be living on her own.

Not with her cheating ex.

Plus, it was a five-minute drive to the high school where Lily would start teaching on Monday. Which, as she struggled to get out of bed in the morning, was an added bonus.

“Looks like they beat us here,” Alex said, as he pulled onto Lily’s street.

Her parents’ Accord was parked behind her Corolla, abandoned in the driveway since she’d driven it up a few weeks ago with as many of her belongings she could fit inside it.

They stepped out of the car as Alex pulled in behind them, and Lily was swept into her mom’s arms before she was properly out of the car.

“Give her a chance to breathe, Mom,” Daisy said, unbuckling Emma from the car seat when she fussed.

“I can’t help it. I’ve missed her.”

“I’ve missed you too, Mom.”

“What about me?” Her dad said, and Lily hugged him, too.

“And you.” Lily heard a yowl from inside her parent’s car and peered through the rear window. A cat carrier sat on the backseat, and Lily caught a glimpse of a black paw trying to bat at the latch, green eyes glimmering from within. “Has she been living up to her namesake?”

“She’s been wonderful,” her mom said, a fond look on her face. “But I’m sure she’s eager to explore her new home.”

Lily was, too. She grabbed the carrier and led the way to the front door.

“I hope you don’t mind,” her dad said as she slid her key into the lock. “But we’ve done some work on the place since you were last here. Wanted to help you settle in—especially with the delay.”

Curiosity burning, Lily let herself inside.

The cream wallpaper she’d chosen to replace the dingy gray in the hall had been hung, and the carpets lining the stairs looked like they’d been deep-cleaned. A glance into the living room revealed her new couch had arrived safely, and the flat pack furniture had been assembled, a TV stand and a bookcase pressed carefully against the wall. It was still bare—the price of having to start all over again, her old furniture tainted with memories she’d rather not re-visit—but at least it was all hers.

Lily suspected the same sight would greet her upstairs, and the knowledge she wouldn’t have to spend hours assembling her bed before she could go to sleep made her want to cry.

“Obviously, you can move it all around,” her dad said. “But we wanted to make life as easy for you as possible.”

“You did all this for me?” Lily said, her throat feeling tight.

“We all did,” Daisy said, knocking Lily’s shoulder with her own. “Welcome home, sis.”

* * *

Lily’s footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, devoid of the sound of lockers clattering open. In an hour, this place would be heaving with teenagers fresh from their summer vacation, and Lily reveled in the calm before the storm.

“I’m sorry, again, for not being here on Friday.” Lily turned to her new boss—the head of Greenfield High School’s science department—and was promptly waved off.

“Please don’t apologize,” Alisha said, her heels clicking against the floor. “It was out of your control. And you’re here now. That’s the most important thing.” A tall, Black woman with warm brown eyes in her late-forties, Alisha Woods struck Lily as straightlaced and intimidating, but her smile as she ushered Lily into a classroom was kindly. “Here we are. This is your room.”

Lily stepped inside and glanced around, taking it all in. It was bright and airy, the windows along the rear wall offering a view of the sports fields at the back of the building and letting in plenty of the early morning sun. Wooden benches pointed toward the white boards at the front of the room, with green stools neatly tucked underneath.

“It’s perfect.” The walls were bare, but Lily could work with that. She set her bag on the teacher’s desk—herdesk—and ran her fingertips across its surface.

“I’ll give you a quick tour of the rest of the department while it’s still quiet,” Alisha said, turning toward the door and leaving Lily hurrying to catch up. “We have four other science teaching staff. Andrew is physics, Mei is earth and physical science.” She pointed at their classrooms as they passed, the lights within dim. Alisha seemed to be the singular early riser.

“Brandon does a bit of everything across the whole school, so he’s often not around, and Eva…” Alisha trailed off, glancing at the room at the end of the hall. It was the only one bearing a name; Dr. Eva Thomas was engraved on the plaque.

Lily tried not to think it was pretentious. She’d reserve her judgment until she’d met her.

“Eva is our resident biologist. I should warn you now—she can be prickly.”

“Prickly?”

“Yes. I’d give her a wide berth. Most other people do.”

Well, that didn’t sound encouraging.

“This is my room.” Alisha propped open the door to let Lily see inside, the walls plastered with an array of brightly colored posters. “If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ve been teaching for years, but I still remember how overwhelming my first year of it was. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to look at your schedule yet, but you have first period free today, so you have a chance to settle in before you get thrown in at the deep end.”

Their next stop was the teacher’s lounge. “There is one over in the main building, but everyone tends to use this one. It’s cozy.” It was smaller than Lily had been used to at the school where she’d finished her training, with a few padded chairs placed around a large wooden table in the center of the room. A fridge sat beside a sink along one wall, and Lily was delighted to see a Keurig coffee machine on the counter.

“Feel free to help yourself,” Alisha said, noticing the direction of Lily’s gaze. “There’s a monthly contribution toward keeping it stocked, or you can bring in your own if you wish. There’s a toaster and a microwave, too. All I ask is you clean up after yourself—which doesn’t stop half of the department from leaving a mess behind. This might be the cleanest you’ll see the place.”

“I think it’s a requirement for every department to have a serial slob.”

“That’s been my experience.” Alisha’s smile eased some of the nerves that had been somersaulting around her stomach all morning.

Lily had yet to meet any of her students, but at least Alisha had offered her a warm welcome.

“I’ll leave you to get yourself settled.” Alisha glanced at the silver watch around her wrist. “There’s still forty minutes until classes start if you want to explore the rest of the school, and I’ll see you later. I hope you settle in okay.”

“Thanks, Alisha.”

Alisha disappeared down the hall, and Lily returned to her classroom to fetch her lunch so she could put it in the refrigerator. She grabbed her trusty mug, too, a present from the students she’d spent her last few weeks of teacher training with. Miss Cross, was written on the side using symbols from the periodic table.

Lily was filling it with coffee when the door to the teacher’s lounge opened behind her. A white man who appeared to be in his early thirties joined her.

“Oh, hi.” He pushed square-framed black glasses up his nose before stretching a hand toward her. “You must be Lily. I’m Andrew.”

If pressed, that was what Lily would have guessed—something about his skinny frame, glasses and tweed suit screamed physicist.

“That’s right, it’s nice to meet you.” Lily shook his hand.

“How are you feeling?” He leaned past her to put a salad in the refrigerator. “Alisha said this was your first job.”

“Nervous, but excited to get going.”

“Good, good. The kids aren’t so bad here. They’ll try and test you, but as long as you’re firm with them I’m sure you’ll be fine. I know Alisha will have already offered, but if you need anything, please ask.”

“Thank you.” Coffee in hand, Lily retreated to her classroom, settling behind her desk and pressing the power button on her new staff-issued laptop. She spent a few minutes familiarizing herself with the system, relieved to find it was similar to the ones she’d used before—the last thing she needed was to be plagued by IT issues on her first day.

That wasn’t the way to win over her classes.

Lily glanced at the clock on the wall. It was seven thirty, which left her with twenty minutes before the building would be flooded with kids. Already she could see them gathering outside, eager to catch up after their summer break.

Deciding to leave exploring beyond the safety of her own floor for another time, she went in search of the nearest staff toilets, instead. On her return, Lily paused in the hallway to read a poster on the wall detailing the science and STEM clubs the school ran as extracurriculars.

Lily failed to notice the door opening behind her and didn’t realize she was blocking the doorway until someone collided with her back, jolting them both.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sor—” Lily turned to apologize, but the words died in her throat because the woman glaring at her was drop-dead gorgeous. Short dark hair framed a strong jawline, black-rimmed glasses sitting on her nose above sharp cheekbones, her white skin flawless.

A dark stain was spreading across the front of the woman’s white blouse, drips of coffee from the mug gripped in her hand splashing onto the floor, and Lily gulped.

“I’m so sorry.” The blouse looked expensive, and this was notthe way to make a good impression on her new colleagues. “Is it hot? Let me help.”

“Of course it’s hot!” Her voice was as cool and steely as the gray of her eyes, her expression morphing to disgust as she glanced down at herself. “Why are you standing there?”

“I-I was reading the posters.” Lily waved toward the wall, trying not to quail beneath the weight of the woman’s gaze as she stared down at Lily’s black slacks and floral blouse. “I’m Lily. Lily Cross, the new chemistry teacher. I hope you aren’t hurt, and I’ll pay for your blouse to be dry cleaned.”

Lily stretched out a hand, glancing over the woman’s shoulder and realizing she was outside of Eva’s room.

Eva looked at her hand, lip curled in distaste, and Lily let it drop back to her side. Lily thought of Alisha’s earlier warning—she hadn’t realized that prickly was code for extremely rude. And a little scary.

On the plus side, Eva’s attitude made her instantly less attractive.

“I’ll be surprised if you last the week.” Eva brushed past Lily in the direction of the staff toilets, leaving Lily staring after her.

A low whistle caught her attention, and Lily turned to see an Asian woman exiting the classroom opposite Lily’s, dark curls framing a smiling face. “Damn, newbie. You’re lucky you’re still alive.”

Lily groaned. “Not the first impression I hoped to make. Or be greeted with.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. She wouldn’t like you anyway.” She said it so cheerfully Lily had to laugh.

“You’re Mei, right?”

“Yeah. Welcome to the madhouse. I promise no one else will be as unwelcoming.”

“Even the kids?”

“Oh, the kids are a breeze compared to her. Trust me.”

The shrill sound of the bell echoed in the hall, and Lily jumped.

“Here they come,” Mei said, as shadows started to approach from the building’s entrance. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

“Good morning,” Mei said to her students, receiving a few grunts in response. “I see we’re not awake yet. You’ve had the whole summer to catch up on sleep! Look alive, people.”

* * *

Lily spent first period decorating. She hung a large periodic table on one wall and some posters about different educational styles on another. Her desk remained bare, but she was sure after a week or two it would be covered—she would never be one of those teachers who managed to keep an immaculate workspace.

Having printed off her schedule, Lily sat to study it. All her classes were sophomores, and it would be their first taste of chemistry since middle school. Lily knew most of them dreaded it—it involved a lot of math, and not nearly as much lab work as they’d prefer—but she was looking forward to trying to change their minds.

Forty-five minutes passed quicker than Lily expected, and when the bell rang, she climbed to her feet and smoothed out the creases in her blouse as she waited by the door for her new students.

They arrived in dribs and drabs, and Lily ushered them inside. She let them sit where they wanted, though she wouldn’t hesitate to shift them around if she found some didn’t work well together.

Once all the seats were filled, Lily took a deep breath and moved to the front of the room. She leaned back against her desk and willed her fingers not to shake as she wrapped them around its edge. “Welcome. I’m Miss Cross, and I’m going to be your chemistry teacher for the next year. I thought we could start by going around the room and have each of you give me a chemistry fact.”

Lily saw a few eye rolls but didn’t let it discourage her.

“Let’s start here.” She moved toward the first desk on the front row, where a kid with a mop of dark curls sat. “What’s your name?”

“Luke.”

Lily made a note on a piece of paper, knowing she’d never remember their names if she didn’t write them somewhere.

“Okay, Luke, can you think of a fact for me? It can be anything you like.”

“Uh…” Luke paused, pen twirling. “Technetium was the first ever man-made element.”

Lily hadn’t expected that from a fifteen-year-old. “Wow, that’s right. Who’s next?” Lily glanced at the next student along.

“Marie Curie is the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences.”

“Great, and you are?”

“Amanda.”

Lily remembered the (they/them) pronouns from the class list she’d been given and made a mental note not to slip up when referring to Amanda in future classes. “And sitting next to you is…?”

“Macie. Bromine and mercury are the only elements liquid at room temperature.” Macie offered the fact without being prompted, and Lily smiled.

Lily made her way around the room. Whether they knew it or not, the fact they chose told her a lot about them, and by the time she reached the end Lily felt the last of her nerves fade away.

Macie raised a hand as Lily returned to her desk.

“Yes, Macie?”

“Do you have a fact, Miss Cross?”

Thankfully, Lily had anticipated someone asking and had a few prepared. “How about the fact that while oxygen gas is colorless, its solid and liquid forms are blue? Or the human body contains enough carbon atoms to provide graphite for nine thousand pencils? There’s one letter of the alphabet that doesn’t appear on the periodic table—can anyone tell me what it is?” Several pairs of eyes flitted over to Lily’s poster, and she smiled. “Preferably withoutcheating.”

“Z!”

“X!”

“J!”

“K!”

“No, that’s potassium, you idiot—”

“While I appreciate the enthusiasm”—Lily raised her voice to cut through the noise—“let’s not all shout out at once, okay? And let’s not call people idiots, either.” She looked pointedly at the culprit.

“Sorry, Miss Cross.”

“I did hear the right answer in there somewhere, though. Who said J?”

Luke’s hand raised.

“Well done, Luke. Now, I know sometimes it can be hard to speak in front of the class, so here’s some incentive.” Lily reached behind her desk for the box of candy she’d bought the previous day, trying not to laugh at the widening eyes of her class. “No one has any allergies, do they?” She’d glanced over the medical information for all her students and didn’t remember any, but she wanted to be sure. When there were no nods, Lily held the box toward Luke. “If you answer a question—right or wrong—you get candy. But you have to raise your hand rather than shout out. Sound good?”

She was met with vigorous nods.

“Let’s test it out, shall we? Who can tell me what the smallest unit of matter is?”

Several hands shot into the air, and Lily chose at random.

“An atom.”

“Correct.” Lily offered Ben the box. “And what is the center of the atom called?”

Again, she had a few students to choose from.

“The nucleus.”

“Which consists of…?”

Lily continued to build the questions until they’d all gotten a piece of candy, impressed with their base level of knowledge and confident she had a bright group of kids.

Time flew by, and when the bell rang and signaled the end of her first class, Lily felt good, amped up for her next and ready to do it all again.

Chapter 2

The first day of the semester was always Eva’s favorite, but today she couldn’t enjoy it as much as she usually did.

Five minutes of scrubbing at the stain on her blouse hadn’t been enough to get it out entirely, and she’d had a question about it from every single class she’d taught. And as for the woman who’d caused it in the first place…well, that was like looking at a ghost.

It had been two years since Eva had last laid eyes on her ex, but Lily and Victoria seemed to share some similarities. Blonde hair, bright blue eyes, pale white skin and a full figure. Victoria would never be caught dead in a shirt like Lily’s, but it had still been enough to make Eva do a double-take. Enough to make Eva react more viciously than she might have done were it anyone else.

No matter. Eva refused to let their encounter ruin the rest of her day.

Eva knew she had a reputation for being one of the toughest teachers in the school, yet that didn’t stop those students she’d never taught from testing her limits, seeing how far they could push things before she snapped.

It was her fourth class of the day, and she’d handed out six detentions.

More were brewing as she watched her freshman honors students file into her room, talking animatedly with one another. If they thought Eva was going to give them an easy ride because she had them the period before lunch, they were sorely mistaken.

“Quiet, please.” Eva rarely needed to raise her voice to take command of a room, and silence fell when she stood in front of the board. “I am Dr. Thomas, and for the next two semesters, we will be studying the four pillars of biology: cells, genetics, ecology, and evolution. A lot of people consider biology to be the easiest of the sciences”—an opinion not helped by cramming the entire biology syllabus into their freshman year—“but I think you’ll soon learn it’s not the case.”

A hand raised at the front of the class.

“Yes?”

“Whatisthe easiest? In your opinion?”

Eva wasn’t going to be drawn into a debate within the first five minutes. “They’re all on equal footing, but if any of you consider this class an easy ride, you’re in for a rude awakening. You’ve been placed in an honors class based on placement tests and teacher recommendations but make no mistake: if you don’t pull your weight, you will be moved. I don’t tolerate slackers. Understood?”

Twenty heads bobbed in unison.

Eva slipped her glasses onto her nose to take roll call, noting where each student was sitting as they answered. She prided herself on learning their names—and identifying any potential troublemakers—quickly.

“Another thing I don’t tolerate is people talking when I am,” Eva said when she was finished, leveling a glare at two kids in the back row of seats. One of them dropped their head, looking at the desk with pink cheeks, but the other stared right back at Eva.

Her first problem student.

Eva refrained from rubbing her palms together.

“Francesca, is it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s ‘Yes, ma’am’, or ‘Yes, doctor’, if you prefer.” Eva hadn’t spent six years slogging through a PhD program not to use the title that came with it, but she didn’t always use it in the classroom.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do I need to move you elsewhere, or do you think you can manage to keep your mouth shut for the next forty minutes?”

“I’ll try my best.” Francesca smirked, leaning back in her chair like she was sitting at a restaurant with her friends. The logo of her jacket caught Eva’s attention—Gucci—and Eva tried not to generalize but her most difficult, entitled students were usually the ones with the richest parents.

“If you can’t manage it, you can spend an hour with me after school practicing.” Eva rose to her feet to stand beside the board, her PowerPoint presentation for the introductory lesson already on the screen. “Now, let’s get started, shall we? Who can give me the definition of a cell?”

Eva kept a close eye on Francesca throughout the rest of the class, expecting some pushback, but to her surprise, none came. Her dressing-down seemed to have scared her classmates, too, and Eva didn’t issue a single detention for the remainder of the period.

When the bell rang, Eva followed her students out into the hall. Lunch duty wasn’t something she particularly enjoyed, but it was a necessary part of the job. Eva garnered a few curious looks over the state of her shirt, and she folded her arms across her chest to hide the worst of the brown mark, a glare enough to silence any snickers sent her way.

Several other members of staff stood huddled together in groups, but Eva skirted around them. She didn’t make a habit of engaging in idle chit-chat with her colleagues, and was purposefully standoffish, careful to cultivate an attitude of do-not-approach to students and staff alike.

Eva was happiest on her own—had never seen the point in forming relationships with others when they always inevitably ended, leaving her lost and disappointed and wondering why she’d ever bothered in the first place—and made sure everyone else knew it.

She was on her third loop when another teacher joined the fray. Eva recognized the blouse of her department’s newest hire and rolled her eyes, because of courseshe shared a duty with Lily.

Just her luck.

Lily looked lost and out of place, hovering inside the doorway. Nerves showed in the way she wrung her hands as her eyes darted around the room. Young and fresh-faced, she didn’t look like she’d be the sternest, and the way she’d quailed under Eva’s glare earlier didn’t bode well for her.

When her eyes met Eva’s, a flicker of recognition passed across Lily’s face, but surelyafter their previous meeting she wouldn’t be stupid enough to approach.

Would she?

Eva watched and waited, adopting an air far from welcoming.

It didn’t have the effect she was hoping for, because much to her horror, Lily approached with a spring in her step and a hesitant smile on her face.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot before,” Lily said, coming to a stop by Eva’s shoulder. “I—”

“I don’t think we did, actually.” Eva chose to examine her nails rather than meet the other woman’s gaze. It was a behavior more reminiscent of her students than of a thirty-five-year-old, and sure, Eva could entertain her, but Eva didn’t need a friend—especially one who reminded her of her past—and if she humored Lily on her first day, she’d talk Eva’s ear off in the weeks to come.

“Oh.”

Eva glanced up. Lily looked crestfallen, but Eva refused to let it bother her. “If that was all…?” Eva raised an eyebrow and watched Lily’s throat work as she swallowed.

“I’m sorry again about your blouse. Like I said before—I’ll pay for the cost of dry-cleaning.”

“I think you’ve done enough already, don’t you?” A scrub with vinegar and a few rounds in the washing machine and Eva was confident it’d look as good as new. Andit meant she wouldn’t have to talk to Lily again.

“O-okay, then. See you around, I guess.” Lily walked away, and Eva tried to ignore the defeated slump of her shoulders as she approached a different group of teachers.

She’d bounce back. Eva had met her type before: bright with enthusiasm and eager to please, but Eva didn’t have the time nor energy to deal with it.

Not with what awaited her at home. Any nurturing or patient instinct—of which, admittedly, she already had little—was reserved for her mother, and the role of carer Eva had stepped into when she’d moved to High Grove from Washington D.C. two years ago.

She worked to pay the bills for them both, and that was all.

If the new hire thought she was going to change that, well.

She was mistaken.

* * *

Downtrodden after her attempt to make amends with Eva, Lily tried to shake off the memory as she slipped into the teacher’s lounge, her stomach rumbling.

Inside, Mei and Andrew sat at the table, both smiling at Lily as she approached the refrigerator.

“How’s your first day going?” Andrew said, once Lily had grabbed her pasta salad and joined them. “The kids behaving themselves?”

The kids weren’t the ones she was having an issue with. “Yeah, they’ve been great. A few of them have tried it on, but I haven’t had to hand out any detentions yet.”

“Speaking of detentions,” Mei said, sipping from her mug of coffee. “We’re having a wager on how many kids Eva is going to keep after school tonight if you’d like to join. It’s five dollars, winner takes all. We have guesses of five, seven and eight.”

“So many?” Lily was shocked. “It’s the first day.”

“Oh, you’re adorable.” Mei patted the back of her hand. “You can go lower if you want.”

“But I wouldn’t,” Andrew said. “It’s usually high. She likes to set a precedent.”

Lily could barely comprehend it. The most she’d ever had to keep behind was four. Then again, based on what Lily had seen so far, she wouldn’t be surprised if Eva handed out detentions if the kids dared breathe too loudly. “How does she get away with it?”

“Because it works,” Andrew said around a mouthful of his salad.

“Yeah, cause they’re too scared of her to step out of line again,” Mei said.

Andrew shrugged. “It’s not my style, but you can’t argue with the results. She doesn’t have any issues with behavior, andwe’ve had the best biology grades in years since she’s been here.”

“I know. It’s annoying.” Mei sighed, before turning her attention back toward Lily. “So, what’s your guess?”

“Uh, twelve.” If it seemed outlandish, neither of them commented. Mei made a note of it in her phone as Lily reached into her bag to see if she had a five-dollar bill in her purse. She did, and as she was handing it over the door opened behind her.

“Are you betting on detentions again?” Alisha said, making a beeline for the coffee machine. Lily felt her cheeks warm and wondered if this was supposed to be a secret, not wanting to get on the wrong side of Alisha on her first day.

Mei seemed nonplussed. “Uh-huh. What’s your guess?”

“Considering I’ve heard her chew out at leastsix different kids, and we’re not yet halfway through the day… Let’s go with twelve.”

“You’re out of luck, boss, Lily already took that.”

“Good guess,” Alisha said, nodding at Lily. “I’ll have thirteen, then. How are you finding things, Lily?”

“Fine.” Lily knew it was still early, but she was enjoying her day so far. The kids were good, seemed eager to learn, and she was excited to dive in.

“How did you get into teaching, anyway?” Mei asked. “Was it always the plan?”

“Far from it. After I finished my degree I worked in industry for a while, at a pharmaceutical company.”

“Wow, that’s a change of pace. Why’d you switch careers?”

“I didn’t feel fulfilled, I guess. I always wanted to do something to make a difference, and I thought that job would, but… It’s disheartening to dedicate so much time to developing a drug with the potential to help thousands of people for it to fail at the first hurdle orget sold at extortionate prices so only the richest can afford it. I enjoyed being a tutor when I was at college, loved seeing students succeed, and I guess it spiraled from there. What about you all?”

Lily wasn’t surprised Mei answered first—she seemed the most talkative of the lot. “I always wanted to teach. Got my master’s in education and never looked back. Specializing in earth and physical sciences wasn’t part of the plan, but”—Mei shrugged—“it’s the way things worked out.”

“What didyou want to teach?”

“I started out in elementary school, believe it or not.”

Lily scrunched her nose. High schoolers could be a nightmare, but she did not have the patience for younger kids. Plus, they were brutal.

“Yeah, I didn’t last long,” Mei said, lips twitching. “I was already certified to teach high school, so when a job for an earth and physical science teacher came up, I took it.”

“How long have you worked here?”

“God, too long.” Mei grinned as Alisha mock-glared at her. “Five years I think?”

“Yep.” Alisha joined them at the table, mug held between her palms. “I’ve been here ten, and Andrew you’re on your fourth year now, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

Lily was impressed. At the school where she’d done her training, the longest anyone had stuck around was two years. “You have a high staff retention rate.”

“It’s all due to Alisha,” Mei said, and Andrew nodded in agreement. “Once you sign your contract, she never lets you leave. You’re stuck here forever now, Lily.”

“From what I’ve seen so far—which admittedly isn’t much—I think I’m okay with that.”

“We’ll change your mind soon enough.”

“Don’t scare her off,” Alisha said, but it was good-natured. “And don’t remind me how long I’ve been here, either. It makes me feel old.”

“You’re hardly old,” all three of them chimed in unison.

“Tell that to my creaky joints.”

“How did you become a teacher, Alisha?” Lily was eager to learn about her new colleagues—and to take some of the attention away from herself.

“I was a social worker for a few years. Spent a lot of time with a lot of different kids and seeing how many adults in their lives let them down—I don’t know. It’s like you said, Lily, about wanting to make a difference. To give them something stable. I went back to school to get my teacher’s license. They needed science teachers, so I became one.”

“My story isn’t as interesting,” Andrew said, when Lily moved her gaze to him. “I was working at an energy company and hated it. My brother was a teacher and seemed a hell of a lot happier than I was, so I looked into it, and here I am.”

“Here we all are,” Mei said, leaning over to throw her trash away. “What made you choose Greenfield, Lily? Are you from nearby?”

“I grew up a few towns over. I left for college, but my family never moved so when I found this job listing it made sense to move back. My sister recently had a baby, too, so it means I’ll be able to spend more time with them.” They didn’t need to know the other reason she’d wanted to leave Miami—to escape the memories of the woman she’d thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

“That’s sweet. Do you have kids of your own? A husband?”

“Uh, no to both.” A forever no, to the husband, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to out herself to her new colleagues yet.

“Give the poor woman some time to breathe without being interrogated, Mei,” Alisha said, and Mei flushed.

“Sorry. It’s been a while since we had any fresh blood in the department. Eva was the last, and you can guess how well my questions went with her.”

“Like a lead balloon?” Lily said.

“It’s been two years and we still don’t know anything about her. If the kids didn’t need to know her last name, I think that would be a secret, too. The only thing we doknow is she used to be some hotshot professor at Georgetown.”

Lily’s interest was piqued. “And she teaches here?”

“Uh-huh. There are all kinds of rumors about how it happened, but no one knows for sure. Or if they do”—Mei glanced toward Alisha—“they won’t say.”

“I’ve told you a million times: I have no idea why she left Georgetown.”

Lunch passed too quickly, and soon Lily was back in her classroom and welcoming her final class of the day.

Once it had finished, Lily relaxed back in her chair, revitalized after her first proper day of teaching. All the students she’d met so far were lovely, and Lily was looking forward to getting to know them better as the year wore on, ready to challenge them and watch them succeed.

A light knock sounded on her door, and Lily turned to see Mei. “Hey. We’re about to see who won our bet if you’d like to join us.”

Lily had forgotten all about it in the excitement of atomic structure. She followed Mei out the door and found Andrew and an older white man she assumed was Brandon standing in the hall.

“Okay, I’m going in,” Mei whispered, tiptoeing toward the classroom at the end of the hall, and Lily pressed her lips together because she looked ridiculous.

Lily edged closer with everyone else, and when Mei reached Eva’s door, she ducked to one side, her lips moving as she counted the kids within through the glass panels.

“Damn,” Mei said when she’d finished, before retreating to the safety of the group and reaching into the pocket of her blazer. “Okay, the grand total is…twelve, so, newbie, you win.”

Mei handed Lily an envelope, and Brandon clapped his hands together.

“Beginner’s luck.” He had a wide smile, his beard peppered with gray. “Nice to meet you, by the way, seeing as no one is going to introduce us.”

Mei pulled a face. “We had more important things to attend to! And that’s Alisha’s job, anyway. It’s not my fault she’s in a meeting. What’re you gonna spend it on, Lily?”

Lily glanced at the envelope. “No idea. Treats for the department, maybe?”

Brandon grinned. “I like you—you’re going to fit in great around here. Right.” He slapped his hands against his thighs. “Speaking of treats, I’d better get going. There’s cake in the math office with my name on it.”

“They always have cake over there.” Mei was remorseful as she watched him go. “And we never have any.”

“You know, if you bought some there would be,” Andrew said, and Mei elbowed him in the side.

“Stop making sense.”

Lily smiled at their bickering, and, as she slipped her winnings into the pocket of her slacks, she hoped Brandon was right: she did want to fit in.

* * *

Twelve students were forced to spend an hour in silence with Eva at the end of the first day.

None were happy about it, but no one dared miss it, not wanting to face her wrath. Eva was satisfied, as she watched the last of them hurry out the door, she’d well and truly set a decent precedent for the year ahead.

She was quick to follow them out. A teacher’s work might never truly be done—with something to grade, parents to call, or lessons to plan—but she was needed at home, and there was no reason she couldn’t do it there.

Eva was the first of the department to leave, the lights on in all the other classrooms as she stepped out into the hall. A janitor mopped the floors near the main entrance, and Eva nodded to him, skirting around the edge of the wet floor and swiping her badge to exit. Eva slid behind the wheel of her Mercedes and the engine purred to life.

Home was forty minutes away, but Eva liked the drive, using it to clear her mind. Listening to true crime podcasts passed the time, and Eva was soon pulling into her driveway. The lights were on in the front room, the sound of the television filtering into her ears as she unlocked the door.

A black Spaniel rushed to greet her, and Eva bent to scratch behind his ears. “Hi, Franklin.” His tail thudded against the wall, and he followed Eva closely when she stepped into the living room. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?” Her mother was in her favorite position—in front of the television, with Jeopardy! Eva pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Same old, same old.” It wasn’t an overly enthusiastic response, but she didn’t find teaching high schoolers to be particularly stimulating. She liked the hours, though—not many other jobs would allow her to be home by four. “How was yours? How’s your pain today?”

“So-so.”

Eva searched her face, knowing her mother had a tendency to downplay her condition.

“I had my PT with Jennifer today which went well.”

“Good. Did she give you some more exercises to do?”

“Yes.”

“And are you going to do them?”

Her mother glanced at Eva from her wheelchair, twinkle in her eye. “Yes, nurse.”

“If I wasyour nurse, I’d be a hell of a lot sterner with you than your current ones are. They let you get away with too much.”

“And you worry about me too much.”

“Someone’s got to.”

“What happened to your shirt?” Her mother frowned, plucking at the stain with her fingers.

“I spilled coffee on it. It’ll come out.” Eva would make sure of it. “Are you hungry, or can dinner wait until after I’ve been for a run?”

“I can wait. Or I can start it without you.”

“And set the house on fire?”

Her mother huffed. “I managed without you living here for seventeen years, you know.”

“Yes, and I have no idea how you survived. Besides, I like to cook.”

“But you do so much for me already.”

Eva squeezed her mother’s shoulder gently. “You know I don’t mind. How about we cook together tonight?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be back soon—do not start without me.” Eva gave her one last squeeze before jogging up the stairs, swapping her pencil skirt and stained blouse for leggings, a sports bra and a loose-fitting top.

Back downstairs, she pulled on her trusty running shoes, lacing them with Franklin peering at her hopefully. “Come on.”

Eva reached for his harness, and she slipped it onto his wriggling frame with practiced ease. Her earbuds sat on the table by the front door, and, once they were in and connected to her phone, her carefully curated running playlist sounding in her ears, Eva stepped out the front door with Franklin at her side.

She shivered as the cool air hit her skin, but Eva knew she’d soon be grateful for it. Once they were at the end of the street Eva broke into a light jog, enjoying the wind on her face. Eva pushed herself faster, until her lungs were burning. Running had always been her release, the sound of her feet pounding on the sidewalk bringing her a sense of calm nothing else could.

Wary of staying out too long, she turned back after fifteen minutes. Her mother was still by the television when she returned, but soon joined Eva in the kitchen, the wheels of her wheelchair squeaking on the linoleum.

“What do you want?” Eva poked her head into the refrigerator. She needed to go shopping—the shelves were getting bare. “Salmon pasta?”

“Sure.”

Eva passed her mother the bag of fusilli and tried not to be obvious about keeping an eye on her when she moved out of her chair to stand at the counter, checking how steady she was on her feet.

“I’m not fragile, you know. I’m not at the point where I can’t stand yet.”

Clearly, Eva hadn’t been subtle, and she averted her gaze, concentrating on preparing the salmon. “And hopefully you never will be.” Her mother’s multiple sclerosis had worsened in the two years since Eva had come to help look after her, but the doctors were optimistic about her long-term prognosis.

Something her mother found hard to share.

And Eva understood it. The two of them were similar, particularly when it came to their independence, and Eva, too, would hate becoming reliant on another person. Her mother had vehemently resisted the idea of Eva moving back in—but they shared their stubbornness, too, and Eva had given her little choice in the matter.

Moving from Washington D.C. to the suburbs of Chicago—giving up her dream job and her girlfriend in the process—had never been part of her grand plan, but Eva didn’t regret it.

She’d missed her mother when she’d been across the country. Missed nights like this, a pan sizzling on the stove, her mother chattering away about her day while Eva stirred with a wooden spoon.

“Angela has a neurologist appointment on Thursday so she’s coming over tomorrow instead,” her mother said when they sat to eat. “You can stay late at school if you like.”

“Okay. Are you going out somewhere?”

“No, there’s a new Netflix show we want to watch.”

Eva shook her head. She worried about her mother spending too much time indoors, growing more reclusive as she deteriorated. Joining an MS support group was supposed to help, not encourage it, though she was glad her mother was making friends.

“Will you remind me how to set it up again before you go to bed?”

“I’ve shown you a million times, Mom.”

“I know, but I always forget.”

“Want me to write you some instructions? Step by step, like I give my students when they’re struggling with a problem?” Eva said, laughing as her mother’s eyes narrowed into a signature Thomas glare. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“As you should. Anyway, you can’t get on my case about not getting out more. When was the last time you went somewhere other than work?”

“I got those new toys for Franklin at the weekend.”

“I meant with another person, Eva.”

Great. This again.

“You’ve been here for two years, now, and as far as I’m aware, have only spent time with me. When’s the last time you went on a date?”

“Mother—”

“And what about friends, Eva? You used to be out every night.”

“When I was a teenager. Things are different now.”

“Still. I don’t need a babysitter twenty-four-seven. You need a life, Eva.” She had her best no-nonsense voice on, and Eva blinked at her across the table, forgetting all about her half-eaten pasta.

This was not the dinner time conversation she’d been expecting.

To be honest, it wasn’t one she’d ever been expecting—her mother wasn’t usually this pushy.

Eva knew she shouldn’t have let her mother and Angela watch Love Is Blind.

“I know you don’t. But I’m happy with the way things are, Mom. I don’t need more than I already have.”

“But aren’t you lonely? How long has it been since Victoria?”

Her mother knew exactly how long it had been since her last breakup, considering it was the distance when Eva had moved to Chicago that had been their demise.

It was the second time in one day Eva had thought of Victoria, and it made her lip curl. Instead of answering, Eva turned the question on her mother. “And what about you? It’s been thirty years since Dad left.” And never came back. Was bringing it up a low blow? Yes, but Eva wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible. “Aren’t youlonely?”

“That’s different.”

Eva raised an eyebrow, and her mother sighed.

“It is, and besides, I have friends. People to talk to.”

“And I have work.” Sure, teaching teenagers about the wonders of biology wasn’t the same as venting to a friend over cocktails, but it worked for her. “I’m fine with the way things are, Mom.” Eva reached across the table to pat the back of her hand, trying to ease the frown on her mother’s face. “I am. So can we drop this please?”

“Fine.”

She didn’t look particularly happy about it, though.

Somehow, Eva doubted she’d heard the last of it.

Chapter 3

If Eva had been in