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why I’m telling you this?”
    Shane shook his head. He really didn’t – part of him wished he hadn’t.
    “All of this came out because of my feelings for Riley,” Gabe started.
    “And I encouraged you to go after her,” Shane responded, horrified.
    Gabe’s arm dropped around his shoulder and squeezed hard. “Look at me.” When Shane shook his head Gabe nearly shouted, “Look at me!”
    Shane forced his eyes up and felt the sting of bitter tears.
    “You saved my life Shane. You fucking saved my life!” Gabe dropped his arm and looked around the cemetery. “If I’d lost Riley, I would have ended up here. If you hadn’t opened my eyes…” Gabe took a deep breath and then turned his eyes back to Shane.
    “I’m worried about you. I see it in your eyes – it haunts you the way it haunted me.”
    Shane knew what Gabe was talking about, but how could he explain to his best friend something he didn’t completely understand himself? He shook his head and heard Gabe sigh in frustration.
    “Have you seen your mom since…?” Shane asked carefully.
    “No. It’s part of the reason Riley and I moved into a new apartment. I’ve been seeing someone – a therapist – to help me figure out some of the shit going on in my head. I’m still trying to decide out how to deal with her if she shows up or calls looking for bail money.” Gabe started picking at the grass. “Can you promise me something Shane?” When Shane didn’t answer, Gabe said, “Can you promise me you’ll call me if things go bad or when you’re ready to talk?”
    “Yeah,” was all Shane said. It was the first time he’d ever lied directly to his friend’s face.

Chapter 4
     
    Savannah sat nervously at the desk in her new classroom and waited. She had been more than an hour early to prep for her first class – it was the first day of school for both the kids and for her. As part of her education, she’d assisted other teachers in their classrooms, but it was entirely different when she was the one in charge. She would have volunteer parent helpers throughout the day to help her keep up with the twelve Kindergartners that had been assigned to her, but ultimately she would be the one making the decisions.
    She jumped up and made her way around the room to make sure everything was in its place. As she made one final check of all the arts and crafts stuff she’d organized earlier, her phone rang and she had to dig pretty deep into her purse to find it. She tried not to be overly disappointed when she saw that the caller ID showed her brother. It was ridiculous to have expected him to call – it had been nearly a month since their disastrous meeting in the hotel room and she hadn’t seen or spoken to him since.
    “Hi Logan,” she said, forcing a brightness into her voice that she wasn’t feeling.
    “Hi, I just wanted to wish you luck,” came the deep voice on the other end.
    “You did that already this morning,” she laughed.
    “I know but I also know how nervous you’ve been about this – I heard you get up a couple of times last night.”
    Savannah didn’t mention that her restlessness had nothing to do with the new job. “I’m good, I swear.”
    “Okay. Hey, you want to come by the bar tonight and have a celebratory dinner? I make a mean bowl of peanuts.”
    Savannah tensed. “Um, no, I’ll probably have a lot of prep work to do for tomorrow’s class.”
    Logan was silent for a long time before saying, “They’re five year olds Savannah. How much prep work do you need for a group of five year olds?”
    “Maybe this weekend,” she said. God, she hated lying to him.
    “Yeah, okay,” he responded. Their conversation had turned awkward quickly and she knew he was confused.
    “Um, I gotta go. See you later.”
    “Bye. Good luck today.”
    “Thanks,” she muttered and disconnected the call. She went back to the desk and sat down, her mood turning sour. She just kept messing things up. She’d been back from school