Free Back To Us by Teresa Roman Page A

up from. I braced myself and managed not to fall flat on my face and embarrass myself further.
    Justin said something else to me, but I was too upset to hear the words. I rushed out of his office, down the hall and past Don as I ran outside to get some air. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. A few seconds later I felt someone’s hand touching my arm. Justin. I opened my eyes hoping to see him, but instead it was Don. He must have noticed me running outside looking upset.
    “Everything okay?”
    “Yeah.” My voice cracked. A dead giveaway that everything was not okay, but Don didn’t ask me any more questions. My lunch break was almost over and I needed to pull myself together.

The next morning as I walked by Mrs. Connor’s office she called my name. I stepped into her office to see what she wanted.
    “Hey, Mrs. Connor.”
    She pointed to the chair in front of her desk. “Take a seat,” she said, then got up to close the door to her office. I knew what she was going to tell me, ever since I’d found out about Justin’s legs I’d been a mess at work, distracted and moody. Maybe someone had complained.
    I waited for her to talk. “I know there’s something going on with you and Justin,” Mrs. Connor finally said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “He’s not himself, you’re not yourself, and Don told me that he saw you running out of here yesterday looking like you were about to cry.”
    “Don needs to mind his own business,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.
    “Normally I’d agree with you. And normally I wouldn’t get myself involved in the personal affairs of my employees, but Justin is. . .he’s special to me, and I can tell you’re special to him, which, in a roundabout way, makes you special to me, too.”
    Gee thanks . “Things between me and Justin are sorta complicated, and I’m sorry if I’ve been distracted. . .”
    “I’m not really worried about that. You’ve been great with the students this summer. They all really love you. You’re on time, you’ve never missed a day. I have no problem with your performance.”
    “Then what’s the problem?” I asked, confused.
    “The problem is that I’m watching two people I care about hurting because they’re putting obstacles in their path that don’t need to be there.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “I may be a lot older than you and Justin, but I can still recognize two young people who really like each other.”
    That was not what I expected Mrs. Connor to say. For a moment I was going to deny it, and insist that Justin and I were just friends. “He doesn’t like me, at least not like the way you think he does. He told me himself he just wants to be friends.”
    “He’s very self-conscious about his injury, Jesse.”
    “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
    “The way I see things there’s only one option.”
    “What?”
    “You’re sure you really do like him and that you’re not just feeling sorry for him?” she asked as if she were looking for confirmation that that wasn’t the case.
    “I’m sure.”
    “Then there’s nothing left for you to do but fight for him.”

Chapter 8
    Fight for him.
    Mrs. Connor’s words rang through my mind the whole morning. I didn’t know how to fight for other people. I’d spent so many years fighting for myself that I didn’t think I had it in me to fight for anyone else. What if I lost? I didn’t think I could stand it if I did.
    After I ran through all the reasons why I couldn’t put myself out there for Justin, my mind turned to all the reasons I could. He was worth it, I was sure of it. Maybe he didn’t have the same feelings for me that I had for him, but somehow I had to find a way to reach him. A way to chase away the sadness I saw in his eyes and heard in his voice, the same sadness I lived with, even if it was for different reasons.
    During my lunch break I found Justin in his office. I didn’t wait for an invitation. Instead I walked right up to his