What if she brushes me off, turns me away? She’s too good at putting up walls, barricading herself in the tallest tower like the princess she is. I’ve managed to break them down; to show her that not everyone will leave her, but sometimes she still tries. She reverts back to her old ways, and even though I can see right through the act, she hits you where it hurts. Her words are ice, freezing you where you stand. In those moments I want to reach out and shake her. I sigh drying off my hair. I don’t shake her out of it though, instead I give her space, reminding her I’ll always be there for when she needs me.

The last time she got this close to answers, she hit a dead end. Which is why I can tell she is hesitant, she’s scared it’s all going to crumble again, and when Kinsley gets scared she shuts down. No one, other than her damn toy boy who, in her words, “helps her escape,” is allowed in. I’m yet to meet the fucker, secretly I’m thankful. I’m not sure how I would keep up my own facade watching her drool all over him in person, the look in her eyes when she talks about him is enough.

I’ve always played it cool when she’s had flings with guys, little does she know, I had Cole Cooper by the scruff when he broke things off with her via text. He was a wanker anyway.

Kinsley answers on the third ring. “Hey Jess!”

Relief washes over me. “We still on for Thursday?” I keep the conversation light-hearted, even though what I really want to say is, “Did that George guy call you back? What information did he have?” I decide against it.

“Yeah, I finish at 9pm and then I can come over?”

“I’ll pick you up,” I say. It wasn’t a question, she wasn’t walking or catching a cab at 9 o’clock at night.

“Fine,” she sighs. “Hey Jesse, I’ve got news to share …” Her voice is softer now. “I can’t talk about it over the phone though, but I’ll see you Thurs— oh shit that’s tomorrow night, yeah?”

“Meadow —”

She cuts me off. “Please Jesse, just trust me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The sound of the dial tone tells me she is gone. God damn princess. I grab my keys and head to work. I make it into the classroom five minutes before the bell rings. I really need to start getting to school earlier, especially now that I’m the teacher not the student.