Whose Fault? (Editing)

Chapter Twenty-Four

When she was finished, I returned back to my spot in the waiting room. There was another forty minute wait before my name was called and I could finally head back.

I followed the woman to her office. She was older with long dark brown, almost black hair that had grays peeking through her roots and a kind face. She was wearing a navy blue and white polka dotted dress that ended just below her knees and a black sweater. Once we made it to her office and sat down, she introduced herself. "My name is Tammy, what can I help with today?"

I fidgeted in my chair for a moment, before speaking with her, "I actually have a couple questions. First though, I was wondering if there were any courses left within my major that I could take online."

She typed away on her computer, asking for my student ID as she did. "Let's see here, looks like there might be one you could take: Survey of Entertainment Technology."

"Can you register me?" I questioned. She simply nodded in reply, so I continued with my next question, "how about sign language courses? Are there any of those online?" I asked, hopefully.

"Hmm... most of those courses require attendance in an actual classroom. There might an introductory course that you could take. Yep, American Sign Language 1 is the only sign language course available online besides Deaf Culture."

"Sign me up for both, please?"

Once again she nodded and began typing away. I glanced down at Callie to see her still sleeping. I smiled at how calm and cozy she looked. It made me feel a sense of pride to know that she was so comfortable in my arms. "She's very cute."

I sniffled and wiped a tear away, as I had been beginning to get emotional just looking at her, which wasn't uncommon for me, it was just embarrassing in public, "thank you."

"What's her name?"

"Callie."

"That's pretty. I miss when mine were that little." She commented as she continued working.

"Oh, she's not mine." I told her, hiding the guilt that ate away at me. If I was going to lie about who she was, I was going to have to be consistent, "she's my sister. My mom's work didn't have the correct paperwork for her to take the time off or something, so I told her I would take care of her."

She smiled sadly, "I don't know why you're trying to hide who she is from people, but I know it must be difficult to do and I won't pry. Only a mother looks at their child the way you just did. Be careful with that lie, I could only imagine what that could do to someone when they're older if they find out."

I nodded; I hadn't even considered Callie finding out about this. If my dad had done that to me and I found out, it would've been so devastating to me. But this was different. I was trying to protect her and myself. I didn't know what Xavier was capable of. Who knew what he would do if he found out that she was his; I couldn't risk it. I didn't want him anywhere near her.

A few minutes passed, then she pulled some paper from her printer, "okay Wren, you're all set to go for this semester with three courses. You'll be able to see them through your student portal now and they should be available for you to go into them this upcoming weekend. Don't forget to get your textbooks while you're here, if you can."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome and good luck." Maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't think she was only wishing me luck for the semester ahead.

I made my way out of the building and towards the bookstore. Might as well get them while I'm out. The bookstore was busy. There was so much going on when I walked in, I was worried that it would stir up Callie. However, I continued to make my way through the crowd of people towards the textbooks, then waited for someone who could help me.