Constantly ♡ (Paul Lahote)

25 - Facing the Truth

When I walked through the doors of my old high school, it was like goingback in time. It smelled the same. The kids were different of course, but the excited chatter of the last day of school was undeniable. The halls were littered with stray papers even though there were extra garbage cans set up for locker cleanups.

I made my way to the principal's office. I knew where it was even though I didn't need to go there much when I attended high school. I was the good girl. I focused on my studies and stayed out of trouble. I laughed to myself when I thought about what my high school self would have thought of Paul Lahote as a boyfriend. I definitely would have run the other way.

I announced my arrival to the secretary and waited to be called back. I turned and glanced out of the windowed office. My eyes automatically drifted to the strong jaw of the boy I'd been crazy about for almost a year. My stomach dropped and I held my breath. As a reflex, I reached for the doorknob, needing to close the distance between us.

I suddenly froze when I saw him stop and wrap his arm around an all too familiar female...Leah. She slipped her arm around his waist and they continued down the hall together. I felt as though In had been punched in the gut.

"Miss Black? Mrs. Gordon will see you now."

I scowled when I lost sight of Paul and Leah in the sea of students crammed down the long hallway. I forced a smile and made my way to the principal's tiny office.

I could barely focus on my interactions with the woman in front of me, because my thoughts kept drifting back to Paul. He didn't know I would be here, really no one did. My dad had picked me up at the train station and let me borrow his truck to get here. Other than that, my presence was a mystery to everyone. And now that I had seen Leah hanging on Paul, I was starting to wish I had stayed in Seattle.

When the meeting ended, I shook hands with Mrs. Gordon. She seemed pleased with the interview, but I hoped this would be the last place I would be assigned to student teach next year. It would be too weird with Jacob, his friends and of course, Paul.

When I left the office, I went to the left instead of the right and found myself wandering the near empty halls. It was so strange to be back here after being gone for three years. I glanced into a display case, noticing the pictures inside looked the same as they had when I went here.

I caught the reflection of a familiar face and heard an even more familiar voice. "Rachel? Is that you?"

I turned slowly and my smile spread. "Yeah, it's me, Embry."

He looked so happy to see me and in that moment, I was glad it was him who found me and not someone else. We stood there awkwardly until I stepped into his arms and hugged him tightly. I heard him sigh as though he was glad that I had made the first move. Hugging him seemed natural and although this was not the first time, it felt different. We were closer now, we had shared so much and I felt we knew each other better.