ENVY

His arm isn't good enough for quarterback, but he's strong enough to block for him. He isn't as good a speller, and his mom isn't around to check his homework before watching an hour of television every night. Girls look at him, but not in that doe-eyed way Lyla Garrity watches Jason Street. The thing is, Tim knows Jay deserves everything he has – he's just that good a guy. When he fucks his crippled best friend's girl, he thinks, yes, finally, me. Then he remembers something from church: the story of Cain and Abel, a second brother, born to betray.

It's silly really, but her cheeks still burn. Being jealous of Tyra Collette is just stupid. But she watches as Tyra laughs a full laugh and drinks straight from the bottle, her eyes locked with the boy before her. She slams the bottle down with a flourish all her own, as Tim throws an arm around her, barking at the guy already scurrying away. She watches Tyra push away and turn, Tim's fingers tugging her wrist. He pulls her against his chest and kisses her hard. Lyla pecks Jason's cheek and tells herself that trust is the most important part of a lasting relationship, anyway.

He wasn't inappropriate, was he? He tries to think, he touched her forearm once, and patted her shoulder when she cried, but do those things count? He's gotta hand it to Tami Taylor, who's got a line of people in this town coming to her defense in a heartbeat, even when she's wrong. This is his first teaching job, now probably his last. He couldn't cut it as a journalist, but relating to sullen teenagers? No problem. Julie Taylor had a real gift, and passion, too. With that mind, and the mentor he never had, she really could've been something.