Chapter 5

Reversal Of Roles

It had been a week since Gil closed the door on Sara and a week since Sara slept properly. She was lucky if she got in a few hours before images of him, no them, filled her mind. Causing her to roll over awake and get up to busy herself with marking or reading.

She couldn't help but constantly feel guilty. Here she was in her new life, new work place and new friends and in he comes, not expecting to see her. The look on his face that night broke her heart in two and continued to stay at the forefront of her mind since. Sara had only seen that look a handful of times, and all those times, she'd really gotten to him. Like the time she'd come home slightly drunk after a hard shift. It was a week after she'd been let out from the hospital and truth-be-told, the beginning of her spiral downwards. Sara had come home, staggering, and Gil had pointed out that she was drunk and had been driving. And in turn, she had pointed out that she was getting sick of him hovering her at every turn. Only, she didn't know until the next morning, that her words wounded him deeply.

From that point on, Sara began pushing him away.

But she had never meant to hurt him, it was the last thing she wanted to do. Just like when she'd left him, she'd hope he'd find some one else, be happy without her and her problems. Sara was damaged goods, too damaged to be put back together.

Now, she realized she was just being selfish.

Sighing, Sara sat at her desk. Her pen tapping the paper she was pretending to read, her mind, elsewhere. She knew he was due to start his classes today. She'd seen him, maybe three times, but she figured he was busy, or avoiding their communal office space, one or the other. It irked her slightly.

Looking at the clock, it was twenty minutes until her break. That's when the door clicked open. Sara's gaze shot to the door with a cold glare but it softened almost immediately when he stood there instead of a late student, which she had originally expected.

Sara motioned him forward and stood as she sucked in a small breath.

"My lecture's after yours… I have a lot to set up. May I start?" He addressed her like a colleague, rather than a lover, no an ex-lover.

Ex-lover. That burrowed deep within Sara, slicing her painfully. That's what she was.

Sara nodded curtly. "Yes, of course," her words coming out much softer than she had intended them to.

Sara resumed her seat, trying again to concentrate on the paper she was to mark, but failing miserably as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. She watched as he struggled walking in the door and a very large pile of boxes and folders that wobbled on top of a trolley.

Getting up quickly, Sara strode towards him, helping him from her side, smiling inwardly as she heard him muffle his gratitude. She walked to her desk and cleared off everything, placing them in her case before helping him pile the boxes onto the desk.

Sara looked at the clock. "Fifteen more minutes before your pens are down. I suggest you all finish up whatever you're writing." She warned them as she listened to gasps and groans of her students.

"Test?" Gil asked her, as she granted him with a nod.

"Yea, would you like help unloading?" She asked, watching him from the side as he rolled up his sleeves, exposing his arm up to his biceps. She swallowed slightly at the sight of his arms, those strong arms she could never stop looking at when they were working an outdoor scene back in Vegas.

"Only if you have time." He said softly, not looking at her but at the boxes he had begun opening.

Sara nodded. "I uhm- I have a break next-"

"Good, thank you." He had cut her off, causing her to wince. Not like I didn't deserve that either.

The pair worked side by side in complete silence for the next few moments until Sara looked at the class. "Alright, test over. Flip you- I said flip your papers over. No more writing and pass them forward." She glared at the class, who immediately did as they were asked.

Sara took a few seconds to collect the tests and slip them on top of her case before finishing up with the boxes.

Leaning on the desk, she took a few seconds to watch him study his notes intently.

She waited until he noticed her watching and was looking at her before speaking. "Are we going back to this again? Cold conversation, avoidance, sideway glances?" She whispered, slightly hurt.

Gil blinked at her, he seemed a little shocked as he opened his mouth but immediately closed it as she started up again.

"We're working together now and… I just…" She shrugged, looking at the desk and folded her arms.

Gil pulled his glasses from his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, his hands then falling through his shortly trimmed beard and to his side as she looked back up, catching his gaze. He gave a slight shrug as he held his glasses between them.

"Sara..." Gil breathed.

"Yea?" She asked softly, a little hope evident in her voice as his students started to roll in.

"You left me." He said and looked down, before facing his class.

Sara stared at him for a second; she didn't bother to disguise the hurt and pain he'd caused her.

Pushing off the desk, she picked up all her stuff, walking quickly and swiftly out the door, making a bee-line to her office.

Slamming the door, she fell onto her chair, lips pursed and hands pulling out the completed tests.

I probably deserved that too…

To Be Continued...

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, they were very sweet. Thank you to my Beta 3

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