Beautifully Broken

Dylan scoffs. “Oh, well, that just makes it even better. So you can fuck a teacher while you’re hung up on some mystery guy, but not me, huh?”

“I’m not fucking a teacher!” I whisper shout.

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Really? What are you willing to do to prove it?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Fuck me. Right here, right now. Maybe that will convince me.”

I think about what Gavin said…to do anything it takes to convince him. The old me may have considered it. This new and improved Kat can’t stomach the idea.

“Oh, go fuck yourself, Dylan!”

“Oh, trust me, that’s all I seem to be doing lately. Because my stupid ass thought that if I showed you I could stop sleeping around, then maybe you’d take me seriously. You’ve been different lately…I thought you were ready to try some kind of commitment. Come to find out, you were just as busy as ever adding notches to your bedpost. With that asshat, nonetheless. Pretty fucked up, don’t ya think?”

“Nothing is going on between me and Mr. Cooper! How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

Dylan gets right in my face and hisses, “I heard you, Kat. I fucking heard you.”

I step back until I hit the wall. “What?”

“I pressed my ear against the goddamn door and listened. What do you think I mean? I heard everything, Kat. The argument, him telling you how much he wanted to throw you over his desk, you moaning his name. Do you think I don’t know a moan when I hear one, Kitty? Especially your moan? Give me a little fucking credit.”

“Oh, God.” I slam my hand over my mouth, having no clue what to say. What am I going to do? Gavin and I are both screwed if Dylan says anything.

“Wow, I’ve rendered you speechless,” he sneers. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Dylan…please, you can’t say anything to anyone.”

“Oh, that’s rich. Why would I want to protect that asshole?”

“Because it’s not just him you’d be protecting!” I try holding it in, but I feel my eyes starting to water. “Dylan, if someone finds out about this…not only will Gavin lose his job, but I’ll be at the center of a giant scandal all over again. You can’t let that happen.”

“I didn’t let anything happen, Kitty. You and Gavin are the ones who decided to fuck up. Don’t pin this shit on me.”

I grab his arm, pleading with him to look at me. “Dylan, you don’t understand. When we met…we didn’t know. We didn’t know he was my teacher.”

“How the hell is that possible?”

Now I’m the one who’s pacing. “Because…we met on my last birthday. At a bar. I was out celebrating my release from the system. I told him I was older. He didn’t know the truth until I showed up in second period on the first day of school.”

He looks at me skeptically. “Your birthday was over three months ago.”

“I’m aware of that, Dyl.”

His face turns red again. “So you’re telling me this has been going on for months? What the fuck, Kat? My God, all those weird little interactions between you two make sense now.”

“No, it hasn’t been going on for months. Not really anyway. After he learned the truth, he put a stop to it.”

“That’s not what it sounded like yesterday,” he argues.

“I know…I know. We just decided to stop fighting it. He’s different, Dylan. I’m different when I’m with him. Better. This isn’t anything like my previous hookups. You’ve got to believe me.”

“So he

is the guy? How old is he anyway?”

“Twenty-six,” I answer as a tear rolls down my face. “And yes, he’s the guy I told you about. If you expose us, I’ll never know if he can fix me. I really think he’s the one who can fix me, Dylan. Don’t you think I deserve the chance to find out?”