“Well, that’s good,” Layna said nervously, smoothing her blonde hair with her hands. “When are you getting to the part I’ll hate?”
“It’s coming,” I assured her with a grin. “You’re not going to be happy when you hear who this guy is.” I paused for a moment, rubbing my lips together. “Dalton.”
“Dalton?” gasped Layna, her mouth dropping open. “As in…”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Wrenn. Why? How? Did you instigate this or did he?” Layna’s eyes welled up with tears, her hand flying to her mouth.
“It wasn’t like that, Layna. It just happened. Please don’t be angry at him. If anything, I pushed for us to be together.” I was trying so hard to explain, but no matter what I said, he was always going to be my teacher who took advantage of me.
“Come on, Wrenn. He’s your teacher, of course he’s at fault. He abused his position of power. Regardless of how it might feel, he took advantage of you.” She was past being upset and had moved straight into anger. Anger that was directed at him.
“But I’m eighteen,” I argued. “I’m an adult. There is no law stopping us from being together—”
“Again, that doesn’t matter! This school prides itself on its reputation. How do you think this will look to our investors? And I can tell you right now this does nothing to help his case against Paige.” She stood up, pacing the small space in her office, every now and then stopping to shake her head.
“That’s why I’m telling you this. I know he wasn’t with Paige that night, because he and I were at the vacation house in Cinter Beach. Paige is lying.” I sighed and shook my head.
This was such a mess. I felt like all I had done was make things worse. Fuck Paige. This was all her fault. If she had kept her filthy lying mouth shut, none of this would be happening. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Layna would’ve found out eventually. She wasn’t stupid; she would’ve put it together and realized what we’d been doing.
“She made a pass at him, he shot her down, she wanted revenge. She knew about him and me, and she knew that I would do anything to protect him, even if it meant ruining my relationship with you,” I explained softly.
Layna was quiet for a moment. “You could never ruin our relationship,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m shocked, Wrenn, and disappointed. This is a lot to take in. But no matter what, Dan and I will always love you and be here for you.” She sat down next to me, taking my hand in hers. “This is why you were so upset after hearing me on the phone with his mother.” Her eyes welled up again. “God, I’m so sorry you had to find out that way.”
“So you’ve known all along that Dalton might have this…disease?” I finished.
Layna nodded, her eyes full of sadness. “I take it he’s told you what it is?”
I nodded.
“His father was a wonderful man. It was so hard for his mother to watch him suffer like that. Are you sure you’re ready for that, Wrenn?”
“No,” I admitted, “but I’m not ready to let him go, either. So what choice do I have? I’m thinking about it. Everything. I haven’t given him an answer yet.”
Layna nodded. “You’re a very mature young woman. Most girls your age wouldn’t be thinking so far into the future, but you have your life pretty much planned out. I admire that.”
I smiled, her words meaning more to me than I could express. I was so sure she wouldn’t understand, and she’d been more supportive than I ever could’ve imagined.
“I’m not even sure what I’m doing,” I admitted honestly.
“No, but the fact that you’re thinking so deeply about things says a lot.”
I moved forward, fiddling with my fingernails as I worked up the courage to ask her what was on my mind—things I had been too afraid to ask Dalton, morbid things that I couldn’t get out of my head. Every time I thought to myself that I couldn’t do it, I’d think about not being with him and realize that leaving him wasn’t an option. I had to do it. More than that, I had to suck it up and stop being such a selfish child. This wasn’t about me. Not really. The picture was so much bigger than what I was feeling at the moment.
“Layna? Dalton’s dad—did you know him well? I don’t know much about this disease, only what I found on Google and what Dalton has told me.”
“Yes, I knew him well. He was a proud man who didn’t like to be fussed over. That made the whole thing so much worse.” She sighed and shook her head sadly, her eyes clouding over with memories.
“How do you mean?” I asked, my voice small.
“The disease robbed him of all his independence, Wrenn. Even the smallest thing, he needed assistance with. Early on in his diagnosis it wasn’t so bad, but as things progressed…it was hard, even for me, a person outside of their circle, to watch.” She looked at me earnestly. “I’m not going to lie to you, Wrenn. How Mary and Dalton coped with that is beyond me. Huntington’s disease is relentless. It’s a terrible, horrible illness. And it’s not just the physical symptoms you need to watch out for. Things like depression and other mental illnesses are common symptoms that can occur way before any physical symptoms kick in.”
“What scares me the most is losing him. I don’t know if I can handle that. How can I be strong for him when I can’t cope with things myself?” My voice broke.
Layna stood me up and hugged me again, her warm embrace comforting. “You’re stronger than you think, honey. And there is so much love and passion inside of you. Your mom would be very proud, you know that?”
I nodded, wiping my eyes. She would be proud of me. Not so much the falling for the teacher thing, but everything else. How I’d handled everything I’d been through the past year. And now this.