Bad Teacher

She takes a deep breath and lets it out again. “He ruined our life. Mom only liked him because he was arrogant. He swept her off her feet and took her to places, gave her lots of gifts, and showered her with love. It was her way of forgetting about my dad. Not much left of that sweetness now.”

“I don’t think she’ll forget about your dad,” I say.

“Oh no, but she tries. That’s why she wants to stay with him so badly.”

“Your mom’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah. She craves his attention, even when it’s bad. Wants to do right in his eyes, but nothing is ever right for him.”

“Did he hurt you?” I ask after a while.

She licks her lips. “Sometimes. But mostly my mom. They’re always fighting and yelling. I don’t remember anything else about my childhood after my dad died other than him hitting my mother and my mother not even defending herself.”

“Jesus …” I take another deep breath. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

She suddenly grabs my arm. “Please, don’t tell anyone,” she says.

What am I supposed to say?

All I can think of is calling the cops and telling them all about the abuse she and her mother have endured. Then again, what evidence do I have other than her story? Nothing. It’s useless. I feel so goddamn useless.

But her voice pulls me from my thoughts and back into the moment. “Please?”

I nod and grab her so I can hug her tight. “I promise.”

God, no wonder she’s so closed-off. She’s already been through so much.

In my arms, she finally relaxes, and the tears start flowing again.

Fuck. It really hurt her bad.

Not only did her mom’s boyfriend fuck it up for her, but then she went to drink her fears away, only to be attacked in the bathroom.

Fuck me.

I should’ve been there for her.

Should’ve been with her when it happened.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start bawling all over you,” she says, sniffing.

“It’s okay.” I smile, looking down at her, and I brush through her hair. “Cry if you need to. I’m here.”

“Please don’t leave …” she mutters.

I press a kiss on top of her head. “I won’t. I promise.”

She nods and buries her head in my shirt again.

Always so strong yet so fragile. And all I want to do is hold her and tell her it’ll be okay. I want to take away her pain, but I know I can’t. Her cries penetrate my bones, and they make me never want to let go.

I recognize that type of cry. A cry that only comes out once in a million years. A cry holed up for so long, she probably didn’t even know it had to come out.

I understand.

I won’t run.

I won’t hide from her pain.

I’ll console her as long as she needs me.

Because it’s the only thing I can do right.

Chapter 23

Thomas

I wake up covered in sweat and with the realization that I’m not in my own fucking bed.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I throw the blanket off me and jump out of her bed, looking around for my stuff.

Apparently, things got so complicated yesterday, with her needing my support, that I didn’t want to leave. We talked all night until we eventually dozed off together.

And now, it’s fucking morning.

Normally, there wouldn’t be any problem with this fact, other than that I’m in a student’s dorm room.

If I get caught, my career is ruined.

Fuck.

I search for my clothes and put them on quickly, dancing around on one foot as I slip on my pants and frantically throw things in search of my phone.

“What are you doing?” Hailey mumbles, scratching her hair. Her face is still red from yesterday’s tears.

“Getting out of here,” I say as I tuck my keys into my pocket and put on my coat.

“Why?” She yawns and stretches her arms.

“I can’t be seen here,” I say.

Her eyes suddenly burst open. “What?”

“It’s not you. It’s because I’m your teacher, remember?” I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I gotta run. See you in class, okay?”

“Okay,” she says, turning her head to sneak a quick kiss on the lips. She grins. “I can’t wait.”

“Act as normal as you can,” I say, “and don’t make a scene.”

“Right.” She nods as I leave her room, and she yells something at me. “Thank you for staying with me!”

“Don’t mention it!” I call back and quickly run down the stairs and out of the building.

I hurry to the parking lot and unlock the car, jumping in fast before anyone can see me. Hopefully, all of this will go unnoticed. We haven’t been caught so far, but we really need to be careful. At least, if we’re going to keep this up.

As I drive off, I can’t help but wonder if we really are going to keep doing this.

If we’ll drift in this limbo forever.

If it’s ever going to be more than just sex.