by Caisey Quinn
Drew helped Aiden get Derek up and moving, leaving me alone with Devon. He edged toward the door.
I stepped into his exit path. “If you ever lay a hand on him again, I’ll go to the police even if he won’t.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I know you’re some big lacrosse star at school and you probably think you’re untouchable, but trust me, you aren’t.”
He hung his head. “I hear you, Emersyn. I am deeply sorry for hurting Drew. I do love him, even if you can’t believe that.”
I glared so hard it was a miracle he didn’t spontaneously combust.
“Love doesn’t land you in the hospital, Devon. Love doesn’t bruise your ribs, your spleen, and your face.” He continued staring at something in the distance. “I hope you get the help you need, I really do. Because if you don’t, I am going to the police. And anyone else who will listen. Do you understand?”
He nodded.
“If he doesn’t text me in half an hour telling me he’s home safe and sound, I swear on everything holy I will hunt you down.”
Devon chewed the inside of his cheek. “Understood.”
“I hope so.”
My blood scorched my veins. I was still learning what love was, but I knew it wasn’t this. The same way I knew my mom slapping Ethan across the face wasn’t right.
And me putting Aiden in danger of being arrested was as wrong as any of it.
A sick feeling hit my stomach as I followed Devon out and saw Drew and Camille by the door. Camille held her hands up as if to ask if I was coming with them. I shook my head and tried to keep my head down. Just as they headed toward the front door, Aiden walked back inside and guided me to the kitchen.
“We’ll go out the back. It’s a madhouse in here.”
I followed him out to the Airstream silently, trying to piece together the chaos of the night.
My head spun.
I let him help me up the steps into the camper, then walked inside behind him.
He flipped a switch and light filled the space. A few things had changed since the last time I was here.
I let my gaze roam around the living area. A giant flat screen television had been added, books were scattered here and there. Mostly ones on wars, and Generals, and other boring history stuff. Except one on the fall of the Roman Empire, which due to my love of art, I found intriguing. I touched the cover, pulling my hand back when I saw the how badly I’d chewed my fingernails.
“You added a television.”
His eyes shifted to the blank screen then back to me. “I’ve been spending more time out here lately.”
I couldn’t focus enough to speculate why.
Aiden cleared his throat loudly, breaking the silence. “You want to go with them, don’t you?”
“Your brother hates me.” I sighed. “And I’m worried about Drew. I don’t like leaving him alone with Devon. I know it was him that hurt him. I can’t explain it. I just know.”
“My brother doesn’t even know you. He’s just worried. Because you’re…”
We let the dreaded S word linger silently between us.
“I’ll be eighteen next Thursday.”
Aiden opened his own water. “You’ll still be a student, Emersyn.” I watched his jaw muscles move as he spoke. “I teach a class you need to graduate. Do you know how that will look?”
I tried to form thoughts other than wanting to touch him, wanting him to hold me and comfort me after this night from Hell. I wished we could go back in time to before Derek and Devon brought their drama here.
“Bad?”
He sighed and leaned against the counter. “Like I forced you, like I used a position of authority to coerce you to perform sexual favors in exchange for a good grade in a class you need to earn your diploma.”
“So…really bad then.”
He didn’t speak.
“Earlier, before we were interrupted,” I began. “You seemed to have made peace with it. With the risk.”
I knew what had changed his mind. His brother’s disapproval. Which was understandable.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I was out of my head. You do that to me.”
“I’m sorry.” I looked up at him from under my lashes feeling like a child. Feeling guilty for getting us into this situation. “I should’ve told you at the carnival—that I was still in high school. What happened wasn’t fair to you. It’s not fair for you to be in this position now.”
I rubbed my palms across my jeans.
“I’ll talk to Principal Stewart and tell him I need to transfer to someone else’s class. Surely there’s another section of Government.”
Aiden swallowed hard. “There is. Milner is teaching it next semester for anyone who doesn’t pass this semester.”
Ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach, I crossed my arm over my chest to rub the other one. I needed some form of comfort.
“Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll tell him I have to switch.”
He stared at me, seeing past what I was trying to project. I didn’t breathe as he moved closer. I still held my breath as he reached out and rubbed my arms with his warm hands.
“I’d hate that. I’d hate not seeing you first thing every morning. Not knowing if you were okay. If you’d made it to school. What enticing outfit your were wearing to drive me insane.”
I exhaled. “Tell me what you want me to do, Aiden. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I don’t know what to do.”
“First, I’m going to take you home. Because I know you’re going to be worried about Drew if you don’t get to see that he made it home safely.”
I hated to admit it, but he was right.
“And second?” I prompted as we headed out of the camper. “What do we do about this? About…us?”
Aiden stopped to lock up. “I’ll let you know when I figure that part out.”
10
Aiden
I couldn’t get Saturday night out of my head.
All of it was still there in high definition surround sound when she slid into the classroom just as the bell rang Monday morning.
Almost having her again. Tasting her. Kissing her goodnight when I dropped her off at home.
Fuck, it felt like I was seventeen again.
I didn’t acknowledge her arrival to class. We both knew I couldn’t.
I was about ten minutes into my lecture when I heard it.
Kelsey Atwell, ring linger of a trio of mean girls, made a train noise.
I had no fucking clue why so I ignored it. But I saw Emersyn wince.
I played a Ted Talk video on bipartisan politics and when it ended, Meghan Hayes made a similar train sound. When I was scolding her for being disruptive, Annika Cunningham made the same sound.
Emersyn held her chin high, but I knew better. I saw it in her eyes, the way she wanted to retreat, to either bolt from the room or curl into herself and disappear.
“What’s with the sound effects, ladies?” I finally asked, giving in to their childish games.
“Ask Emersyn,” Annika called out, sending my pulse pounding.
Half the class was tuned into what was happening while the rest either pretended they don’t notice or tried discretely to check their cell phones.
“I’d rather ask you,” I said, keeping my eyes trained on Kelsey. “You three, see me after class.”
Unwilling to give them another moment of my teaching time, I begin the discussion on the Ted Talk. When I uttered the phrase ‘three or more parties,’ Kelsey and her friends begin giggling.
“Something else you could ask Emersyn about,” Kelsey retorted evenly. “We hear she’s a big fan of three or more.”
“And parties,” Meghan added.
I shouldn’t have validated their comments by looking at Emersyn, but it was a reflex. A need to make sure she was okay.
She stood abruptly, grabbing her bag. “Excuse me,” she mumbled while barreling toward the door.
“Don’t wanna be late to the train station,” Annika called afte
r her.
“Maybe go buy some clothes that fit, slut,” Kelsey muttered loud enough to be heard before Emersyn made it out.
I pointed at Kelsey. “That’s enough from you.” I jerked my head toward the door. “You three, let’s go.”
They stood reluctantly, grinning in triumph. Whatever the hell was going on, they accomplished what they’d set out to do.
I moved to the door and held it open. I’d have to walk them to the office to make sure they went.
“The rest of you,” I addressed the class as the girls joined me. “Log into the class webpage and complete the short answer section on bi-partisan parties. There’s a quiz Thursday.”
After stepping next door and asked Mr. Milner to keep an eye on my class, I escorted the girls to the office. Kelsey was still smiling smugly but the other two seemed nervous.
“Want to tell me what that was all about?”
Annika spoke up first. “There are consequences for certain actions, Mr. Singleton. Wouldn’t you say?”
Kelsey shot her a hard warning look.
“Sometimes. Why do you ask?”
She sighed then smirked at her friend. “Well…if a girl goes to a party and people see her coming out of a bedroom with not one, not two, not three, but fourguys, there’s going to be talk.” She shrugged as if this was perfectly acceptable. “I’m not saying girls don’t have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies. If Emersyn Tyler wants to let Drew and his friends run a train on her, that’s her prerogative. But it’s a small town. People talk.”
Drew and his friends? What the…
Fuck.
Saturday night. When Derek and Devon got into a fight at me house. My heart pounded like a hammer in my chest.
One of those guys in that room was me.
“My older brother was at a party in Riverside,” Meghan offered. “Said he saw Emersyn come out of a bedroom with Drew, Derek and Devon Owens, and some dude from the hockey team. Some of the girls there started joking around saying she took four D’s.”
“Drew, Derek, Devon, and some dude,” Kelsey clarified.
“I got it,” I bit out. “Enough.”
It had been like a fucking soap opera. Derek had practically been carried out. It definitely had not been the least bit sexual.
But Meghan’s brother saw what he saw, and now Emersyn was shrouded in the shadow of an ugly rumor.
She couldn’t even defend herself because telling the truth would mean outing Drew and Devon.
And technically, me.
Christ.
When we got to the office, I turned to face them. “Look, I’ve never known the three of you to be troublemakers but I haven’t been here long. So I’ll make you a deal.”
Kelsey arched an eyebrow.
“I won’t tell the Principal you were harassing another student in my class, if you promise not to so much as look at her or even think of uttering her name for the rest of the year. Understand?”
Kelsey hesitated while the other two gauged her reaction to determine their own.
Damn sheep. I pushed out a breath. “Or, we go in there, I tell administration about the rumors you’re spreading, which is technically sexual harassment and you and your parents can deal with the school board as that’s a level three offense.”
That’s right, kids. I read the fucking handbook and the code of conduct.
“I can’t get into anymore trouble,” Meghan said quietly. “My dad lost his job this summer. My mom will flip out.”
I nodded. “Then I suggest you take the deal.”
She nodded anxiously.
“Get back to class.”
She hurried back toward my classroom. Kelsey and Annika remained. One down, two to go.
Annika rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even do anything.”
I leaned forward and looked her in the eyes. “So you didn’t make a train sound in my classroom?”
She shrugged. “Only because Kelsey told me to. I didn’t even know about the rumor until just now.”
Jesus. “So you do everything Kelsey tells you to? You’ve never said anything inappropriate about Emersyn? Or any other girl at school? Never commented on their sexual behavior or clothing? Never started a rumor?”
She averted her gaze away from mine.
Kelsey folded her arms across her chest and I couldn’t help but notice the top two buttons of her shirt were left intentionally undone. This girl. Trying so damn hard. For what? Who the hell was she trying to impress?
“It was a harmless prank, Mr. Singleton. We were just messing around.”
“Nothing is harmless, Ms. Atwell. And I can assure you, if you mess around in my class ever again, there will be consequences. Beyond this school. You can be sued for harassment, and I’d be happy to testify that I witnessed the harassment first hand. Think your parents would be okay with being dragged into court?”
I was bluffing a little, but apprehension flickered across her face.
“I doubt my parents care either way,” she said quietly.
Ah, so there it was. Negative attention was better than no attention.
“Okay,” I said easily, reaching for the office door. “Let’s go then.”
“Wait,” Kelsey broke in. “We just leave her alone and that’s it, right?”
I nodded. “For the rest of the year.”
She glanced at Annika who looked bored.
“Okay, fine.”
“And you apologize to Emersyn. I happen to know that rumor is false and I want you both to think about something.”
Kelsey frowned but I had her attention.
“In the future, maybe think about how very little you know about anyone else’s life, about what they might be going through. Then think about the things in your own lives you hope no one ever finds out. And remember, karma is very real.” I let that sink in. “For the record, when your entire existence revolves around making other people miserable, trust me, from an adult perspective, it says a lot more about you than them.” I look them both of them in the eyes, Annika first then Kelsey. “And what it says is that your life, and what you think of yourself, must be really, really sad.”
My voice drips with false sympathy and disdain. Kelsey’s eyes widen and I hope she gets the point. But more than anything, I hope she leaves Emersyn the hell alone.
“Can we go back to class now?” Annika asked quietly.
I gave a quick upward jerk of my chin. “Yeah. Go.”
They both moved quickly, which I appreciated.
I took a deep breath, hoping the crisis has been averted and began trudging back to my room. Shit, it was only first period.
When I passed the doors to the back stairwell, I heard it.
A soft sobbing sound, like someone whimpering.
I was told no one ever used this stairwell since the newer part of the building had been added on.
I stopped, pulled the heavy metal door open and the noice cut off immediately.
But I knew she was here. I could feel her.
“Emersyn?” I called out gently.
A sniffle. Then shuffling.
“I’m fine,” she said from below me.
I glanced down to see her peeking out from under the stairs with red-rimmed eyes. The pit, the students called it. I remembered from new teacher orientation that the Principal said some kids sneak down there to smoke but no one really ever bothered policing it. The faint scent of ashes clung to the air.
I jogged down the stairs to the pit and just like the carnival last month, I wanted to fix this for her. I wanted to take her pain away and console her.
It was obvious she’d been crying and it made me wish I’d been harder on Kelsey and her henchmen. Henchwomen?
Henchbitches was more like it.
“I’m sorry those girls behaved that way,” I said softly, approaching her like I would a cornered animal. “Jealousy is a powerful thing.”
“It’s okay,” she said, wiping the last trace of moisture from under her eyes.
“They’ve been dealt with.”
She frowned. “Who’s watching your class?”
“Milner.”
“I promise I’m fine. I just needed a minute.”
I rocked back on my heels. “You just upset about the asinine rumor they’re spreading or something else?”
“Just everything lately. Drew’s situation, my internship being such a bust, my mom struggling with me being gone so much, trying to keep up with Ethan and everything he needs. He missed a baseball game because I was late getting back from my internship and I just found out he’s failing algebra.” Her eyes drift and she’s faraway in her head. “Those girls, the rumor about Saturday night, it was just the straw that broke me, you know? I just keep wondering, when does it get easier? Because the way things are…I can’t…I don’t know how long I can…”
I stepped forward. Fuck, I just wanted to hold her for one damn minute. But I couldn’t. Well I could, but definitely I shouldn’t.
“You’re not broken, Emersyn. I know it all seems like a lot right now, but you’re stronger than you realize. You’ll get through this. One day it will all be a distant memory and you’ll be stronger for it.”
She tried to smile but her face wouldn’t fully cooperate. “You sure about that?”
One more small step, just so I could breathe her in. “I’m sure.” I touched her chin lightly so she’d look up at me. “You are amazing and you are so many things to so many people. A caretaker to your mom, a mother to Ethan, a best friend and confidant to Drew. You’re bound to feel overwhelmed. Hell, I’m overwhelmed just thinking about everything you do.”
She laughed softly and her eyes finally dried. “Sometimes I feel like I just need one good thing, you know? Something indulgent that feels good, that’s selfish, and just for me.”
“Like?” My cock twitches, offering up its services.
She grins sheepishly. “Like a big, fat piece of chocolate cake. With chocolate frosting. Something I know is bad for me, but feels so good I don’t care.”
I could relate. She was my piece of chocolate cake.
“I understand.”
