“But it wasn’t,” Finn said, finishing her thought.
“Not really,” Emmy shrugged as she focused on her coffee mug once more.
“Emmy,” Finn asked, as he set his mug down; as a sickening feeling settled in his stomach. “Did this, Adam, do something to you?”
“No!” Emmy exclaimed as she looked up into Finn’s eyes. He was surprised to see tears dancing in her eyes once more. “No, he was lovely and sweet… no, he wasn’t the problem.”
“Then what happened?” Finn asked, feeling a little relieved that at least her date hadn’t behaved inappropriately.
“You know, I would really rather not talk about it,” she replied, and Finn was surprised to see how her demeanour change. “And it’s getting late; so I really should be going.”
She set her coffee down, before she turned towards the door. Finn was surprised at her sudden mood change, but he was not ready to let her walk away yet. Not until he got to the bottom of why she was so upset.
“Emmy,” he called after her before he followed her out to the hallway. He found her trying to pull on the ridiculous shoes she had been wearing when he found her. “Emmy, why are you running?”
“I’m not running,” Emmy replied as she winced, clearly in discomfort from the sneakers. “I’m leaving. There’s a difference.”
She winced once more, and Finn rolled his eyes before he dropped down to his knee before her, pulling the sneaker from her hand, and tossed it aside. He then lifted her other foot and carefully removed the other sneaker, as Emmy winced once again.
“These stupid shoes are cutting into your feet,” he sighed as he looked down at the cut that was running around her foot, from her heel to her ankle. “You can’t wear them any longer.”
“I’ll be fine,” Emmy insisted as she glared at Finn. He had no idea why she was suddenly so angry.
“No,” he said as he gave her a smile, hoping that somehow, he could get her to open up to him. “You won’t be okay, and right now, you’re not okay.”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Emmy whispered, as tears spilled down her cheek.
“I don’t doubt that for a second,” Finn replied with a smile as he reached up, brushing the tears from her face. “But sometimes it’s nice not to have to do everything yourself. It’s nice not to always have to be strong.”
She looked up at him but didn’t reply.
“What happened tonight?” Finn continued, keeping his voice calm and soft.
“Shelby was at the party,” Emmy replied her voice still barely even a whisper. “She doesn’t like me, but I have no clue why. She has called me names a few times, made some smart comments, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Then what changed tonight?” Finn asked, but he was already thinking of a million ways to pay Poison Ivy back in his mind.
“It wasn’t what she said,” Emmy sobbed sadly. “It was what she was wearing.”
“What she was wearing?” Finn asked her, surprised that a girl’s outfit could upset someone so much.
“Do you know who my mom is, Professor?” Emmy asked, then corrected herself. “Sorry, I mean, Finn.”
“I do,” Finn said, unsure what that had to do with anything. “I didn’t know her, but I know who she is.”
“Do you know the photograph of her that hangs in the faculty office?” Emmy sniffed, as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“I think so,” Finn replied as he tried to recall the photograph she was speaking about.
“Shelby was dressed just like my mom, in that photo,” Emmy whispered as a fresh wave of tears took hold. “But she added a fake gunshot wound to her head.”
“Mother of God!” Finn exclaimed, stunned by what she had just told him. He couldn’t believe anyone could be so cold and callous, not even Poison Ivy. “Emmy, you can’t let her get away with this. Tomorrow, I will go to the Dean with you…”
“NO!” Emmy exclaimed. “Please. You have to promise me. She has humiliated me enough; I don’t want everyone talking about this; talking about me. I have been there enough in the past. I just want to forget that tonight ever happened.”
“Emmy,” Finn said, unhappy at the thought of letting Shelby Cooper Smith away with what she had done. “She shouldn’t get away with this.”
“Please,” Emmy begged. “I need you to promise me that you won’t say anything. If you take me to the Dean, I’ll lie and say that nothing happened.”
“But…” Finn replied, but he knew her mind was made up.
“I have been the freak that people stared at for long enough,” Emmy sobbed as she looked up into his eyes. “Please don’t make this any worse.”
Finn looked at her for a moment, then released a long breath. He was far from happy with keeping his mouth shut, but he knew that he needed to respect her wishes. Without even thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and drew him to his chest and hugged her tightly.
“I give you my word,” he whispered as she sobbed sadly against his chest.
When Emmy finally composed herself, Finn led her into the living room and poured them both a glass of scotch.
He lit his fire before they both got comfortable on the sofa.
“I have never drank scotch before,” Emmy said as she looked down at the amber liquid in her glass. “I don’t drink much of anything, really.”
“I got this from my older brother,” Finn replied as he thought of Landen and how he always brought everyone home gifts whenever he travelled. He had brought the scotch from a recent trip to London.
“Are you close to your family?” Emmy asked as she glanced over at Finn.
“I am,” he replied with another smile. “I have four brothers, and we are all very different, but we’re close.”
“It must be nice to be from a big family.” Emmy sighed as she took another sip from her glass.
“Are you close to your dad?” Finn asked, happy to finally have the chance to get to know her better.
“I was,” she yawned, as she rubbed her eyes, then looked over at Finn. “He died two years ago.”
“I’m so sorry, Emmy,” Finn said, finally understanding this girl a little more. Now he knew why she was so independent, and a little defensive too. He stared into the blazing fire, for a moment, and thought about his own parents, and his heart ached for this girl sitting beside him. “I couldn’t even imagine how I’d feel if I lost my mom and dad.”
Emmy didn’t reply, and when Finn turned back to her, he could see why. She was fast asleep, with her head resting back against his large, cream sofa.
He smiled to himself, as he watched her sleep for a few moments. He wished more than anything else in the world that things didn’t have to be so complicated between them.
Finn stood up slowly, stepping closer to Emmy. He gently eased her down onto the sofa, taking great care not to wake her, then he pulled the soft, cashmere throw from the back of his sofa, carefully covering her up.
“Why the hell do I have to like you so much?” He whispered as he gently brushed her hair back from her face. “Sweet dreams, Emmy.”
Finn walked to the door, switching off the light in the living room, leaving the light in the hallway on, just in case she woke up.
As he climbed the stairs to bed, he wondered what the hell he was going to do next.
Chapter 11
Finn was standing in the kitchen cooking breakfast when a sleepy Emmy appeared in the doorway, but she didn’t say a word.
“Good morning, Sleepy Head,” Finn said as he turned, giving a very nervous looking Emmy, a smile.
“Why am I still here?” She asked, making no effort to move further into the kitchen.
“You fell asleep last night,” Finn explained as he returned his attention to the eggs and bacon that were on the stove in front of him. “I guess being upset, together with the glass of scotch knocked you out. You were fast asleep, and I really didn’t want to wake you up.”
“I… I should go then,”
Emmy said as she took a tentative step back towards the door. “I’m sorry about last night, Professor.”
“Finn!” Finn said as he turned down the heat under his pans, before turning to face Emmy. She stopped and watched him as he picked up a tea towel, wiping his hands before he moved closer to the counter in the middle of the kitchen.
“What?” Emmy asked as she gave him a surprised look.
“My name is Finn,” he replied with a smile. “I thought I told you that last night.”
“You did,” Emmy said as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. “But I thought…”
“You thought I said it to get you to talk to me,” Finn replied, as he gave her reassuring smile.
“Maybe,” Emmy said, her face flushing with embarrassment. “But you’re still my Professor.”
“Yes, I am,” Finn nodded, as he watched her closely. He would have loved to know what was going through her mind at that exact moment. “But I would like to think I could be your friend too.”
“You want to be my friend?” Emmy asked and Finn could see the surprise on her face.
“Yes, I would like that a lot,” Finn replied, knowing that things had changed between them both, and they could never go back to just professor and student. She had trusted him. She told him something that had hurt her deeply, she had allowed him a glimpse of her broken, vulnerable side, and that had changed everything.
“But I thought…” Emmy said, but she didn’t finish the sentence.
“I know there are rules about students and professors having an intimate relationship,” Finn said, as once more Emmy’s face flushed with embarrassment. “But there is nothing in the rules that says we can’t be friends. So, I would like to be your friend.”
“I would like that, too,” Emmy replied, giving him a smile.
“Now,” Finn said as he turned back to the stove. “How about you take a seat and have some breakfast. Then I can drop you home to get changed before class.”
“You want to drop me home to get changed?” Emmy repeated, and Finn couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well unless you want to wear those to class,” he said as he pointed to his t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. “Or maybe last night’s interesting attire.”
“No!” She exclaimed, this time Finn could hear the smile in her voice. “I would be grateful for the ride home.”
He glanced back at her, and when he saw the smile on her face, he couldn’t help but smile himself. He liked her smile, and he liked that he was the one who put that smile back on her face.
“You know,” he said as he picked up the pan of eggs from the stove, then began to dish the eggs onto the plates he had sitting on the counter. “You’re much prettier when you smile. And I think that it’s a shame you don’t smile nearly half as much as you should.”
“It’s hard to smile when you don’t always have a reason to,” Emmy replied honestly. Her words stopped Finn doing what he was doing. He turned to her to give her a sad smile.
“Then, maybe as your friend,” he said as he held his eyes with hers. “I will need to try and change that for you.”
He stared at her for a moment, and he could feel his heart race in his chest as he looked back at her. He knew he was playing with fire with this girl, but right at that moment, he truly didn’t care.
He turned back to the stove, lifting the bacon from the other pan, and set it down onto some paper towels for a moment, before he then placed some bacon on both of their plates. He then picked the plates up and turned back to Emmy.
“I hope you like eggs and bacon,” he said as he set their breakfast down on the counter in front of Emmy. Then he poured them both some orange juice, before he turned back, grabbing the coffee pot and set it down on the counter too. He then walked around the breakfast island and sat down next to Emmy.
As he did, Emmy picked up the coffee pot, then poured them both a coffee. Then they both sat for a few moments in a comfortable silence.
“Thank you, Finn,” Emmy finally said, breaking the silence between them.
“It’s just some eggs and bacon,” Finn replied as he turned and gave her a smile.
“I mean for last night,” she replied, looking up at him, letting her eyes meet his gaze. “For taking care of me, and for being there for me when I really needed someone.”
“Well,” Finn said, giving her a warm smile. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” she replied, rewarding him with a smile that almost stopped his heart. “We are.”
“Good,” Finn said with a nod before he returned his focus back to the plate in front of him, smiling once more.
He knew everything about this was wrong, but never in his life did anything feel as right as sitting there with her did, and for the first time in his life, Finn didn’t care about the rules.
Finn sat at his desk at the front of his classroom, staring at Emmy’s empty chair. It was over an hour since he had dropped her off at her apartment, and he had no idea where she could have gotten to.
He checked his watch, and she was already twenty minutes late for the class.
His focus switched from Emmy’s empty seat to Poison Ivy sitting in the front of the class, looking decidedly worse for wear. Just then she tried her best to stifle a yawn.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Cooper Smith,” Finn said as he stared at the girl, wishing more than anything he hadn’t promised Emmy he wouldn’t say anything to her about her behaviour at the party the night before. “Are we keeping you awake, or maybe we are just boring you.”
“No professor,” Shelby said as she sat up straight in her chair, trying to look like she was busy.
“Then may I suggest you try getting to bed earlier,” he said still pinning her with a stare. “Or if you can’t do that. I believe there are some research students on campus performing a sleep study. Maybe that might be more your thing.”
There was a low rumble of laughter throughout the classroom, as Shelby sunk back down into her seat, and Finn couldn’t help but take a little bit of delight from her discomfort.
He glanced back at Emmy’s seat, and his delight soon faded. He wished he knew where she was, and more importantly, if she was okay.
When the class was over, Finn went to the admin office and told them that he was cancelling the rest of his classes for the day. He knew it was probably not the best decision he had ever made, but he needed to know that Emmy was okay, and there was no way he could wait until the end of the school day.
As he drove over to Emmy’s apartment, Finn ran through everything that had happened from the time Emmy walked into his kitchen that morning, until he dropped her off outside her apartment building.
He had offered to wait for her, and drop her to class, but she insisted that she would rather make her own way there. Finn felt that maybe it was best they didn’t arrive at school together, but now he wished he had insisted on waiting for her.
When he pulled up outside her apartment, he wondered for the millionth time if he was doing the right thing, but in his heart, he knew he would never be able to drive away from there without knowing for sure that she was okay.
Taking a deep breath, he climbed out of the car and headed for the front door of the three-story walk up, looking for Emmy’s name on the intercom. When he found it, he hesitated for a moment before he reached up, pressing the call button, then held his breath as he waited for her to answer
“Hello?” Emmy’s voice came through the loudspeaker next to the door, and Finn could tell even through the speaker, that she was upset.
“Emmy,” he said as he leaned into the speaker. “It’s Finn.”
For a moment, there was no reply. Finn knew he had thrown her a little by just turning up.
“I… I’m not feeling very well, Finn,” she finally replied, and Finn could hear the panic in her voice. “Maybe you could call back later?”
“Emmy,” Finn continued, keeping his voice flat and even. “Please let me come in for a few moments. I promise that
I won’t stay long.”
“I’m really not feeling so good,” Emmy replied, and Finn knew from her voice that she was crying.
“I know,” he said, wishing more than anything he wasn’t doing this through a speaker. “But I’m worried about you. Please, just open the door, let me see that you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” Emmy assured him. Finn knew she was lying.
“And that’s great if you are,” he replied, refusing to take no for an answer. “But I’m not going till I see you, so if I have to sit on the front steps of your building all day I will.”
Emmy didn’t reply for a moment, and Finn was sure that she was not going to open the door.
He walked down the steps, then sat down. As he sat there, he turned and looked up at the windows on the front of the building. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw a curtain in a window on the second-floor twitch, and he knew she was watching him.
“You can’t just sit there all day,” Emmy’s voice drifted out from the speaker on the wall a couple of moments later. Finn didn’t get up to reply, instead, he just stared up at the window, and when he saw the curtains twitch again, he raised his arms and shrugged. Then he turned back to face the sidewalk and smiled, knowing that she couldn’t see his face or the fact he was amused. To his surprise, a couple of moments later, the buzzer sounded.
“I’m on the second floor,” her voice came back through the speaker.
Finn jumped up from the steps, hurrying to the door, pushing it open before he hurried up the stairs. When he reached the second floor, he stopped and took a deep breath before he walked to Emmy’s apartment door. He softly tapped on the door, waiting for Emmy to open it.
Finn heard a sound from the inside of the door, but it was a few moments before he heard the chain on the door slide back open, then she slowly opened it.
The moment Finn saw Emmy’s puffy red eyes, and her blotchy face, he instinctively reached out and wrapped her in his arm. When he did, Emmy buried her face into his chest and sobbed as Finn had never heard anyone sob before.
Finn Page 10
