The One I Love

by Mia Ford

My heart beats through my chest as we run. The only place to go is down the back alley. We rush through dark streets, behind dumpsters, and around homeless people. I can hear them yelling as they chase us. I wonder how I found myself in this situation again after I got out.

  “If we survive this, George, I’m going to kill you.”

  “Why didn’t you just give him the money? You know how he is.”

  “Because you are the one who screwed up. How could you steal from a drug dealer and not warn me?” We stop behind an abandoned flower shop and I bend over my knees trying to listen. I know the area like the back of my hand but something tells me the guys following us do too.

  “I think we lost them,” George says peeking around the corner of the building.

  “For now,” I say thinking this night is going to have some serious consequences. “Stay away from me George, I mean it.”

  “Come on Charlie, I didn’t have anywhere to turn.”

  I don’t listen to him as I walk away from the building heading towards a more populated area to call another Uber and get the hell out of this part of town. Once I’m safe in the car I let the night’s events playback in my mind. I could have been killed, George still might be killed. My stomach hurts and I just want to make it to my house to go to sleep. Oblivion is the only thing that is going to keep me sane tonight.

  When I get home, of course, I can’t sleep. My sanity isn’t as important to my brain as I thought it was. I’m consumed by what just happened by what could have happened. I could have easily died tonight and it really bothers me. I’m not ready to die. Hell, my life is just starting to take off. Why would I want to end it when the possibility of greatness is looming around the corner?

  George should have never put me in that position. He did it knowing exactly what was going to happen to me. I’m too trusting. I slug my pillow trying to get it comfortable enough to allow me to drift to sleep. After punching my pillow into more shapes than it ever thought possible, I fix a strong drink so I can at least relax even if I don’t sleep.

  Something tells me I’m going to be having nightmares if I do ever pass out. And that pisses me off even more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ada

  I take more care getting ready Wednesday morning knowing I have to teach Madeline’s homeroom and her English class. She always looks so pulled together I don’t want to fly into their classroom looking like the queen of frump. I do my hair straightening it out and weighing it down with hairspray. Once my makeup is on and I put on the brightest floral dress and cardigan I own, I feel pretty good about myself. I didn’t have a lot of time to plan for the classes so I would be winging it most of the day. I came up with a writing assignment for homeroom and a movie that they could watch and I could ask some questions about the story, but other than that I would be flying by the seat of my pants.

  I leave the house feeling somewhat proud of myself which is right before I catch the fact there’s lipstick on my teeth as I get out of the car. So much for feeling good. Oh well, it lasted longer than it usually does. I have fifteen minutes before the final bell rings and I want to already be in the classroom and set up before any students arrive.

  Walking through the halls I say hi to teachers and students I know. I’m in the process of working on building up confidence. The pep talk I gave myself before leaving my apartment today seems to be sticking with me. It even only unnerves me a little bit to see Penny and Hallie outside the room huddled together.

  “Hi ladies,” I say causing them to break apart. Each of them has a hard to read smirk on their face.

  “Morning Addy. Good luck with subbing today.”

  “Thank you,” I say unease rushing through me and it’s all caused by their odd behavior. An image of the three of them gathering outside Madeline's classroom for some strange ritual pulses through my head. The picture I imagine has them wearing witches hats and makes me smile. They give me an odd look when I just smile waiting for them to move out of the way. Finally, they relent and make their way down the hall to their homerooms and I pop into mine.

  The walls are covered with quotes from famous authors and a bulletin board that covers a whole wall with pictures of the students. It’s a themed spread and Madeline has put each student in an apple on a tree. It’s the most unoriginal thing I’ve ever seen. I’m not surprised to see her picture larger than everyone else’s at the top of the tree.

  Gag me.

  “Well she does like attention,” I say as I stare at her frozen smiling face.

  ‘That’s for damned sure,” a voice says behind me.

  I turn around startled to find my smart girl Sarah standing behind me. I didn’t read the roster so I didn’t know if any of my music students would be in the class. I’m happy to see her.

  “I didn’t know anyone was listening.” Despite the truth in my words, I feel my cheeks getting hot. I watch as Sarah takes her seat and I go back to the front of the room. The first bell rings and no one else has come into the room yet. This is a little weird, but it’s homeroom so most teachers aren’t super strict about time.

  After the second bell rings and there’s still no one but Sarah in the classroom I get a little prickle of awareness. I could almost imagine hearing witch’s cackles down the hallway. I’m being pranked for some reason. All of the students aren’t coming or they are coming in late. Either way, it’s not funny. It makes me feel like a fool and I want to yell at someone.

  I was doing Madeline a favor. Why would she do something mean to me when I was the one helping her out?

  “Madeline probably told them there was a substitute. I swear most of the people in my class are mindless followers and the ones doing the leading don’t have two brain cells to rub together.” Sarah surmises.

  “I’m sorry, did you just call her Madeline?”

  “Yes, we all do. She insists. Says Mrs. Smith is her mother-in-law.”

  I actually let my mouth hang open. It’s so unprofessional. As much as I want to head to the principal and accuse Madeline of setting me up with her students I don’t have enough evidence to prove it. And I don’t want to look like a whiny teacher, at least I’m professional.

  After the first twenty minutes have passed in which I made Sarah do the writing assignment I brought the students start showing up. They’re all giggling like they’re in on some great joke.

  I have a couple of choices. I can get mad and make them copy definitions out of the encyclopedia which is what I really want to do or I can be the bigger person and play along.

  I wait until all the students have taken their seats and have sort of settled in.

  “That was a good one guys. I really thought you weren’t coming. The assignment is on your desk. You can start it now and finish it tomorrow. We were going to watch a movie once you were done, but now you won’t have time.”

  Smiling, I walk over to the desk and sit down to read while they start their assignment. I see Hallie and Penny in the little window of my door and pretend I don’t. Screw them. It’s clear for some reason they thought this would unnerve me. It doesn’t make me angry, it makes me laugh. They need to realize I don’t really care about some childish prank. I just feel bad for the students. They are ones that are going to suffer in the long run by not having a teacher who cares about them.

  Thursday morning, I feel more comfortable with my role as a substitute. I hope I’ve gotten through to them. And this time it will be different.

  In fact, the nerves I’m feeling today have nothing to do with Madeline’s class and everything to do with a certain sexy singer. I had dreams about Charlie all night long and the things he’d done to me. My mind drifts back to the way he’d been down between my legs and how that must have looked to him. It’s all I can think about in the shower, mostly because in the dream I’d forgotten to shave my legs and he was looking at an insane forest.

  But even with my freak out and embarrassing myself, I still don’t feel bad about how good his tongue felt. I don’t think
anything could diminish the euphoria he made me feel with his mouth on me. I don’t think he’ll be in that position again for a long time. Yet maybe I should think about waxing down there, just in case.

  Before I know it, I'm standing in front of my mirror over analyzing everything I see. I actually sit on the floor wearing only underwear in front of it so I can see what he saw. It doesn't look that appealing to me so I stand back up. Maybe it looks different from on the floor than on the couch. I think of when he spread my lap apart but I can’t make myself do that. If I see what that looks like down there I may never leave the house.

  I'm definitely overthinking this. I just need to go and meet with them. Tomorrow night will be more about singing with him then dating and sex. Heck, we can’t really talk about sex with Thomas at the table with us. After, when we’re alone maybe.

  Walking into homeroom I’m convinced that my day will be normal, only it’s not. After the first bell, once again only Sarah’s in the classroom. I’ve now stopped thinking it’s funny. This is a strange personal attack on me and I don’t have to stand for it.

  And the kicker to my now crappy morning is the principal who chooses this exact time to come into the classroom.

  “Principal Stephens! What brings you to the classroom today?” I say brightly. I’ve worn the other really colorful dress I own and have paired it with the bright yellow pumps I’d worn to dinner with Charlie. I hope the brightness puts him in a good mood.

  “The question should be, Miss Springfield, why are your students playing kickball on the front lawn. Shouldn’t they be in here in time for the bell?”

  My cheeks heat up and I make my way over to look out the window. Sure enough, the entire class minus Sarah is playing some form of soccer on the front lawn. The girls in the class have done backbends to make the goals when the teams get close. It’s impressive, but I’m seeing red.

  “I’ll take care of this at once,” I say and go sit behind my desk.

  “This is you taking care of it?” He raises a brow at me.

  “For every minute they aren’t in here, it’s another minute they are in detention with you tomorrow after school.”

  “Very good.” He actually smiles and walks out of the classroom.

  “Man, Miss Springfield, I’m glad I came to class. You’ve got a little venom underneath that bright ass dress,” Sarah says.

  “Language Sarah,” I say, “and thank you.”

  When the students come in laughing about fifteen minutes later I sit calmly behind the desk smiling. I wait for them to get settled the same as I did earlier.

  “I’m going to call the roll. The principal was kind enough to pay us a visit while you were all outside getting your extracurriculars in. The problem is, while I support exercise in the morning, you were supposed to be in class. Each of you will be in detention tomorrow after school for an hour and twenty-five minutes. You will write an essay about why pranks can sometimes be a bad thing and you’ll all be in class on time tomorrow.”

  There are a few gasps and moans throughout my speech, but I continue.

  “If you’re late tomorrow we’ll spend Saturday here together in detention. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” come back a lot of half-hearted replies.

  They aren’t smiling and giggling anymore. I decide to stick it to them just a little bit harder just so they know that I’m no longer playing nice.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say opening my eyes wide.

  “Yes, ma’am,” they all reply.

  When Friday morning comes I go into the classroom and am pleased to see all the students are present and even a little early. I once again catch Hallie and Penny outside the classroom. This time, I don’t ignore them.

  I walk to the door and open it. “Morning ladies, may I help you?”

  Catching them off guard makes them stumble back from the door and look at one another. From their frustrated faces, they had been hoping the students were once again not coming into the classroom. Maybe I should cackle at them.

  “We just wanted to make sure you had your students under control. We know how hard it is for substitutes to gain any respect,” Penny said with sugared poison dripping off each word.

  “I had a bit of trouble with my students, but I made sure the punishment fit the crime. Do you two not teach homeroom?”

  “No, we actually don’t have homerooms. It’s our free work period,” Penny explains.

  “Well, next time you can substitute for Madeline then,” I say with a smile and walk back into my classroom. I don’t know where these big balls I’ve suddenly gotten have come from, but I think I’ll keep them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Charlie

  “I’ve never been this nervous,” I tell Thomas when he comes to pick me up. He’s got a driver to take us to the restaurant and bar because he thinks it will show Addy what she could be experiencing if she decides to work with us. If I know Addy, she won’t care about having a driver.

  “Don’t be. You already have that girl smitten. I think she’ll do whatever you want her to.” Thomas all but rubs his hands together in glee.

  “You don’t know that.”

  We’re on our way to pick her up from the school and I just want everything to go smoothly. If she doesn’t want to sing with me I’m a little nervous Thomas will drop me. He might not, because I’m paying him, but I’m always worried he’s just looking for the next big thing. And without Addy, I have a feeling that won’t be me.

  “I do, you’re talented and she’s going to love singing with you.”

  Thomas is the biggest cheerleader I have. He always has my back and makes me feel like the smartest person in the world. Well, that is what I pay him to do. His words ease some of the fear that he’s going to drop me. My whole thought process has been thrown off by the girl I’ve been thinking about all week.

  When we pull up in front of the school, there’s an audience. I kind of wish we’d waited until the students and teachers had cleared out. There’s no way to avoid it now.

  Addy appears, her bright features lighting me up from the inside. My heart slams against my chest at how wholesome yet sexy she looks. Before we can get out Addy is hurrying into to car and shutting the door firmly.

  “Hi,” she says shyly looking out at the mass of people now staring at the car as it pulls away.

  “Hi,” I respond sounding almost breathless.

  “Where are we going?” she asks her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink.

  “We’re going to Sunfire, I think you’ll love it there,” Thomas says to Ada. “Well, Lila says you’ll love it there. She was supposed to come but had some emergency PTA things. Is she lying? I didn’t think teachers worried about PTA.”

  Ada laughs and it’s a beautiful sound. “No, she’s not lying. The English teachers run the PTA and they take it very seriously. She probably had to be there to make sure they had the right fundraising advertisements or something equally mundane. Poor Lila.”

  The ride over is full of conversation about Lila and Thomas. I can tell Ada loves her best friend dearly so it’s enjoyable to listen to her talk about her.

  We pull up to the restaurant and immediately I see Savannah. My stomach turns sour and I try to keep the frown from forming on my face. Of all the people to run into at one of the most expensive restaurants in town, she was not someone I thought I’d see. She’s with an older guy, I assume a rich sugar daddy, but I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Somehow, I manage to get by her and her date without them seeing us. Thank goodness for small miracles.

  As luck would have it they are meandering around waiting for a table, being we have reservations I hoping they will sweep us to our table immediately. I’m happy to give the hostess my name so we can get out of her eye line. But it seems my luck has run out.

  “Please go sit at the bar and have a complimentary drink while we get your table ready Mr. Maxwell.” The hostess apologetically says our table is occupied by someone who has overstayed
their welcome. Once we’re seated at the bar and order a drink Thomas jumps right into business as I keep a side eye on Savannah hoping she doesn’t see me.

  “So, I have the contract, but we can talk about all that after dinner. It covers things like percentage of money from the sales of albums, merchandise, and lots of other things.”

  “Half,” Ada says surprising Thomas. I can tell because he leans back in the both with his mouth open.

  “Half?”

  “Yes, I’m putting myself out there if I decide to sing with Charlie. I’m giving up my privacy and who knows what else. It’s not like I’m the one desperate for this. I’m perfectly fine teaching my student’s music so in my mind it seems you need me more than I need you. So, I want half or nothing. If that contract doesn’t say I’m entitled to half then redo it. I’ll get a lawyer to look at it once you have.”

  I’m a little blown away by this confidence Addy has gained. She isn’t backing down from Thomas and she is prepared to play hardball. It’s a pretty big turn on.

  “That’s fine with me. If you want to sing with me, then half of it should be yours.” I add giving her a wink to bring back the pink flush on her cheeks.

  “Now wait a minute Charlie, you have to look at the big picture here. This is your brand,” Thomas interjects.

  “She’s going to be a part of it.”

  I can tell Thomas is going to lose it. He is holding back so he doesn’t make her mad, but his face shows he doesn’t think she deserves half. It’s fucking dumb that he would be fighting her on this. He was the one that insisted I needed a partner. Hell, I was positive he was going to drop me if I couldn’t convince Addy to sing with me. So why he was being a dick didn’t make sense. I personally just want to give her whatever she wants so she’ll keep looking at me that way.