Honor Student (10 page)

“Emma” he whispered quietly and I could not
tell if he was upset. His moods changed so often it was hard to
keep track of how he felt about me from moment to moment.

He stopped, inches from me, taking in the
view.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked. He laughed at
the idea.

“How could I ever be mad at you?” he looked
genuinely hurt at the idea. He leaned down, kissing me softly on
the fore head. I pressed my head harder against his lips and placed
my hands softly on his muscular chest. “I’m mad at myself.” He
confessed. “Get dressed. I need to take you home.” He turned to his
dresser and pulled out a white t-shirt and an old pair of his dark
wash jeans.

“But…you said it wasn’t safe for me there.” I
took the clothing from him and held it over me.

“It’s not safe for you with me.” He had a
pained expression on his face. I stepped towards him but he held up
his hand for me to stop. Running his hands through his dark hair,
he let out a deep sigh. “You can have the bed, I’ll take the
couch.” He walked passed me and out into the main living space, not
giving me the chance to object.

I slipped on the oversized white shirt and
pulled opened his drawer to put the pants back in. Tucked between
the other pairs was a small picture of a woman with long brown
hair. I glanced behind me at the door to make sure Mr. Honor was
still out in the main area. I flipped the picture over to see if
there was a name on the back. In perfect cursive writing was the
name Abby. I tucked it back into the drawer and slid in the extra
pair of pants. I crawled into the bed and slipped under the covers.
That night I dreamed about Mr. Honor with the mystery woman. I
pictured him kissing her and holding her. I awoke suddenly, my
heart pounding out of my chest, unable to catch my breath. Mr.
Honor stood in the dark doorway, his face hard as stone.

“It was just a nightmare.” I reassured him,
biting my lip. I could tell by the look on his face he knew I was
dreaming about him. He turned and left the room without saying a
word. I fell onto the pillow and drifted back off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sun poured through the giant bay windows. I
sat up, rubbing my eyes and stretching. The smell of coffee wafted
through the air. I climbed out of the bed, realizing my bottom was
still incredibly sore as I slid off the mattress. I tugged at the
t-shirt as I walked out of the bedroom. Mr. Honor stood by the
island wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. He ran his hand
through his hair when he saw me. I looked down at the ground as I
tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Coffee smells good.” I said, trying to sound
upbeat. He grabbed the pot and poured a mug for me, and topped his
cup off. I watched him over the brim of my mug as he rubbed his
eyes. “Didn’t sleep?” I asked and he looked at me for a long
moment.

“I had a lot on my mind.” He replied and I
struggled to keep my eyes from dancing over his muscular chest. I
took another sip of my drink and sat it on the counter.

“I’m sorry about…everything last night”

“I hurt you and you apologize to me.” He
laughed sardonically. “Emma, I am no good for you. I knew what I
was doing the first moment I saw you. I should have stopped it. I
shouldn’t have let it go this far.” His eyes burned into mine.

“I wanted you just as badly as you wanted
me.” I replied quietly. He slammed his hands on the counter between
us and leaned in closer to me. I jumped at the loud noise.

“I scare you. Good. Maybe now you will stay
away from me.” He’s words cut through me like a knife. I could feel
my eyes begin to water and I swallowed hard trying to keep them
from falling.

“You don’t mean that.” I replied, stepping
around the island.

“It’s for your own good, Emma.” He replied
sadly. My stomach twisted into knots. I hated him with every fiber
of my being. I wanted to run away from him and never look back, but
I would have given anything for him to take me in his arms and hold
me. I turned and made my way to the bathroom, crying silently to
myself. I grabbed my clothes and pulled them on, not bothering to
make sure I looked decent in the mirror.

When I came back into the main room Mr. Honor
had finished dressing and was waiting by the door for me. I was
thankful that I would not have to walk but I knew the car ride
would be uncomfortable at best.

It was painful to sit on the seat and I had
to angle my body to the side to bear the pain.

“Emma” William said quietly, noticing my
discomfort.

“Don’t” I waved him off, trying desperately
not to break down in front of him. The rest of the trip we rode in
silence. I was angry with myself as I thought of all the things I
had done the night before just to get a rise out of him. I pushed
him even though I knew how upset I had made him.

We pulled up to the grocery store just down
the street from my house. I opened my door, not waiting for him to
put the car into park.

“Emma” William called after me but I did not
turn around. I dug through my purse, trying to find my keys. I let
go of the strap and it fell to the ground, spilling the contents
everywhere.

“Shit, Emma” William said under his breath as
he came over to me and began collecting my things. Hot tears stung
my face and I held my breath trying not to sob aloud. “I’m just
trying to protect you.” He said quietly as he ran the back off his
fingers over my dampened cheek. He trailed his thumb over my lower
lip, letting it linger for a moment before dropping his arm at his
side.

“By hurting me,” I blurted out.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. You didn’t use
the safe word.” His voice trailed off as he made a look of
disgust.

“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking
about now.”

His eyes softened and I knew it was only a
matter of seconds before he switched off his emotions again. It was
something that was becoming all too familiar with.

“You deserve better.” With that, his look
became hard and unreadable. I knew there was no reason to
continue.

“What about the note. What if someone comes
looking for me?” Trying to scare him into staying with me was not
my best move, but I hoped it would at least make him realize that
he cared for me.

“I will take care of that today.” I did not
know what else to say. I had officially given up. I turned and got
in my car, cranking the radio loudly. I pulled out and made my way
out of the parking lot. William’s car sat unmoving in its spot.
Maybe he did care about me. Maybe he was hurting as much as I was.
I rolled my eyes at the thought and headed back to my house.

Chapter Twenty-Two

My Aunt’s house was empty and I was relieved
that I would not have to explain to her why I was dressed like a
three-dollar whore. I rolled my eyes cursing Becka for that. I
locked the door behind me as the threatening note crossed my mind.
How was he going to take care of it? Had the secretary admitted to
writing it? A pang of jealousy came over me as I remembered Mr.
Honor with her at the movies. I wondered how often they saw each
other. I wondered if he had ever taken her to his place. I pushed
the thought to the back of my mind as I made my way to my room. I
slipped of the ridiculous clothing and grabbed one of my old
favorite t-shirts. I glanced across my bed and my memories flashed
to William and me. I felt that warm familiar tingling in my
stomach, the way I had when he touched me. I sighed and grabbed my
phone from my bag, pulling the door closed behind me. The first
thing on my list of things to do was to get something to eat. I had
not had anything since yesterday and I was beginning to feel
shaky.

I grabbed a box of cereal and made my way
into the living room. I clicked through the channels on the
television, settling on the movie Fear. My mind was lost in my own
memories when my phone lit up. I picked it up, hoping that it was
William. The caller I.D. read Becka and I frowned, sitting the
phone back on the arm of the chair. A few minutes later it buzzed
letting me know I had a new voicemail. I was not in the mood to
talk. I turned the television up and spent the next hour getting
lost in the movie.

As the day slowly burned away, I made it a
point to do things for myself. I began by painting my toenails and
fingers a matching deep red. The pink bandage made me look like a
walking Valentine’s Day advertisement so I slowly pulled off the
pink gauze. My hand looked much better than it had. After I had
finished my nails, I put on my favorite bikini I had bought when I
first came to Florida. It was solid black with a ruffle across my
bottom. I studied myself in the mirror, tugging the bottoms trying
to cover the long welt marks that marred my backside. I ran my
fingers over them. After a few moments, I managed to pull my
thoughts from William and head outside. I lay out in the back yard
on an oversized towel. The overwhelming warmth from the sun
exhausted me and I fell asleep. Luckily, I awoke before burning
myself. My skin had a pale pink hue to it and I was certain that it
would be brown by morning.

I felt better as the day went on. Pampering
myself always made me feel less sad after a hard day. I decided to
top off my spa experience by soaking in the tub with a few candles
and some slow music.

I filled the tub to with warm water and added
some vanilla scented bubble bath. While it filled, I grabbed my
phone and plugged it into a tiny radio so I could play some
classical music as I relaxed. I could not find anything to light
the candles so I settled for some battery powered ones that my Aunt
had picked up at the mall. I lowered my body into the soothing
water and let my mind drift off into relaxation. The problem was my
thoughts immediately went to William. The smell of his skin, his
sexy eyes, that devilish smile, every part of him drew me in and
left me wanting more of him. I closed my eyes and let the music
take over. The sad slow melody of the piano filled the room and I
was able to let it all go.

After the water began to cool, I reluctantly
pulled myself from the small tub feeling refreshed and less worried
about the situation. I made my way into my bedroom to change into
something more comfortable. I pulled on a pair of pajama shorts and
a tank top and decided a book would finish off the evening nicely.
I picked out an old romance novel that I had bought at the local
bookstore a few months back, but had never made time to read. As
the pages passed I felt my heart growing heavier. As much as I
tried to escape what I was feeling, the words in the book touched a
nerve inside of me. I spent the rest of the evening crying quietly
alone until I fell asleep, exhausted by my own sadness.

The next morning I decided that as much as I
wanted to stay home and sulk I could not pass up the opportunity to
see him. He had taken over my thoughts and had become an addiction
that I needed to feed. I took extra care to make sure my hair was
perfectly straight and my makeup was just enough to show him what
he was missing. I drove to school in silence. I was so wrapped up
in having to actually look William in the eye I did not even
realize the radio was not on.

My workout was actually quite bearable. Jeff
was not around today and I was thankful I did not have to talk
about our time at the club. He was a nice guy, but I wasn’t
attracted to him in the least.

As the day went on, I realized that several
of my books were missing. It dawned on me that I had left them in
Mr. Honor’s car the entire weekend. My nerves were on edge as I sat
through lunch listening to Claire and Becka rave about their
weekend in the clubs. I picked at my food, never actually taking a
bite.

“I still can’t believe Jeff wrecked his car.
He is lucky to be alive.” Becka said sadly.

“That’s what he gets for drinking and
driving.” Claire chimed in. I rolled my eyes remembering how they
passed the liquor around the car that very night.

As the bell rang, I sat frozen in my seat,
not sure if I could go to his class. I wanted more than anything to
see him but I was scared of his reaction. Sitting through an entire
period without him so much as glancing my way would devastate
me.

“Come on, you’re going to be late.” Becka
said cheerfully as she looped her arm in mine and pulled me from
the seat. I dumped my lunch tray and made my way down the hall to
Mr. Honor’s class. I stood outside as everyone filed in. I glanced
through the doorway to see Mr. Honor leaning against the front of
his desk. His eyes met mine and for a moment, time froze. I held my
breath and stared at him. He wore a dark black button up shirt that
made his blue eyes glow. A male student walked up to him and got
his attention. I took a deep breath and slinked inside. I noticed a
small stack of books on my desk and could not help but smile. I sat
down and fidgeted with my pen, not wanting to look up at him. He
began to speak asking random questions about the chapter he had
assigned for us to read over the weekend. I let my mind wander as I
chewed on the end of my pencil.

“Emma…Emma!” William called and I glanced up
to see the entire class staring at me.

“What” I asked, sounding more irritated than
I intended.

“Who exacted punishment
on the rebels of the North of England reffered to as ‘The Harrying
of the North’?” His eyes burned into mine and the entire class sat
silent, waiting for my response.

“William the Conqueror.”
I blurted out, thinking of his text messages to me. He smiled at
our own private joke.

“
That is correct
Ms. Townsend.” His lips curved up in a devilish grin. My heart
leaped into my thoat. “Good girl” I nearly melted out of my seat
into a puddle on the floor. Those words had a direct connection to
the naughtiest of places on my body. I bit my lip as my cheeks
burned pink. His eyes narrowed and I quickly let my lip free. He
moved on to other questions and the conversation blurred in my
mind. William had a way of taking over my every thought. The bell
rang, ending the class in what seemed like record time. I
reluctantly moved on to my next class, wishing I could spend his
free period alone with him. I spent the rest of the day fantasising
about going back and being bent over his desk again. I couldn’t
ignore his rejection. I sucked it up and managed to make it to all
of my classes. I refused to humiliate myself.