Honor Student (8 page)

“It’s not that simple.” He replied.

“What are you talking about? She threatened
your life!” I stopped short, realizing I was shouting at him.

“She doesn’t seem to know anything about
you.” He said as he took another long drink from the bottle. It had
not even crossed my mind that this person was a threat to me. I ran
my fingers through my hair, but they caught in a giant knot.

“Shit” I said under my breath. Mr. Honor
smiled and opened the drawer in the island. He pulled out a pink
hairbrush and held it out for me. “Thanks” I smiled, wondering why
he had this and whom it belonged to. He grinned and it was hard to
remember how mad I was at him just seconds before. Sometimes he
seemed so caring but in the blink of an eye, his mood switches to
something dark. I wish I could learn more about what is going on
being those blue eyes.

“We have to find somewhere safe for you to go
tonight.” He said, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Why can’t I stay here?” I asked, but I
immediately felt foolish for assuming he would want me to stay.
“Never mind” I sat the brush back in my back and stood up from the
stool.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to stay. I
wish I could lock you up and never let you leave.” He joked, but I
knew he had entertained the thought. “The last place you should be
is with me.” He explained and I relaxed a little. I always assumed
the worst. William walked around the counter and cupped my face in
his hand, his fingers stroking my cheeks. “Why do you think so
little of yourself?” he asked. His question caught me off guard and
I did not really have an answer.

“Why are you so distant?” I countered. He
drew in a deep breath.

“That has nothing to do with you, Emma.” I
placed my hand on his chest, feeling his pulse race under my
fingertips. He grabbed my hand and pressed it harder against his
chest.

“You are the only person who has ever made my
heart race like this.” His eyes stared deeply into mine. I could
not look away, not that I wanted to. He ran his free hand through
my hair and tucked it behind my ear.

“You have to go. It’s not up for debate.” He
said sternly. I wanted to argue but I knew his mind was made
up.

Chapter Seventeen

I called Becka and left her a voicemail
letting her know I wanted to hang out. William fixed us something
to eat while I waited for her to call me back.

“This is amazing.” I said as I slurped up
another spaghetti noodle. William laughed and used his thumb to
wipe sauce from my bottom lip. He licked his finger sending that
unmistakable feeling throughout my body.

“Eat” he smiled and I realized I had been
staring at him longer than I intended. My phone rang and I reached
for it.

“It’s Becka” I told William as I
answered.

“My Aunt and I had a fight. I just…can’t go
back there for a while.” The truth was I did not want to ever go
back to that house. “Thanks Becka. I really appreciate it.” I hung
up the phone and looked up to see William rinsing the plates in the
sink.

“She said I could stay.” I did not want to
leave. I wanted to stay here lost in this fantasy with William.
With him, I felt like I had a purpose. I felt in control even when
he left me completely powerless.

He grabbed my purse from the counter and
opened the door. I walked through, hanging my head like a sulking
child. If I was not with William, I wanted to be alone, wallowing
in my sadness.

“You can call me if you need anything.” He
reassured me but I did not feel any better. He opened the car door
and waited for me to get in. I kissed him on his cheek, but I let
my mouth linger, not wanting to pull back from him. He turned
catching my lip in his. His touch made me forget about everything
that was wrong in my life. I pushed against him, hungry for more.
“We have to go.” He breathed heavily. It was taking all he had not
kiss me again. I moved closer but decided against it. If I did not
leave now I never would. “I will fix this.” He promised and I knew
he meant it.

I nodded and got in my seat. We travelled in
silence. The GPS spouted directions and soon we were a few houses
away from Becka’s home. There were so many things I wanted to say
to him but I could not form the words. “I’ll come for you as soon
as I can.” I knew he was trying to comfort me but I could not
ignore the sad underlying tone as he spoke.

“I know” I said quietly as I got out of the
car, pulling my bag from the bag seat. I watched him drive away,
walking slowly until his taillights disappeared down the road
before ringing the doorbell.

“Emma!” Becka wrapped her arms around my neck
and hugged me tightly. I barely knew her and the whole scene was
too awkward.

“Hey” I said with a smile, tucking my hair
behind my ear. She stepped inside and I followed, looking around at
the elaborately decorated home. “Nice place”

“Thanks. My mom is really into flowers.” She
replied, rolling her eyes. Right on cue her mother stepped around
the corner holding a plate of cookies.

“Ohhh…” she laughed and waved off Becka’s
expression. “How are you dear? Becka has told me all about your
situation. I am so sorry.” She looked at me with that awful
expression I had become accustom too.

“Thanks” I looked down at my feet, not
wanting to meet her gaze.

“I baked you some comfort food.” She smiled
holding out the plate of cookies.

“She doesn’t want to eat her feelings.” Becka
replied sarcastically, grabbing my arm and pulling me up the stairs
to her room. I smiled back at her mother, feeling sorry for Becka’s
rude outburst.

I stood in the doorway of her bedroom. The
walls painted a deep purple and heavy matching drapes lined the
windows.

“You like?” she asked, twirling around.

“It’s nice. Very…gothic” I replied. I had
never pegged Becka for having a darker side.

“It’s not gothic, it’s romantic.” She smiled.
I did not get that vibe at all, but what did I know about romance.
The closest I had come was being tied to William’s bed. I felt my
cheeks turn pink at the thought. I turned my phone over in my hand.
I had no missed calls or messages.

“It’s nice” I smiled and she beamed with
pride.

“I got something to make you feel better.”
She grinned, pulling a small tin out of the stand next to her
bed.

“Oh, no” I recognized it from the school
bathroom. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? My mom is oblivious. Besides, you
need this after the day you have had.” She pulled out a joint and
began to light it.

“What the hell.” I walked over and took the
joint, drawing in hard and holding my breath.

“So, where have you been?” she asked, taking
the joint carefully.

“What?” I breathed out, caught off guard by
her question.

“Where have you been all day?” her tone hung
heavy with concern not just general nosiness.

“I needed to get away. I could not sit still.
I just…walked.” She nodded and I knew I did not need to elaborate
further. Seeing Becka around school I never would have imagined us
hanging out and actually getting along. I realized that it was
probably my fault we did not become friends sooner. I kept to
myself as much as possible, trying not to let anyone get close
enough to me to hurt me. The saddest part is that I was actively
hurting myself. I was completely self- destructive. I was not
always this way. Before my parent’s had died I was happy.

“Where did you go?” she asked, touching my
arm.

“Around town” I answered, taking the joint
from her hand.

“No” she laughed, “Just now”

“Oh...I guess I was just thinking about all
that has happened lately.” I replied.

“I know what will make you feel better.
Cookies” She laughed, grabbing the joint and putting it out inside
the tin. “Come on” she looped her arm inside mine and sat my phone
down on the stand with her box.

“Wait…I need that” I said, reaching out my
hand but she waved it away.

“What could possibly be more important than
junk food?” she rolled her eyes and drug me down the steps to the
kitchen.

Chapter Eighteen

I was relieved to find the kitchen empty.
Becka’s mother had gone outside to work on her garden, leaving us
free to rummage through the fridge for snacks. Becka handed me the
plate of cookies and a few sodas. She grabbed a few more things and
we made our way back upstairs to her bedroom.

“So, what really happened to your hand?”
Becka asked as she took a long swig from her soda.

“It was an accident.” I replied dryly.

“Rumor around school was you got fucked up on
all kinds of drugs and tried to off yourself.” She explained as if
talking about the weather. I rolled my eyes and nibbled on a
cookie.

“The truth is much more boring.” I caught the
light on my phone blinking out of the corner of my eye.

“It always is.” She laughed and I leaned over
to slide my phone of the stand, and peeked at the screen. The I.D.
on the message read ‘William the Conqueror’. I smiled, realizing he
must have programmed that in while I was in the bathroom.

Do you have any idea what I want to do to
you right now?

I could not keep my cheeks from burning
red.

“What? Who is it?” Becka asked, grabbing for
my phone. I held it back and pushed her hand away.

“No one, just an old friend from back home.”
I lied. I typed back a quick reply then slid the phone into my
pocket.

Who is this? It is so hard to keep my
admirers straight.

My phone vibrated in my pocket but I ignored
it, smiling to myself.

“Something is up with you.” Becka grinned,
but I waved the way her accusation.

“Let’s watch a movie or something.” I said,
eyeing up the flat screen at the foot of her bed. The television
was enormous. The one in the living room of my house was much
smaller and was not one of the new models that could be hung on the
wall.

“What are you in the mood for?” she asked,
but I could tell she already had something in mind.

“Nothing sad” I warned. The last thing I
wanted was to bring down my mood. As Becka dug through her
collection of DVDs, I pulled out my phone and checked the messages
William had sent.

Not funny. I can think of a few ways to
punish you later.

I smiled and sent a quick reply.

Looking forward to it.

“How about something scary?” Becka asked,
eyeing my phone.

“Sounds good.” I replied and slipped the
phone back into my pocket. I felt it vibrate again but resisted the
urge to check it. I was getting whiplash from Mr. Honor’s crazy
mood swings. I needed to step back from him and figure out what it
was that I wanted from him. Now was not that time. I was too high
to think and when I tried to think of him all I could imagine was
his lips on mine.

“What are you scared of” Becka said as she
plopped on the bed next to me.

“What?” I asked, feeling like she was reading
my thoughts.

“The movie. I know its lame but I figured we
could get a good laugh out of it.” She explained, pulling a pillow
from behind me and tucking it under her head.

“Oh…sounds good.” I replied, laying back on
the bed and grabbing a cookie.

The next few hours were a blur. All I could
think about was what William was doing. I excused myself to use the
bathroom so I could check my messages.

You will be sorry you said that.

My heart thudded in my chest as I thought
over sending him another message.

I miss you.

I hit send and regretted it immediately. My
phone vibrated within seconds.

Emma, don’t.

I felt a lump form in my throat. Did he not
have any feelings towards me at all? I left the bathroom, trying to
hide the sadness in my face.

“What do you want to do now?” She asked as
she lit the joint again.

“Forget” I said as I took it from her hands
and drew a long hard breath.

“Easy enough. Let’s go out.” She replied with
a grin. She stared at me anxiously, waiting for my reply. If
William did not care, why should I?

“Let’s do it.” I smiled back, not sure it was
the best idea.

“Great!” Becka screamed as she grabbed my
arms. “We’ll find something hot to wear and I’ll call Claire. I
know Jeff will be excited to see you.” She teased.

“What should we wear?” I asked, hoping she
had something comfortable in mind.

Chapter Nineteen

After one long excruciating hour of trying on
clothes we finally agreed that I was going to wear something that
was entirely too revealing no matter how uncomfortable it made
me.

“You look great!” Becka exclaimed. I tugged
at the tight black skirt, trying to add a little more length. I
crossed my arms over my chest, which was now in full view for all
to see. “Show some confidence! The guys are going to be all over
you!”

“Who says I want that?” I asked as I turned
to look in her bathroom mirror.

“Come on.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me
out of the bathroom. After waiting a moment at the top of the
stairs, to make sure her parents were not around, we snuck out the
front door.

Becka drove a small red convertible that
looked like a toy. I carefully lowered myself down, trying not to
expose myself in the tiny skirt. We drifted out of the driveway so
her parent’s would not hear us leave. As we hit the road, Becka
revved her engine and took off down the road. She cranked the
radio, singing at the top of her lungs along with ‘Highway to
hell’. I laughed and sang along with her, finally beginning to
relax.

We pulled up outside of Claire’s house about
fifteen minutes later. Becka parked along the road and we ducked
down in our seats waiting for Claire to sneak out.

“Let me in!” Claire whispered loudly, banging
on my window. I nearly jumped out of my seat. I pushed open the
door and slid forward as she ducked into the seat behind me. Becka
took off before I even had the door closed. “Fuck!” Claire laughed
as she tapped me on the shoulder. I glanced back at her as she held
out a small bottle of liquor, shaking it at me. I took it from her,
sniffing it before taking a small sip.