by Sam Crescent
“Then why don’t you ask Ms. Bertram? I think she’d love to have you running.”
She made to move past him, but he caught her hand. “It’s not safe for you. When are you going to learn?”
Lucia pulled her hand away from him. “I am safe. I just needed a run to clear my head, okay? Is it so hard to understand?”
“You can run, but you’re not doing it alone. Your parents may not give a shit, but I’m not them. You want to run to clear your head, that’s fine. I’ll stay a few feet behind you.” He placed one of his earbuds in and stepped behind her.
“Are you serious right now?”
“You want to run, that’s fine. I get it. Running helps me to clear my head as well. You’re not doing it alone, and seeing as it’s late, dark, and you’re pissed, I’ll make sure we’re both safe.”
He saw her hands clenched at her sides.
“Unless you want me to take you home.”
“No. I don’t want to go home. I want to run.”
“Then fucking run, Lucia,” he said, finally yelling the words.
She glared at him, and before he was ready for it, she took off.
Jack ran after her, keeping pace. It wasn’t hard to as she kept on running, and he followed her.
He listened to his music as his blood pumped inside him.
Chasing her, running after her, wasn’t part of the plan, but as he watched her, he couldn’t help the fire building inside him.
He wanted to chase her, only he didn’t want to take her home.
These feelings were fucking destroying him, and they weren’t even through their first semester.
He was completely screwed.
She was his student.
There was no way he could have anything else.
Even as he thought it, an overwhelming sadness overcame him.
Lucia needed someone to take care of her. No one else took care of her. Marie did, but only to the point of a friend.
Her parents pushed her aside, forcing her to grow up.
He knew all about that and could relate to her. It was always hard to be forced to grow up, to have your parents constantly push you aside until you show that you have a great mind.
His own parents had done the same to him until he’d proven that he was an intelligent man.
Right now, that intelligence was the furthest thing he had.
He wasn’t thinking straight.
Lucia was a student.
He shouldn’t be running in a park with her, chasing after her, making sure she was safe.
This was wrong.
He knew it.
She knew it.
At any time, she could report his ass to the principal, but she hadn’t. Instead, she looked pissed and sounded jealous because she’d seen him with Beth, even though seconds later he’d turned her down again.
Some women liked a challenge, and he’d become that for Beth.
After ten minutes, Lucia slowed down, and finally stopped, bending forward. Her hands went to her knees as she took several deep breaths. He watched her, unable to look away even if he wanted to.
“Meeting you for a run isn’t right,” she said, panting out each word.
“I don’t care. You’re not going to call anyone else to make sure you’re all right.”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me, Jack. I’ve been doing it fine for a long time.”
He took a step toward her and forced himself to stop.
This wasn’t right.
“Nothing happened between Beth and me.”
“Beth?”
“Ms. Bertram.”
She licked her lips and looked away. “You’re my teacher.”
“I know.”
“Why is it so hard to just think of you as my teacher?” she asked. “I’ve been doing fine. More than fine. I get up, go to school, do my lessons, and then I go home, stuff happens, I wake up. Do the entire thing again. Only now I like you taking me home. I like bumping into you running. I … you love teaching.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m only seventeen.”
“Nothing is happening here,” he said, lying completely.
She placed a hand to her head, and he watched as she checked the time. “I’ve got to go home.”
“Let me walk you.”
“It’s not really safe for you to keep being seen with me. The wrong person sees and we’re in the office explaining stuff.”
“But nothing has happened, Lucia. It won’t happen.” He was stronger than that. She nodded her head.
“You’re right.”
He followed behind her as she walked all the way home. At her gate, she paused and glanced back. He saw so much in her eyes. The yearning, the need; so much, and all he wanted to do was fucking protect her.
That was something he couldn’t do right now.
She ducked her head and made her way inside.
They couldn’t have this.
He ran back to his place, taking a quick shower before changing into his suit. Grabbing his briefcase, he was in his car and heading toward the school.
This time he didn’t stop at the library, nor did he check to see if she’d arrived safely. There had to be some distance created; there had to be.
Entering his classroom, he wrote on the white board what the start of class would be, then made his way toward the staff room. Derick and Beth were already there, sipping their coffee.
“You two okay?” he asked. “Looking really snuggly.” He turned back to the coffee machine, rolling his eyes. Snuggly? What the fuck was that?
“Derick was just telling me about your self-defense class yesterday.”
Jack nodded. “It went really well.”
“You don’t think it’s a bit much teaching a bunch of kids to defend themselves?” Beth asked.
“Not at all. Someone was attacked. We need to make sure the students all know how to handle that situation. Speaking of, any news from the hospital?”
“Broken wrist and some bruises, but she’ll make a full recovery. They don’t have a clue who it was. He kept her eyes covered and didn’t speak,” Derick said.
“Anything on the security cameras?” Jack asked.
“Nothing. It was just a random attack. It may not have even been a local guy. Just some punk ass passing through.”
Normally, he went back to his classroom, but right now he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. After this morning’s run, he needed to clear his head.
“Has this ever happened before?” he asked.
“Not that I know of. It’s a pretty safe place. Not many people here who would attack someone else. I mean, if it was two kids then I’d have pointed the finger at them at school.”
“Hey, did you see the boner on that kid yesterday, Connor?” Derick asked.
Jack gripped his cup. The last thing he wanted to think about right now was kids, boners, and Lucia.
“What?” Beth asked.
“Connor and that fat chick, what’s her name?” He looked at Jack, but he shrugged his shoulders. There was no way he’d think of Lucia as “the fat chick.” The thought alone was offensive to him. “Deen kid?”
“Lucia Deen?” Beth asked.
“That’s the one. They were partnered up, and I don’t know what happened but she got the better of him. Had him pinned to the mat and when she climbed off, kid’s boner was showing. Fucking ridiculous.”
“Lucia’s not fat,” Jack said, looking at the two of them.
“We know we’re not supposed to say anything, but she is bigger than a lot of her peers.”
“That doesn’t make her fat. There are models out there that are bigger than others, but that doesn’t make them fat.”
“No, that makes them plus-size,” Beth said. “What’s the matter?”
“How do we expect our students to stop bullying when we can’t even stop doing it?” Jack asked.
He glanced up at the clock, tired of the conversation.
“I’v
e got to get to class.”
He took his coffee with him, leaving the staff room.
“Jack, Jack, I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was a touchy subject for you,” Beth said, following him.
She put a hand on his arm, and he wasn’t interested in her touch at all.
“Look, I don’t like it, okay? I figure the girl gets enough from her peers. The least we could do is stop all the judgment.”
“Lucia’s a good kid,” Beth said.
She’s not a fucking kid.
“I’ve got to get to class.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Lunch?”
“Yes.” He had no intention of sticking around for lunch. He’d probably eat a snack in his car or something. Right now, he really wasn’t the best company.
Rounding the corner, he stopped as he caught sight of Lucia at her locker. There were only a couple of students milling around. No one paid any attention to him, and he sipped at his coffee, watching her.
She had a book open in her locker. She’d placed the tip of her shoe on the floor and was waving it back and forth as if she was completely lost in a world of her own. Her hair was down once again, the brown locks seeming to have a natural wave. The jeans she wore molded to the curves of her ass, and instead of wearing a shirt three times too big, she actually wore one that seemed to accentuate her figure.
He watched as Connor made his way over to her.
His friends were watching, and Jack could see this wasn’t a trick as they looked genuinely shocked by his sudden interest. Something else was going on though. Connor wasn’t the kind of guy to turn like this, not without a reason.
He rested a hand above her locker, leaning in close. “Hello, baby.”
She jerked up as if she’d been hit. Her gaze landed on Connor, and then she frowned. The book she’d been reading snapped shut, and Jack’s heart sped up.
He recognized the front cover as one filled with poems. It was one of the books he’d taken back to the library and recommended to her.
“What do you want?” she asked.
Connor reached out to tuck some hair behind her ear, but she swatted his hand away.
“What the hell?”
“I’m only trying to help you out,” Connor said. “After all, we made such good partners yesterday. Just want to make sure you understand the deal with it.”
“Yeah, this is not happening, ever.” She grabbed her bag, stuffed her book inside, and slammed her locker.
“Come on, and here I thought you liked me. Here I am showing you attention. You could be nice to me and I’ll make your life a lot easier.”
“Are you insane?” she asked.
Jack didn’t like the way this was going.
There was no way he could stand and watch. Rounding the corner, he made his way over as he saw the discussion getting heated.
“What’s going on here?” Jack asked.
He kept his gaze on Connor, not trusting himself to look at Lucia.
“Nothing is going on here, teach. Just talking to a friend.”
Connor went to put his arms around her, but she dodged his hold. “I’ve got to go to class.”
She spun on her heel and quickly made her escape.
Connor watched her go, but he watched the kid.
“You don’t get to treat a girl like crap for a long time and then expect a date,” Jack said.
“Get over yourself. I don’t want to fucking date the fat pig.”
Jack stepped closer, staring at him. “You may have gotten a hard-on yesterday and realized that all this time you’ve been calling her fat, you didn’t know what you were missing.”
“Well, teach, you got a hard-on for a student now?”
“I’m looking out for all of my students, Connor, and I don’t like the reputation you have. Your daddy may like to get certain allegations squashed or disappeared, but I know the truth. She doesn’t want you, and you like that you make her uncomfortable.”
Connor looked cocky as he walked away. “We’ll see. Every chick has a price. I just got to find out hers. I always have what I want.”
Jack watched him go. The kid was clearly high.
He wasn’t afraid of the Connors of this world. Never had been.
They were cocky sons of bitches who thought the people around them were their slaves, and the world their domain.
This was something he was going to have to keep an eye on. He didn’t like the thought of Lucia being in any danger, and it would seem she was on more than his radar right now.
Making his way to class, he pushed those thoughts to one side and focused on his lesson.
He found a budding new student in freshman year who had a keen eye for poetry. He made a quick note in his books to keep an eye on the young man.
This was why teaching was so important to him. He didn’t know who he was inspiring for the next generation, but he took everything he did seriously. This was his world, his life, and he had no intention of leading anyone astray.
At lunchtime, he made his way out toward his car with every intention of eating. Only, Lucia sat on a bench all by herself. Her hair fell over one shoulder, and she looked far ahead of her as if she wasn’t even seeing anything.
“Why don’t you ever eat in the cafeteria?” he asked.
“I pack my own lunch. You never know what they put in the food here,” she said, holding out her tray. “Zucchini chip?”
“Zucchini chip? You’re not a vegetarian.”
“I know that, and my mom knows that, but she likes me to eat food that is full of vegetables and flavor.” She wrinkled her nose as she took one. “Marie had to leave early today, otherwise I’d have shared some of her food.”
“Why do you put up with it?”
“It’s not so bad. After you get over not liking zucchini you kind of get used to it.” Again, she wrinkled her nose. “It’s easier. At least with this attack I don’t have to make excuses about not going to the gym, so yay.” She held both of her thumbs up at him, and he chuckled, finding her utterly cute.
He glanced around the parking lot, spotting Connor’s car in the corner. “I need you to be careful with boys like Connor.”
“He’s an asshole, but for the most part he’s harmless.”
“Connor’s the kind of guy that doesn’t take no for answer.”
She snorted. “Please, for most of our life he’s been calling me fat, cow, and all the names similar to it.”
“Yeah, only the other day he finally got to feel what you’re really like, and he knows you’re not fat but curvy.” He gritted his teeth, realizing what he’d just said.
“You think I’m curvy?” she asked.
“I know you are.”
He stared at her again.
Everything fell away for him. She was the only person he was interested in.
Lucia was the first one to look away, and he kicked himself.
“I’m sorry about being angry with you this morning. I shouldn’t have been angry.”
“Apology accepted. Don’t go out after dark or earlier. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
A wind blew, and her hair covered her face. She pushed it out of the way with a big smile.
“Okay. I may even text you when I do leave.”
“You’d better. Is Marie coming back to school?”
“No. She has a dentist appointment, so she’ll be sobbing on her sofa eating ice cream and using any excuse she can to have her mother wait on her.” She smiled.
“I’ll drive you home.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I’ll drive you. No questions.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter Seven
Friday, start of October
Lucia rolled over and stared up at the ceiling.
Eighteen.
She couldn’t believe she’d made it.
Legally an adult now.
Eighteen years old.
Pushing her hair off her face, she kept her gaze on the ceiling, wai
ting to see what would happen. She felt a little different. It was kind of surreal and not easy for her to place what she was feeling exactly.
Getting older was a rite of passage.
Her parents had said it would bring a lot of changes, but she’d already been dealing with them when she was fifteen and they had their first convention abroad. It was the first time she was home all on her own. That had been a weird experience for her.
There was a knock at her door, and she sat up.
“Come in,” she said.
Her parents had started knocking when her dad walked in on her to discover her completely naked and fighting with a bra. She’d then walked in on her parents making out in the bathroom, which was why an en-suite bathroom was installed for her, and knocking was a rule within the Deen household.
Both of her parents entered, and she smiled. They were still dressed in pajamas, which was strange for the two of them.
“Morning,” she said, looking between the two of them.
“Happy Birthday, sweetheart,” they said.
She squealed as they dived on the bed and began raining kisses all over her face and tickling her.
Neither of them had done this since she was a kid, and having it now seemed kind of strange to her.
She loved it though, laughing as they tickled her, until they all collapsed on the bed.
“Eighteen, wow, I feel old,” her mother said.
She giggled. “It’s not that old.”
“I feel it right now. I never thought this day would come.”
“Neither did I. I remember when you took your first steps, and said my name,” her father said.
“Let’s not forget blowing out the candles on her first cake, crawling, potty training.”
“That is just gross now,” Lucia said. “Yes, I’ve come a long way. I use the bathroom now. I call you both Mom and Dad, and I even walk to school and back on my own.”
“Not now you don’t,” her father said.
“What?”
He held up the keys.
“You got me a car?”
“We wanted it to be a surprise for you. We felt you were too young to have a car,” her mother said.
“Wait, I thought you didn’t want me to have a car because of my weight?” Lucia sat up, taking the keys from her dad before he changed his mind.
“That was part of a reason I made up,” Patricia said. “It wasn’t entirely true.” Her mother kissed her cheek. “I know we’re not the best parents in the world. I only want what’s best for you. We both do,” she said.