Tarnished Vow: A Student Teacher Forbidden Dark Romance (Boys of St. Augustine Book 2)

by R Holmes

  I hit him until I'm numb. I can hear my mother screaming somewhere behind me, and then I feel her hands on shirt, trying to pull me back from him, but I shake her off. I’m too far gone. It’s all come to the surface, and I can’t feel anything but the hate and anger that I’ve held inside for so long for him.

  My own father has been controlling my life, turning me into the same asshole that he’s always been and I didn’t even realize how far I’d fallen until I almost slept with Mara and destroyed Valentina’s life. Now, after what he’s done to my mother, I hate him so much it burns inside of me, igniting a fire that was never going to be snuffed out by his looks of disapproval.

  "Sebastian stop! Sebastian you're going to kill him!" S he screams. Her voice echoes in my ears, the words piercing through the haze. Only then do I snap out of my thoughts and look at the mess of my father beneath me.

  Leaning down so close, I can taste the metallic twinge of blood on my tongue, I whisper into his bloodied ear, "Stay the fuck away from us, and if you show your fucking face at this house again I'll finish this shit without a thought. I protect those that I love and if you were a real fucking man, you would've done the same."

  My fists are a bloodied mess, the skin busted open, raw and exposed, but I don't even feel it. I blacked out, and if my mother wouldn’t have stopped me, I think I might have killed him and not even realized it. The thought is fucking scary, but he deserves it and more. He's hit my mother for the last time and if he doesn't heed my warning then I would make good on my promise.

  "Sebastian," Mom cries from behind me, clutching me, pulling me away from him, and I relent.

  "It's okay, he's never going to hurt you again." I pull her into my arms, and wrap them around her as she sobs loudly. My father lay only a foot away at our feet, bleeding, moaning in pain.

  The same words I whispered to Presley last night, mean even more now. I will protect them with my life, and sacrifice whatever I have to keep them safe. Now, I know what it means to be a Pierce. I had become the man I was meant to be, on my own terms, in my own way. A man I was proud as fuck of. I would love my woman, protect my friends, and rebuild the broken relationship with my mother. I’ve become strong. Resilient. Loyal. Everything my father wasn't. Nothing he taught me to be. I’m selfless and honest. Respectful and considerate. This is the man I want to be. I need to be for those that I loved. To love Presley, to respect her, and to cherish her unlike she's ever known. I owe that to her. I'll show the world who a true Pierce is, if it is the last thing I ever do.

  A vow I’ll never break.

  25

  Presley

  When Sebastian texted that a family emergency came up and he'd be by later, I decided to go to my classroom and get some work accomplished. The internet in my house is so spotty and only works half of the time, I didn't want to attempt starting a project and be left unable to finish it. Even though it was Christmas break, I still have more than enough work to keep me busy. I sent Sebastian a quick text to let him know that I'd be there, and he responded and let me know that Rory was going to drop off my keys for the deadbolts in the next hours.

  Even with the new deadbolts on the door, I was too shaken up to be at home alone but I didn't truly want to admit that I no longer felt safe in the space I had made for myself. Not after the fight that it took to make it this far. The sacrifices and the pain.

  I'm sitting in the front row of desks across from my desk, staring a hole into the empty blackboard. This week is heavy on my heart and mind. An entire stack of papers in front of me, untouched and not any closer to my goal than I was when I sat down. I couldn't stop thinking about where life had taken me in the past year. It brought me to St. Augustine, and it gave me Sebastian. That much I was certain of.

  I know that no matter what the outcome of all of this, I’ll forever be thankful for Sebastian's love. It feels like the only thing I’m sure of anymore. Sebastian and the way that I love him. He is the risk I would take over and over again, worth each and every consequence.

  Some risks are worth the fall.

  He is one of them.

  I start going through the papers, one by one, immersing myself in the creative stories my students have created. My heart swells with pride reading their words. I can see that most if not everyone put thought into their story. I'm so engrossed in their writing; I don't hear the door open behind me. The heavy shadow out of the corner of my eye does grab my attention, and I realize it’s Rory dropping off the key, or Sebastian must be here to check on me. I set the pen down and whip around, plastering on a smile.

  Except it's not Rory, and it isn’t Sebastian…

  Pain explodes in the back of my head, then… the world goes black.

  26

  Sebastian

  My drive back to St. Augustine seems to take twice as long as usual. I'm anxious as fuck to get back to Presley, and I need just to hold her, feel her in my arms, to feel like shit was going to be okay. My hand aches from my bruised and very likely, broken knuckles, all the way to my arm as I grip the steering wheel harder. I didn't care about the pain, in fact I welcomed it. I needed it. I wouldn't ever regret what happened with my father. I wanted a constant reminder that for once, I stood up. I was done letting him control both my mother and I. He could have the cars, the money, the business that had more blood on its hands than a war. It was his and I wanted no fucking part in tit.

  I couldn't help my mind drifting to everything that had happened in the past week and what it meant for the future. My future with Presley, what was going to happen with my mother, if Ezra was truly ever going to be okay. Everything seemed to catch fire at once, and now the world all around me was burning. All I knew was that whatever version of my life the future held, it was with Presley. Even if I had to move across the world and live in a fucking hut with her, and the damn cat, I would.

  Call me. SOS

  My phone vibrates in my lap, lighting up with a text from Alec as I drive back to St. Augustine. I've called Presley three times, with no answer and I’m beginning to get worried. I don’t want to seem like a clingy dick, but after the break-in, I've been on edge.

  I dial Alec's number and he answers on the first ring, "Something's wrong."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Something isn't right. I've been calling Rory for an hour and he hasn't answered."

  Fear seizes my chest when I realize Rory was supposed to drop keys off to Presley in her classroom, and she hasn't answered my call.

  "Where are you?"

  "I had to run to my parents’ house in the city, but I'm about to turn around."

  "Alec, Presley's not answering the phone either and Rory texted me earlier to let me know he was dropping off keys to her. In her classroom. Why the fuck would they both not be answering?"

  I press down harder on the pedal, accelerating to faster and faster, the numbers on the odometer exceed a hundred, and keep climbing. The second he said Rory wasn't answering, my blood ran cold. She was terrified and I fucking left her to handle my own shit, and now she isn’t answering.

  "I don't know man, fuck." His voice is tight with fear.

  "Fuck," I yell, beating the steering wheel. I hang the phone up without saying goodbye and turn into the parking lot, coming to a loud screeching stop. I don't even bother to cut the car off, just open the door and fucking run like I've never ran before.

  I feel it in my bones, something's wrong. Intuition pricks against the back of my neck, causing the hairs to stand on end. It takes so goddamn long to run across the campus. There's an eerie quietness settled around me, the place is deserted. Everyone's gone for Christmas Break. Only a few students remained and they sure as fuck weren't walking around campus at this time of night.

  Finally, the building her classroom is in comes into view and I'm sucking in gulps of air, partially from sprinting over a mile in three seconds fucking flat and because I'm terrified what it means. The door to her classroom is shut, and the blinds are drawn over the window and when I wiggl
e the knob it's open, thank fuck.

  I swing the door open, and rush inside, only to find the room empty and the lights off. Like she was never here. Stepping inside, I look around of a clue, fuck for anything signaling she was here. Then, I see it.

  On her desk, everything is perfectly in place. Everything arranged in a way that screams out of place for Presley. While she had these quirks at home, these small moments I'd catch her rearranging jars and cans, her desk was entirely different. It was always an organized chaos that she seemed to thrive on.

  It was my first clue that something was really fucking wrong.

  Second, the stack of papers scattered to the floor, as if they fell in haste and she never bothered to pick them up.

  Fuck, where is she?

  I back out of the doorway and sprint down the hall. Everything is dead silent and chillingly still. All the classrooms are dark. The rows of lockers untouched, the hallway itself like a twilight zone.

  Everything feels wrong. Panic claws at my throat as I run through the hall, looking in each and every classroom window for her. I pull my phone from my pocket and call her again, listening to the ring until it goes straight to voicemail.

  Goddamnit!

  I fly through the double doors at the opposite end of the building, sucking in gulps of the cool night air, my heart racing inside of my chest so hard I feel like I might feel it outside of my chest. My eyes scan each building, looking for a sign or a clue, anything. And then I see the light. In the chapel, there's the smallest light shining from the back room and I know for a fact that the groundskeeper would have a shit fit if it was on. St. Augustine is huge on saving the environment and eco-friendly shit.

  Presley is in there… but why? Why would she be there alone at night without her phone?

  I run, as fast as my legs can take me and wrench the chapel doors open, before I step inside into the darkness.

  It's pitch black, and I can't see anything until I’m out of the foyer into the actual chapel itself. The pews are basked in moonlight from the large stained-glass windows, and on the altar is Presley. My heart stops beating inside of my chest. Truly, one of those moments that you hear about in movies, you read about in books. That you're so frozen in fear, in so much shock that it feels like time has stopped.

  Presley's on the altar in a wooden chair, while a man squats behind her, with his arm wrapped tightly around her neck, holding her in place with a gun pressed to her temple. His hand is covering her mouth, so she can't speak but her muffled cries fill the room. He's at least a foot taller, clean shaven, brown hair. He looks like he sits in an office all day. Three piece suit, shiny loafers without a single smudge.

  It's the look in his eyes that causes panic to close my throat entirely. It's manic. Completely fucking insane. I can see how unstable he is from ten feet away. By the way he’s almost… giddy about waving a gun in Presley’s face. There’s an energy about him that screams lunatic. He’s humming, bouncing on his feet.

  "Ah, about time you joined the party, Mr. Pierce. Please, come in and join us." His lips tug up into a sickeningly sinister smile. The gun in his hand is shaking slightly, and fuck if it is possible to feel any more fear, I do. I'm more terrified than ever I'll lose Presley. She whimpers in his hold, so visibly shaken I can see it from across the room. I want to step closer and yank her from his arms then fucking kill him for touching her in the first place.

  I hesitate, and his voice bellows. "Get the fuck up here or I'll blow her head off right here just for you." I walk forward towards Presley, my eyes locking with hers. Presley's tears run down her face as she sobs, terrified, against his hand. I pray she understands my stare, that I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her out of here, to save her.

  Presley baby, goddamnit. I'm so fucking scared, I'm frozen. One wrong move and this fucking psychopath could kill her. The thought alone makes me physically ill.

  "You know when I found out that my wife was having an affair with her student, I thought surely she can't be that fucking stupid." He laughs manically. "Turns out I was wrong and she is that fucking stupid. I ought to kill her just for being so stupid and careless."

  I'm less than five feet away, so close I can see the sweat rolling down his face. Before I can even think, he rears back and slaps Presley so hard in the face that her small body shakes in the chair.

  Fuck, I lurch forward with my arms out to reach her and he points the gun at my head.

  "Another fucking step and you're dead." Another smile tugs at his lips, and then his eyes drag back to Presley, he starts sobbing. This guy is so fucking unstable, if I don't figure out a way out of here, we might both never leave. Presley's eyes roll back in her head as she faints in his arms.

  He presses the barrel into her temple as he speaks, "I fucking found you, Ella. Baby, I found you," he whispers brokenly. I want to rip his fucking limbs off and beat him with them. I clench my fists together by my side, then I hear a whimper to the side of the chapel and whip my head to see Rory tied to a chair with thin pieces of rope. His eyes are swollen shut, back and blue, and he's dripping blood onto the floor in front of him from a gash in his cheek. He's on the edge of consciousness.

  Goddamnit.

  I was so tunnel visioned on the psycho holding a gun to Presley's head that I didn't even see Rory.

  "Do you know how long I looked for you? How many fucking resources I had to use to find you? How could you leave me?" The guy cries. His trembles as he presses the gun to her head, then to his, sobbing.

  The jostling stirs her, and she comes to, a dark bruise already spreading on her face. I'm shaking where I stand with fury, seeing the bruises on her, seeing this fucking psychopath put his hands on her.

  "You shouldn't have left me Ella, you shouldn't have done it. You're forcing me to do this, you realize that? This has to happen because of you baby." She cries into his palm and her eyes never leave mine.

  "I have to kill your little boyfriend and his friend, and that will make you sad, but I know in time you'll be the perfect wife again. I’ll make you perfect again darling, no matter what it takes."

  He's a fucking raging lunatic. And he has my girl.

  He drops his hand from her lips for the first time, and a sob echoes throughout the empty church.

  "I loved you!" he cries, firing a stray round in my general direction, causing me to dive to the ground.

  "You beat me! You're evil. A monster. And I will never love you," Presley says, her voice full of pain. "You hurt children!"

  The gun is pressed against her ahead again as he cocks the barrel.

  Fuck, Presley stop, baby, stop.

  I rise to my feet slowly before raising my hands in surrender. "Listen, it doesn't have to be like this."

  "No one fucking asked you to speak, so keep your fucking mouth shut." He moves the gun from her head and waves it at me, pointing it directly in my face. The thing is, I'm not fucking scared anymore. I'm pissed that this mother fucker has Presley.

  I'd much rather the gun be pointed at me than on her. I'm not scared to die. I'm scared to live in a world where Presley isn't. My life is nothing without hers.

  "You really wanna ruin your life over this? Over her?" I ask. I'll play whatever part it takes if it means saving her.

  "Watch your fucking mouth. While she might just be a piece of pussy to you, this is my wife." Each and every time he says the word wife, a piece of me fucking dies.

  If I make it out of this alive, I'm going to marry her fucking tomorrow.

  "Let's just talk about it. You’re a rich, powerful man. You have everything you want at your fingertips. You've got the girl. Don't end up behind bars over it. There’s no reason to do something you can’t come back from."

  I inch closer, step by step.

  "I hate fuckers like you," he seethes. "You walk around, that stifling, fucking old money smell about you, and you act like you own the goddamn place. The world in your palm, yeah? How does it fucking feel? Huh?" He laughs, nuzzling Presley's neck, a
nd she whimpers when his nose grazes her jaw. "Stop fucking moving," he screams, pointing the gun at me. The barrel shakes as he lines it up with my head.

  With my hands still raised in surrender, I stop. My eyes dart to Rory who's stirring, finally coming to. His swollen eyes pry open to squint at me, and they go wide. C'mon Rory, wake up. I need you.

  A loud noise sounds outside the chapel doors, and psycho's eyes go wide as he walks to the front of the chapel to peer out the window. He walks away but the gun is still pointed at me, he looks over his shoulder back at me as he walks.

  "Don't fucking move or I'll kill you, do you hear me?" he hisses, running his free hand through his perfectly combed hair, coming unglued.

  It's now or never.

  This is the only chance I'll have to save her. To save Rory.

  I creep closer and closer to where she sits.

  "Sebastian," she cries, sobbing, her arms reaching for me.

  "God baby, I fucking love you so much," I whisper, my eyes flitting back to where he stands at the front of the church, oblivious that I've made it to the altar. "I will get us out of here, baby, trust me."

  It's all I can get out before he's rushing back towards us.

  All in slow motion, the world stops. He runs back up the altar, and I step in front of Presley who screams bloody murder just as he hits me in the face with the gun, causing my vision to dance black momentarily, and it causes me to fall backwards into Presley who flies from the chair onto the altar with a thud. Her head hits the podium, and she doesn't move.

  My stomach lurches from the hit, and the fact that she's laying there unmoving. Everything happens so quickly and yet so slowly at the same time. It's like out of a movie, the scene of events transpire.

  He raises the gun and screams, pointing it directly at Rory first, and before he can pull the trigger, I'm diving in front of Rory. A procession of shots ring out, the deafening sound echoing along the walls of the church, and then, my body goes slack. I feel the hit, the way that Rory's body falls to the floor next to my own. A dead weight thud, and then I feel nothing...