by Sara Cate
“You’re not going back. You’re gonna play hooky. Let me take care of this.”
“Hunter, no. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling you. He’s not getting away with this. Let me do some digging today, see what I can find to use against him.”
“Like what? He’s not right, Hunter.”
“I don’t know. For starters, I’m gonna hang around his class. See if there are any other girls he’s interested in. Get proof.”
Her sullen expression tells me she doesn’t like the idea, but there’s no other way. “It’ll be fine. Wait about five minutes and sneak out. Dad and Olivia will be gone soon. Just stay out of sight until I get home, okay?”
“Yeah.” I open the door and look out, thankful it’s clear. I’m about to head out when she says, “Hunter, nothing happened.”
“What?”
“Between Mr. Gibson and me. Nothing happened. I lied about it all.” I fight to hide the relief. I’d wondered how much talk and how much action she was. It fucking ate me alive to think of him touching her the way I have. Having something so sweet. I don’t give her what she wants. Just a nod and I’m gone.
It’s time to put our sleazy physics teacher in his place.
Chapter 15
Samuel
I storm into my office and slam the door, grabbing at my hair. Who the fuck does she think she is? After asking the secretary to notify me when she arrived and sending her directly to my office, they informed me she called in sick today.
Sick my ass.
If she thinks she can avoid me, she has another thing coming. That little bitch is taunting me. She wants me to beg. I start to pace my office, every tick of the clock driving me further into madness.
“You know what? Fine. This is what you want? Fine.” She’s just playing hard to get. They always do. She just needs me to make her remember the way she looked at me that first day. Practically fucking drooled over me. I just need to make her remember. And she will.
My cock starts getting hard thinking of all the ways we’ll be good together. The things she’ll be willing to do for my attention. I grab at my cock, massaging it. “Soon.” I can almost taste her.
My office phone rings, and I remove my hand, inhale a steady breath, and answer. “Samuel Gibson.”
“Hey, Samuel. Jake Beller in the counselor’s office. Glad I caught you before class. Just wanted to let you know a student of yours transferred out, so there’s no need to claim her on your roster for the rest of the semester.”
My body tenses as my fingers grip the receiver tighter. “Oh yeah? Her?”
She wouldn’t dare.
“Yeah. Catalina Mitchell. She’s going to be spending—”
I slam the receiver down. The last of my patience snaps, and I bash the receiver onto the base over and over. I take my hand and swipe everything off my desk. I’m going to make her pay. That little bitch is going to pay.
A roar travels up my throat as I slam my fist into the wall.
Hunter
This piece of shit has some nerve. I watch Mr. Gibson walk into the physics class, his eyes bloodshot, appearing less put together than usual. I smile smugly, noticing the faint shiner I gave him last night. His gaze immediately zones in on Cat’s seat, a tick in his jaw noticeable when he realizes she’s not there. Then his eyes fall on me, and he pales. That’s right, asshole. I know what you did, and I’m going to ruin you.
He fumbles with his lecture, no doubt struggling to teach. Probably because he knows he’s fucking caught. I should stand up right now and expose him. Let the school know what a sick fuck they have working on their staff. He mumbles to the class to read chapters in our book and quickly excuses himself. I’m tempted to follow him, but I bide my time. He’s unhinged, there’s no doubt. He’ll slip up, and when he does, I’m going to catch him.
As everyone opens their books and reads, I begin to think of Cat. Maybe I shouldn’t have left her alone. The last thing she needs is to have a run-in with her mom. I’ve been so unfair to her. I didn’t believe or see the way Olivia was. It was there the whole time; I just never noticed. She’s hostile with her daughter. Cold. Unloving. And the damage she’s caused Cat shows. I guess in the end, we’re the same. Two kids neglected because of the selfishness of our parents. When I found myself watching her, I never understood why she had such sad eyes. Now, I can’t imagine not being the one to prevent it.
Mr. Gibson returns, his hair more chaotic than when he left. Did I tell Cat to lock the doors? I take my phone out to shoot her a text. The condition he’s in, I don’t trust he won’t bolt and go after her again.
Me: Make sure to lo
My phone is ripped out of my hands before I’m able to finish my message. I cuss, looking up to see Mr. Gibson above me. “What the hell?”
“No phones in class, Mr. Graham. You know the rules.”
“Great, I’ll put it away. Give it back.”
The way he gazes down at me sets off an uneasy feeling inside my gut. “You can pick it up from the office after school.” He walks back up to the front of the class. Anger rolls off me in waves. He is so fucking done. When the bell rings, I shoot up from my seat and storm down the aisle. “Move. Get the fuck out of my way.” I fight through the crowd, but he’s already gone.
“Dammit!”
I head down to the physics offices. If he’s going anywhere, it’s there. The hallways begin to clear out, and the bell for the next class rings. I jog past my second-period classroom, my stomach churning. The closer I get to his office, the more the anticipation of confronting him builds. Proof or not, this ends now. He’s done taking advantage of his position. As soon as I confront him and get my phone back, I’m texting Cat to go to the cops, then I’m going to the office and exposing him.
I walk into the physics department and look around for his office. When I see his name on the closed door, I strut to it, surprised to find him inside with a student. She’s cradling his hand, her thumbs intimately brushing over the knuckles. Busted. Without knocking, I open the door, and they both jump back. The girl’s eyes go wide. Jillian Bishman. Freshman. Barely fifteen if that.
“Wow, isn’t this interesting?” I say. You’re done, motherfucker. Jillian’s face pales, and she quickly grabs her backpack off the chair.
“Uh…I’m gonna go.” She hurries past me, but I shoot my arm out and capture her before she escapes.
“Be a smart girl and never come back here.” Her eyes blaze with fear. Acknowledgment. Yeah, little girl, I know your secret. She nods quickly and rushes out the door.
“If you need something, make an appointment. I’m busy—”
“How many?”
“How many what?” He turns to his desk, busying himself with a stack of papers.
“How many underage students are you screwing? Using your status to take advantage of? We have two for sure. How many more is it? Five? Ten? How many—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Catalina came on to me. The conversation you interrupted was me asking her to leave me alone. Nothing else.”
This guy is off his fucking rocker. “You’re seriously delusional if you think I or anyone will believe that.”
He takes a menacing step toward me, and I stand my ground. “Try me. You think because you got to screw that little slut you’re going to avenge her virtue? Let me break it to you. Girls like Catalina are all the same. Flirtatious. Don’t take no for an answer. It’s normal to become infatuated with a teacher. And with her record, who would believe a promiscuous slut over a respectable teacher?”
I rear my fist back and slam it into his chin. He stumbles back, catching the corner of his desk before almost falling over. “You watch what you say about her, pedophile.”
He stands and wipes the blood from his lip, an evil sneer forming. “Kiss your future goodbye.”
“Your empty threats don’t scare me. But mine should scare you. Consider yourself fucking done. The second I walk
out of here, I’m going straight to the principal. When I tell him what I know, it’s damn well not gonna be my future on the line. Hope you enjoy wearing orange for a long, long time, asshole.”
I turn to leave, done with him. As I reach the door, something slams against the back of my head, making my vision blurry and my body go limp. Falling to the ground, I’m left with the image of his sinister smile.
Chapter 16
Catalina
As soon as the snow calms down, I walk into town and find an open bench in the park. I unwrap the warm donut from the local bakery and watch as the city workers climb up and down ladders, removing the festive lights from trees. I never enjoyed the holidays. Christmas was never how they made it seem in the movies growing up. Warm, loving. It was always ruined by fighting and too much alcohol. I try to remember the last time I had a Christmas with a tree. Mom and Dad sucked at holidays when they were together, and my dad alone was even worse. I spent most of them alone while he flitted off with his current girlfriend. Not that it matters. Solitude has become my closest friend.
My thoughts fall on this past Christmas. Dad handed me twenty bucks and told me to get myself a gift, so I used it on a small tree. I spent the entire day making homemade ornaments, only for him and Janette to come home and find out she’s allergic to pine and Dad made me throw the tree out.
Across the street, a mother and daughter walk out of a gift shop, and the little girl giggles while the mother grabs her hand. I try to imagine what it would feel like to have a mother touch me like that, her warm hand wrapped around mine.
When I was seven, Mom took me shopping at the local department store and told me to get whatever I wanted. She would be just around the corner. Her and dad's argument later led me to believe she was on another promiscuous rendezvous and forgot about me. The security guard who found me in tears had to call my dad because my mom was nowhere to be found. My mom claimed she was feeling too much stress from work. She blamed me and said I had run off. I never got a gift that day, let alone that Christmas.
My thoughts lead to Kenneth. That night. If I never made a pass at him, would he and my mom still be together? She never allowed me to explain. She assumed the worst and threw me out. But what was there to tell? I acted out in the worst way. He was an attractive older man. Funny and smart. He had this mysterious aura about him that caused my tummy to tighten whenever I was near him. When Mom would work late, he kept me company and watched movies with me. We laughed and innocently flirted. He helped me cook, and we enjoyed each other’s company. Until one night, I took it too far.
I bite the inside of my cheek, remembering the way his hand felt. Wrong. Warm. Thick. Inviting. He gave me an out. He gave me time to tell him to stop if I didn’t want it. But I just opened my thighs wider. Sometimes at night, I can still feel the press of his warm palm against my thigh, the slickness of my sex. This is the kind of person you become when you grow up in a house surrounded by infidelity and lies. Daddy and his younger toys. Mommy and her revolving door of older, attractive men. All men who, no matter how hard they fight it, always lose their way and look.
Even now, I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it was because I resented my parents, my mom, especially. For not caring enough to get her shit together for me. For not seeing that their wrongs were affecting me. Maybe it was because I had daddy issues, and her boyfriends gave me the attention I desperately ached for.
Shame floods my system when I think about how far I would have allowed Kenneth to go.
Too far…
My thoughts get away from me. When I look at the time, it’s well past school hours. Uncertainty rumbles in my stomach. Why haven’t I heard from Hunter? I shoot him a text asking for an update, and it goes unread.
As I stare at my phone, it begins to ring. My mom’s name pops up on my screen. Here we go. I take a deep breath, knowing what’s coming. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Get home this instant.” Her voice is cold and void of emotion. I open my mouth to ask what the emergency is, but she’s already hung up.
I can only imagine she got a call from the school and knows I didn’t show up today. I gather my garbage from lunch, toss it, and head home. When I make it to the driveway, there’s an unfamiliar car parked next to William’s. I walk inside, finding William and Mom sitting on the couch across from Mr. Gibson.
My stomach bottoms out. I search the room for Hunter. “What’s going on?” I ask my mom. I take a quick glance at William. He looks distraught, while my mom looks straight-up murderous. Then I glance over at Mr. Gibson. He’s staring at me with pity. His smile appears gentle and caring for his audience. My eyes fall to his lap, where his right hand is covered in a cast.
“Sit down,” Mom barks.
“Olivia, just relax.”
“For the love, I am not going to relax, William! Catalina, this is the last straw. You have finally disgusted me beyond belief.”
My eyes widen at her hatred. It’s not like I haven’t seen it from her before, but this time seems different, more intense. “It’s just school, Mom.”
“School? Do you think this is about school? You ditching is the least of my concerns.”
I look back and forth between William, my mom, and Mr. Gibson. “What the hell is going on?”
My mom shoots up from her seat, but William coerces her to sit. “How dare you?” she hisses at me.
Something’s not right. “You have me at a disadvantage. If it’s not about me ditching, then I don’t know what else is making you so upset.” There’s no way Mr. Gibson came here and told them about us. “Why is he here?” I ask, the question sour off my tongue.
Mr. Gibson finally speaks up. “Catalina, I’m only here to help. I had to do what was right for you.”
“Do what for me?” I snap at him.
“Kiddo, that is no way to talk to your teacher. Please sit.”
“I will not sit! What the fuck is going on?”
Mom shoots out of her seat again. “You disgust me. Your stepbrother? Seriously, Catalina? You’re so pathetic, you had to seduce your stepbrother?”
There’s a shift in the air, and I sway at her accusation.
“What? Why would you think—?” I turn my seething attention to him. “Did you tell my parents this?”
Mr. Gibson stands and takes a step toward me, but I move back. “Catalina, it was for the best.”
“The best for who? What are you even talking about?”
William speaks up. “Mr. Gibson has come to us with proof that you and Hunter have been intimate. He caught you two in the hallway in an intimate embrace. Said you were becoming inappropriate when Hunter tried to deny your advances.”
“What? No! That’s not true.”
“He said when he tried to approach, Hunter became aggressive and threatened him. He attacked Mr. Gibson.”
“What? No. That is not true. He’s lying. If anything, he attacked me. Last night, in the park—”
“Enough of your lies! I am so done with you—”
“I’m not lying! I was at the park, and he attacked me. Hunter actually saved me.”
“Miss Mitchell, I know you want to protect your stepbrother, but what is best is that you understand your actions have consequences. In the eyes of the law, having sexual relations with family is frowned upon.”
I scoff in complete shock at the bullshit he’s trying to pull here. “Oh, Jesus Christ. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing is going on between us. And if there was—we’re not even related—you know what, it’s none of your fucking business.”
“Catalina!”
“No! Fuck this. He’s a psycho. He’s been coming on to me and making advances. I told him no. I told him to stay away from me, and he wouldn’t. And now this?”
Mom’s face is beet red with anger. “This is the last straw. You have embarrassed me for the last time.” She turns her attention to Mr. Gibson. “I am so sorry for my daughter’s actions. I hope this can stay between us. I’m sure we can
work out a settlement with insurance for your hand.”
“He’s not the innocent one here,” I plead.
“Shut up, Catalina.”
Mr. Gibson turns to my parents, his sick, pathetic smile in place. “Yes, that would be great. I just want what’s best for her. I’m sure we all do.”
“You’re all delusional. Where’s Hunter? He’ll tell you the truth.”
“He has. His story matches with Mr. Gibson’s.”
“I don’t believe you.” I pull up my phone to send him another text.
“Leave him alone, Catalina. He wants nothing to do with you.”
I ignore her and shoot off another text.
“Jesus, stop being so pathetic. He sent us a text earlier confessing everything. I should have known better than to ever let you come back here.”
My eyes raise from my phone to my mom. I look at William, but he can’t hold eye contact and looks down to his lap. When I look at Mr. Gibson, he regards me with sympathy. But I see past it. Evil. Hatred. Revenge.
William stands with my mom. “Thank you so much for coming today, Mr. Gibson. We’ll be in touch.”
“Please, call me Samuel.” They walk him to the door and shake hands. When he’s gone, my mom turns around.
“You have five minutes to pack your shit up. Get the fuck out of my house and never come back.”
My lip starts to tremble, and the tears fall in waves down my cheeks. “Mom, you have to believe me. Please ask Hunter. He’ll tell you—”
“You make any contact with him, I will call the police on you.”
“What? William, please, you have to believe me.” He can’t even look at me.
A guttural sob feels like it rips my insides as it bursts up my throat. I race up the stairs and throw myself into my room. My chest constricts, and I struggle to breathe. Each strain feels like it’s choking me. The panic inside me erupts, and I slide down my door as a horrid scream breaks from my mouth.