Addiction (The Hunted Series Book 2)

by Ivy Smoak

  "So, what's up with you two?" I asked. "Do you have anything new and exciting going on?" I took a huge bite of my sandwich. I was already chickening out. James kept his hand on my knee.

  "Just the usual. What about you two? How's Comm going?" My mom started to eat her sandwich too.

  "Comm has been...interesting," I said. "Actually, the real reason that I'm here is that I have something I need to tell you." My mouth felt dry. I took a huge sip of lemonade. This is it. "Actually, that we need to tell you." I looked over at James.

  "Oh my God." My mom slowly placed her sandwich down on her plate. "Oh my God, you're pregnant?!"

  James choked on his lemonade.

  "What?!" my dad said way louder than he usually talked.

  "No. No! I'm not pregnant." I laughed awkwardly. I had not meant to word that as strangely as I did. "I couldn't possibly be..." I let my voice trail off. I wasn't here to confess to them that I was sexually active. That was a conversation that I could not imagine ever having with my parents. But was it any worse than confessing what was actually going on? This is a disaster.

  My parents just stared at me.

  I swallowed hard and glanced sideways at James. He looked completely shocked that my mom had thought I was pregnant. I knew the idea of children freaked him out. He seemed to have completely lost his cool.

  "Definitely not pregnant," I added, more for James than my parents. I took a deep breath. "Actually, what I needed to tell you is that James isn't a student at the University of New Castle."

  My mom started laughing and put her hand on my dad's shoulder. "That's it? You scared me half to death."

  Is my news worse than a pregnancy scare? I was even more terrified than before to tell them.

  "So what do you do, James?" my dad asked. "Are you in vocational school or something?"

  "He's actually done school, Dad. He graduated a few years ago. Several actually. He's 27."

  "Oh?" my mom said. She glanced at my father and then back at us. "Well, that's quite an age difference."

  We were all silent for a second. The disapproval almost seemed palpable. It felt like I was slowly peeling off a Band-Aid when I should be ripping it off as fast as possible.

  My dad was frowning. "So that brings me back to my original question. If you're no longer a student, what is it that you do for a living, James? And why on earth are you dating a teenager?"

  I had never heard his voice so cold. "Dad, I just turned 20." No one acknowledged that I had spoken.

  "Well." James shifted in his seat.

  Thank God he's taking over.

  "This is not going to sound great. But I want you both to know that I love your daughter very much." He shifted in his seat again.

  Rip off the Band-Aid! I couldn't take it anymore. Just tell them!

  "I actually resigned from my current position this morning," James continued. "But before that, I had a job at the University of New Castle." He paused again.

  It felt like I was torturing everyone. Enough was enough. "He's my professor," I blurted out.

  My parents stared at me. And then my mom burst out laughing. My dad quickly started laughing too.

  I looked up at James. He shook his head. He was as confused as me. I expected cursing and maybe sobbing. Definitely not laughter.

  "I don't know what you've done to Penny," my mom said between bouts of laughter. "Because she never pulls pranks on us. Well done. You both had us going."

  "She can't even pull an April Fool's Day prank," my dad added. "That was hilarious!"

  I never in a million years expected them to have this reaction. But it made sense that they thought I was joking. I never broke the rules. "Mom, Dad." My throat caught when I said Dad. The whole thing was so preposterous that they didn't even believe me. "We're not joking. You said it yourself, I don't know how to play pranks. It's not even April Fool's Day."

  "Of course you're joking," my mom quickly said. "The age difference? Your professor? It's not even believable. It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous."

  "James is my Comm professor. Was my Comm professor, I mean."

  "You're joking. You are, right?" My mom suddenly looked pale. She looked over at James and frowned, as if seeing him for the first time.

  "We met before I knew he was a professor."

  "And you..." my mom's voice faded. "And he..." She closed her mouth again.

  Stunned silence. I could work with stunned silence.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I know how this might sound, but..."

  "She's a sophomore," my dad said calmly. "She's only a sophomore."

  "I thought she was senior," James said.

  "You thought she was a senior? So you only hook up with seniors, is that it?"

  "Dad, it wasn't like that at all."

  "I think you should probably leave, James. We need to have a conversation with Penny in private."

  "I really think we should talk about this," James said calmly. "I am in love with your daughter. I'm not going anywhere."

  "You're a 27 year old man. She's a sophomore," my dad said again.

  "I'm 20 years old, Dad. It's not that big of an age difference."

  "Seven years? You need to focus on school, Penny. You're not ready for the same things that he's ready for." He pointed at James as if he was an object instead of a person.

  "I am ready for those things. I love him, Dad." What was he even referring to? Sex? How could he not realize that I was sexually active. I was dating my 27 year old professor. Of course I'm having sex.

  "You're ready for marriage? And children? And responsibilities? You have no idea what it's like to be an adult. You don't even know how to write a check. You're just a child. He's an adult. You're too young to date him."

  "I'm not even ready to get married again..." James instantly closed his mouth.

  Oh no. I was hoping that could be a discussion for a different day.

  "You were already married?" My mom finally broke her silence.

  "I'm recently divorced, yes."

  "How recently?" she asked.

  "I filed for a divorce last year."

  My parents just stared at him.

  Oh, shit.

  James cleared his throat. "It became official yesterday, but..."

  "You got divorced yesterday?" my mom asked incredulously. "You started a relationship with my 20 year old daughter while you were still married?" She didn't hide the disgust in her voice.

  I definitely preferred stunned silence.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, please just let me explain. I would never put your daughter in a position like that. As far as I'm concerned, my relationship with my ex wife was terminated as soon as I filed..."

  "You put her in a terrible situation," my dad cut in. "You're her professor. You were her married professor."

  "Yes, I was Penny's communications professor. And I realize that I crossed the line. I completely understand why you're upset. But my marriage really has nothing to do with this."

  "I was the one that crossed the line," I cut in. "You shouldn't be mad at him, you should be mad at me." My phone started to buzz in my pocket, but I ignored it.

  "We are mad at you," my dad said. "But we will deal with you later."

  This was ridiculous, I wasn't a kid anymore. They couldn't just ground me. Could they? This whole situation was so bizarre. "It was my fault. I fell in love with my professor and he told me to stay away from him. I didn't listen. You two met and fell in love in college. This isn't any different than that. You were my age when you met. You should understand better than anyone."

  "Those we're completely different circumstances," my dad said.

  "Were they that different? Yes, you were the same age, but you were both as young as me. You have to at least accept the fact that I'm in love with him. And he resigned for me. So that we could be together."

  "Did he get divorced for you too? Was he cheating on his wife with..."

  "It wasn't like that," James said. "I would never cheat on someon
e."

  "You have a very strange sense of morals, James," my dad said.

  I could tell that James was trying to remain calm, but that statement clearly angered him. I could see it brewing behind his eyes. I continued to ignore my phone buzzing in my pocket.

  "I would never do anything to hurt Penny," James said, as calmly as he could.

  "You already have. What's going to happen when other professors find out? And students? Can't she be expelled for this?" my dad asked.

  "We talked to the dean this morning when I resigned. Penny got two strikes on her record, but other than that, nothing. The news is circulating fast and I assume most of the college already knows. That's why we're here. We wanted to tell you before you found out from someone else. Despite my loose morals, I respected you both enough to want to tell you the truth in person."

  My dad didn't seem at all consoled by James' speech. "And what now? You just quit your job. You're divorced. You probably have alimony to pay. And you're dating a college student. What kind of future could you possibly have? You're just going to drag her down with you."

  James eyebrows lowered slightly. "I'm starting a tech company."

  "A tech company?" my dad laughed. "And where are you going to get the startup money for such a venture? I was wrong about you. You're not an adult. You're just as immature as any college student."

  "Dad!" My father was a nice person. I had never heard him make snap judgments about anyone in my life. What was he doing?

  "He's probably here to ask us for money," my Dad huffed.

  More anger was brewing behind James' eyes. "I have the necessary funds to start the company," he said calmly.

  The house phone started ringing. When no one answered, it automatically switched onto the voicemail recorder.

  "Hi, I'm trying to reach Penny Taylor or the parents of Penny Taylor. This is Ellen Fitzgerald with..."

  I immediately stood up. Shit! Why now?

  James grabbed my arm. "Penny, don't. It could be the media."

  "It's not." Before I could walk over to the phone, my dad picked it up.

  Crap!

  "Hello, Ellen. This is Penny's father speaking."

  "Who is it?" James whispered to me.

  "She works for the First State scholarship committee." There was only one reason for her to be calling. I was going to lose my scholarship. My dad was already upset. This was going to make it so much worse.

  "Allegations?" my father said. "There are no allegations..." he went silent and looked over at James and me. "The Delaware Post? I don't even know what you're referring to."

  Silence.

  "Penny has successfully maintained the 3.5 average."

  Silence.

  "I don't see how this is a behavioral issue. Her professor clearly..."

  Silence.

  "Ellen, I really don't see why..."

  Silence

  "How dare you insult my daughter?!"

  Silence.

  "You'll be hearing from my lawyer." My dad slammed down the phone. His face was visibly red.

  "Peter?" my mom said. "Peter, take a deep breath."

  "Get out of my house!" my dad yelled at James.

  James quickly stood up. "Mr. Taylor, I don't know what you just heard on the phone, but..."

  "There's an article in the Delaware Post about this mess? Why didn't you two start with that?!"

  I had never heard my dad yell like that. "Dad, what did Mrs. Fitzgerald say?" I wasn't sure why I even asked. It was pretty clear.

  "She said you lost your scholarship because you're sleeping with your professor." He pointed at James. "Didn't you think about that, Penny? Did either of you think of any of the consequences?!"

  "I can get a job, Dad. I can pay the difference. I'll figure it out. Please just calm down."

  "You know how we feel about you working during school. It's out of the question. You need to focus on your grades. Something that you've clearly put on the back burner recently."

  I swallowed hard. It felt like he had slapped me.

  "Mr. Taylor, the scholarship isn't an issue," James said. "I can pay the difference. I'd like to pay the difference."

  "So you're going to start a thriving tech company and pay for my daughter's education? Do you have the necessary funds for all that? What, do you have a wealthy family to fall back on? Are you just some rich, entitled kid that never grew up? That goes around screwing students because you think there are never any consequences? Well, we don't want your money. We don't want anything from you. Haven't you done enough?! Get the hell out of my house!"

  "Dad!" I stood up beside James. How could he say that to him? He knew nothing about James.

  I could see that James' couldn't keep his cool anymore. Mentioning his wealthy family was the last straw, even though my father didn't actually know he had a wealthy family. He had unintentionally hit a nerve. Something seemed to just snap.

  "Mr. Taylor, you don't know anything about me. And it does not appear that you want to. Yes, I was your daughter's professor. Yes, I got divorced yesterday. Yes, I am not ready to get married today or tomorrow. But I have every intention of marrying your daughter. And I will provide for her. I want to provide for her. You don't have anything to worry about. Her future is secure. That is all you need to know."

  I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. This couldn't be the end of the conversation. James couldn't just walk out right now. My dad was fuming.

  "How could it possibly be secure?" my dad pressed. "You just ruined her education. And you ruined your own career. This is a scandal. No one's ever going to want to hire you or her."

  "I don't need anyone to hire me. I told you, I'm starting my own company."

  "You have no tech background. You're a communications professor."

  "Working at the University of New Castle was not my career. I wanted to give back. It was never a permanent situation. I just needed a break. I needed to start over. I was doing a good thing there."

  "A good thing?" my dad scoffed.

  "Yes, I good thing." James' voice was louder than usual. "I founded my first tech company when I was 22 years old. Right after I graduated with honors from Harvard University. Blive Tech International. Maybe you've heard of it? It's a publically traded fortune 500 company. Well, I sold it last year for 2.8 billion dollars. I don't need to work another day in my life. Your daughter, our future children, and our grandchildren won't need to work a day in their lives if they don't want to."

  2.8 billion dollars? I couldn't even conceptualize that much money.

  James pushed his chair back under the table and looked down at me.

  I could see the hurt on his face. The snap judgments that my father had made had stung. They had stung me too. I couldn't believe my dad had done that. I knew that losing the scholarship was a big deal. I wasn't naive. But I could work to make up the difference. I didn't mind working during school. What I did mind was that it suddenly felt like I had to choose between my parents and James. That was the hardest part of all. I didn't know how the afternoon would go. But I had never expected this. I wasn't a kid anymore. I had made the decision to be with James. And I wouldn't let my parents belittle him like this. He didn't deserve that. I took a deep breath and grabbed James' hand. "I think we should probably go."

  I only saw it for a second. But it had definitely been there. A flash of relief. He hadn't expected me to choose him. I hated that he didn't believe in me. Or us. Hopefully this would be what he needed to finally understand that I wasn't just going to abandon him. He meant everything to me.

  "Wait," my mom said, breaking her silence. "A break from what, James? Why did you need to start over?"

  "I felt empty in New York. I needed a fresh start. Teaching helped with that. I wish that the circumstances had been different. But Penny is my fresh start. She made me feel whole again."

  "I do understand," my mom said. She looked at my dad. "Penny was right. We were her age when we fell in love. I'd like to think that if the circum
stances were different for us, we'd still be together. Please don't go, Penny." She paused and looked over at my dad. She gave him a pleading look. "Peter, say something."

  "So that means your last name is Hunter?" my dad asked.

  "Yes."

  My dad sighed and sat down. "James Hunter, the founder of Blive Tech International. I didn't realize you had taken a sudden career change into teaching."

  "I needed the change."

  "You know, I actually own stock in your company."

  "You do?"

  My dad nodded. He put his hands together on the table and looked down at them for a second. "I'm sorry. It's just...Penny's our baby." My dad didn't look angry anymore. He just seemed sad. He looked older than I remembered. As if this conversation had aged him. I had never meant to hurt him.

  "I know," James said. "I understand that you're just trying to protect her. And I truly am sorry about how this happened."

  "You can't really understand until you've had children of your own."

  They were both silent for a second. Both their apologies seemed to be enough. The tension was slowly seeping out of the room.

  "So, your relationship was written about in the paper?" my mom asked.

  "Yes, there was an article in the paper this morning," said James. "If you read it, you should know that it is not accurate."

  "What do you mean?"

  "It's mostly from my ex wife's point of view. And it implies that there will be charges of sexual misconduct from other students I've had. And from Penny. That's not the case."

  "Okay." My mom took a deep breath. "What happens now?"

  James ran his hand through his hair. "It's really up to Penny. I've advised her to drop Comm. Unfortunately, the way that the information was leaked about our relationship does not make it easy going forward."

  "I think it'll all die down if I ignore it. I just want things to go back to normal," I said.

  "This whole thing has been blown out of proportion because of my name. Under other circumstances, it would not have gotten as much press as it has already. Normalcy is a long way off."

  "So you resigned because of the allegations?" my dad said.

  "They gave me the option to stay if I was willing to terminate my relationship with Penny. I wasn't willing to do that. Resigning was the only option."