Her Teacher's Temptation

by Vos, Alexandra

  Ollie pulled a guilty face, but it wasn’t his fault and he knew it. We were both in this together and I had been more than willing to risk my mum finding out. “So, what’s your plan with this?”

  “I’m not really sure. I just want to tell him what happens and see I guess. I kind of want to avoid having to go anywhere near the police considering our relationship and my drug use if I can help it, you know? It probably wouldn’t be worth the risk if my dad can sort it out.”

  Ollie was quick to nod. “Yeah, hopefully.” The thought of the police poking around our relationship was a terrifying thought, even if it was extremely unlikely. “Your dad seems like the kind of person who will be more than happy to do whatever he can to help, anyway.”

  “I just hope I’ve got the right address now.”

  The house I pulled up outside was what I expected of my father, so that was something. It was a rundown terrace with a boarded up house to the right and a house with a magnificently kept garden to the left. My dad’s was the transition house which still had windows, but definitely didn’t care about appearance. “Well, here we go. Maybe you should wait in the car…”

  Ollie chuckled. “I won’t be offended if you ask me to.”

  “No, I’d rather you came in. I’m quite happy to spend as much time with you as I can, even if my dad’s there.”

  We both flushed slightly and I chose to push open the gate and knock on the door. Ollie and I needed to never talk about sentimental things ever again if we were both to stay sane.

  I could hear the rustling about from inside the house and my dad’s eyebrows shot up when he answered the door. “Maddie, what are you doing here? And your teacher friend, should I be surprised?”

  “It’s about mum, and Nick.” May as well be straight forward with it. That was bound to grab his attention and stop him making jokes about Ollie’s presence.

  “You’d better come in,” he held the door open and we both passed through. “Excuse the mess.” I couldn’t stop my gaze flickering over every surface and taking note. There were so many things it told me that I’d never found out about my father. He liked to read, judging by the obscene number of books covering every surface. Either that, or he’d given up drugs and was running some kind of underground book selling service.

  Moving the laundry basket off the couch, he gestured for us to sit down. “So, what’s going on?”

  “Nick came back and hit mum. He gave her a black eye and so I want to figure out what we’re going to do about it, because she’s quite happy to just sit back and let it happen, apparently.”

  My father was pacing the room, fists clenched. “You’re kidding? I obviously didn’t show that guy enough of what I really meant by the fact he’d never walk again if he went near your mother.” His snarl was deep and scary and exactly what I wanted.

  This bastard needed to pay for what he’d done to my mum and my dad was apparently the perfect person. He was quivering with anger. “Good. I just want him to leave her alone, for good. I don’t even know why he’s still bothering with her.”

  “Your mother doesn’t deserve anything like this.” For a moment I thought he was really going to kick something, but instead he took a seat on a dining chair and buried his head in his hands. “I should have been around to stop this happening in the first place.”

  Ollie and I exchanged a look and I wondered if I was supposed to go and offer him a hug. I didn’t feel like I knew him well enough to offer that yet, even if he was my dad. “It’s not your fault, it’s that dickhead’s. We’ll be doing the right thing by getting rid of him.”

  “I suppose that’ll have to do.”

  I clasped my hands together, trying to ignore how close Ollie was beside me. If we’d been together and it had been allowed, I would have had my feet curled under his legs right now and my head resting on his shoulder. “Do you know what we can do?”

  “You won’t be doing anything. Me and a few friends will be making sure that this Nick fellow knows exactly what he’s dealing with and that he’d better keep his fists to himself from now on.”

  It was what I’d expected and I wasn’t going to challenge it. I wasn’t in any state to be threatening jacked up men and I didn’t really want to put myself in a situation where I was in any danger, either. I just wanted my dad to solve the issue, which was perhaps a bit selfish. “Thanks, dad.”

  “So, is anything interesting happening on your end? I keep meaning to come up and see my mum.”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and barely managed to resist shooting a glance at Ollie. “My friend is in the hospital. She overdosed on something.”

  “That’s awful. She’s into some bad stuff, then? I have contacts who deal good stuff. I know it’s not very father-like, but I’d rather your friends were doing something safe if you aren’t going to do nothing at all.”

  I wasn’t going to confirm or deny his obvious suspicions I partook in my friend’s habits, but my flushed cheeks probably gave it away. “Thanks. I’ll maybe take you up on it one day, but hopefully Meg will know to do it in moderation from now on.”

  “Of course. What’s he doing here, anyway?” My father stuck his thumb towards Ollie, raising a distasteful eyebrow.

  “I needed a lift. I can’t drive yet.”

  “Aha.”

  I averted my eyes. “Oh yeah, I kind of told mum that you told me about living in Nottingham and jail and stuff. I’m surprised she didn’t ring you all mad about having told me.”

  My dad shook his head, an exasperated sigh falling from his lips. “I told you not to tell her. She’s going to hate me.”

  I wasn’t about to explain the circumstances. I almost slipped out a ‘well doesn’t she already?’ but was grateful I’d kept it in. That probably wouldn’t have made anyone feel good. “If she hasn’t rang you, I guess she doesn’t mind. She was kind of the one in the wrong, anyway.”

  “I suppose so. Well, are you staying for a cuppa?”

  “I can’t. My mum thinks I’m at work so I’ve got to be home on time.” I had plenty of time, but I’d much rather have spent this time with just Ollie if it was at all an option.

  “You’re grounded?”

  I stood up, definitely ready to get out. “Ah, kind of. It’s nothing important. I’ll see you soon, though.”

  I gave my dad a hug and left before he could speculate as to what I could have possibly done wrong. He didn’t need to know. “You really need to get home straight away?”

  My smile was sly. “I thought we might have time for some dinner whilst we’re here. Just something to take away.”

  Ollie grinned back. We knew how to push it. It was as if our teary confession at the wedding was forgotten with one last opportunity to spend time with each other. We were idiots. Idiots who just wanted to be together.

  My mother pushing us apart couldn’t even stop that.

  “You’ve changed your attitude since yesterday,” Ollie commented over the bag of chips we were sharing. “I thought you were really planning on never speaking to me again.”

  I flushed, swallowing my chip before speaking again. “It really should be like that. Thank you, for giving me a lift today though. I really needed to do that, it makes me so mad that my mum will just go along with it.” I wasn’t mad at her, exactly, just the whole situation.

  “I know, me too. I think I’m lucky I’ve never had to deal with any sort of domestic violence. In fact, I’ve never really had to deal with much of anything in my life. I guess I’ll just have to try and be there for you instead.”

  My stomach turned to mush from the sadness swirling inside me. “This sucks.”

  “Yeah, it does, your mum doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Not that you idiot. Well, I mean that too obviously, but I was talking about us.”

  “Oh,” Ollie’s cheeks turned that attractive shade of pink I loved and the misery curdled inside me. I wasn’t sure I could put up with the rest of the year knowing I was missing out on this. “Yeah, i
t definitely does. I miss you already,” he managed to tease with a small smile.

  I could only groan, longing to go to the other side of this stupid table and kiss him right now. There could be another last time we were with each other, couldn’t there? What were the chances of someone seeing me kiss him in a grubby chippy in Nottingham?

  I held down the urge, only barely, but my gaze still stayed transfixed on his mouth. Only being with Ollie could have made me forget all the horrible things that had happened the last few days. He was too consuming for my mind to wander to anything else.

  “Maddie?”

  I blinked and returned my focus to his face, own cheeks burning. “Yes?”

  “I… don’t really know. I just, I don’t know.” He put down his chip and sighed. “I’m full. Are you done?”

  I was rapidly losing my appetite and didn’t complain when Ollie chucked the chips and we headed back to the car. I wasn’t expecting to be pushed against it and for his lips to be assaulting mine with all the desperation I’d been feeling.

  Heat blossomed through my body, setting me on fire as my hands wrapped through those brown curls I loved so much. The metal on my back was cold, but Ollie at my front was burning, sending pangs straight to my core as we kissed in earnest.

  We only stopped when we were breathless, but a chuckle fell from my lips and I rested my nose against Ollie’s. “We’re such morons.” I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I also didn’t want to make the moment sad.

  “I want you to know that I’m holding out for the end of the year and hoping you don’t find someone else by then,” he was deadly serious, eyebrows knitting together slightly. “I want to be with you more than anything and I can deal with the long distance, I can deal with the judgements. I want to at least see how the end of the year goes, if we can get that far without something going horribly wrong.”

  My words were trapped in my throat for a moment, but I threw my arms around his neck in the tightest hug I’d ever given without hesitation. “Of course I want that.” I pulled back and kissed him again with such a big grin that the actual kissing was difficult. “I know it’s ages away, but I’m positive I’m not going to have gotten over you by then.”

  There was the understanding that every now and then I’d stop back at the end of class and we’d talk, and that he’d come to the restaurant and we’d get to talk. We wouldn’t be completely apart and it would be enough to see us through. I had to hope that was true.

  Nothing was going to stop the yearning that spread through me every time he was near, but I had fingers and they’d have to do.

  We kissed again and it was laced with relief and hope. Maybe it could work out, even if it seemed like the whole world was against us.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Just drop me off around the corner or something, my mum will never know the difference.”

  “Sure thing,” Ollie had to push it, pressing the smallest of pecks to my lips with the biggest of grins. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, even if I’ve got to resist talking to you. You can expect a few Madeleine’s.”

  My cheeks flamed even when he said it now, that posh, southern accent wrapping around me in the most perfect way. “I’ll see you then.”

  I walked back into my house with the biggest smile on my face, though it quickly dimmed when I heard shouting. I’d opened the door quietly enough that there’d been no interruption and when I heard china smashing, I ran back onto my front garden, catching Ollie driving up my road. I hailed him down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s inside smashing plates. It’s got to be Nick,” I explained, already rushing back to my door. “I don’t want my mum to get hurt.” I didn’t want to get hurt, either, which was why bringing Ollie back in was worth the risk. He’d be better equipped than me to stop this arsehole.

  I barged into the kitchen with Ollie right behind me, disgusted to see that Lily was still in the room. My mum was backed into a wall, Nick towering above her and the remains of a shattered plate on the floor. Nick’s head snapped towards me at the sound of the door, but my mum couldn’t drag her eyes away from Nick’s looming figure.

  “I think you should come back later,” he snarled at me, fist quivering by his side.

  “This is my house, not yours. I think you should piss off.” I felt brave with Ollie behind me, even though I wasn’t sure he’d be much help. Ollie worked out, that much was obvious, but I didn’t think he was much of the fighting type. Nick looked like a through and through skinhead that got into fights with people who simply looked the wrong way at him.

  The anger Nick was feeling was turned on me immediately. Hearing about him had been one thing, but being faced down by someone almost twice my size was something else. It was no wonder my mum was terrified to do anything. I took a step backwards. “I said, I think you should come back some other time. Your mother and I have got some stuff we need to discuss.” I was almost surprised by the lack of slang and swearing.

  Nick turned back to my mum and Lily sniffled in the corner. I was surprised she wasn’t all out wailing, but no doubt she’d gotten some telling off by Nick too. He was clearly just expecting me to leave.

  “No, you can get out of here. Go away and leave my mum alone,” I felt childish, sticking my chin out and trying to look brave. If I’d had my phone, I would have texted my dad to get over here. “Nobody wants you here.”

  Nick strode towards me with intention, ugly grimace covering his face, but Ollie had taken a calculated step in front of me. “She’s serious. Just fuck off and leave her alone.” Ollie was stood tall, squaring his own shoulders against Nick. I couldn’t see his face, but part of me desperately wanted to know what his protective scowl looked like.

  Nick wasn’t fazed. “You want to make me get out, you tool? I remember what I did to you last time.” I wasn’t about to forget it, either, and I didn’t want Ollie to get hurt now, either.

  This had been a mistake.

  But I couldn’t let my mum get hurt either.

  What eventually came of the situation wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all. My mother whacking Nick on the side of his head with a saucepan was almost funny, but Nick didn’t think so. He swayed, the clang of metal on bone reverberating around the room, before falling to the floor with an even bigger thud.

  We stood in silence, watching Nick with uncertainty for a few moments, before my mum placed down the pan. “I probably shouldn’t have done that. Shit, do you think he’s all right? Shit. Shit. Shit.”

  I didn’t hesitate before grabbing the landline phone and calling my dad. “You need to get to mum’s now. She kind of knocked Nick out. With a pan.”

  “I’ll only be a few minutes. I’m already in Sheffield,” he’d been wanting to get the Nick situation over and done with anyway, then. “See you soon.”

  I turned to Ollie, who was assessing the situation with an awkward gaze, watching my mum fuss around Nick and not having a clue what to do. “You should probably go. My dad’s coming round.”

  My mum hadn’t protested me calling my dad, so I knew it was all serious. “You’re sure? What if he wakes up before your dad gets here?”

  “You’re my teacher, I really think you should just go. I don’t want you to somehow end up getting into trouble about this.” There was a chance the police would end up involved in this down the line and I didn’t want Ollie to get caught up in that. It was the last thing either of us needed.

  He was still uncertain, but my mother was listening in on the conversation, as if she’d suddenly realised that Ollie was actually here. “Okay. I’ll, erm, see you in class then.”

  Ollie slipped out of the door with a final, withering glance at Nick’s unconscious body. I felt the need to check his pulse, even though I could hear his soft breaths in the now silent room. He was definitely alive, just out cold. We maybe should have been ringing the ambulance, but my mum was pale and shaking and I felt sure Nick was going to be fine.

  “
Are you okay?” I checked, taking the pan from her hand and placing it on the counter.

  “I can’t believe I did that,” she wanted to bend down to fuss around him again, but I kept a secure arm around her shoulder. “I’ve never hurt anyone before.”

  “He deserved it. Just wait until dad gets here, he’ll know what to do.”

  “What were you doing with your teacher?” She couldn’t bring herself to leave it until all this had been sorted out. “I thought you were at work.”

  “I needed him to give me a lift to see dad to sort out this idiot on the floor.” Part of me was tempted to give him a nice black eye whilst I had the opportunity. “I just needed to get to Nottingham.”

  “You shouldn’t be seeing him at all.”