Her Teacher's Temptation (20 page)

We left the
dance floor shortly after that, deciding to go and find our table and hoping no
one was there to notice the change in mood. Unfortunately, we were greeted by
Annabel; at least there wasn’t anything we could give away she didn’t already
know.

I kept my eyes
somewhat averted, though my hand itched to lace itself through Ollie’s and drag
him upstairs so we could hide away for a while. It wasn’t the right thing to
do, but Ollie cared enough that he was willing to risk his career for me. That
meant he cared a lot. I was probably going to hate myself forever for turning
him down.

“You look like
you had a nice dance.” Annabel teased when we sat down.

Neither of us
said anything, other than to meet eyes then glance away. That was probably
enough of a sign for Annabel to know it hadn’t been as ‘nice’ as she’d thought.

“You okay?” She
inquired almost immediately, eyebrows knitted together as her gaze flicked
between Ollie and me.

“Yeah, of
course.” My smile was the fakest it had ever been. I just hoped Annabel either
didn’t know me well enough to notice, or got the gist that I didn’t want to
talk about it. “Just sad to be going home, I guess.” That was true enough –
this was the last time it was realistic for me to talk to Ollie outside of the
classroom. There wasn’t a chance he’d be able to wait until the end of the year
for me. Neither of us had even bothered to mention it. There was still more
than six months of school yet.

Annabel raised
a doubting eyebrow before choosing to nod and stare out over the dance floor
instead. “So what time are you guys leaving? I’m not getting the train until
tomorrow morning.”

“Probably quite
soon after they’ve cut the cake and stuff,” Ollie explained, his voice bland
and eyes dominated by the napkin that was being folded in his hands.

“Oh, well, I
think I’m going to go and see where Charlotte is. I’ll leave you two to it.”

Though the room
was loud, silence hung between me and Ollie and I stared as his hands worked at
folding the napkin into shapes. Feeling somewhat brave, I reached out and
steadied it, linking his fingers through my own. “Thank you for bringing me
here. I’ve enjoyed it more than anything I’ve done for a long time.”

“Me too,” Ollie
squeezed my hand and I studied the emotions that mingled on his face. “Look,
Maddie…”

I waved my hand
to stop him. “You don’t have to say anything,” I assured him, squeezing his
hand back. “We both know the situation.”

At a loss for
words, Ollie chose to lean forward and capture my lips in his. Brief and over
in a second, it wasn’t even close to being enough.

I didn’t know
whether anyone had seen us or not and I didn’t particularly care. I supposed it
was unlikely that I’d see any of Ollie’s family again anyway.

We didn’t get
time to say anything, because attention was called for the cutting of the cake.
I was torn between wanting to get this over and done with and never wanting it
to end. Preferably I’d go back to yesterday and repeat that over and over.

I almost
snorted when I was the one to catch the bouquet – and that was only because
Laura had overthrown it and it had ended up falling to me who hadn’t even
really been in the gaggle of women eagerly awaiting the chance to grab it.

“I will most
definitely not be the next one to get married here,” I muttered to Ollie,
unable to stop myself admiring the pretty flowers.

“I hope not,” he
replied, shuffling uncomfortably as people made jokes to me about my “upcoming
wedding”. Maybe Ollie’s parents would like me more now that I’d been blessed by
the wedding gods.

Luke sidled up
to us soon after. “Do you want to get going soon?” The fact Luke had to get
back for Monday morning too had allowed Ollie to convince him to drive so he
could drink. 

“Oh, sure.” I
wasn’t sure whether Ollie was relieved or disappointed we were going, but there
wasn’t any time to ponder over it. “Let’s go say bye and head off, then.”

I was almost
surprised to get hugs off all Ollie’s immediate family, and some ‘it was really
nice to meet you’s. I didn’t even have the effort to decide whether they were
fake or not.

“We’ll meet
back in the lobby in a couple of minutes,” Ollie told his brother. “We just
need to go and get our suitcases.” Most of Luke’s stuff was coming back with
Emily tomorrow.

Inside our
room, we did quick checks to make sure we’d got everything. I stood waiting by
the door whilst Ollie did another thorough check. If I didn’t know better I’d
have thought he was stalling.

“Ready?” I
inquired, getting ready to shove myself away from the wall, my tipsiness having
turned into weariness and heavy muscles by this point.

Ollie continued
to hesitate, before coming and standing opposite me and pressing his lips
firmly to mine, fully pushing me into the wall again. It was more than an
automatic response to lace my fingers through his knotted curls and press
against him, skin burning as his hands held my hips with a firm grasp in the
best possible way.

After too brief
a moment, he pulled back and buried his face into my hair.

“I love you,
you know, Maddie,” he murmured, words sending a shiver down my back and causing
me to grip his hair in a borderline painful manner.

Tears gathered
in my eyes and I didn’t expect my voice to catch when I replied. “I love you
too.”

Moving away
from anything at all sexual, we simply stood and clung on to each other for
what felt like forever. I wasn’t sure whether Ollie was crying or not, but I
knew for a fact I had ruined my perfectly applied make-up. Not that I really
cared anymore.

“We have to go,”
I reminded Ollie, still unwilling to actually be the one to break our embrace
first.

“I know,” he
said, only burying his face even further into my neck. “But I really don’t want
to.”

“Me neither.”

Ollie was the
first one to pull away, kissing me once more, hard and quick. I managed a
shoddy job of removing the run eyeliner from my face before having to grab my
case and exit the room. Ollie only had to wipe a few stray tears and no one
would be aware he’d been crying the minute before. I wished I was that lucky.

Luke gave me a
concerned look before taking Ollie’s expression as warning not to bother asking
me about it. Instead we simply stuck to a not completely awkward silence, Ollie
and I both lost in our thoughts.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The car ride
home was particularly difficult. It was a good thing Luke had a good taste in
music, because the various CDs he put on were the only thing keeping me sane.
The few words we did exchange were quiet and miserable. Luke gave up with
conversation relatively quickly.

Still, I wasn’t
sure I was ready to go back home. When I got inside, that was it for me and
Ollie. And for real, this time. There would be no cute little messages or
keeping me back at the end of class to check that I was all right. This was
cold turkey. We weren’t to go near each other. I had to get over him, even if
we’d just admitted we loved each other.

“It’s just on
the right, here,” I gestured out the window to Luke, unable to look at Ollie.

Hopping out of
the car, I could definitely manage my own suitcase. Still, Ollie exited, too,
grabbing my handle and depositing the heave luggage on the pavement. He
demanded my attention with his sincere gaze and I couldn’t resist looking up
and admiring his handsome face. This might be the last time I was this close to
him.

“Maddie! What
on Earth is your teacher doing here?”

It was the
worst possible interruption. My mum, who must have stuck her head around the
door when I pulled up, was now striding towards the car. Ollie looked horrified,
and I dreaded to think what was going through Luke’s head right now. “Oh, Mr.
Wright is Annabel’s brother. She had to get the train so Luke offered to drive
me back.”

“I thought you
were going to ‘Ollie’s cousin’s wedding’,” Ollie was practically shrivelling
under her glare. “I don’t even know who this Annabel girl is. I think we should
go inside.”

I didn’t have
the heart to argue further on the street, so I gave Ollie what I hoped was both
a subtle and apologetic look. He shrugged his left shoulder with a grimace. “I
had a good weekend. Thanks for the lift, Luke.”

I couldn’t
bring myself to take a glance over my shoulder as I followed my mum into the
house, suitcase dragging behind me, but Luke pulled away almost instantly.
Their conversation hopefully wouldn’t be as grim as the one I was about to
have.

“Take a seat.”
The lounge was a complete mess. Ironing was strewn everywhere and Lily’s toys
were a lethal mess on the floor. I braved walking through them to sit on the
furthest seat from the one my mum had chosen. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s
going on,” I argued, knowing I already sounded far too defensive and worked up.
“I know Mr. Wright’s sister and that’s why we’re friends. She invited me to the
wedding, not him. I just knew he’d be the one giving me a lift, which is why I
said I was going to Ollie’s cousin’s wedding.”

“Honey, I’d
rather you just told me the truth. I’m not an idiot. When you told me about Nick
beating up Ollie, it was obvious you cared about him. I have to know what’s
really going on.”

My mind was
flooded with our memories together and nothing could stop the tears springing
to my eyes. “Nothing is going on anymore. It really just doesn’t matter.” I
gripped the handle on my suitcase. I just wanted to go to bed and sleep and
wallow in my misery. Of course this had to happen on the day we’d truly decided
not to see each other.

I was prevented
from leaving by my mum’s relocation. Sitting beside me and wrapping an arm
around my shoulder, I broke into a fit of sobs.

No matter how
angry she was, my mum still embraced me in a big hug and held me until I’d
managed to calm down. It took a long time. My throat burned from attempting to
stop my crying, but every time it lapsed, Ollie’s words came back to me and my
chest heaved once more. How was I meant to get over him when I cared so much? I
was going to have to see him every day and contain my emotions. It was almost
impossible.

“Oh, honey,
tell me what happened.”

“It’s nothing.
It doesn’t even matter anymore, really. Ollie’s just my teacher and I’m just his
student and I’m friends with his sister. That’s all.” It physically hurt to say
it and I resisted the urge to simply fall back into a fit of sobs.

“I just want to
know what’s happened to make you so miserable. If he’s done anything to hurt
you-”

“No, he hasn’t.
Ever. Ollie’s not a bad guy.”

My mum rubbed a
soothing circle on my back whilst I stared into the opposite direction. “If
he’s seeing his student, then I’m not entirely sure he’s a good person,
either.”

“You don’t know
anything.”

“Then tell me.”

Grimacing, I
stood up. “I just want to go to bed. I’m really tired.”

“Look, sweetie,
if you don’t tell me then I’m going to have to assume the worst and take this
more seriously. I need to know what’s happened. I have to know whether he’s
taken advantage of you. You’re only seventeen.”

“Sixteen is the
age of consent, unless I’m mistaken.”

“Maddie,” the
attempt to comfort me had been replaced with a stern command. My attitude had
been mirrored and it made me want to hit something. Couldn’t I at least have a
night to rest before I was forced to jump into recapping my tumultuous
relationship with Ollie?

“We slept
together in the summer when I was going out every weekend with my fake ID. He
wasn’t my teacher then and I wasn’t his student. So it was no big deal. It’s
just been weird since he’s been back at school, but we’ve stayed friends. Is
that what you wanted to hear?”

I clenched my
jaw and turned away, not getting a single pace towards the door before my
mother had grabbed my arm. “Oh no you don’t, young lady. You have a lot of
explaining to do. You’ve lied to me, all this time? I want this fake ID right
now.”

“Whatever.”

“Maddie. You
can’t expect me to just accept that you’ve been sneaking your way into clubs
and sleeping with people you don’t even know. That’s so irresponsible. Think of
all the things that could have happened.”

“Mum, I don’t
think doing it a year earlier makes that much of a difference, do you? Besides,
you clearly didn’t know Nick that well before you shacked up with him, did
you?” It was a low blow and we both knew it, but perhaps it would be enough for
her to just let it go for the moment.

“I want your
phone and laptop, downstairs right now. You’re grounded for the foreseeable
future. How can you expect me to ever let you out of the house if I’ve got no
idea what you’re really doing? I thought we were honest with each other.” Tears
were shining in her own eyes now, and that was more than enough to send wave
after wave of guilt flowing through me.

“You lied to me
about my dad.”

Her head
snapped up, fixing me with wide eyes. “What?”

“You never told
me he went to jail. You never told me he’s only been living down the road my
whole life. I don’t think you have the right to lecture me about lies.”

I used her
surprise to my advantage, making my escape and locking myself in my room. After
a few knocks and a jiggle of my handle, my mum gave up.

Finally left
alone, I put on my saddest playlist and cried until fatigue took over.

***

“I couldn’t get
hold of you this morning,” Meg complained, grimacing at her own phone as if
that was the problem. “Is it my phone or yours?”

“Mine. My mum’s
confiscated it.”

“What? Why? She
didn’t find out about the drugs, did she?”

“No, of course
not.” That was something I’d never be divulging to her, even in the fits of
anger and misery I’d been in last night. “She found out about Ollie.”

Meg came to a
standstill, much to the irritation of the clamour of students we’d been
entering the building with. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” I
popped the p. Perhaps an attempt at humour would mask the way my lip wobbled
even having to talk about it. “She saw him dropping me off after the wedding
this weekend.”

“Damn, that’s
rough,” Meg agreed, leading me back out of the school and towards the bus stop.
“Well, it’s definitely hot chocolate and cake time, then. Explaining obviously
didn’t go well, then.”

“Did I ever
tell you about my dad?” I realised that with all the Ollie drama I’d probably
forgotten to ever mention it. It had, somehow, managed to slip into the
background of my thoughts until now.

“Erm, no? You
mean about him being all angry over your sister? Yeah, you told me about that.”

“Yeah, turns
out he’s lived in Nottingham all my life. He went to jail and my mum lied about
it.” I hadn’t even gotten in touch with him after he’d sorted Nick out. Perhaps
I should have done. I didn’t really have the option now I was without a
communication device.

Meg blinked,
only not answering me because her attention was turned to the bus driver.
Choosing the backseat like always, we settled in and continued talking whilst
people-watching. It was an old habit. I paused to point at the guy in the row
in front of us attempting to secretly watch porn on his phone. Meg mock gagged,
averting her eyes and shaking her head. She always knew how to make me feel
better.

“But yeah, my
mum kind of threatened me that if I didn’t just tell her the truth then she’d
have to think he was taking advantage of me, so I told her about the fake ID
and summer. I said we’d just been friends since school started and that I knew
his sister. Then I kind of threw the thing about my dad in her face and went to
bed. I snuck out really early this morning so I didn’t have to deal with the
confrontation.”

“That’s rough,”
Annabel admitted. “But nothing is going to stop you and Ollie still seeing each
other if you want to- oh shit. I didn’t press the button in time.” Grimacing,
she reached out to press the stop button. I rolled my eyes at her irritation.
It was only a five minute walk between stops.

“We’re not
going to be seeing each other anymore,” I corrected, picking up my school bag
and concentrating on not falling over as we made our way back to the front of
the bus. If I’d fallen onto porn guy’s lap, I never would have lived it down.
“We decided we’re definitely staying away from each other. The whole no
communication without my mum knowing about it thing is probably for the best.”

“You really
did? But you’re brilliant together. Does that mean you ended up having a bad
weekend, too?”

I gripped the
straps of my rucksack, dipping my head. “The weekend was really perfect. Ollie
told me he wanted to try and make things work and I told him that I wasn’t
willing to risk his career.”

Meg hesitated
long enough to tell me she was undecided as to whether I’d done the right
thing. I was equally as unsure. My mood was definitely paying the price now,
but if Ollie did lose his job I’d never forgive myself and our relationship
would definitely fail. It was better to wait. “You did do the right thing,” Meg
decided, changing our course suddenly and bringing us towards the pub rather
than the coffee shop we normally skived for. “And it’ll get better. I’ve
decided a fry up and a pint is what you really need. I bet you didn’t even get
breakfast this morning.”

“He told me he
loved me Meg,” I whined, groaning and sliding into a cushioned seat. “And I
said it back. I just wanted that weekend to last forever.”

Meg looked like
her heart broke for me. “Maddie! I’m so sorry. Oh man, this is so messed up and
unfair.”

“You’ve got
that right,” I groaned again. Maybe trying to stay light-hearted would prevent
the tears. “Anyway, how are you and Rob? Good? Tell me good things about how
happy you are.”

“We’re actually
really good,” Meg averted her eyes guiltily. “And we haven’t done anything for
a while, either, you’ll be pleased to hear.”

I definitely
was. “I’m glad and I’m really happy for you, you know?”

“Yeah, I know
you are. I’m just so sorry about what’s happened with Mr. Wright. It’s so sad.
You don’t think your mum will like, go to the police or anything? She’s not
really like that, is she?”

“Nah, she
won’t,” I was forced to pause when the waitress came around. Meg’s full English
and a beer did sound awfully appealing right now, even if it was nine in the
morning. “I’ll have to explain everything properly at some point though.
Probably tonight. I hate lying to my mum. We’ve never even had a real falling
out before.”

Meg’s
relationship with her mum had always been the same. “I know, but you’ll work it
out. Mums and daughters always work everything out eventually.”

I couldn’t meet
Meg’s eyes. “How is your mum doing?”

Meg’s gaze was
stuck in her beer. “The chemo is going well, apparently, but there’s no
definite results yet. We’ll see, I guess.”

I was so
utterly useless in this situation, I wasn’t sure whether to offer a sympathetic
smile or a hug. “I’m sure it’ll all work out,” was what I went for.

“Yeah,
hopefully.”