Her Teacher's Temptation (21 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Hi, have you made
a reservation? Oh,” Ollie’s guilty expression greeted me. “Are you coming here
to actually have dinner? Or do you just want to talk?”

“You weren’t in
my lesson yesterday morning. I couldn’t get in touch with you since I dropped
you off on Sunday night.”

I made sure no
one else was waiting before deciding I could continue our conversation. “I went
for coffee with Meg. We needed a good chat about things.” Our original plan
sounded far better than what we’d actually ended up doing. “And my mum’s
confiscated my phone and my laptop and stuff.” A couple entered behind him.
“You should really just go, I have to work.”

“I’m here to
eat,” he decided, eyebrows knitted together as his gaze swept over me. “Are you
okay, though?” He questioned as soon as I was guiding him to his table. His
hand hovered as though it was going to brush against my skin, but he stopped
himself. “What’s going on?”

“Listen, I have
to
work
. I’ll talk to you when I can, but I’ll get into trouble if I’m
just giving you all the attention.”

It was painful
to be brash with him, but he wasn’t making any of this easier. I needed to stay
away from Ollie, but going by the black circles under his eyes, he’d been
worrying about my fate and it would be unfair not to let him know exactly what
was going on. My mother had decided to accept unrequited love on my side as the
full extent of the story, but my phone and laptop were still off limits.

She was
disappointed in me and herself, which wasn’t good for anyone. We hadn’t talked
about my dad again yet. I’d said I wasn’t interested in knowing her side of the
story.

Back at the
front of the restaurant, I was interrupted this time with a giggling Meg
outside the front doors. Excusing myself for my smoking break, I couldn’t stop
my grimace. I only got one break per shift and having to use it within the
first fifteen minutes was less than ideal, but if I used it with Meg at least I
wouldn’t be forced to go through a painful chat with Ollie.

“Hey, what’s
up?” Meg’s eyes were the most dilated I’d ever seen them, even in the darkening
December day. She frowned, as though just realising it was me stood in front of
her. “Meg, are you okay?” I was almost wary to approach as Meg continued to
just stand and stare.

I only just
caught her before she collapsed.

“Shit,” I
muttered, arms straining under her weight as I reached for my phone. It wasn’t
there, of course. Placing Meg down in the car park was the last thing I wanted
to do, but I didn’t hesitate. Sprinting back inside, keeping my job didn’t even
come to mind. “Ollie!” I all but screamed. “Call an ambulance! Meg’s just
passed out, I think she’s on something.”

I returned to
Meg once I saw him pulling out his phone, remembering that I should try and get
her in the recovery position. She was so tiny that it wasn’t difficult, but my
blurred vision didn’t help. Neither did the crowd of people that had gathered
after my outburst. I wanted to shout at them all to stop staring, but it wasn’t
worth making the commotion worse.

Ollie dipped
down beside me and took her pulse. “The ambulance said they’d be here in five
minutes. I’ll come in the ambulance with you.”

A nod was all I
could manage as I stroked Meg’s hair. She vomited and coughed, but didn’t
regain consciousness. Ollie wrapped an arm around my shoulder and helped me
into a standing position. “She’s going to be fine, Maddie. She’s going to be
fine.” He told me in a mantra, keeping to a friendly position out of habit. We
were still in public.

It was
unbelievable that no one here happened to be a doctor or nurse. All the gaggle
of restaurant goers could offer was gossip, most of the snippets I heard were
about our tainted generation. It had me balling my fists at my sides.

When the
ambulance screeched into the car park, I was back to full alertness. Slipping
out of Ollie’s comforting hold, I rushed to answer the paramedic’s questions.
“She’s seventeen, and more than likely on MDMA. She’s done it pretty regularly
over the past two months. She just stood and stared at me then collapsed.”

“We need to get
her into the ambulance and to the hospital,” he nodded with thanks for my
description. “Are you coming with her?”

“Can two of us
come?”

“Yes, but no
more.”

Beckoning to
Ollie, we were ushered into the ambulance after Meg was wheeled in. Now plugged
into a monitor, I kept myself focused on Meg’s steady heartbeat. It was
reassuring, at least. “You’re certain it’s MDMA?” The paramedic could do
nothing until we were actually at the hospital, I supposed, but the sight of
him sitting there rather than busying about made it seem somehow bleak.

“Not certain. I
know her boyfriend has been into a few legal highs and research chemicals, too.
It’s mainly MD, though.”

He nodded,
jotting down my response on a chart. “Have you got any specific on the legal
highs and chemicals?”

“Nothing,
sorry.”

As the dialogue
died, I returned my gaze to Meg’s face. She looked so peaceful like this,
without that constant line of worry which seemed to have been invading her face
ever since she found out about her mother.

“She’ll be okay,”
Ollie assured me once more.

“I’m sorry, but
I have to ask,” the paramedic jumped back in, pen at the ready. “Do you think
this could have been intentional?”

“Of course
not.” Only as soon as I’d said it, I was forced to look at Meg’s face and
remember all the misery she’d felt over the past few months. “Her mum has
breast cancer. I guess… I guess it could be intentional. I really don’t think
so, though.”

He noted that
down.

At the
hospital, we were directed to the waiting area whilst Meg was taken to a
private room where the doctors could hopefully find out exactly what was wrong.
Ollie opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. “I have to ring Meg’s
mum. I’m allowed to use my phone in here, right?”

“I’m sure it’ll
be fine.”

“Shoot, can I
borrow your mobile?”

“Oh, right, of
course.”

I felt ill as I
listened to the dialling tone. If she wasn’t at home, I didn’t know her mobile
number off by heart. Meg’s mum didn’t deserve this. Meg didn’t deserve this.
They both deserved a break. “Hello?”

My words caught
in my throat and I had to cough to cover up my pause. “It’s Meg. We’re in the
hospital, I think she’s overdosed on something. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m coming
right in, which ward?”

After giving
her the name, I passed Ollie back his phone. “Meg’s going to hate me when she
wakes up.”

“She’ll
understand. You had to ring her mum, it was the only thing to do.” Ollie
shifted in his seat, obviously wanted to change the topic, but knowing it was
the wrong time to do so.

“Look, I told
my mum about us sleeping together in summer but nothing else. You’re not in
trouble with her, I am. I told her I knew about my dad. She’s just mad and
doesn’t want me to see you and doesn’t want me out of the house in case I’m
sneaking into clubs or whatever. It’s really fine. We’re still in exactly the
same position.”

“I wasn’t going
to ask.”

“I know, but
for once, I’d rather talk about us than the alternative.”

Ollie looked
like he was longing to wrap an arm around my shoulder so that I could snuggle
against his chest and block out the world, but it would have been
inappropriate. “I hope you’re okay. I never meant for her to find out,
obviously. I should have asked Luke to drop you off around the corner. It was
stupid of us not to think of it.”

“It’s as much
my fault as it is yours. Well, there’s nothing to be done now, anyway. It’ll
all work out fine. You don’t have to worry about me at all.”

“I do, though.”

“It’s probably
better if you don’t say it.”

When Meg’s mum
came bursting through the door, I shifted away from Ollie even further
automatically. “Maddie! What’s going on? Is she okay? Can I see her?”

“I don’t know.
She showed up to the restaurant and then just passed out. I think she must have
taken something,” I cringed at saying the words aloud. “She’s in with the
doctors. I’m sure we’ll be able to go in soon.”

“Meggy took
something? I didn’t realise she did anything like that.” Meg’s mum took a heavy
seat opposite me and Ollie, resting her head in her hands. Tears gathered in
her eyes and I glanced at Ollie hopelessly, looking for some advice on what to
do.

I made myself
stand up and sit beside her, unsure if we were close enough to share a hug.
“Meg will be fine. She’ll always pull through.”

“I didn’t even
know.”

I couldn’t
really respond that no one did. It was my fault she hadn’t stopped doing this
kind of thing earlier. I
had
known and I’d failed to stop this
happening. The hand I’d been contemplating rubbing Meg’s mum’s back with fell
to my lap and my gaze moved towards the ceiling instead. All my fault.

“I’m going to
fetch some coffee. Does anyone want anything?”

I shook my head
and Meg’s mum looked confused as to why he was talking to us. “He’s here with
you?”

“That’s Mr.
Wright. He’s our English teacher, he happened to be at the restaurant when Meg
fell down. He said he’d come with me.”

“That was nice
of him,” Meg’s mum was visibly trying to collect herself. “I got the all clear
on my cancer today.” It didn’t sound anywhere near as happy as it should have
done. “I had a bottle of champagne ready for me and Meggy when she got home.”

“Congratulations.”
That would be some good news when she woke up, at least. “The celebrations can
be doubled when Meg comes home.”

A man poked his
head around the door. “You can come and see her now.”

Meg was asleep,
or at least unconscious. Her face was peaceful and it even looked as though she
was wearing a slight smile. “Is she going to be all right?”

“She’ll be
absolutely fine,” the doctor offered a warm smile that soothed my nerves. “I
know it was a scare, but there’s no lasting damage. Only a bit of grogginess
for a few days. I am going to bring in the psychiatrist just to have a chat
with her when she’s woken up, though.”

I wasn’t sure
Meg’s mum had even heard him, but she nodded along anyway, her gaze never
leaving Meg’s pale face. I felt rude standing and watching, so I decided to
find Ollie. I’d realised I had things to ask him, anyway, before we properly
parted ways.

I almost
knocked his coffee flying when we rounded the corner at the same time, but
Ollie was agile enough to catch himself. “Meg’s going to be okay.”

Ollie breathed
a sigh of relief. “I’m glad. Did the doctor say what she’d done? Did they give
any more information?”

“No. Not yet. I
just felt like I was interrupting Meg’s mum, I know how hard she’s taking this.
I wanted to ask about your brother, anyway. What happened with that?”

“He told me I
was an idiot. I kind of told him everything.” Ollie ran a hand through his
hair, pausing around the corner from Meg’s room. “I think he just pitied me to
be honest, but whatever. He wasn’t mad or anything, so it’s okay. I’m really
sorry about your mum.”

“We’ll get over
it. Me and my mum have never really fallen out before, so I’m sure we can get
past this. I don’t like falling out with her.”

“Does Meg’s mum
know who I am?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well, I
think I should probably head off then.” He looked incredibly guilty, but he
really did have to leave. Hanging around would look odd. His hand reached out
and grasped my arm, his thumb rubbing a gentle circle through my waitressing
uniform. “I hope everything works out. Let me know about Meg in class. I want
to know how she’s going on with stuff.”

I nodded,
managing the smallest of smiles as I committed Ollie’s caring expression to
memory. His stubble was growing back already. “I will do. Thanks for coming to
the hospital with me, it really helped.”

“I’ll see you
around.”

“See you.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Where have you
been, young lady? I thought I specifically said-”

“Meg is in the
hospital.” That shut her right up and she appeared in the doorway, panicked
expression replacing any kind of anger.

“What’s
happened? Is she okay?”

“What happened
to your face?” I fired back, eyes widening at the blackened flesh around her
eyes. “Did he come back? He punched you? What a piece of shit,” the word fell
from my mouth without me even realising. “I’m ringing dad up right now. Is Lily
here?”

My mother
shooed my hand away from the landline telephone, staring at the floor. “My face
is fine and Lily is fine. You certainly don’t need to be ringing your father.”

“Mum he’s hit
you again. That’s not okay. You either need to ring dad or the police. It can’t
just continue to happen and he shouldn’t ever get to see Lily.”

“Tell me about
what happened with Meg. Is she really okay? I can drive you down to the
hospital whenever you need me to.” Sitting on the couch, my mum patted the seat
beside her and I made myself sit down.

“She overdosed
on something. She’s going to be absolutely fine, but it was just so
terrifying.” I didn’t want to interrupt Meg’s mum’s privacy. I’d go back
tomorrow.

My mum wrapped
a secure arm around my shoulder, but I didn’t miss the flinch as I touched her
ribs. “I’m glad she’s okay, honey. I didn’t know Meg was into anything like
that. That’s so sad. She’s such a clever girl.”

“I’m just glad
she’s going to be okay.” My mum would be horrified if she knew the things I did
and that was the reason I didn’t tell her. It was difficult for her generation
to understand that it wasn’t all bad if you knew what you were doing. Just
because I might have taken a few silly risks with drugs every now and then
wasn’t the end of the world, it was only the same as the silly risks people
took playing on train tracks and the like when they were younger. “I’m sorry
for everything that’s happened with Ollie and for not telling you. I don’t want
us to fall out about it.”

“I know, I
don’t want to fall out either. I was just so shocked and I just don’t like to
think about the fact you lied to me about these things, I thought we told each
other everything. And I know I lied about your father, I hope you can forgive
me for that, too.”

“Of course I
can.”

“I just don’t
want you going out and doing things when you’re this young. There’s a reason
that the drinking age is set at eighteen. You shouldn’t be trying to get around
it.”

I groaned. “I
don’t want to talk about this.” She might have been right, but I didn’t
feel
like I wasn’t old enough to be doing these things. I was practically an
adult. I’d be eighteen so soon and the change over from one day to the next
wasn’t going to be a big difference. “I want you to ring the police about Nick.”

“Sweetie, you
don’t understand me and Nick. This is something we can work out and you don’t
need to be getting involved.”

“Mum, he beats
you up. That’s something
someone
needs to be getting involved in. You
can’t just let it keep happening.” I squeezed her hand to show her that I meant
it. I could at least try and help and be there for her.

“I’ve got
enough on worrying about you, you don’t need to worry about me. I know what I’m
doing.”

***

“I’m really
sorry to have to ask you to do this, but I really just don’t know what else to
do,” I apologised to Ollie whilst doing my seatbelt up. “My mum just isn’t
listening to anything I say and I know it’s going to get worse.”

“I understand,
you don’t have to apologise. I’m quite happy to give you a lift anywhere you
need to go.”

Finding my
father’s address in the phone book had been a lucky break considering I didn’t
have my laptop or phone to check on. Now I just had to hope he was the only
person with that name in Nottingham. There hadn’t been many other Ashton’s
listed.

“Okay, well,
thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“How is Meg
holding up?”

I’d been back
to Meg’s this morning during my free period, but my mother had come with me
just to make sure that was what I was definitely doing. I couldn’t blame her
for breathing down my neck really, but it wasn’t something I was a fan of.

That was why
I’d failed to mention the fact work had given me the rest of the week off with
compassionate leave and requested Ollie’s assistance at the end of my English
lesson.

“She’s doing
fine. I think she’s dreading leaving the hospital and having to sit down and
chat with her mother. Looks like we’ve both managed to mess up our
relationships with our mums.”

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, it 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?