A few minutes of silence had passed as he drove me to what I presumed was his house.
And just as I thought, he parked the car in front of the house I had visited a few nights ago.
"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" This time his voice was much gentler calming my nerves a bit.
I didn't want to tell him what had went down at the party with...Jackson.
It was still too fresh and I didn't think I would be able to get the words out without crying.
"I fell down a couple of stairs at a friend's house and that's pretty much all there is to the story," I kept my eyes down hoping he wouldn't see through my lies.
"Stairs did that to you? That's interesting because I didn't know falling down the stairs would cause bruises in the shape of hands to form around your neck," I could feel his eyes burning into me as he basically told me he knew there was more to the story.
My nails dug into my palms as I tried to come up with a better excuse but my thoughts were interrupted by him speaking up again.
"Look, I don't want to interfere with your personal life especially because you're just my student. But I also cannot leave you in a possibly abusive situation. If your dad was hurting you, you could tell me... I could get you help or pay him a visit," He chuckled darkly at the last part but his tone was serious.
Why did he care about what happened to me? Like he said, I was just a student. I didn't deserve all this special attention.
"Trust me, it wasn't my dad. I haven't seen him since I was a baby. I just... fell, that's all."
I hated the fact that I couldn't tell anyone but a big part of me felt ashamed. As if it was my fault for going into the room with him.
Maybe Jackson was right. I should have known that going up into the room was going to lead down that path.
God, how could I have been so stupid?
I could feel my eyes watering as I felt my throat hurting from keeping down sobs.
Before I knew it, I was full on crying in Mr. Ricci's car.
He, at first looked at me concerned, but then he placed his arms around me into a sort of cradling position.
"It's ok," he repeated over and over again as I clung onto his sweater letting everything out.
What seemed like hours passed by before my breathing finally became normal again and the tears had dried up.
"I'm so sorry," I apologized as I sat up , separating from his embrace.
I felt cold as soon as his arms stopped holding me. I missed that feeling of being held as if I were a child.
"You don't need to apologize. And I understand you may not be ready to tell me what happened tonight, but when you are ready, I'll be here." His words were so genuine that they warmed my heart.
I guess he wasn't as bad as I thought.
"Do you want me to take you home now?" He asked.
I didn't know how to tell him that I didn't want to go home at all. Lying in my own bed with a million of my thoughts racing would kill me. I didn't want to see my mom or my sister in the state I was in because I didn't want to add to their worries.
Mr.Ricci must have seen the my facial expression because what he said next, surprised me.
"Or you could... stay here tonight. Jonah is out of the house this weekend since he went to visit his Dad so you don't need to worry about him. And you could sleep in one of my guest rooms," Mr.Ricci seemed nervous for the first time. As if the thought of us alone in his house was nerve wracking.
"Thank you, I actually would really appreciate it," Any normal person would have refused but for some reason, I trusted him.
He nodded as he shut off the car and helped me get out of it.
I had completely forgotten that I was still in Vera's red dress until I saw Mr. Ricci sneaking glances at me as if he had also not noticed what I was wearing.
He cleared his throat when he caught me looking at him.
"Well, let's get you settled in," He said as he led the way to his house.
