The Runaway (Brollins)

Chapter 11

Rebecca tried to not think about Matthew while she taught the kids, and thankfully they had plenty of weekend stories to share with her. "I went to the park and played!"

Rebecca smiled and gasped. "The park! That sounds so fun!"

"I went to the movies! We watched Batman!" Another kid said.

"Batman?! I love batman! He's one of my favorite superhero's!"

Another kid jumped up and down excitedly so Rebecca pointed towards her. "I got a new barbie doll house and it's so fun! It's really big Ms. Quin!"

Rebecca smiled and nodded listening to her students. "Well i'm glad you all had a fun weekend! Now it's time to do some fun math!"

The kids all got sad and sat down. Rebecca chuckled. "Don't worry guys, it's a color by number math sheet!"

                             .         .        .        .        .

Since Rebecca and Colby were both teachers, they always at lunch together. They would talk about all kinds of things, but today Rebecca hadn't said one word, so Colby knew she was upset.

He sat his fork down and gently rubbed her arm. "Becks? What's wrong?"

Rebecca just shook her head and took another bite of her sandwich. "What? Nothings wrong, i'm fine!"

Colby turned his head and looked at her. "Becks...what's wrong, are you ok?"

Rebecca chuckled and looked up at him. "Colby i'm fine!" She shrugged him off and took another bite of her sandwich.

"Rebecca." Just the use of her full name made her tense up. "What happened?"

Rebecca's shoulders dropped down and she closed her sandwich box lid before looking up at him. "Matthew left a bouquet of roses at the front desk for me."

Colby pressed his lips together and nodded. "I didn't know what to think." Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. "He's still coming for me Colby...i don't how long I can stay away from him."

Colby looked at her sympathetically. "You don't have to go back to him. Just because he's still trying to find you doesn't mean he's changed. You can't go back to someone like him, he's an abuser Becks."

Rebecca nodded and looked down. "I know I needed to get away from him, but do you think i made a bad choice just running away without talking to him first?"

Colby shook his head. "Hell no. He didn't deserve an explanation. He's a dick." Rebecca nodded and Colby took a sip of his water before sitting the bottle back down. "What did you do with the flowers?"

Rebecca pointed towards the big trash can over in the corner of the room. Colby followed where her finger pointed and nodded. He then stood up and went over to the trash can. "Colby...what in the world are you doing?"

Instead of answering her, Colby just dug through the trash can. When he found the roses he grabbed one of the roses that wasn't bent and dropped the rest back in the can.

He walked over to Rebecca and bent down in front of her holding the rose out. Rebecca looked down at him and gave him a cheesy smile. "I want you to keep this ok? Let the rose be a reminder of one of the greatest things to come out of your relationship...Saylor."

Rebecca smiled and leaned down to pull him up in a hug. "You're such a dork do you know that?"

Colby sat the rose down next to her without breaking the hug. His hands traveled up and down her back as they hugged. Rebecca pulled back and smiled asthey started into each other's eyes. Colby's hands traveled down to her waist. Then Rebecca's hands went up to his neck.

They didn't know what they were doing but they both leaned into each other. Colby bent his head down to capture her lips until the bell rang making them both jump.

Rebecca pulled back and looked around while Colby just admired her. "We better get going. My kids will be back in class."

Colby nodded and brushed some hair out of her face. "Yeah same. I'll see you in a few hours."

With that Rebecca smiled and grabbed the rose before heading out of the office awkwardly. Colby started cleaning up his mess and was about to leave before Pam walked inside. "Hey Colby! Long time no see..."

Colby smiled and hugged his friend. "How are you doing?"

Pam walked behind the desk and put her leftover food in the fridge. "I'm good. Just busy." Pam then stood back up and looked at him. "How about you? I'm sure you're loving having your two favorite people living with you..."

Colby blushed and looked up at her. "Yeah i'm glad to have them around."

Pam nodded and smiled. "I'm glad they're somewhere safe. I tried to call the cops on him multiple times but Becks didn't want me to...she said it would make things worse, so i'm glad she's finally away from him."

Colby nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Matthew dropped roses off for her this morning." When Pam looked over at him he continued. "Once they get settled in and get used to being in a different house, i'm gonna try to convince her to get a restraining order or something. Anything really, i don't want him anywhere near her. He nearly killed her a few days ago Pam." Pam had a frown plastered on her face. "He left bruises and cuts all over her...it was bad."

Pam walked over and hugged him. "I know that was hard for you to see, hell it's hard for me to hear, but at least you get to protect her now." Pam pulled back. "I better get back to my classroom." Colby smiled at her and watched as she walked to the glass door. "But what it's worth, you two would be a cute couple. She deserves someone like you."

Pam smiled and walked out the door leaving Colby stunned. He smiled and looked down before walking back down to his classroom, thinking about all the possibilities that could happen, and what almost happened before the bell.