The Art of Forbidden Romance (Student x Teacher)

Chapter 38

One month later....

I fidgeted with the soft cast, trying to get it to fit comfortably again. My hand was mostly healed, so the hard cast had been removed. The doctors advised that I would need another two weeks with a soft cast for best results.

I rewrapped the Velcro straps again, finally finding a comfortable placement and flexed my fingers slowly. The tremors were gone, thank god, but my hands were stiff and achy constantly.

I slipped on my t-shirt before stepping out of my room. Mel opened her door and peeked her head outside.

"Are you leaving for work?" She asked me, rubbing her eyes sleepily. I nodded.

"I'm going to Chuck's after so I won't be home," I said. She nodded before slinking back into her room and closing the door.

I grabbed my overnight bag from the floor and my purse before heading out the door for work.

Getting back into my routine after the incident was hard. Certain places were more triggering than others to my anxiety and fatigue plagued me for weeks. I was finally starting to feel more like myself again, and having the hard cast removed definitely helped.

Going back to work was the best part of getting back into my routine. The cafe was a safe place for me overall, and I enjoyed the mindless work. The regulars had noticed my absence and made me feel welcome and missed upon my return.

I stepped through the cafe door before closing it behind me and locking it. I set about my opening duties and getting any items left over from prior night taken care of. A tap on the front windows sounded and I looked up to find Juan waiting to come in. I quickly let him in and we set about getting ready for the morning.

It was now mid December, the weather was much too cold at the beach for tourists. With Christmas the following week, foot traffic was even lower. Angela and I had made a decision to cut the cafe hours down to give us a break through the holidays. We now were only open until 2, meaning our shifts overlapped quite a bit.

Today, with Thursday's usually being one of our slower days, was especially slow. Juan and I sat in the front of the cafe playing cards for a couple hours before we finally had a customer. We made them a drink and then they left, not staying to eat or drink.

By eleven, Angela showed up for her shift relieved me early. I was thankful for the break, and opted to head to Chuck's place early to surprise him. I had Juan make a turkey and avocado bagel sandwich for him and packed him a slice of cherry pie before heading to his house.

As I drove the few short minutes to Chuck's house, I couldn't help but wonder why he never asked me about what I said in the hospital. I was surprised he never brought it up at all, and for fear of rejection I refused to confess my true feelings for him again. At some point or another I knew we would have to talk about it - I just didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

As I approached his house, I noticed an unfamiliar car in the driveway and I stopped, staring at it. A blue fiat was parked in his spot on the driveway and Chuck's car was no where to be found. I couldn't remember Chuck mentioning having anyone over this week. A small pit formed in my stomach as I found parking on the street nearby and got out of my car.

I knocked on his door and moments later a woman opened it, peeking just her head out. She was beautiful with long brown hair and golden eyes. I was taken aback by her beauty, but also by her presence.

"Postmates?" She asked, her voice was sweet and melodic. I shook my head slowly.

"Uh," I said. "No. Who are you? And where's Chuck?"

"You must be Winona," she said, her tone changed and the disdain in her voice was obvious when she said my name. She pushed the door open more revealing that she was wearing an oversized t-shirt and nothing else, her long tan legs exposed. I recognized the shirt as one of Chuck's by the paint smear along the sleeve; a mishap from my painting last week. My mouth went dry.

"I am, who are you though?" I asked her.

"I'm surprised Charlie never talked about me," she said, a sly smile on her face. She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling the material right and making it clear she wasn't wearing anything under the shirt.

"I.... I'm bad with names," I stuttered.

"I'm Paloma, Charlie's ex," she said. "Did he really never talk about me?"

"He mentioned you but never by name," I said slowly. I could feel a heat rising up my neck and I took a low breath to try to calm my nerves.

"I'm not surprised," she said with a shrug. "I'll let him know you were here." She started to close the door but I caught it with my hand.

"Wait, where's Chuck?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and opened the door again.

"Charlie," she said, her annoyed tone correcting my choice in name for Chuck. "Went out to run an errand for me."

"Oh," I said, letting go of the door. He went to run an errand for her? I looked down at the bag of food in my hand.

"You look like a smart girl," Paloma said. "You should be smart enough to tell the difference between a man who cares about you and when a man is using you." I couldn't help but physically recoil from her at her words.

"What?" My voice was barely audible. I looked up at her to find her staring at me, contempt all over her face.  My vision blurred momentarily and I blinked forcing the tears away.

"You know he'll never love you," she said. "He told me himself. After all, he never finalized our divorce for a reason." I struggled to find the words to respond. She looked at me momentarily before rolling her eyes and starting to close the door again.

"Wait! C-can you give this to him?" I asked, holding the bag of food up. She took it from me quickly, yanking it from my hand. The handles caught slightly on my soft cast, pulling it uncomfortably against my hand. With a sarcastic smile she closed the door in my face, leaving me standing on his porch. My cheeks prickled as if I had been slapped from the shock of her words and I raised my fingers to find them wet with tears.

I quickly wiped my eyes dry and turned to walk back to my car. I got into my car and broke down, heavy sobs racking my body. My chest heaved as I cried, barely able to catch my breath. I sat there for what felt like hours, crying until no more tears would come. When I could finally breathe again I slowly started my car and headed home.