Four Page Letters (TeacherxStudent)

Chapter 28

Charlotte

In two days the second semester of school will begin. As much as I've enjoyed my time here with Ros the wheels in my head have been turning nonstop since Laura broke in that night. Coming up with a plan.. trying to figure out my next move. Theres no way in hell the police will find her. But I think I can. I at least have to try. I cant afford her doing something stupid or putting Ros at risk getting caught in between us again. One thing about Laura she is far from stupid. If she even thinks shes seen Ros before she wont stop until she puts two and two together and get the right answer to fuck my whole life.

I was lying on the couch watching a movie while Ros was making dinner. That's something she has done for me every night we spent here. Even though half the time I insisted we ordered out but she said she prefers to just cook for me. I think it's because its in her nature. Once a wife, always a wife I suppose. I told her she has to let me pick up the slack sometimes. I believe things should be 50/50. So if she insisted on cooking I would always clean up afterwards."Babe." She called from the door. "Come eat." She smiled and returned to the kitchen. I turned off the television and went into the kitchen. "Smells amazing love." I took a seat at the table and she brought a plate to me. "Hope it tastes as good as it smells." She said. "Im sure it does." She poured me a glass of wine as she returned with her food taking a seat next to me. She prepared for us steak with mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. We ate in a comfortable silence for a bit before she spoke again. "So. The new semester is starting soon. You excited?" I nodded. "I suppose so. Ready to get it over with." She smiled, "Dont rush it love. Enjoy the ride. Time will go by so fast." I took a sip of my wine. Repeating what she said a few times in my head.

Time will go by so fast.
Time will go by so fast.
Time will go by so fast.

I just hope she keeps that in mind when we have this discussion next..

"Speaking of which. I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about." She looked up and held my gaze. Nodding for me to continue. "Well one sec. I'll be right back." I excused myself from the table and went upstairs to grab her final gift. I walked back into the kitchen and sat at the table. The gift sitting in my lap. I cleared my throat as she watched me intently. "Before I say what I need to I need you to promise to hear me out Ros. I need you to understand that I have thought long and hard and the chances of me changing my mind are slim to none. Practically nonexistent. Just.. listen, okay?" She picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. "You sure know how to make a girl nervous. But okay I guess. I promise to hear you out."

"Good. The most important thing I need you to take away from this conversation is that my love for you is never ending. Never could I have imagined the woman of my dreams would be lying next to me at night. As you know, my life has been far from easy. There were times I just wanted to die honestly. But you.. you've made everything worth it. All the pain I've endured. The heartache. The moment I stepped in school and saw you it would all just... I dont know. Ive loved you long before you could ever imagine. This, all of this, being here with you these past couple weeks have been extraordinary. And honestly, I cant wait to this becomes permanent." I took a moment to catch my breath. My heart was racing and I felt myself shrinking under her intense gaze. "However.. I have decided I need to face my demons head on. I cant really explain my plan because I think it only makes sense in my head. But I need to end this battle with Laura. I know she will continue coming after me until she gets what she wants, whatever that may be. No police in the world would be able to stop her. So I've decided to take matters in my own hands and finish this.

I care about you Ros. You mean the world to me. And I cant.. I wont put you in between the shit I have going with her. For that reason, I think it would be best if we just laid low for a while." She ran her hands through her hair. I could tell there were a million things running through her mind and her face expressed concern. "What do you mean by lay low? And whats a while?" "I mean.. we should stop seeing each other." Her head jerked up and her eyes went buck. "Wow." I quickly realized what I said and mentally face palmed. "Shit no, not like that. I dont want to break up. Just here. Open this." I placed the gift on the table and she looked at it questionably. "Whats this?" She asked. "Your last Christmas gift. Go on, open it." She reached for the small package and began to unwrap it. Once the small box was revealed she opened it and looked towards me. "Charlotte, wha..whats this?"

I sat up straight in my chair. "When I say we should stop seeing each other I only mean temporarily. Just for the remainder of the school year. I know you can handle yourself but I would literally die if anything happened to you or your career at my hand. Or Laura's for that matter. Im thinking about us in the bigger scheme of things. While I take care of things in my fucked up life, I need to be sure you're okay mentally and physically. I have to make sure you're out of harms way. So that, Ros, is a promise. A promise that even though we'll be apart for a while my heart will always be yours. A promise that I'm coming back to you. That I'll remain faithful. I just want you to know and rest assured I absolutely want to be with you Ms. Dandridge. I just need some time to get my shit together."

Silence fell over us. Her eyes flickered between my self and the small box in front of her. She exhaled slowly. "Can I say something?" I nodded, anxiously. "I .. Okay." She exhaled deeply before continuing. "Charlotte you are so wise. So grownup. So.. God. Honestly this is hard for me to accept. But I trust you whole heartedly. I just hope you know you dont have to do this alone and Im always here. I know you said nothing will change your mind and I've learned when you have your mind set on something thats just what it is. But.. if it means us having a stronger chance in the future.. then I'll step back and let you do this." I released the breath I had been holding. This went over much smoother than I imagined. "Thank you my love for understanding and trusting me. It really means a lot. "Yeah, well you mean a lot to me. Just come back to me in one piece or I'll kill that bitch myself." I laughed softly. "Understood." "Are you gonna make me put it on myself?" I realized what she meant and walked over to her. I took the ring out of the box and placed it on her left hand ring finger. "Its beautiful Charlie." She said looking down at her hand. She looked up at me and placed a kiss on my lips. "I need to reiterate that by no means am I okay with this. I'm not okay with being without you for the next four months. But I'm trusting you to not fall in love with some other girl." She playfully punched my arm. "Hey listen to me." I held her face in my hands. "It's you. Its always been you. It will always be you." She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. We stood there embraced in one another's arms as time ticked by. She sighed heavily as she pulled away from me. "So where do we go from here?" She asked as she sat back down. I took a seat next to her. "Well honestly I think we should also stop calling or texting." She shook her head. "Wow just eighty-six all communications huh?" I sighed. "I just have to make it seem like im not talking to anyone. Im not sure what's gonna happen but I dont need anything that'll come back to bite us."

"I dont like that Charlotte. Not at all. How am I supposed to know you're okay?" "You'll see me at school still. As long as I'm there you'll know I'm fine. In fact, we can write eachother letters." She looked at me and smirked. "Letters? Like hand written letters?" I nodded. "Precisely. We dont have to sign them or anything but I'll write you letters just to check in. It'll be like back in the old days. I might even send it by pigeon." That got her to laugh genuinely. "Okay. That actually sounds romantic. So I guess you're going back home tonight then?" She asked. "Not tonight love. I need one more night with you. I'll leave in the morning." She stood and sat in my lap kissing my forehead. "I cant wait for my first letter. Just be careful with all of this. And for the record I'm not leaving you to face this alone. I'm just being a good girlfriend and following your lead. So hurry back to me okay?" I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Just remember time will fly by. You'll be back in my arms before you know it."

I hope so..

A/N: Just a heads up, the next few chapters will be the letters written between Charlie & Ros. Chapter titles will be named accordingly