The Professor's Girl (18+)

Episode 39

Emma

I end up studying the rest of the weekend. Although I miss Kai, school is more important. I prioritize my homework and the MCAT, staying up ten hours on Saturday to study.

Later Sunday morning, Devon's mom calls. I debate telling her that I have a boyfriend. On one hand, she is Devon's mom. On the other hand, she's always supported me and encouraged me to be happy.

"Hi Debra," I say.

"Hi Emma! How are you today? How's studying going?"

"I'm doing great actually. Studying is tiring but I hope it'll all be worth it."

"I know it will be. I'm so excited for the day I get to call you Dr. Jewel."

"You're so sweet. Let's just pray that I get there. The MCAT is no joke." Then I hesitate. "Listen, Debra, I had something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm seeing someone."

There's a pause on the other end of the line for a moment, and then she responds. "That's great hun!"

She sounds genuine, but I want to be sure. "Really? You're not mad? You don't think I'm moving on too fast? Not that moving on is the right term to use because I will never move on from what happened to—"

"Relax Emma. I think everyone moves forward at their own pace. If you're happy, then I'm happy."

"I really appreciate hearing that from you Debra. I was worried that you might be upset."

"I could never be upset with the woman that gave my son the best last few years of his life."

Tears prick my eyes. I think of Devon's rich skin and his perfectly straight, white teeth. He had the nicest smile. "I miss him."

"I miss him every day."

There's a silence, and both of us are clearly remembering our time with Devon. I feel like there is something stuck in my throat, and I thank god when Debra tells me that she's getting another call and needs to go.

I end the call, falling back onto my bed. I will myself not to cry. I hardly cry anymore when I think of Devon, but sometimes his absence just hits me harder than other days. I decide that I should take today easy, crawling under the covers to take a nap.

When I dream, I see Devon and I sitting in the middle of the football field where he proposed to me. We're having a picnic, and he's feeding me chocolate covered strawberries. My heart flutters in my chest when I hear him laugh. I had forgotten what that sounded like.

The scene shifts, and we have a baby in the nursery of our house. I feel surprised because I had a miscarriage in real life, and we never had the chance to have any more kids. No one but me knew about the miscarriage, not even Devon. He passed before I could tell him about the pregnancy. I didn't realize my body still missed what I wasn't able to have. Somehow, even though I was happy, I was still dreaming about the future I could have had with him.

~~~
Kai

I'm not looking forward to picking up Ellie today. I never do. It doesn't have anything to do with Ellie, but rather has everything to do with her mom. Sadie is one of the most irritating people I have ever met, and I don't know how I was ever in love with her.

I sigh as I park my car in Sadie's driveway. After getting out of the car, I ring the doorbell. Sadie answers shortly, and unfortunately it looks like she wants to talk because Ellie isn't waiting with her in the doorway like she normally does. That means Sadie wants to tell me something she doesn't want Ellie to overhear.

"Kai," she says in greeting. Her tone is sharp. Great—she's in a bad mood.

"Hey," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. I don't want to engage with her. Especially not when she's in a mood like this.

Sadie looks pissed. "Look, I'm just going to cut right to the chase here. Ellie told me you took her to the beach."

"Yeah?"

"And apparently, there was another woman present? Some Emma? I couldn't get Ellie to stop talking about her all weekend. What is she, your girlfriend or something?" Sadie sneers.

Well, shit. I didn't think about the fact that Ellie would talk about Emma at home with her mom. Em really must have made an impression on her. "She's just a friend," I lie. I don't want Sadie to know I'm seeing someone because I just know she'd find a way to ruin it. And if she found out Emma was my student, she would certainly ruin me.

"Don't lie to me Kai. I'm not an idiot," she snaps.

"Really? You sure about that?" I can't help retorting back.

"I don't appreciate you bringing women I haven't met before around Ellie. She's young and impressionable, and I don't want any negative influences around her."

"So then why is she living with you?" 

Sadie really would be like this. She's the most toxic person I know, yet she refuses to acknowledge it. I know for a fact that she's brought her own dates around Ellie. Sadie's just being a hypocrite.

"Daddy!" Ellie runs into my arms, interrupting our conversation.

Sadie yells at her. "I thought I told you not to interrupt mommy when daddy gets home!"

Ellie's eyes begin to water, and her bottom lip trembles. Something inside me starts burning, and I glare at my ex-wife. God, I loathe this woman. "Don't snap at her like that."

"Don't tell me how to discipline my child."

"She's my kid too," I tell her, picking up Ellie. Without waiting for Sadie to say anything else, I walk to the car. Sadie opens her mouth to berate me, but refrains for now.

"We'll talk about this later," she tells me.

I don't bother responding, buckling Ellie in her seat and driving off. Good riddance.