East Myersere Lake (GirlxGirl) (TeacherxStudent)

Chapter 11 - Good Girls Love a Bad Influence

When Erika awoke the next morning, the sun was yet to rise and her alarm hadn't yet gone off. She rolled over to find that Dallas was no longer next to her. The slight indentation and warmth of the pillow being the only evidence that she was ever there. She wondered if Dallas had maybe gone back to the living room, but as she got out of bed to look; she saw a piece of paper with a handwritten note on the chest of drawers beside the door.

'I had to leave before it got light out. I thought writing it down would be a safer option than texting you. You know...just incase. I'm working the whole weekend, if you want to see me then stop by the bar if you get the chance. Everything will be ok.
D'

Her body still felt exhausted after the stress of last night. Her shoulders ached and her eyes hurt. She felt like she'd been ran over by a truck. She got back into bed, rolling over onto the side Dallas had been laid on. The pillow smelled faintly of her scent, Erika recognised it because she'd noted how nice Dallas always smelled whenever she saw her. She didn't know exactly what it was, but it was a mixture of fruity and earthy tones. Whatever it was, Erika liked it. She sighed, burying her face into the pillow. How had she managed to get herself into such a messy situation? Her relationship with Dallas alone was already risky and should never have happened. But now it had been made worse by someone else knowing what was going on. Well, technically nothing was really going on between them...anymore. They had kissed, but Erika had made it clear that it couldn't go any further. And up until last night she was adamant that she was going to stick to her word, no matter how difficult she was finding it. But now; in a way, the new situation they'd found themselves in had only drawn them closer to one another. There was no doubt about it. Last night was innocent; two friends supporting one another, but she wasn't stupid. She couldn't ignore the things that she had felt as Dallas lay next to her in the dark.

Things were undoubtedly going to get much, much worse before they got better.

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Dallas was struggling to focus in class. Mr Reynolds was discussing the field trip that they'd be taking in a few weeks time. She hadn't heard anything other than it was supposed to be a trip to visit East Myersere Lake. She remembered that because the majority of students had gasped at the mere mention of the place. A field trip to a lake where two students had been found, murdered?

Didn't he know how to read the room?

Anyways, it was part of the course and it had already been cleared by the cops. The college had discussed visiting another town instead, but the police weren't really doing a good job anyways, and had assured that the area was safe. Surely the area was still classed as a crime scene? Anyone with any sense could see that. But alas, the police had did what they needed to do and were intent on making sure life carried on as normal as possible.

When class was over, she went to the gym. Oliver was in football practice so she went alone. She decided to walk since it was a nice day out. The sun was shining but the air was cold. The exercise would soon warm her up, though. She did her usual routine at the gym but this time focused more on her weight training. She'd been neglecting it recently, favouring cardio as it was a good way for her to release stress. But she wanted to make sure she was sticking to her routine as much as possible, it was important for her to do that so she didn't get sick again. Working out and having a routine was the most helpful thing she did when she was struggling with depression after her mom died. It was also one of the reasons she was finally able to break her self harming habit.

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Friday evening at the bar was quiet. There was no entertainment this weekend, so there weren't many customers beside the usual locals. Jasmin and Noah had stopped by for a few hours after their second date at the movies. The two of them really seemed to be hitting it off and Dallas had never seen Jasmin this happy before. A part of her ached for a relationship like they had. On Saturday, the place was a little busier than the night before. Harry; who was a member of the band that performed pretty often had taken up a seat at the bar and had been there to keep Dallas company. He was flirty with all the women in the bar, but in a specifically non-creepy way. He was kind and caring; a father of two daughters around Dallas' age, and always looked out for her whenever there was a customer who overstepped the line. It also meant that he was someone to talk to, since Austin barely spoke two words to her during their shifts. She longed for the day that the bar would employ someone the same age as her. She'd asked Jasmin to hand in her resume numerous times, but this wasn't a place that Jasmin wanted to work. She would continue to live the life of leisure for as long as she could.