Yes Sir... - Ace Merrill

He never noticed

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Chapter 34 - He never noticed
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Odette did as she promised herself. She tried her best to study and stay focused, even during exam season. Slowly but surely the rumours and talk began to die down as the latest excitement became all about how Tommy had been arrested having been found in possession of drugs.

Naturally, Jenny blamed Odette and tried to shift the attention back on the 'teacher-tease' but it appeared people soon gave up with being interested in Odette. The fact that she hadn't played up to it definitely helped in her favour.

Odette's dreams became more and more frequent however, they got more and more intense each time as she ended up feeling more and more frustrated, having to finish herself off whenever she woke up.

It was painful for her to admit but she knew her and Ace were over, they'd broken up and he'd confessed to sleeping with her. He no longer worked at the school and she no longer saw him, not even in the streets.

She didn't really go out on the weekend anyway, spending all the time at home while she focused on her studies. Naturally her dad didn't pay her any attention, he was, as always, more focused on getting drunk, high or both, not even realising she was in the house half the time.

But Odette didn't care, she would wait till he passed out on the Friday evening, taking whatever money she could find on or around him before heading to the shops and getting as much food as she needed for the weekend before locking herself away in her bedroom with her books.

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Odette took her exams.

She took every single one, giving it everything she had.

It had been the best and the worst school year of her life all rolled into one, and she had never been happier for it to be over officially.

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On the day of her last exam she even treated herself to a milkshake on the way home. In her eyes it had been goddamn well deserved as she sipped it and walked along.

Being a small town, Castle Rock didn't have as many residents as the other cities Odette had lived in. It appeared everyone practically knew everyone's business.

So of course, everyone knew hers.

She was the student Ace Merrill had been sleeping with instead of teaching.

She would always be the student Ace Merrill had been sleeping with instead of teaching.

Opening up and heading inside her house, Odette instantly looked in the living room, half expecting to see her dad passed out, empty bottles or empty needles around him.

Yet to her surprise, he wasn't.

"Dad?" She called out, taking a final sip of her milkshake before she tossed the cup on the sofa, like it would even make a difference from the usual state of the place.

"I'm in here Dotty!" Her father's voice shouted out from the kitchen, followed by a couple of unfamiliar noises.

Odette cautiously walked towards the kitchen, chucking her bag to the side as she reached the doorway. Her dad was seemingly shoving things into a bag, mainly food and random various objects.

"Do I even want to know what you're doing?" She asked with a sigh, even though part of her genuinely didn't want to know.

"It's that time again." He muttered under his breath.

Odette didn't have to ask him to clarify. "But I haven't properly graduated yet."

"Graduate at the next school then, get your stuff." He mumbled, barely even acknowledging her statement.

"I need to graduate at this school dad."

Her dad quickly shook his head. "I'm sure you can take your exams at the next school, now seriously get your fucking stuff. Those guys are coming over later for their money and I want to be gone before they get here and break my fucking legs."

Odette shook her head. "I can't take my exams at the next school!"

"I'm sure they'll do the same exams Dotty!" Her father seemed to shout in response to her shout.

"I bet they do but I can't take my exams in the next school because I've already finished taking my exams!"

"So where's the bloody problem?! Get your shit and lets go!" Her father shouted once more.

"Because I need to graduate and get my diploma!"

Odette's father didn't respond, it was as if he wasn't truly bothered by whatever it was she was saying anyway.

"You're not even listening to me are you?" She asked quietly, watching as her father shoved more food into the bag but didn't bat an eyelid in her direction.

"I fucked one of my teachers you know? I was in a relationship and having sex with him multiple times a day." Odette said with a shrug.

Her dad moved her aside as he went to the fridge, pulling out a couple of bottles of water as he shoved them into his bag.

"I lied about my age when I first met him, he thought I was 26 not 17 so we started fucking... He's 28."

Her dad shut the fridge and walked into the living room, as Odette followed him. She watched as he picked up a jacket and shoved it in the bag.

"I love him dad..." She mumbled, quieter than before as it was like she was finally admitting it to herself.

It hadn't just been about the sex for her. The more time she had spent with Ace, the more she had grown accustomed to him beside her, whether it was driving in his car, sleeping in his bed or just around his house. He had always been beside her, but now he wasn't. He hadn't been beside her for a few months.

"Have you seen my trainers anywhere?"

Odette snapped from the thoughts of Ace as she looked up at her dad with a shake of her head. Her father nodded as he continued searching, not even noticing as Odette went upstairs to her bedroom.

He never noticed.

She flopped backwards on her bed, uncaring that she was half laying on some of the textbooks she'd been scanning this morning before her final exam. Letting out another sigh, Odette felt her eyes begin to shut, her mind and body completely and utterly drained.