The Unwanted Tutor

Chapter 20

When I opened my eyes, I was wrapped up in the blanket on my side.

I turned over to see that Anthony was gone. I sighed in relief, it was good to be alone for once.

The second I thought of that, the door swung open and Anthony strolled in sipping from a coffee cup with a paper bag in his hand.

We made eye contact from across the room. "You know, I've never liked coffee until recently when I realized it gives me that kick I need to start my morning." He said. 

"Yeah, I'm not a fan." I replied and watched as he set the bag down on the bed across from mine.

"I usually take it black, all that sugar and cream isn't good for you. I even got Vannie to like it. " He sat down next to me.

"Uh, huh. Wait, who's Vannie again?" I asked.

"Vanessa, only I call her Vannie, she was my student. That little girl was the highlight of my day." Anthony lifted the cup up to his mouth to take another sip.

"Oh, the pretty one? Do you still talk to her?" I hugged the pillow close to me.

"Something...unpleasant happened to her. I don't really feel like talking about it." He replied.

"Do you still have the photo album?" I asked.

Anthony got up from the bed, "It's in my suitcase, I can show you again if you like."

"What's in that bag by the way?" I pointed to it on the other bed.

"It's a bagel, I hope you like poppyseed!" He grabbed the bag and tossed it at me.

He then walked over to the corner where his luggage was, he opened the suitcase and pulled out the red book. He flipped open to a page and set it on my lap. "Here's another picture of her."

Vanessa was in a pink lawn chair by a pool. A long strand of hair was twirled around her finger as she looked out to the water, completely oblivious to the camera.

"Did she know you took this photo?" I leaned forward to study it.

"No, I never told her. She always looked her best when she was distracted." Anthony ran a finger down her face.

"She looks really young, how old did you say she was again?" I looked up curiously.

"I...might have lied about that. She was fourteen in this picture. I only tutored her for two years." He said.

"Fourteen?" I asked, "That's kind of weird."

"Oh, we were nothing more than tutor and student." He closed the album.

"So were we, and now I'm here." I glared at him.

"One day you'll realize why I love you." Is all he said and walked back over to his suitcase to put the album away.

"Was she your favorite student?" I asked after a moment of silence.

Anthony picked up his coffee cup from the nightstand. "Well, technically you are as you're the only one alive. But, there was a time when she was."

"Alive? Are all your students dead?" This was getting interesting, I had to find out more.

His face turned dark immediately, "Vannie's death wasn't my fault, alright? That car came out of nowhere."

"I didn't say it was your fault! I'm just curious. What happened to Aiden and Ryan?" I asked, thinking of his other students.

Slow inhale, long exhale from him, "Aiden's face turned purple, Vannie was run over, and Ryan's body floated up. Is that enough for you?"