Teacher's Pet

26

[ Morganton ]

I woke up and saw a familiar ceiling above me. I failed to open my eyes for too long and had to close them again because my head felt like it was hammered badly.
 
"Fuck. Alcohol." I uttered to myself irritatedly. "Did I just get someone pregnant again?" I continuously spoke to myself, feeling stupid.
 
"Good morning, you have classes today around 1 p.m." I heard Adeline's voice as she was walking towards me.
 
"I checked your schedules if you'd ask why I knew about it. Get up and eat breakfast. I made chicken soup for you." She wasn't even letting me speak for a few seconds.
 
"You sound like my mum, don't you think?" I spoke, my eyes were still closed, and I couldn't even get up.
 
"My age is like your mum material," she joked. "You have a hangover, I know. I will just bring the food here."
 
"Adeline." I called out her name and finally opened my eyes just to look at her. She then turned around to stare at me back.
 
"If we are going to talk about the pregnancy thing again, I bought the pills." 
 
"No. Don't take the pills." Her eyebrows furrowed when I said that.
 
"Let's keep if there's one," I added after a few seconds of our silence.
 
"What?" She looked so confused. "I don't understand. What made you change your mind?" She paused. "If this is for my feelings or you're giving consideration, it's fine, okay? I do understand your point as well."
 
"I want to keep it already. It's not about considering your feelings, Adeline. I mean, it could be part of the reasons... but moreover, I want to take responsibility if ever we create one," I unhesitatingly explained.
 
We ended up eating breakfast together in the dining area of her condominium. It was quiet for a few minutes. I saw how speechless she was when I said those words.
 
"And I haven't asked... Why... why do you want to keep the baby?"
 
"You might still feel physically weak because of last night, Morgan. We can talk about this some other time."
 
"I want to talk about it now," I insisted. "I can't keep this in me any longer."
 
"Because I want to keep the baby genuinely." She smiled a little. "I want to have a kid with you instead of him."
 
"What if he finds out that you are pregnant? And he's going to be so curious why?" Those questions popped up in my mind that I had to ask her.
 
"That's the thing, Morgan." She chuckled. "That's the point. I want him to find out, and maybe he can just let me go if he will know that someone else impregnated me."
 
"But I don't think it will just stop there, Adeline."
 
"You're right, it won't just stop there. It's going to be dangerous... I mean, it has always been dangerous, and I kept hiding or trying to avoid it." She chuckled. 
 
"But you have to trust me here, Morgan. I'm willing to... to sacrifice my life for this."
 
"Stop saying that bullshit." I couldn't process my mind properly when she said that. "We are in this situation together. It's not only you, okay?" She just nodded in return when I said that. 
 
"My mum... She knows about this. And she wasn't angry or frustrated at all. I don't know about my dad, but I know he has an idea. Look, Adeline, you can ask for help from my family."
 
"You've done too much for me, Morgan. I think it's just my turn to take that all back and do something more worthy for you." She tried to insist.
 
"You being here with me, safe and sound, is more than worthy for me already," I honestly answered, locking the emotional eye contact with her. 
 
We ate breakfast together, and when we finished, I came back to her room just to take a rest for a bit.
 
"I'll go to the university now." She smiled at me and picked up her important things as a professor. "Are you going to school?"
 
"Yes, I've skipped multiple classes; it's not good." I chuckled.
 
"Okay," she nodded, smiling proudly. "Don't force your body if it's too exhausted. You know how bad I can get worried."
 
And that's one of the things that I really loved about Adeline. She was the first person who cared for me this much. 
 
"Take care, Prof." I said my goodbyes before she walked away from her room. She even gave me her key card, like I was her girlfriend living with her.
 
When I opened my phone, it was blown out with a lot of messages from my close friends' group chat. They were so loud talking about random funny things.