Torn In Three

Chapter 2

I had kneed Mr Keller hard in the groin, and ran. I ran faster than I thought I could until I was on the staircase. I knew I’d be in big trouble for ‘bunking’ but I didn’t care. I began to cry; big, loud sobs that echoed through the building. I no longer cared what anyone thought, as it was obvious I’d never regain anyone’s previous opinion of me. Luckily there was no one around, and I continued wailing. I didn’t hear the footsteps coming towards me.

‘’Are you okay?’’ said a deep, unfamiliar voice.

I raised my head to see a man. He was about six foot tall, had dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin. He was obviously a new teacher, or he wouldn’t have been asking me this question. I hadn’t been okay in weeks, but nobody knew because nobody asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat constricted. The room began to spin as I stood up, and I stumbled forward. The man caught me, and I could feel his gaze on me.

‘’Are you okay?’’ he asked again, sounding a lot more worried.

I took in a breath of air, and it struggled to make it down to my lungs. I fell in to this man, who was still holding me up, and tried to speak again.

‘’NO!’’ I screeched.

And then, everything went black.

***

‘’Sweetheart, wake up. Please, you need to drink.’’ Someone muttered.

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the room spin. I couldn’t focus properly; my eyes were all blurred. I saw a glass an inch away from my face.

‘’Here, drink this. Thank god you’re awake!’’ the person muttered again.

I took the drink, and as the water hit my tongue I realised how thirsty I was and knocked it back. My vision became clear, and the room I was in was completely unfamiliar, as was the man in front of me.

‘’Where the fuck am I?’’ I croaked, causing the man to laugh.

‘’My room. You collapsed so I took you to the headmaster, but he just rolled his eyes at you. Nobody cared that you had blacked out, so I took you here.’’ The man replied.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to remember. I remember running away from Mr Keller, and then crying on the stairs. Then there was a man: this man. I couldn’t remember past the point of falling in to him. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

‘’Does my rescuer have a name?’’ I asked as cheerily as I could.

‘’My name’s Dom, but you’ll have to call me Mr Alexander as soon as you leave this room. I’m the new English teacher.’’ The man said with a smile. ‘’And yours?’’

‘’My n-name’s Leah. Leah S-Scott.’’ I stammered.

‘’What’s with the nervousness, Leah?’’

‘’I guess I haven’t had a normal conversation with somebody in weeks.’’

‘’What do you mean a ‘normal conversation’?’’

‘’A conversation where no one’s calling me a slut or a whore.’’

‘’How are you a whore?’’

‘’I was ra- I mean, I slept with my Physics teacher.’’

‘’So you’re the girl the other teacher’s told me about?’’

I bowed my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. I thought this was someone who knew my story but didn’t care, but he obviously knew the story but not the girl. He was probably going to throw me out any minute, and act as if I had slept with him, too! Instead, he did something that surprised me; he held my hand.