A Fractured Lover (Student/Teacher)

Chapter 18

"Who's Greg?"

Tension rolled throughout my body, claiming it in a stiff stance at the mention of his name.

"Nope," I said shaking my head. "I don't like that question. Ask another." I faced away from him and kept walking, trying physically to get away from the interrogation which would lead to an ultimate explanation and recalling of the most frightening and miserable day of my life.

"Fine," Nathan said as he caught up to me. "Why did you scream out his name when I grabbed you?" My feet stopped moving as frustration and anger shot through my veins.

"That's the same fucking question!" His eyes widened at the fury that came out of my mouth with those words. My chest was heaving up and down hastily now. My nostrils were flaring with what anyone else would conceive as anger but if you looked deep enough, you'd know that it was genuine terror causing my reactions.

"Okay, well then why won't you answer it?" He raised his voice. Frustration was registered clearly on his flawless face.

"Because if I answer that, then I have to answer everything! He is the reason for everything!" My hands drew up into my hair and squeezed at the strands that they claimed in their grasp. I shut my eyes. My hands came down to cover them, blocking out any sunlight from my vision.

"You can trust me, Alex." He spoke softly. A humorless laugh left my lips. I let my hands fall to my sides and sighed deeply while looking down the side walk at the strangers who were blissfully unaware of the conversation happening just a few feet from where they stood.

"That's what he said too."

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Nathan take a hesitant step towards me. I didn't try and stop him this time. He continued until he was directly in front of me. His warm fingers touched the bottom of my chin and brought my face back forward. Our heads were mere inches apart, our lips even closer. His eyes were locked onto mine in a determined manner.

"I'm not him, Alex. I will never be him. I don't know exactly what he did but I can tell it was bad," I cast my stare down to the ground, dreaming of it swallowing me whole to escape this wretched situation. His fingers brush up against my cheek and beckon me to look back up at him. His eyes captured mine instantly with the profound look fixed in his gaze.

"I will never hurt you, Alex."

His words struck me with more weight than I thought they would. Whether it was the look rooted in his sapphire eyes or the proximity of his body to mine, I didn't know, but I did know that I believed him. I felt surrounded with his compassion and secure by his side. I may regret the decision later on but for the time being, I trusted him. Trusted him enough to bring him into the slim circle of people who are aware of what happened my senior year; of what he did.

"Let's go for a walk, I stated softly, my anger from before nowhere to be found. I reached my hand out pointedly and laced my fingers through his. His hand accepted mine at once and felt large and slightly calloused but right all at the same time.

We started walking down the sidewalk, past dozens of small town shops with their own personal styles peeping out through their different architectural designs. The wind picked up and whipped through my hair, reminding me that we were heading towards the large lake that was homed nearby.

We walked in silence, clutching each other's hands like we had done it a thousand times before. It felt so natural and yet exciting to be doing so in public. They idea of being caught was...liberating to say the least. I was still standing my ground about the 'no date rule' when it came to Nathan but I decided I was no longer able to deny that I had feelings for him; all sorts of fun, dizzying feelings that kept me up at night.