My Saviour (student / teacher romance)

Chapter 1

This is the first chapter of my new student / teacher story. Updates will be every Sunday. I hope you enjoy.

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The warm, salty, afternoon wind is blowing around me and under my outstretched arms. My long, ebony hair flies behind me like a cape. For once in my meaningless life I'm free. Like a bird flying for the first time, this is a newfound freedom. A means to escape this life I've been given.

I take a tiny step forward, just enough so I can feel air between my toes as they hang over the edge. Opening my eyes, I look down at the rocky formation below, the waves crashing against them, and imagine what it will feel like when I hit the bottom. Will it hurt? Or will I not feel a thing? I once heard when people fall from a long way up, they lose consciousness before they hit the bottom. Will that happen to me?

Whatever happens, I don't care. If I feel pain, good because I deserve to suffer. If I don't then that's also good because finally I will be free from this horrible world.

The time has come.

Lifting my head up, I look out over the shimmering ocean and snap a permanent picture of it in my memory. If I'm going to miss anything, this is it. The ocean, the waves, the glimmering sun, the salty sea smell, the squawking seagulls. I don't know if there's an afterlife but if there is hope I'm a seagull. I want to live by the sea.

Closing my eyes again, I take a deep breath. I don't feel scared or nervous. I'm so far gone I'm actually excited about my death. And what a way to die...suicide at the ocean. At least I didn't jump in front of a train or something so terrible. I want a nice death.

Just as I'm preparing to jump, I hear a voice. The sound of common sense. "You don't have to do this." It's a man. He sounds young, but most of all he sounds desperate and scared.

Ha! What can he do now? I've made up my mind. Some man can't come along and change my mind. I'm just a deranged seventeen-year-old girl wanting to take her life. What benefit would he get from saving me? Apart from the hero status of course. Ah...that's what it is. The hero label. It's what all men want. Pigs...the lot of them.

"Don't bother." I'm surprised to hear the shake in my voice. Why? I'm not scared. "You'll still get your stupid hero status if you say you did your best. It's how it always works."

You might be wondering how I know this. I've seen it happen before. The jerk who tried to help my sister who wanted to kill herself. I was there and I tried to talk her around but she wouldn't listen to me. She only listened to him. He got her to change her mind and he was helping her back over the edge when he pushed her. She died. He was labelled a hero for attempting to save her even though he was a murderer.

I told the police everything but they wouldn't believe me. Said I was traumatised by the event and making up stories. I know it was just a cover up though because the man was someone who everyone looked up to. Apart from me. Even my mother doesn't believe me. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. Why do you think I'm here?

"I don't want to be a hero," the man says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I just don't want to see you do this."

"Why? What do you know about me?"

"Nothing but I know life holds a lot more than this."

I laugh bitterly and take another small step forward. My feet are halfway over the edge. Thanks to my skills as a gymnast I've got good balance, which is why I'm not toppling over.

"How would you know?" I demand. "You know nothing about me."

"No but I know what it's like to want to take your life. I've been there."

There's a sudden pain in my heart. Someone understands. I falter and for a moment I have second thoughts. The sudden change has panic rushing through me but now I'm too scared to move back.

"Trust me, you don't have to do this. There's always a way out."

Tears are coursing down my cheeks. "You don't know that. You don't know what I've been through."

"No you're right but I know that no matter how bad something is, it will get better. You've just got to have faith."

Faith? That's something I've never had any of. I've never had faith in anything, not even my family, as I've always been let down.

"Please don't do this." His tone is begging, making me doubt everything I was so sure of before now.

"Tell me your name," he persists when I don't respond.

"Natasha." I'm not sure why I answer. There's something about his voice that is calling me to him.

"Natasha." His voice has a sad lilt to it. "I once had a sister with that name."

"What happened to her?"

"She died. Did exactly what you're about to do."

I close my eyes when I hear this. This man knows...he feels. Maybe I can trust him? What if there is a light at the end of the tunnel? Should I give it one last go?

In an instant I make up my mind. When I try to step back, I lose my balance all together. Fear envelops me and the fall now looks terrifying. I shriek and call for help. Just as I feel myself fall forward, a pair of strong arms grab me around the waist and I'm pulled back. When he lets me go, I fall to the ground in shock. I find myself looking up at the blue sky, breathing heavily. The man looks down at me but with the sun behind him, I can't make out his face.

"It's okay." He gently removes my hair away from my face. His fingers are soft and his touch sends an unexpected warmth through me. "You're safe now, Natasha."

That's the last thing I remember about that day. Everything went black and the next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital. One thing is clear though, I'll never forget him...my saviour.

He was there when I was at my worst. He talked me around so I wouldn't take my own life. It's only because of him I'm still alive today.

Three months on there are only three things I remember about him. The feeling of his strong arms as they wrapped around me, helping me away from the rocky cliff edge, his deep, calm, soothing voice, and the unexpected warmth when his fingers gently caressed my face. I feel this strange, overwhelming attachment to him even though I never saw his face.

At night I dream ofthis faceless stranger. He comes to me when the temptation to take my lifebecomes stronger than ever. He's probably forgotten me but I've never forgottenhim.    

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