Illegal Innocence (Student/Teacher Relationship)

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

"What?" I whispered. My mouth gaped open as shock and bewilderment pierced through me. Elliott gazed at me with narrowed eyes that make me shake with fear. My legs wobbled beneath me, threatening to give way at any moment.

"Who are you?" he repeated, this time almost accusingly.

"It's me," I choked. "Avery."

"I don't know an Avery." I took a few shaky steps back as he sat up all the way. He shut his eyes in pain and put his hands to his bandaged head. "What the hell happened?"

"Elliott?" Amanda took a careful step towards Elliott, extending her hand and placing it lightly on his shoulder.

"Amanda?" he said, looking at her with widened eyes. He sighed in relief as he gazed at her, reached to grasp her hand. I clenched my stomach in disgust watching them. The look in Elliott's eyes was the same look he used to give me every time he saw me- affection. Not quite love, but affection.

"Elliott," Amanda breathed. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes as she bent down to hug him. I felt tears as well, but they weren't happy tears. "I'm so happy you're alive."

"Amanda," Elliott whispered, pulling her into his arms. He grunted in pain as she hugged back, but Amanda was the one to pull back from him. "What happened?"

"You were in a car accident."

We all turned to the doctor. He walked past me and over to Elliott, checking his monitors and pulse. "It seems you're doing well, but suffering from a bit of amnesia. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Elliott stared at him blankly, trying to think. He finally blinked and said, "Yes, it was a week before becoming a full-time teacher. At a high school."

I gasped and put my hand to my mouth. He didn't remember me... How could it be that he lost his memory from that long ago? It's been two years... Was this really possible?

"Elliott," I whispered, stepping around the doctor. "You really don't remember me?"

He glared at me. "No. Who are you? You look like you're just a kid."

I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Amanda.

"She's your student," she sneered, smirking at me.

"No," I said. "I'm not. I mean, I was, but-"

"If you're my student, then why are you here?" Elliott interrupted.

"I'm not your student anymore!" I exclaimed. The doctor placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.

"Mr. Taylor," he said, changing the subject. "You were in a car accident two days ago. You've been out since."

Elliott turned his gaze from me to the doctor, wide-eyed. "Really? That's why I'm here?"

The doctor nodded. "And you're suffering from amnesia. A pretty bad case if you're last memory was two years ago. But it is only temporary. It will fade over time. It's determining how long it will take to fade that's the hard part."

"How long does it usually take?" I whispered, not taking my eyes off of Elliott.

"A few days, maybe weeks," he said as if it was a difficult thing to say. "But sometimes it takes months. Those are the rare cases, though."

I inhaled a shaky breath and took a step towards Elliott. "You can't tell me you don't remember me, Elliott. Not after all we've been through together."

"You?" Elliott asked. "You're my student, though."

"No, I haven't been your student for over a year," I told him, trying to blink away the tears. "Please Elliott, you have to believe me. I love you, and you love me."

He looked taken aback, giving me a look of disgust. "I fell in love with my student?"

I tried to keep calm, but there was no stopping the tears. "Elliott, please. Just listen to me." I reached for his arm, but he pulled away like I was going to burn him. "Elliott, please..."

"No, get away from me," he said in a cold voice. I stiffened, feeling my chest tighten. I thought my heart broke when I left for Italy... but nothing could compare to the heartbreak I was feeling now. I felt like Elliott took a knife and stabbed me in the chest multiple times.

"Elliott..." I whispered through tears.

"Doctor, get her away from me," he said.

The doctor led me away and out of the room, despite my protests. Before he closed the door to Elliott's room, I could see Amanda lean down  and kiss him. My mind reeled, and I didn't know what to do at this point. Finally, my knees gave way underneath me and I dropped to the floor. The doctor kneeled down beside me and rubbed my back.

"He'll remember," he said. "I can't tell you when, but he'll remember in the future."

I nodded, trying to thank him, but the words wouldn't come out. I felt defeated in every way. The worst pain I think I could ever experience was having someone I love not remember me, and love the person he used to hate.

"Avery, honey!"

I opened my eyes at the sound of my mom's voice. Footsteps came pounding down the tile floor and I looked up to see my mom with a worried look on her face. "Avery! What happened! Where have you been?!"

"Mom," I sobbed, throwing myself into her arms. I didn't explain to her why I was at the hospital, because something told me she knew that I would tell her when I was ready. Instead she just shushed me gently and rubbed my back softly.

"Shhh, it'll be okay. Whatever it is, it'll be okay," she whispered. "It'll be okay."

~

I hugged my pillow, curled up on my bed. My eyes stared blankly at my wall, not looking at anything particular. I went through the events from earlier today. What worried me at this moment was what my mom thought. I told her everything in the car- leaving out the personal details. She didn't comment on it at first, but understood my decision to love who I wanted to love. She asked me questions about losing my virginity to him, but I told her that it was personal information.

Light knocks came from my door, and I groaned. "Come in."

"Avery, I brought you some water." It was Josh. I turned on my bed, staring at him. "Mom told me a little bit of what happened. I'm sorry, Avery."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and took the glass of water from him. Not feeling thirsty, I set it on my nightstand and laid back down on my bed. Josh left me in my room, crying and desperate to get the person I loved back into my life.