My Professor's Secret

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fifteen

I slept until noon the next day, though it didn't feel like rest as much as it felt like escape.

Christian and I hadn't even looked at each other after what happened last night, not in passing, not in the kitchen, not even by accident. It was easier that way. There wasn't anything left to say that wouldn't reopen everything we'd already torn through.

I stayed in bed longer than I needed to, staring at the ceiling before finally reaching for my phone on the nightstand.

If Taylor were here, she'd be insufferable about this, dragging the blankets off me, throwing open the curtains, making a whole production out of how I "waste daylight." The thought almost makes me smile.

I type out a quick good morning to her and send it. As I scroll through my message threads, I notice Professor Thornton's contact. It's almost instantaneous how quickly Christian's words from the night before push their way back in.

You don't think people notice?

The thought makes my stomach knot more now than it did in the moment. I've had enough time to process how easily something like that could spread, how quickly it could become something real enough to damage someone who didn't deserve it.

I could tell him. Trevor deserved to know if people were talking about him, if something like that was spreading around campus. But the moment I consider it, something in me hesitates. I don't know what telling him would actually do. I don't know if it would help or make things worse. And I don't know where I stand in all of it enough to be the one to say anything.

So instead, I don't send anything.

A knock echoes through my room before I can think about it any longer.

"Come in," I call out.

Dad peeks his head through the door before stepping inside, a wide smile already in place. He walks in carrying a tray, French toast, eggs, bacon, everything still warm enough that I can smell it before he even reaches the bed.

"Dad," I say, pushing myself up against the headboard. "I was on my way downstairs. You didn't have to do all that."

"I wanted to," he replies, setting the tray carefully across my lap before sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. "I didn't expect you to sleep in this late. You were always the first one up. I knocked earlier," he adds, glancing over at me. "You didn't answer, so Chris and I ate without you. He left about an hour ago. Some of his friends came to pick him up."

I nod, keeping my focus on the tray in front of me, though his words don't fully settle. I'm not sure if I'm relieved that Chris isn't here or if it just makes everything feel more unresolved.

"You have work today?" I ask instead, noticing what he's wearing. "I thought you called off."

"I did," he says with a small shrug. "They just need me for a few hours. Lorelei's picking me up so you and your brother can have the car."

The sound of a horn outside cuts through the room before I can respond. Dad glances toward the window, then back at me as he stands.

"That'll be her," he says. "Eat before it gets cold."

He leans down, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before heading toward the door.