Abused (Teacher/student)

Chapter 6

"How did you-"

"A friend of mine overheard..." I bit my lip, wishing I never said anything. His face was bright red.

"I... I was talking to Ms Potter after you left the other day. We found it worrying about how you flinched and well... y-you are very shy so well..." He was nervous. "As your teacher, we have to look out for every student. If something's wrong, we need to know. So we went to go speak to the head of year... they told us a couple things about you, it's for your own safety Rose. We are here to help."

"What did they tell you..."

His face was becoming even more red. "About your m-mother leaving and the... the suicide attempts."

My heart dropped. I'm just a big mental case which they can pity. "I need some air." I quickly left before he could say anything and made my way outside. I sat on a brick wall, my feet dangling over. The cold rush of wind helped actually.

I heard his foot steps, he sat beside me. "I'm sorry Rose. We have to know or we cant help."

I looked up at him, my eyes filled with tears. "There's nothing you can do." I said quietly.

He picked his hand up and held my face in his hands. His thumb brushed any tears that escaped. My tears seemed to make him upset, his face had fallen into a frown and his eyes were filled with empathy. Our faces were just inches from each other. I could feel his cold breath against my lips, he smelt like strawberry mints.

"I can't promise to fix all your problems but I can promise you won't face them all alone." His voice was quiet but full of certainty.

My heart felt like it skipped a beat, for once in my life I felt... safe. Tears slipped down my cheek. He brushed them away, his eyes still looking deeply into mine.

He slowly pulled me into a hug. My body fitted perfectly into his, my face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. I could hear his deep steady breaths and it calmed down my breathing, slowly I stopped crying.

"Im always here..." He whispered into my ear, which sent rush down my spine. He pulled away. I know teachers aren't allowed to do that so I knew he did that for me, not because it was his job.

"Come on Rose, lets go back." He took my small hand in his and led me back to his classroom.

We continued the job. "Thankyou..." I said softly. I looked up and our eyes met, his eyes were bright. He grinned at me.

"Please come to me about anything." I didn't reply, I just smiled, because the truth was I couldn't just go up to him and say, 'hey by the way, when my Dad has some alcohol in his system he beats me.'

We had been making them in silence for about ten minutes before he chirped up. "How about we play Truth or Dare? You always choose truth though, but if you can't tell, then its a dare." He grinned at me with a boisterous look. I giggled and nodded.

"Okay so. Rose, Do you have any siblings?" He asked.

"No, its just me and Dad." I said, picking up a cupcake. "Mr Harding... what's your... r-real name?" I was trying so hard to be more confident.

"Caleb." He laughed. "But you can't tell anyone else." I like that name a lot, it sounded nice.

"What's your longest relationship?" He asked, his eyebrow raised.

"I-I've never dated anyone..." I said nervously.

"What? Really?" He looked at me in utter disbelief. "But your-" He stopped, his cheeks going slightly red.

17? I know, but nobody would want to date someone like me.

"What about you..."

"Three years." He laughed nervously but his eyes were filled with pain.