Since Birth

Chapter Thirty Two

I was still embarrassed the next day but we had driven to school together. We talked still as we normally would had and it was like it hadn't happened. I think she noticed how embarrassed I was about it. I had curled up beside her last night as I fell asleep hoping for validation but also not wanting to bring it up. I think she understood me.
"Didn't expect you two to start hanging out." Nolan has joined us when we made it to school. "Then again, Leigh seems to always go after my leftovers." He nudged her and she rolled her eyes to disagree.
"We are just hanging out Nolan." She assured him. "Digging into this Red Hue serial killer."
"It's Mr.Holland." He said so nonchalantly and I shot my eyes at him surprised. "He has this obsession with blonde haired girls. Always giving them special attention." My cheeks flushed as I looked away from them both now thinking about Mr. Holland in that way.. could he be capable of such horrendous acts?
"No, he's such a good boy and he's a teacher, the worst thing a male teacher could be convicted of is sleeping and possibly kidnapping an underage student." She hit back at him and I looked to them both as they argued now.
"Aimee was kidnapped! Maybe he's not a killer but I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one that took her. He probably thought it was Emelie."
"What?" I looked at him frowning and he chuckled almost like it was funny.
"I'm kidding Emelie." He wasn't kidding. He knew something. "I know it's too close to home so I'll stop." It wasn't as close to home as believing that my father was a murderer... Annoyed, I began to walk on my own without them needing some space now. Now I had Mr.Holland being a suspect weighing on my conscience.. I didn't think he was so into me that he needed to kidnap me to be with him. Then again I had no idea what kind of person he was outside of his Facebook and our small encounters.. Could he have mistaken Aimee for me and believed kidnapping her was the answer to his problem? Maybe he had done it in a panic, unsure of what to do when he had realized it wasn't me. Afraid that my sister would spill all of our little secrets- now I wasn't sure what to think but now I was reflecting back on the small things I had missed. Everyone I knew seemed to be hiding something...
"Em! Where the hell have you been?" Aimee came running to greet me. "And what boy are you seeing because I know there are no projects due." She looked over my face to study me and began rubbing her chin. "Aidan?"
"No I actually stayed with Leigh last night." I shrugged looking to her. "We have this project-"
"What project? She's not even in any of your classes."
"A personal one." I looked away from her now and she gave a short laugh.
"What about?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest. "Me?"
"I want to find who did this to you!" My eyes shot up at her and she laughed.
"Did what to me? I am fine Em!" She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips now. "Let the police do their jobs, don't get involved." She began to sharpen her tone to scold me and I sighed heavily knowing she wouldn't want to find answers. She just wants to move on.
"Don't you want to hear what I think?" I asked and she practically waved me away.
"Don't get involved!" She shrugged widening her eyes at me. "It will only make things worse." She warned before turning away from me and walking to meet Trevor on the opposite side of the hall. They had shared a kiss and she snuggled beside him talking as he talked to his friends. I stood there clenching my jaw and unable to accept that I had to stop looking for answers.
First period I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Mr.Holland being a suspect. I was trying to line up the timelines of our first intimate encounter with the disappearance of Aimee. I didn't think he was obsessed with me based off how he had resisted me the first time. Then I began to consider that maybe it was Aimee who he had wanted all along and I was just so close to her. I was an exact copy and maybe, just maybe once we began to see one another it was all too much close to the same thing that he just had to have her. Then maybe he had become guilty for indulging and let her go... Or maybe I was reading too far into this.. I placed my head in my hands and fell down in the hard plastic chair. I started to feel sick to my stomach.
"Ms.Meyer are you alright?" He called to me gaining my attention. I sat up quickly and looked to him shivering at him saying my name. Like my father, I had begun to fear him now too.
"Yes," I stuttered looking in his now seemingly cold dead blue eyes. I cowered in my seat and he had noticed taking a step away from my desk.
"Finish up." He brushed off my shudders and moved quickly away from my desk almost like he was guilty of something. I sunk back into my seat and finished the worksheet before the bell had rang. I tried to hurry out before he could stop me but failed and received his signal to talk.
"Emelie," he said as the rest of the students hurried out to their next classes. "Is everything alright?" They were gone within seconds leaving us alone in the classroom.
I looked up to him shyly and a flash of concern washed over his face. "No," I mumbled. "I'm fine." I clutched the strap of my bag as he got up from his chair to stand beside me.
"Did I do something to upset you?" He asked and his hand went to touch my elbow making me twitch.
"No, I'm just lost in my thoughts," I tried to laugh it off to seem normal but he didn't buy it. He knew I was suspicious of something.
"Let me know if I can help you with anything." He removed his hand and I nodded moving quickly to my next class. I just couldn't handle that right now. I needed to know more about what Nolan meant. He obviously knew something more that I hadn't or else he wouldn't have said that.
I sought him during lunch finding him right outside the library talking to someone I assumed he knew. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away rudely interrupting his conversation. He went with me laughing puzzled as to why I had done this. 
"Can we talk?" I asked and he laughed even more giving me a shrug.
"My attention is all yours madam." He bit his lip looking back to his other friends behind us.
"What did you mean about that Mr.Holland thing?" I asked deciding to get right into it. I needed to know if he was really being serious.
"I didn't mean anything by it!" He laughed looking over my face but then frowning in thought. "I mean I just don't trust him." He shrugged and diverted his eyes.
"Please, if there's any truth or small possibility behind your story I'd want to know." I looked over his face and he looked back to me serious.
He searched my eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets sheepishly. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed the way he looks at you or treats you even Emelie. It's the whole reason why I had kissed you that afternoon after tutoring."
"What?" I was confused not really putting two and two together.
"He gives you real special treatment is all I'm saying," he threw his hands up and walked away from me quickly leaving me still wondering. He would have never tried to hurt me.. I still didn't believe that he could hurt someone else.. I also still didn't fully believe that my father would either.
I had no idea where to get my answers now. I couldn't just come out and ask my father or Mr. Holland if they had done it. I mean how would they even respond to that? It took over my mind for the rest of the day.