The Music Teacher

Dietro Casa

Chapter Eleven:
He backed out of the parking space. Slowly. She was breathing heavily. He drove out of the car park, and out of the school grounds. She looked out the window. Avoiding the man who sat beside her as much as possible. He turned on the radio. He had a CD in. Gavin James. Layla gave a small smile. She loved Gavin James. It wasn't really comforting her though.

He stopped at a red light. "Hey", he placed a hand on her knee and he squeezed it multiple times,"Are you okay? You seem a bit off", she tensed up. She placed her hand on top of his, "I'm not overly happy about this..", she stated as she pushed his hand off. He sighed,"I'm sorry. But we couldn't keep using the music room", she turned away, looking out the window. She couldn't help but feel he was lying.

He kept driving. The car journey seemed to take forever. He lived in a detached house. It was into the countryside a bit. There were no other houses around his. He pulled into the drive. Layla remained quiet. He stopped the car and pulled out the key. "Well...here we are!",he said sounding happy. She barely smiled.

They got out of the car. Layla awkwardly followed him as he walked up to the door. She stood beside him as he unlocked his front door. She didn't really know where they were. And that worried her. He opened the door. Layla followed him inside and he closed the door. He smiled. "Hungry?", he asked. She looked up at him. 'Is he serious?', she thought. "No, not really", she replied.

He sighed. "Okay...well I am so..are you sure?", she thought about it. No. She wouldn't give in. He wanted her to eat with him. "I said I'm not hungry", he nodded. He walked down the hallway. Layla followed, not knowing where to go. He lead her into the kitchen. "Well at least let me make you a cup of tea..?", she looked at him. She sat down on a high stool at an island in the middle of the modern kitchen.

She sighed. She decided to turn her sass on, he was pissing her off. "I don't drink tea", she answered simply. He sighed, visibly getting annoyed. "Then what do you drink?", she could hear the angry tone in his voice. "Not tea".
He walked to the sink in a fast manner. He walked back over to her and put a glass of water in front of her, quite viciously. She looked up at him.

"I don't want your cheek",he said. He rested his hands on the counter. Spreading his arms wide, and bending down slightly. He looked into her eyes. "I'm going to have something to eat. The piano is through that door in the living room. Be there when I'm finished. Won't you Layla?", she took a deep breath. She got down from the stool. Taking the glass with her she made her way to the door.

He couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked over her shoulder, he was staring at her like she was his prey. Like he hadn't eaten for months. She went into the living room. She had to admit. He had a nice house. There was the piano. Up against the wall, sat an acoustic piano. She brushed her hand over the keys gently. It was a Yamaha. She sighed. If only she could enjoy it.

She sat down and took a quick glance at the door, making sure he wasn't there. She began to play Ludovico Einaudi's 'Dietro Casa'. She took in every sound. She felt every key as she played. She hated him. But she couldn't let him ruin her passion. She played and a tear ran down her cheek.

"Einaudi", she heard a voice say behind her. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his hands in his pockets. He gave her a small smile. "Yeah....he's my favourite pianist", he walked towards her and laughed softly. "Um...I thought I was..", she looked at him. She stood up. "Look. I'm sick of this", he looked at her confused. "Do you like me or not?", he laughed,"of course, you're a good student..."

She clenched her fists. "Then can we just get on with it?", he straightened up. He walked so fast up to her, he was basically running. He cupped her face and smashed his lips against hers. She grabbed his wrists and shoved him off. It took a bit of effort. He was strong. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!", she shouted at him angrily. "I thought....you said...", he was confused. "I meant the lesson!", she shouted at him. They both seemed breathless. "I want to go home..now".