The Professor

Chapter 10

Feelings

I just don't feel right anymore. I see Lewis, but it's only around Taira and Justin and it's not the same. I'm so stupid, I should have just believed him when he said he was okay with it. 

I haven't talked to Lewis in three weeks.

Walking out of class, I am pulled into a dark room. Before I could scream, I am comforted by a voice.

"Shhh Mena, it's just me." He says.

"Scott?" I squint my eyes to see through the dark.

"Sorry if I scared you." He breathes slowly. "I just couldn't wait till tomorrow to see you." He says less than inches away from my face. "You okay?" He asks after I don't reply.

"Uh yeah," I say slowly. "I'm just processing.."

"Okay....." He slides his hand up my face, I let my body take in his touch. "Can you process this?" He slowly lifts my body onto his, in an up-and-down motion. Grabbing my face with one hand, biting my bottom lip soft but tenderly.

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Making it to my dorm, I open the door, throw my bags on the floor and fall to my bed. I go to sleep.

"Mena." Taira taps me.

"Hmm." I brush off her touch and roll to my side.

"Wake up." She grazes my shoulder but gets harder as she repeats.

"Hmmm, okay." I rub my eyes, sitting up. "What?"

"What's up?" She looks at me concerned. "With you...."

"What's always up?" I question. What seems to be different? She's always asked me this since we were younger when she could tell something was up or different. When she found out I had to transfer schools and I didn't want to tell her. That day was a big explosion. She was just in sixth grade but she had the mouth of a high schooler. She freaked out on my parents until she found out the reason why. I got kicked out. I was a nice kid, not just a smart one. Reese Thomas was her name, the girl that changed my attitude. Reese was a bully and think of the bullies in movies and double that. One day in Math she was called up to complete a problem but got it wrong, the teacher called me up to give the correct answer and I might have gone overboard and made her feel dumb. It's not my fault after someone treats you horribly for so long and you don't do anything. When you get the chance, you take it. Well for me my one bad backfired after gym in the locker rooms. Rushing to get out of the locker rooms after P.E. I was cornered by her friends and dragged to the showers. One held me down, pulling my head back while the other turned on the water so I'd choke. Then Reese enters and pens my head to the shower walls. "Don't ever! Try and show me up again or this will get worse." She smashes my face. In a panic I reach my hands up pulling down anything I could grab to get away. I throw back a hand towel and a bar of soap. Kicking my feet back, I hear a slip and Reese pulls my hair back as she lets go, my head slams into the wall tiles. I wake up in the hospital with a bad concussion and a choice between a lawsuit or an expulsion. Apparently, Reese's friends were the only witnesses and they said I started the fight. Reese slipped in the shower and hit her back against the bench. She broke her back. I blamed myself for a while until I realized it wasn't my fault, that b*tch deserved it. After that, I decided to not take crap anymore, but no matter how much I try, I know that once someone breaks down my walls they'll see I'm really still that sissy sixth grader that just got lucky to find soap. That's why I became a heartbreaker too, so no one could ever get that close to see. 'Whoops... I think I slipped up on that.'

"Something just seems off about you. I mean I've sensed it for a while but now it's really changed." She squints her eyes and rubs her chin. 

"Taira, don't you think if something was wrong I'd tell you? I tell you everything." I give her that believe me face. "You're my best friend."