The teacher of nothing, p.16
The Teacher of Nothing, page 16
“Get in,” I grunt out, motioning for my car that’s parked on the curb outside.
The four of them are silent. Spencer takes the passenger seat while Dempsey, Gemma, and Willa all squeeze into the back seat. Once I’m on the road, it’s Spencer who’s the first to speak.
“Are you going to tell my dad?”
I grind my teeth together. Hugo is the least of Spencer’s problems. He was just grinding against my fucking girlfriend. I’m his problem. He’s a kid, and family, but I want to punch him in his goddamn face.
“He’s going to find out,” I grumble. “This town’s too small for secrets.” My eyes cut to the rearview mirror where Willa watches me intently.
“Where are we going?” Gemma asks from the back. “Willa’s house is that way. Spencer’s car—”
“If you think I’m letting Spencer drive anywhere when he’s been drinking, you’re insane.” I blow out a frustrated huff. “I’m taking all three of you home and then I’ll take Willa to her house.”
“What about my stuff?” Gemma whines. “It’s at Willa’s. Please, Callum. Just take me back there. Dad will freak out if I show up in the middle of the night.”
“Stay at Spencer’s. Stay at my house. I don’t give a fuck. You’re not going back to Willa’s.” I grip the steering wheel so tight I wonder if I have the strength to yank it off if I tried. Probably so in this infuriated state. “You can get your shit tomorrow.”
Gemma starts to cry in the back seat. Her crocodile tears worked on me when she was a toddler, but I’m immune now.
Dempsey mutters something under his breath.
“What’s that?” I growl.
“I said you don’t have to be a dick,” Dempsey snaps.
“This dick just saved your asses from a media frenzy. This dick just saved your dad’s campaign.” I poke a finger at Spencer. “The least you four could do was act appreciative.”
I hear Willa’s thank you muttered softly among Gemma’s crying and Dempsey’s huffing. Spencer is quiet, but I can sense his anger in the way he keeps fisting and uncurling his hand. I bet he’d like to punch me in the throat. I’d like to see him try.
As soon as we pull up in front of Dad’s house, I make a motion for them to get out of my car. Gemma stomps over to Hugo’s house, our brother and Spencer on her heels. I put the car in reverse before Willa can decide to join me up front. With her in the back seat, it’s easier to stay pissed at her.
“Callum…”
Her voice is soft and barely reaches me in the front seat. I pretend not to hear. Ignoring her futile attempts to speak to me, I focus on the road and my anger. Not the nervous rushes of her breathing or the occasional sniffle. It’ll only weaken me and I need to stay pissed.
I will not beg someone to be loyal to me.
When we’re near her house, I put the vehicle into park and drum my fingers on the steering wheel in an impatient way that says, “Get the fuck out of my car already.” She doesn’t move.
“Callum—”
“Get out.”
I meet her eyes in the mirror. They’re round, clearly shocked at my words and the venom behind them.
“W-What?”
“I said get out of my fucking car, Miss Reyes.”
She leans forward and curls her fingers around my bicep. “Callum, can we talk?”
I jerk my body away from her grip and scowl over my shoulder at her. This close, I’m tempted to get lost in her pretty, innocent features. I crave to kiss her supple lips and pretend this is all a damn nightmare.
“I can’t talk to you,” I clip out. “Not now. Not…ever.”
She sucks in a harsh breath. “What? Why? Because I went to the party?”
I grit my teeth and wince at the pain that shoots through my jaw before relaxing slightly so I don’t break my teeth. “Because you’re a liar,” I snarl. “And a fucking cheater.”
A shocked gasp escapes her and then she’s scrambling out of the car. The door slams behind her. I can’t help but fixate on her barely clothed ass—an ass that Spencer was grinding against this evening. She stops mid-step and then whirls around. Like a storm of fury, she charges my way. She beats her fist on the glass until I lower the window.
“You’re an asshole, Callum,” she spits out, tears welling but not falling. “You didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself.”
I scoff and sneer at her. “Explain yourself? The pictures explained it all. I saw how you were five seconds away from a fucking threesome with my goddamn brother and nephew! For fuck’s sake, Willa, you had to have known how this would destroy me.”
Her bottom lip wobbles and a tear leaks free. She hastily swipes it away and her nostrils flare.
“I’m not her and yet you keep comparing me to her,” she hisses, reaching into the car and poking me hard on the arm. “I am not like Jamie, and deep down you know it, but you’re just too stupid to see it.”
“You lied to me,” I snap, glowering up at her through the open window. “You said you wouldn’t go to the party and you went anyway. I didn’t even get as much as a courtesy text.”
She blinks at me several times, her expressions a constant war of hurt and anger. What the hell does she have to be angry about? I’m the one who was wronged here.
“You clearly don’t trust me and probably never will.” She tears her gaze from mine to stare up at the sky. “I guess it’s not going to work out after all.”
She’s so damn beautiful with the moonlight shining over her silky hair and highlighting her pretty face. I ache for what could have been between us. Up until tonight, everything felt so real. So perfect. And now it’s ruined. Once again, I got lulled into a false sense of security by a beautiful young woman.
An ugly villain in a lovely package.
“Goodbye, Callum,” she chokes out before turning on her heel and heading toward her house.
I clamp my lips together to keep from calling out to her. I want to continue to make her feel like shit for how she hurt me. But I also want to pull her close and pretend it never happened. I want to kiss her and make love to her. I want to fucking keep her forever.
The air is chilly tonight, but it doesn’t even begin to touch the coldness seeping into my heart. Or what’s left of it anyway. What little bit I had just walked away from me and climbed through a window.
Never again.
This is one lesson I refuse to learn a third time. Once sucked, but two is more than I can handle. With a sigh and a hard swallow to keep my emotions at bay, I put my car in drive.
I leave her behind.
As much as I don’t want to leave my heart with her, I’m forced to. My brain speaks logic and the farther away I get, the more my decision makes sense.
It’s better this way.
The lie sounds good in my head, even though every cell in my body begs me to turn around.
I don’t.
I drive and drive and drive until I’m numb.
Numb feels a lot better than soul-crushing pain.
Numb is the new me.
Willa
Throb. Throb. Throb.
The pounding inside my head is nauseating. Whoever thought drinking was a good idea must have been a sadist. It’s miserable. I’m miserable.
If only it were just the alcohol to blame.
The alcohol is more like the icing on top of a shit cake.
Last night was supposed to be fun. Turns out, it was nothing but a giant nightmare. Somehow, while being with my new friends, I managed to lose my boyfriend in the process.
Sun gleams in through the window, attempting to cheer me up, but it’s a lost cause. I’m far from happy today.
My stomach roils violently. If I don’t put food in my body soon, I’m going to spend the rest of my Saturday hugging the toilet.
Somehow, I find just enough energy to crawl out of bed. As much as I’m dying to text Callum, I avoid my phone and stagger to the bathroom. My room tilts and spins. Saliva fills my mouth. I clutch onto the doorframe of the bathroom, clenching my eyes closed so I don’t puke my guts out. Once the wave of nausea has passed, I’m able to pee and brush my teeth, all of which while avoiding my reflection. Eventually, I chance a peek.
I look like death warmed over.
Dark hair is ratty and puffed up on one side. Black smudges remain under my eyes even though I managed to wash my makeup off before falling into bed last night. My eyes are red and swollen from crying. I’m a mess.
Tears burn my eyes, but I quickly blink them back. If I start crying, I’ll never leave my room, and if I don’t eat something soon, I’ll never leave the toilet. With a sharp inhalation, I stagger out of the bathroom to my bedroom door where the nightstand blocks the door. It takes more energy than I possess to move it aside, but I finally get it moved.
Now I somehow need to make it to the kitchen and back without any run-ins with my family. The house is quiet, so I’m hoping everyone is still asleep. I turn the knob and slowly open the door, wincing when the creaking sound echoes down the hall. Before I exit, I pause to listen. Nothing. Good.
I creep my way into the kitchen, doing my best to keep silent. When I see Darren sitting at the kitchen table, I nearly crawl out of my skin. His gaze lifts from his phone and he spots me right away. No retreating now.
“Morning,” I croak out, offering him a slight wave as though his presence doesn’t bother me.
But it does bother me.
Everything about him and Levi bothers me.
“Morning,” he parrots. “You look a little green around the gills. Feeling okay?”
His voice almost sounds sincere, which has alarm bells ringing inside my head, making the hangover headache throb even harder. Darren isn’t the caring stepfather he portrays to the outside world. He’s a total dick.
“I’m fine,” I croak. “Where’s Mom?”
“She went into the office.” He sets his phone down on the table with a soft clank. “Want me to make breakfast? Sausage gravy and biscuits perhaps?”
I nearly throw up at the thought, which makes me think that was his intent. With a quick shake of my head, I reach into the cabinet and grab a box of PopTarts. “This will do.”
Mom never goes into the office on Saturdays. Usually, on the weekends, she sleeps. A lot. It’s when she takes many of her pills. It’s like she knows she has to put up with Darren and Levi too, but chooses to check out completely, leaving me on my own to deal with them.
“I should go visit her,” I say, not looking at him. “Maybe bring her lunch.”
“Don’t bother your mother. Besides, she should be home by lunchtime anyway.”
I snag a bottle of water from the fridge and am planning to take the whole box of PopTarts with me to my bedroom when I’m stopped by Darren’s laugh.
“This is too good to be true,” he murmurs, shaking his head with a grin splitting his face. “Unbelievable.”
“What’s too good to be true?”
He holds up his phone. “It’s all over the news this morning. Underage drinking bust at Park Mountain Lodge. Do you know what this means for my lawsuit?” He chuckles again and then glances over at me. “We should go to dinner tonight to celebrate.”
If it weren’t for my intense desire to leave Darren’s presence immediately, I’d have probably thrown up at his words. But I’m desperate to lock myself away in my room away from him.
Callum’s family is under scrutiny for last night’s party.
This will be bad for the campaign—the whole family really.
“I’m going to lie back down,” I murmur. “I’ll let you know if I’m feeling well enough for dinner later.”
I don’t wait for a reply and rush out of the kitchen. Once I’m safely in my room, I set down my stash on my dresser and then start for the door to block it with my nightstand. Just as I reach it, someone pushes inside.
Levi.
“Get out,” I hiss over the thunderous roar of my panicked heart.
He ignores me, shutting the door behind him. “Don’t be like that, Willa. You shouldn’t be mean to your only friend.”
His words grate on me. Lifting my chin, I affix him with a heated glare.
“I have friends.”
He sniggers. “Once Dad is done running the Park family’s name through the mud, those new friends of yours won’t want anything to do with you.”
I take several steps back when he prowls my way. My eyes flicker over to the window and then the door behind him, counting the distance to my exits. Before I can make my escape, he pounces. His large hands seize my face and he uses his body against mine to press me to the nearest wall. My head thuds against the sheetrock with a loud thunk.
And then his lips are on mine.
I freeze, a shriek of terror lodged in my throat. His mouth isn’t gentle as he groans and attempts to get his tongue past my lips. The whimper that escapes me gives him the access he needs. He shoves his tongue into my mouth, making me gag at how deep he goes. My brain catches up with my body and I grab at his T-shirt to push him away. This only seems to embolden him. He bites my bottom lip hard as he slides a hand to my throat, pinning me. His other hand slips down my front and crudely finds its way into my shorts
“Ahh,” I cry out, tears filling and spilling from my eyes. “Don’t! S-Stop!”
His finger is rough as it probes my pussy, seeking entrance inside me. The dry burn of his thick digit makes me sob as he forces it into my body.
“Fuck, yes,” Levi murmurs against my mouth. “So fucking tight.”
A door slams against the wall and before I can process what’s happening, Levi is being dragged from me, Darren’s grip on his ear leading him away. I collapse to the floor, gaping up at the two of them.
“Your mother better deal with your whore ass or I will,” Darren snarls at me. “And, Son, you’re in a fuck ton of trouble.”
The door slams shut behind them, rattling all the windows in the house along with my teeth. The chattering of my teeth doesn’t stop as I curl into a ball on my side on the carpet. Shivers ripple through me and I sob silently, both shocked and humiliated at what just happened.
Darren thinks I’m the whore?
His son is a monster. He doesn’t care. Mom doesn’t care. And Callum?
If he cared, he wouldn’t have so coldly shut me out last night without letting me explain myself. Levi was right. I’m all alone. I don’t have anyone.
Hours pass and I’m unable to move. I’ve fixated on my discarded shoe from last night that sits on its side a few feet in front of me. If I look at the shoe and focus on it, I won’t have to think about how I can still feel Levi’s finger inside me.
My eyes burn from being dried out. I cried all my tears earlier. Now all that’s left are the hiccups and ragged breathing.
I have to leave this place. I can’t stay here any longer because of my love for my mother when my own safety and happiness are at stake. I’m tired of living this way.
In a perfect world, Callum would have saved me from all this. I’d call him and tell him everything that happened. He would make me pack my things and move me into his home—into his bed.
But I live in an imperfect world.
My boyfriend was more of a passing moment than an actual relationship. It almost feels like a dream. A fantasy made real in my mind, but not reality.
Voices can be heard somewhere within the house. It doesn’t take long for them to become shouts. One of them is female. A door slams.
“Willa?”
Mom’s voice is soft and motherly like I remember. A strangled sound crawls up my throat. I want my mom. I need her.
“Oh my God,” she cries out as she pads over to me and kneels. Her fingers slide into my matted hair. “My poor baby girl.”
At her words, the dam breaks again. I start to sob as my mother lies down on the floor beside me, curling her body around mine. She strokes my hair and kisses my head, murmuring quiet reassurances I desperately want to believe.
This will never happen again.
I’ll protect you from that monster.
I’m going to get you away from this mess.
I let my mother kiss away my worries and hold me tight. When we’ve both calmed, she leaves me to start a bath. And, like when I was a child, Mom helps me undress and bathes me while singing songs I’d long forgotten.
I needed my mom and now I finally have her.
For how long?
The bitterness rears its ugly head as I sit on the toilet, wrapped in a towel, while Mom brushes out my tangles. She’s been clouded by her pills for so long, I’m not sure I can fully believe she’ll make good on her promises to keep me safe.
What choice do I have, though?
I don’t have anywhere to go. No job or money. No friends. No boyfriend. Just Mom. I have to trust she’ll keep her word to fix this mess.
“I love you so much, baby girl,” she whispers as she leads me back to my bed. “Just rest.”
After she tucks me in, panic rises in my chest, but then she lies down in bed with me, hugging me tight.
I’m safe.
For now.
I wake to the sound of whispered voices. It’s dark in my room aside from the light from the bathroom. There are people in my room.
Levi?
“Mom,” I whimper.
“I’m right here,” Mom says, sitting on the bed behind me. “Gemma’s here to pick up the things she left. It’s just the three of us.”
I can feel Gemma’s stare on me, but I can’t look at her. Not when she reminds me of Callum. Plus, I don’t want to see her pity. She doesn’t know her brother broke up with me and I doubt Mom divulged what happened with Levi. All Gemma will see is a pitiful girl who finally made friends with the cool people and went to jail, and now her life is falling apart. I must seem pathetic.
“Call me later?” Gemma whispers, touching my foot. “Your mom said you’ve caught a bug. Just let me know you’re alive.”
I manage a nod, but no words come out of me. Gemma squeezes my foot and then releases it, not saying anything else. Mom disappears for a few minutes and then returns. The savory scent of chicken noodle soup fills my nostrils and my stomach growls.
