The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

⚠️ • | Chapter Forty-Two | • ⚠️

{ ⚠️ Trigger Warning: Violence & Abuse ⚠️ }

| After School. . .

The icy wind was cruel and unforgiving as Riley walked home. It scratched at her cheeks and made the root of her eyelashes ache as her sneakers sounded quietly against the sidewalk. Her mindset was still a jumbled mess with what little remnants of her shattered memory on constant replay. It wasn't just the wind making her eyes water.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you home? What about Jay or Michelle?" She remembered Michael asking her as he continued to comfort her with little hugs and peppered kisses across her forehead.

"Jay's too busy, and I don't want to bother you or Michelle." She replied after another sniffle slipped out.

"You're not bothering me, Ry. Don't ever think that." He wiped away a lingering tear. "I don't like seeing you upset and I really don't want you to be alone right now."

She peered up at him as the final bell for the day rang. "It's okay, I'll be fine. I gotta go to practice, anyway."

The frown deepened on Michael's face. "I don't think you're in the best headspace to deal with Trent today. It was hard enough after you found out about UCLA."

He didn't want to upset her more by bringing up her college rejection, but after witnessing Trent yell at her in the gymnasium as he happened to be walking by one of the opened doors because of a few missteps the same day her college dreams were crushed, he couldn't bear her going through that again. It took everything within him to stay hidden and not go up to Trent to give him more than just a piece of his mind.

Riley stared misty-eyed at her lap, embarrassed that he had witnessed some of Trent's cruelty towards her. "You saw that?"

"Yeah, and if he does it again, I'ma shove my foot so far up his ass, he'll taste the shit on the bottom of it." He said quite seriously, but it only made Riley smile a little. He cupped her chin and made her look at him. "Take the day off, okay? Let me take you home."

As much as she wanted to, she shook her head. "I'll be okay, Michael. Promise. I'll see you tomorrow."

He opened his mouth to protest more, but stopped short when he caught the pleading look in her eyes.

"...okay." He heavily sighed in defeat with a solemn nod. "Text me when you make it home."

After a few more warm, tight hugs and a careful peck or two on her bruised lips, he reluctantly let her leave. But he wasn't aware that she had decided she was going to skip practice regardless, because she knew she wouldn't be able to deal with Trent screaming at her after the terrible ordeal she went through last night.

She felt she would be able to handle him better tomorrow even though he would scream at her some more for missing practice.

She pulled her jacket tightly around her and sped up her walk to get home faster. Her phone buzzed a few times in her back pocket but she didn't bother to check it. She didn't know what to do once she got home. Either hide under the covers for eternity or take a shower about thirty times or more. She still felt grimy.

The apoplectic screech of tires sharply bounced off her ears, and a silver Mustang drove up onto the sidewalk a couple of inches short from ramming right into her.

"What the f-" She stared wide-eyed while stumbling back before she caught Javen's penetrative glare after he rolled down the tinted window.

"Get in the car." He demanded.