My Russian Teacher

chapter two

Y/N:
When I was thirteen, I lost my dad to cancer. My mother then married my step-father only six months later. Way too soon if you ask me. In fact, I don't think she should have married him at all.

My mom and I always got along, but we were never super close, so when I lost my dad my whole world turned upside down. He was my best friend.

Most days now, I feel alone. I've never minded being alone, I've always enjoyed my own company, but sometimes I wish I had someone to talk to like I used to be able to talk to my dad.

I don't really have any friends at school. The main reason is because I don't like to socialise that much and trying to make new friends is such an effort for me, but also because everyone I've ever spoken to at school, sucks.

School is my safe place though.

It's not that I like school that much it, it's just that I feel safer here than any other place. The only thing I dread about it is the fact that I spend sometimes an hour every morning covering up my bruises.

Eventually I started wearing a hoodie and sweatpants everyday because it was easier than trying to cover them up. Plus, most days I struggle to get out of bed so it gives me more time to sleep in.

My russian teacher is my favourite. Her name is Miss Romanoff. She is so kind and will sometimes talk with me after class and check up on how I'm doing. She probably knows more about me than anyone else. She doesn't know about the abuse though, it's not really something I enjoy talking about. But also, I think I'm scared of telling anyone because I have this fear that nobody will believe me.

•••

My last period of the day happens to be Russian which is great because it means I have an excuse to stay longer to talk to Miss Romanoff.

I always sit in the back right corner of the classroom. No one pays attention to you there.

As class goes on, my mind is preoccupied with what happened last night. All throughout my day it's like it's been playing on a loop in my mind.
I'd finished what I needed to, so I wasn't worried about missing out on anything important. That was until Miss Romanoff puts a worksheet on my daze, causing me to jump slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She apologises with a empathic smile.
"It's okay." I answer quietly.

Natasha:
I have this one student, Y/N. I've noticed over the past couple of months that something has changed with her. Although, she is still the best student in my class and always hands in her homework on time, I worry about her. I started having this feeling in my gut that something was wrong, but I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly what. So...I subtly started trying to get her to talk with me after class sometimes and now we will most days we will end up talking for at least half an hour after school has ended.

A couple of weeks ago, Y/N was wearing makeup which may not seem like anything, but I've never once seen her wear makeup to school. I tried to tell myself it was nothing but then I picked up on how she would flinch at every loud noise, or when someone got aggressive in any way shape or form.

I expressed my concerns about her to the school principal and she said she would speak to the other teachers and ask them to look out for anything suspicious.

Today, I noticed she had zoned out in class but I didn't say anything, so when I put a worksheet in front of her and she flinched...again.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." I apologise, feeling bad for that I made her jump. "It's fine." She answers quietly, not making eye contact with me.

I walked back to my desk and sat down as my students complete their worksheet. I kept looking up at Y/N to see if she was doing okay. Something seemed off with her, more than usual.

At one point it looked like she was stuck on a question and she started to scratch her neck, evidently pulling her hoodie down slightly, revealing a large bruise on her neck.

Honestly I'm hoping I'm wrong, but by the shape of it, it looks as though someone hand their hand wrapped around her neck.

I take a deep breath and turn my head back to my laptop. There's only five minutes left of the lesson so I might try to talk to Y/N after class.

"Y/N, can you stay behind after class please?" I question. "Okay." She says quietly with a small nod.

Like I mentioned earlier, most of the time we will end up talking after class anyways, but I wanted to make sure I definitely talked to her today.

When the bell finally rings, the students start to make their way out of the classroom, eventually leaving Y/N and I alone.

"I'm sorry if I did something wrong." She spoke nervously as she fiddles with the strings on her hoodie. I frowned slightly. "No not at all. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask you something." I assure her, walking over to her desk. "Okay." She mumbled.

I took a deep breath, pulling out a chair to sit facing her. "Is everything okay at home, Y/N?" I questioned softly. I saw fear immediately fill her eyes. "Y-yeah. Everything's okay." She answered, avoiding my gaze.

"You know you can tell me anything?" I assured her, whilst I placed my arm on her shoulder. She flinched at the sudden contact and tears started streaming down her face. "I can't." She shook her head. "What do you mean?" I frown, removing my hand from her shoulder. "I'm not allowed to say anything." She tells me, wiping her own tears with the sleeve of her hoodie.

"Honey, look at me." I say softly and she raises her head. "Is someone hurting you?"
Y/N nods before she starts sobbing.

"Oh, Y/N." I coo, getting off my chair and crouching down beside her. "You're going to be okay." I hold her hands in mine, trying not to scare her with too much physical contact.

"Who's doing this to you?" I question. "My stepfather." She chokes. "Does your mom know about it?"
She nods.

Some people should not be allowed to be parents. I will never understand how someone could do this to their child.

"Would you like to come home with me tonight and we can go from there?" I asked softly and she nods with a thankful smile.

"Okay." I smile, standing up.

"Can I give you a hug?" She asked shyly. "Of course you can." I assure her and she stands up, wrapping her arms around me.

"We are going to get you through this Y/N, and you're never going to have to go back there again okay?" I coo, holding her tightly in my arms.