~My Teacher Hits Me~ (Book 1) [Rewritten]

Ghost Chapter: It's Not Over

The paramedics load the black body bag into the back of the ambulance. Red and blue lights flash against the front of the school and reflect off the ground in a blinding manner. A crowd of students stand in a section merely fifteen feet from the school and bounded by a caution line. Some individuals are curious while others are scared and confused. They have yet to be told what's going on. An officer goes around taking names and numbers to inform parents of the situation.

A noise erupts from one end of the crowd and spreads through to the opposite end when someone sees movement at the entrance to the school building.

"That's the girl who almost died this winter."

"Is that blood on her dress?"

"What do you think happened in there?"

"I don't know, but someone died."

An officer leads Rylan down the steps to an ambulance where a medic is working on stitching up her father. Rylan ignores the murmuring and speculations.

"Hey dad." Rylan greets. "Are you okay?"

The female paramedic resets his broken nose and Mr. Winchester grunts. He starts to give Rylan a smile, but it causes him too much pain. He settles for a thumbs up. The same paramedic starts on stitching up the gash on his cheek. He stops her for a second and pulls Rylan into a hug.

"I love you." He says.

"I love you too." Rylan replies, squeezing him tightly.

Mr. Winchester grunts in pain and Rylan loosens her hold and apologizes.

"It's fine. I'm just a little sore." He amends.

The paramedic returns to her work. Rylan glances over at a small collection of officers, needing to put her attention somewhere else. A little to the left of the collection, two officers question Tuck, Dani, and Cas and, next to them, another officer questions Blake. Rylan narrows her eyes at him. She hopes Dani tells them about what Liam and Tyler did to her. She has no doubt it was at Blake's request.

The police chief approaches Rylan. "Miss Winchester, I want to apologize for all that you've been through and for anything we did to contribute to the situation. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, sir. That means a lot."

"Are you up for answering a few questions?"

"Not really, but I'll give it a shot."

"I appreciate it." The chief licks his lips. "What happened in there?"

"What happened?" Rylan repeats, considering the question.

She looks over at Cas, Tuck, and Dani and then back to the police chief. Enough is enough. No more lying.

"I'll have to start at the beginning."

The chief looks around and raises his eyebrows. "We've got time."

Rylan relays her story, beginning with the day she moved here and ending with the events leading up to her standing here. She leaves nothing out; She owes it to her dad, her friends, and to herself. At the end, the chief stares at Rylan and struggles to keep his emotions at bay.

He clears his throat, gestures in the direction of the individual, and asks, "That him?"

Rylan doesn't even have to look as she nods.

Moments later, Blake is handcuffed and read his rights. Rylan watches as he is lead to a police vehicle. Blake peruses the parking lot, searching for Rylan. When he locates her, he smirks, and just before he disappears behind the car door, he winks.

...........................................

It is said that with a little bit of time, things can get better.

I think that's a load of crap. Okay, sure, perhaps things can get better, but there isn't a guarantee that they will. As soon as everything came to a head with Mr. Quinn, I snapped out of my head and into reality. I had to come clean to everyone about all of it; I had to come clean to my dad. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

After the disaster at school, I found out that Mr. Quinn had a bad case of Bipolar Disorder and it had caused him to lash out at students before. At two of his previous schools, there had been three student murders. The police suspect he had something to do with them, although there is no definitive proof yet... not that it matters anyway.

He's dead... removed from my life with a single swing of a bat.

I could tell you that moment haunts me, but I'd be lying. I still think about it now and then and the person I've become because of it. Mr. Quinn is a thing of my past and now that's where he'll stay.

And then there was Blake.

Even though I finally told the truth about him, it wasn't enough. There was no evidence found on my clothing from that night that tied Blake to my rape. I suspect Liam and Tyler got to it somehow. We still pushed through to a trial.

Cases of rape rarely favor the victim. Blake turned it all around on me just as he threatened he would. It was my word against his.

Dani's accusations against Liam and Tyler managed to lead somewhere, though. Unlike Blake, they have rap sheets, and when it came down to it, neither was willing to go to jail. We used that to our advantage and the two had enough sense to cut a deal with our lawyer for a lesser sentence as long as they gave up Blake.

Blake received two years in juvenile hall. Two, and the court allowed him probation. Add to that that this is his first offense and that gives me about six months. Six months before he'll be out and prepared to make my life miserable. Six months before he comes after me, because Blake isn't the kind of guy who just gives up.