Teach Me

Chapter Seventeen

*** Allie'sPOV ***

Mondays.

Fuck them. They suck.

This one in particular. Walking back into the school was hard. Everyone was staring at me while trying to look like they weren't staring at me. In that moment, I'm find myself thankful that at least all the physical signs of the attack are gone.

I get it though.  If it happened to one of my classmates and not me, I would probably be acting the same way. No one really knows how to react to that kind of situation.

"Good morning, Mrs. Walkins," I greet her at her desk. She looks up from her papers with a genuine smile.

"It's so nice to have you back, Ms. Anderson,"

"Thank you. Here's my make up work for the week," I hand her the folder that I can only thank James for actually being completed. It's a miracle I'm walking into this class not feeling totally behind.

"Wow, that's a lot of work you got done," her eyes go wide. I technically didn't have to hand it in until friday but again, thanks to a certain wonderful man, it all got done quickly.

"My tutor helped me a lot," I smile.

"Ahhhhh yes, Mr. Riley. He's an amazing teacher," her lips press together like she holding something back. I wonder what she could possibly have to add to that. I know most people know that James was the one who put that guy in the hospital but I don't think they suspect there's something going on between us.

But Mrs. Walkins face says differently.

I laugh off her weird look and walk to my desk. Everyone else slowly files in the room, filling up the seats one by one. You can see the clicks of friends starting to form now that we are a couple weeks in and it makes me feel lonely when I realize I don't have one friend here.

The thought makes my eyes shoot to Chelsea's seat but it's empty. I haven't heard from her or seen her since that night and I'm definitely not complaining about it. I don't blame her for what happened.  She didn't force me into that car that night but I'll never forget what she did do.

"She dropped out," the voice makes me jump before I turn around to see where it came from.

He looks from Chelsea's empty seat back to my face. "Sorry, I just figured that's why you were staring in that direction with the look of pure evil and malicious intent," he laughs. "I'm Daniel," he smiles, revealing dimples that cut deep into his cheeks.

His blue eyes are friendly and welcoming.  He has the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head and big headphones wrapped around his neck. He doesn't look like he belongs in here. I didn't even realize we had a guy in this class.

"I'm Allie," I turn fully in my seat.

"Due to unfortunate circumstances,  I know who you are," he leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "I hope that guy goes to jail and dies choking on a dick being forced down his throat,"

I just choked on air.

I can't believe that just came out of his mouth. I'm not going to lie, it's a breath of fresh air to have someone show true honestly instead of the same old fake sympathy.  He looks at me unapologetically as I try to gather myself. What do you say to that?

"I feel the same way," I agree and he nods his head nonchalantly.

"You would probably be happy to know that Chelsea dropped because everyone made her life hell when she came back. A lot of students either witnessed what happened at the party or heard about it. Let's just say, we didn't let her forget what she did," he shrugs like the whole thing is normal.

I almost feel bad for her but it's quickly gone. Call me selfish, I don't care. It is odd to think that a lot of the school rallied for me when really none of them knew me personally.

"It's wasn't her fault. I made the decision to get in that car,"

As much as I hate her, I don't want people thinking I blame her for what the asshole did.

"Oh, we know. But most of us had our own personal reasons not to like that chick anyway. What she did to you just gave us all a reason to act on it,"

"What was your reason for not liking the her?" I ask out of curiosity.

"She borrowed my pen and never gave it back," his face is dead serious.

I start cracking up at his reasoning and he remains serious.

"What?! That shit is so annoying! Like, get your own pen, ya know? I searched like five stores for that one. It fit perfectly in my hand," he holds out his palm as if to prove it and my laughing just increases.

I'm bent over at the point holding my stomach.  I haven't laughed like this since I could remember and he wasn't even trying.  He was devastated over this pen.

"You've obviously never had an attachment to an inanimate object," he huffs, watching me wipe tears from my eyes.

'Yes I have!" I say in between laughs.

"Oh really? What was it then?" He quirks his eyebrow in question and I go silent. It's almost like he knows it's going to be embarrassing to admit.

I chew my lip, deciding whether I want to share this information with someone I just met.

"A little stuffed penguin,"

"What was his name?" He asks without missing a beat. I expected him to laugh but only the corners of his mouth turn up.

"Now, that's asking too much," I turn back around in my seat signaling the conversation about my stuffed animal was over.

"I'll get it out of you," I hear him say behind me and I laugh.

Class begins and I'm quickly back into work mode. I'm determined to keep up and get back to normality after the craziest couple weeks of my life. Everything seems to be falling back into place.

I hope James is caught up with  everything as well. Every time I ask, he just brushes me off and says not to the worry about it.

***

I get back to my room exhausted from my first day back. I throw my bag on my bed and change my clothes. I check my phone and realize I had texted James earlier but he never responded. It doesn't surprise me. He's probably buried in work and I don't mind giving him the time to catch up.

I sit on my bed with my books and start the homework for the night when there's suddenly a knock on my door.

I place my pen down and get up to open it. I'm greeted by a police officer, the same one that was in my hospital room that night, and my heart rate instantly gets quicker.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Anderson," he nods. "Do you mind if I come in so we can discuss a few things?"

"Yeah, sure," I move to the side letting him walk in and my anxiety starts to build. Why is he here?

We stand in the middle of my room without words. I want him to talk but at the same time I'm afraid if what he has to say.

"Mr. Wallace is awake," he breaks the silence.

It takes me a second to realize who he's talking about and when I do, my eyes go wide. Why is he telling me this? Just drag his ass to prison so this can all be over.

He let's me take in his words before continuing.

"Him and his family are pressing charges against Mr. Riley,"

The air leaves my lungs. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. Charges? Against James?

The officers eyes are remorseful before he tells me the next part. He doesn't want to say it.

"Mr. Riley has been arrested for attempted murder. He's in jail, Ms. Anderson,"