The Trench

Chapter 46 - Confession

Rileys POV

"Miss Littleton, can I see you in my office after class for a moment." Austins loud voice carries through the classroom and I glare at him from my desk. Ooh's and ah's echoed through the class like a bunch of high schoolers and I roll my eyes. I glance over at Aimee who's giving him the same look I am.

Monday night after all of this happened I had walked back into my apartment like a dog that was just scolded, my tail between my legs. Taylor immediately knew something was wrong, after years of friendship she somehow sensed all of my emotions. I had explained everything to them, both Taylor and Aimee ready to burst into his apartment and give him an ass chewing but I told them it wasn't worth it.

It was now the next Friday, eleven days since the incident, I had came to class every morning as usual and averted his gaze. I had avoided him at the apartments, and I had left class in a hurry each day and avoided him meeting me by the door.

I guess he got tired of waiting for me to come around.

As he dismisses the class students gather their books and shuffle towards the door, filing out like cattle in a chute. Aimee offers to stay behind with me and I shake my head, her art teacher is a bear if she's late. Reluctantly we walk down the stairs together towards Austin who is  waiting at the door for me.

As Aimee slides past him she gives him a warning glare, he chuckles in response as we all walk through the door and he pulls it shut behind us. Aimee heads to the right out the doors to her next class and Austin and I head to the left, a few doors down he opens a door leading to a small hallway and stops beside a dark wooden door with "Professor Austin Michaels" on a brass nameplate. He unlocks it and ushers me inside, I hear it click shut behind us and the lock engaging. I'm looking around his office which I've never been inside before when I feel his hand on my lower back, he guides me to one of the brown leather arm chairs in front of his desk and I sit down. He sits down in front of me and digs into his briefcase, scattering papers on the large wood desk beside us. I give him a curious look and he shrugs.

"In case anyone needed to come in, it looks like you're helping me grade papers. You're technically my student helper."

I just nod, not knowing what else to say. I lean back into the chair and cross my legs in front of me, tapping my fingers together habitually. He looks at me for a second and clears his throat.

"Okay, I know you're mad and you have every right to be. However, I feel like I should be able to explain the situation to you before you write me off, for me to get a fair trial per se." He leans forwards, both elbows resting in his knees and his hands clasped together tightly in front of him. He's looking up at me and I sigh.

"Go ahead then." I whisper tentatively. He closes his eyes and lets out a breath he was holding and I see his shoulders relax in relief. He opens his eyes to look at me again.

"Just a heads up, this is a long and complicated story. I'll try to make it simple. I've already told your next teacher you're staying so you're excused for your next class." I nod my head and he sits up leaning one arm against the arm rest on his chair before be begins.

"Okay, so Valerie and I went to high school and some college together. She grew up in Russia before moving here in elementary school and she now teaches Russian Literature in a prestigious school an hour away. We dated in high school a little then we lost touch. Once in college we both had the same classes coincidently and we got back together, then we got engaged.

"I was young, I was in the relationship for all of the wrong reasons but ignorance is bliss and I was happy. We got married a few years later, we both got a job here and everything was fine. Then trouble hit.

"One day I found out Mae's friend was killed, and that Mae was there to find her. She was crushed and that was the moment our family was torn apart."

Austin stopped for a moment to run his hands over his face, I could feel myself settling down. My heart wasn't cold anymore and I leaned forward to place my hand on his knee, urging him to continue.

"According to Kane, he was in love with Emily, the girl who died. He had asked her out before but she rejected him. He finally worked up the courage to ask her again and he went to her house that night, he said when he got there Mae was crouched over Emily's body. Mae was trying to stop the bleeding, the white carpet was stained red and there was blood all over Mae's arms. Mae wouldn't speak for a while, then she told him Randy did it. She called 911.

"The investigation went on for a while, Randy was there but a security camera caught his car at a gas station at the estimated time of death so he was cleared. Mae was furious, and the detectives started looking to Kane and Mae. After a while they found the murder weapon, a lamp that was used to smash her head in and it somehow had Kane's fingerprints all over it. They were going to arrest him, saying he had probable cause since she had rejected his advances before.

"Somehow the evidence suddenly just disappeared, without any evidence the case wouldn't hold up and they weren't allowed to hold him anymore. So he was released and the case was closed. Mae couldn't accept this and went a bit nuts for a while, so our parents had her institutionalized and Kane was never the same.

"Valerie confessed to me that she had an inside source on the investigation who was able to rig the evidence, falsify it somehow. She said she did it for our family and I was eternally grateful, for a while.

"After a little bit we ran into some issues. I realized I didn't have what I wanted in a relationship and she changed, a lot. Although looking back I don't think she actually changed I think I was just blind until one day I came to a realization. I wasn't happy anymore, I was with someone who didn't appreciate me, didn't want children anymore, was never home, and it was like an epiphany. So one day when she came home I handed her divorce papers, and that's when I saw the real Valerie.

"She fought me about getting divorced, saying her reputation would be tarnished with a marriage that only lasted short of two years. So she refused to sign the paperwork for months, in denial of what was happening. I pushed and pushed until one day she snapped. She told me if I left her that she could have the case re-opened and the evidence planted back, saying it was a glitch in the computer software or frame another employee for altering it.

"She never told me who her source was, but I knew if I left she would have Kane arrested. So I stayed. The reason she's been coming around more lately is because I finally told her several months ago, when I met you, that I was done. Whatever Kane had done is his doing and I've suffered for him long enough, I'm willing to take our chances in court rather than spend my life with her hovering over my family."

I sit there in silence, trying to wrap my mind around what he's telling me. This is something that only happens in stories, but this isn't a story. Finally I'm able to speak.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" I questioned as I rub the back on my neck with one hand.

"I wanted to, I really did, but how do I bring up something like that? On the second date just say 'Oh by the way, I'm married and my wife is blackmailing me into staying married so my little brother doesn't go to prison for murder'? That would go over real well. Honestly, I thought if I was able to just get divorced and be done with it we could be happy. I didn't see an issue with it because me and her weren't together."

We sit in silence, both staring at one another trying to analyze the situation. After a few moments I stand up and grab my backpack.

"I understand why, but it still doesn't justify lying to me. I know we've only been together officially about four months, but it's going to make me wonder what else you're not telling me. I need to think on it..." He bows his head in shame, nodding a few times before I open the door and leave.