Abused (Teacher/student)

Chapter 11

Caleb's POV

I walked into my empty classroom around 7am. The morning sunshine poured through the windows, giving the room a bright yellow glow. I sat down behind my desk and just stared at it.

Getting this job was a dream. The school had let me become a teacher straight away without any real experience. All the other teachers had done a year or more of being an assistant at the school before becoming a full time teacher. I was so grateful for this placement. Being a teacher wasn't my final goal but it was definitely going to help me towards the right direction.

I had been marking papers for about an hour before I heard any sort of life outside my classroom. My mind kept wondering back to Rose and I caught myself smiling on multiple occasions.

As if on cue, Rose walked in. I felt my whole mood rise and a weird warm feeling filled me. She looked around the room, marveling at the yellow glow. It lit up her face perfectly. How was she so beautiful!?

She turned towards my direction and our eyes met, I felt my face instantly heat up as I had just been obviously checking her out. The weird thing is she never noticed... she never noticed with anyone! A lot of boys had checked her out but she was so wrapped within her own insecurities and fears that she hadn't noticed. She probably didn't even know how stunning she was.

"Hi Caleb.. I mean Mr Harding." She giggling nervously, tugging on her sleeves. I laughed and stared back at her warmly.

Another thing I adored about Rose was her voice. It was so soft and gentle, perfectly mirroring her character and the way she held herself. Rose wasn't like anyone I'd ever met before.

"Sorry for running out on you last night." She said, snapping me out of my trance. Rose sat herself down on the table directly in front of my desk; her legs dangled down, unable to touch the floor.

I shook my head. "No, it completely fine. Are you okay?" Her tranquil expression wavered.

"Y-yeah. Dad was just w-worried." Her hand went to her cheek and she lightly ran her thumb over it. I looked at her in confusion.

"Did something happen?"

She shook her head and her eyes stayed on the floor. I stepped out behind my desk and walked over to her, standing only inches from her.

My hand travelled under her chin and I pushed her face up gently to look at me. "Are you okay? Did he do something to you?" I whispered, brushing strands of her hair out of her eyes. They were full of deep sadness but she shook her head again.

"He wouldn't hurt me, he loves me." She said, as if repeating someone else's words.

"Rose, does he hurt you? Physically or emotionally? Please tell m-"

"No. He loves me. Dad would not ever hurt me." She shifted uncomfortably and her eyes tried to avoid mine. I stepped back, I didn't like the idea of making her uneasy.

"Anyway.." She looked up, forcing a smile. Rose always seemed to be wearing some sort of mask to cover her real emotions... if only I could take it off and actually help her.

"Have you heard of the book Lolita?" She asked, genuinely curious. My eyes widened.

"Yeah. Why?!"

"W-well... uh.. Dad calls me Lolita sometimes and he only reads to a certain part of the book because he says the ending isn't good. He won't let me read it though..." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I tried to hide how shocked I was. Why would he call her that?!

"What's the book about?" She tilted her head.