THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 31

RUBY'S POV

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"I hope you're happy," she sobbed, before turning and storming up the stairs towards her room.

Fuck. I've fucked up big time. I felt my eyes brim with tears when I heard her muffle a sob as she slammed her bedroom door closed.

I pulled out my phone, quickly dialling Kelsey's number and waiting for her to answer.

"Hello?" she picked up.

"Kelsey, I've fucked up..." I quickly said.

"Why? What? What happened?" she rambled.

I told her everything. I started from the very beginning, telling her about my growing feelings from the start. She knew I had gone to the party to sleep with India, in fact...she was the one who suggested it. I told her how I left without saying anything, how I ignored her for days and how she broke down in front of me, telling me that I had broken her.

"Well shit..." Kelsey muttered once I had finished talking.

"Yeah, I know...I just couldn't stand the thought of her having that party, hooking up with girls. I was jealous," I said sadly. I felt a tear drip down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away. I didn't like crying, I never did it. Not when I broke up with Maria, not ever.

"She loves you," Kelsey said simply, and even though I doubted it, hearing it still made my heart skip a beat.

"No, she doesn't. She's probably just confused," I said back.

"And you love her too..." Kelsey kept going.

"Kels...I don...I can't love her. She's my student!" I stuttered.

"Well you do. I know you do. Now go and fucking tell her!" Kelsey said before hanging up the phone.

I didn't love her, did I? Sure, I got goosebumps every time she touched me, my heart skipped a beat every time she came into the room, I smiled every time I heard her voice, and when she laughed, her laugh was music to my ears. This feeling was foreign to me, something I had never experienced before. I thought I had been in love with Maria, but this was more than that.

I slowly made my way up the stairs towards her room, anxiously trying to figure out what I should say to her. I couldn't stand the fact that I made her cry. It hurt me so much and all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and hold her.

I knocked softly on her door, earning a "fuck off" from inside the room.

I knocked again, more forcefully this time, earning another "fuck off".

I knocked once more, and I heard loud footsteps before she swung the door open.

"What part of 'fuck off' don't you understand?" she snapped at me.

My heart broke at the sight of her. Her cheeks were stained with tear tracks and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. I stood there staring, not knowing what to say. She exhaled loudly and began to shut the door, but I stopped it with my foot.

"God, can't you just leave me alo - ," she began, but cut her off my grabbing her and pulling her towards me.

I placed my lips firmly on hers and felt her instantly trying to pull away, but I didn't let her. I held onto her tightly, not letting her create any distance between us. She eventually gave up, moving her lips against mine. The kiss was different to any other we had ever had. It was slow, careful, sweet.

I walked forwards, pushing her backward toward her bed. When we hit the bed she fell backwards and I climbed on top of her, caressing her cheek with my hand.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she whispered, her eyes full of fear.

I leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her lips before pulling back and leaning my forehead against hers.

"I realised I don't want to let you go..." I whispered back.

She leant upwards and kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer to her. I felt her hands make their way under my shirt, touching the bare skin of my torso. I brought my lips to her neck and sucked lightly, pulling blood to the surface of her skin.

"Please don't leave me again...please?" she begged.

"I won't. I never will," I said.

And then we made love. It was slow, gentle and beautiful. I kissed every inch of her skin before worshipping her core with my tongue. Seeing her writhe in pleasure from my touch was overwhelming and I couldn't believe that this was happening.

The way she kissed me was heavenly. The way she worshipped my body with each touch, each thrust, each lick. Her name spilled from my lips as my hands grasped at hers. The way her eyes connected with mine as she lay between my legs was beyond overwhelming. We climaxed together, our gasps and moans mingling into one as we rode out our highs.

And then we lay there in each other's arms. The silence was comfortable, but it was obvious that neither of us knew what to say. I stroked her hair as she lay on my chest, my heart beating under her cheek.

"You didn't leave.." she finally whispered, not moving from my chest.

"Of course I didn't," I murmured back.

"You scare me, you know that?" she admitted, and I moved away from her so I could face her.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because before you, I didn't feel, and now I feel everything. I'm not used to it, it scares me. Aimee told me that I was falling for you but I kept saying she was wrong, but she wasn't. I don't know how to do this, I've never fallen for anyone before. I don't know how to act..." she confessed.

"I don't want you to be scared," I whispered.

"But I am, because for so long sex was just that...sex. And now, with you, it's more than that. And I don't know how you feel about me, which scares me even more," she said, finally finishing with a deep sigh.

"Indi, from the moment I met you I started falling for you. I just didn't want to admit it..." I said, and her eyes lightened up.

"Then why? Why did you do what you did?" she asked me.

"Like you, I was scared. You told me you never sleep with the same girl twice, and I wanted to distance myself from you before you had the chance to hurt me," I said to her.

"I don't want to hurt you. You mean a lot to me," she said, wrapping her arms around me.

"You mean a lot to me too, more than you know!" I whispered.