Professor Cumberbatch

Part 18

Once my classes were finished for the day, I locked myself in my room and cried until it was time for Janessa and I to go to dinner.

Seeing Benedict again after everything that had happened hurt, but knowing that I'd have to see him multiple times a week during lecture hurt even more. I still loved him, despite the way he left me and ended things between us.

Part of me wanted to see if there was a way to transfer out his class, but at the same time, I felt like it was a sign. Maybe we're meant to be together and this is fate's way of proving it.

There was a knock on my door and I had to wipe my eyes before opening it. Janessa was standing there, all dressed for dinner. Her eyes softened when she saw that I had been crying, and she immediately came into my room and closed the door behind her.

"Amelia you need to tell me what's going on."

"Actually I'm quite hungry, so—"

"Dinner can wait," she said as she cut me off. "You were acting strange earlier and now I can tell that you've been crying. I just want to know that everything is okay. That you're okay."

I fiddled with my thumbs and put my head down as I spoke. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not a soul."

Janessa sat down on the bed next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I promise."

"So I've already told you that my father died last year, and you know that I took it very hard." I paused, watching her nod in acknowledgement. "I stopped caring about school, and I started slipping because I never went to class or did my work. My professor at the time became worried and offered to tutor me and give me extra time on my work because he wanted me to succeed."

Janessa watched me, giving me her full attention. She still had her hand on my shoulder, comforting me as I explained.

"It didn't take long for us to develop feelings for each other, especially since I'd already fancied him. We started a secret relationship, and yes, we did everything. I loved him, and he loved me. It was just hard with the secrecy and knowing that we'd get in trouble if we were discovered. I was old enough to consent, but he was still my professor, and there were rules about that."

"Oh Amelia, I'm not going to judge you for that. If you were in love, how could I?" She hugged me. "I'm just not sure why you got so upset about it today."

"That's the thing..." I sighed and pulled away from the hug. "We had no intentions of stopping, but then he suddenly got a job offer as a university professor, somewhere he wouldn't tell me. He left me with no hesitation, and I didn't hear from him again. That is, until today."

Her eyes grew wide, and she had a somewhat shocked but impressed look on her face. "Professor Cumberbatch?!"

I nodded slowly, my eyes filling up with tears again. "I had absolutely no idea that this was where he became a professor. As I said, he wouldn't tell me where he was going. So when he walked into that lecture today, I was shocked and upset. And to have him be my professor again, of all things..."

By now, the tears were streaming down my face. "You love him still, don't you?"

I simply nodded and started crying into her shoulder. "I tried to move on, but I couldn't."

Janessa rubbed my back gently. "It's okay. Just let it all out girl."

I cried for a while longer before my phone dinged. Janessa got up to get it for me before saying, "Speaking of the devil..."

I straightened up and wiped my eyes, holding out my hand for my phone. She complied, and I immediately opened the messages app to read his text.

"What did he say?" She asked, sitting back down next to me.