Honor Student

chapter twenty-Six

I realized I must have fallen asleep. I awoke wrapped in a giant white comforter, alone. My body still felt incredibly exhausted but I wanted to find William. I grabbed a t- shirt from his drawar and slid it on, not bothering to put on panties. I walked out into the main living area. I stopped dead in my tracks as I noticed several pairs of eyes staring back at me. I looked at William who jumped to his feet.

“This is Emma.” He said. The man beside him rose to his feet. I tugged at my t-shirt trying desperatly to cover myself. “Emma, this is Mayor Locklin.” My mouth feel open as I suddenly realised why he looked so familiar.

“Pleasure” The mayor nodded and I could see him trying to hide his smirk.

“I’m gonna…” I was too flustered to even form a sentence. I ducked back into the bedroom and pulled on my clothing. After I was dressed I debated crawling out of the window but we were on the second story and I didn’t feel like a hospital visit. I slowly peered around the doorway.

“Emma” William called for me.

“Shit” I muttered under my breath and made my way across the room. I bit my lip as I rounded the large dark brown leather couches. William took his thumb and tugged my lip from my teeth.

“Sit” he said and I sat down on the couch facing the Mayor.

“Emma” The Mayor nodded his head to greet me.

“Mayor Locklin” I replied, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“Please, call me Stephen.” He replied and I let myself relax a little.

“Stephen” I repeated, looking over at William who had taken a seat next to me, placing his hand on my knee.

“Stephen is an old friend of mine from college. He also owes me a favor, which makes him trustworthy.” William grinned.

“Now, how do you propose we get rid of your ex-wife?” The Mayor asked as if he was asking for directions to the mall. The room began to spin around me and I felt myself grow lightheaded as their words grew muffled and distant. This is not what I had pictured as my happily ever after.

“Emma!” William was shaking me from my sleep.

“What happened?” I rubbed my eyes, noting someone had spashed water on my face.

“Are you narcaleptic?” The Mayor asked, and I wasn’t sure it was an attempt at a joke or if he was genuinly worried.

“No” I sat up and pulled at my shirt. William placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Abby, we didn’t mean ‘get rid of her’ like that.” I could hear his amusement in his words. “We just need to figure out how to make her not come back again and again once she has been paid.” He put his hand on my knee to comfort me. I looked up at the Mayor who was looking back at me as if I was an imbecile.

“Right, well, we need to negotiate terms and have your lawyer speak with her. Are you sure this is about the money and not about some sort of revenge?” He asked, his eyes glued to William.

“No, no. She’s the one who broke my heart, remember?” William shook his head at the idea.

“Yea, I know. I just needed to make sure their was nothing else that would come out later.” He stood up and William rose from the couch. “Should be a pretty straight forward arrangement. Are you sure you want to pay her off? You could always let her say what she wants. It’s not like you need the teaching job.” William ran his hands through his hair and nodded.

“You know I can’t let this come out. I would never hear the end of it from my father.”

“I’ll help as much as I can. I owe you that much.” Stephen replied, holding out his hand. The shook and the mayor nodded at me politely before leaving. William followed after him and locked the door.

“You could have warned me that you had company!” I smacked him playfully on the arm.

“You could have warned me that you passed out so easily. Had that happened in the bedroom I would have thought I killed you.” He joked, but I knew I had genuinly scared him.

“Sorry” I looked down at the ground wishing it would swallow me whole. William stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest.

“Can I ask you something?” I mummbled into his chest. He took a deep breath.

“Ask away.” I had so many guestions running through my mind but I didn’t know if it was appropriate for me to ask.

“What did you do for the mayor that he feels he owes you?” I looked up at him and he smiled.

“If it wasn’t for me he would have never made it through college. I tutored him, helped keep him on track.” He hugged me a little tighter and I smiled back at him.

“Here I thought you helped him bury a hooker or something.” I joked. He let out a deep hearty laugh.

“No, the dead hookers didn’t start to pile up until after he became mayor.” I slapped him playfully on the chest and bit my lip. I had a million more questions.

“Where are you going to come up with the kind of money she is asking for on a teacher’s salary?” I asked. He sighed and let go of me, running his hands through his messy hair.

“My father. In fact, he is the reason she and I didn’t last in the first place.” He shook his head and the hurtful memory. “Abby started turtoring me senior year. I was more into hanging out with my friends and getting in trouble. I dind’t take my grades seriously. One night on thing lead to another. I’ll spare you the details but my father found out that we were seeing each other. He went to Abby and offered her money to stay away from me.” His eyes looked sad as he stared off into the distance. “She took it and never looked back. To add insult to injury she began flaunting some new guy around town. Everywhere I went I saw them together. It wasn’t until college when she called me and begged for me to come see her. We dated for a few months.” He looked down at the floor, “ We ran off to vegas on a whim and got married. Everything was perfect again until I found out my father had paid her. She begged for me to stay with her but I couldn’t. Now she wants to make my life miserable.” His eyes locked onto mine.

“I’m so sorry.” I took a step closer to him and he held up his hand.

“I don’t want to be pittied, Emma. It was a long time ago. I just want this bitch out of my life once and for all.” I decided to change the subject.

“So, if your father is rich, why are you working as a teacher?” I asked. He smiled a lopsided grin.

“I don’t know. I tutored all through college and I really enjoyed it. There was something really fulfilling about seeing that look on someone’s face when they understand something new.” His mood had shifted now and he was happier. “Plus, I like to be in control, but I’m sure you noticed that. I don’t want to ever get hurt like that again.” He ran his fingers down the length of my jaw and smacked me playfully on my bottom with his other hand.

“Ouch!” I jumped as he pulled my body flush against his.

“I think I answered enough questions for one day.” His mouth hovered above mine. I looked to his lips and back to his eyes, begging him silently to kiss me. He ran his thumb over my lower lip.

We spent the rest of the day in bed together. I was exhausted and starving.

“Go take a nice long bath. I’ll make us something to eat.” He kissed me quickly on the forehead and I made my way to the stark white bathroom. I soaked in the tub until the water turned cold.

“That smells delicious!” I said as I sat down at the kitchen island and twirled my wet hair into a bun.

“Thanks.” He smiled sitting a plate down in front of me. He had made cheese ravioli with a mushroom sauce. I ate every bite on my plate as he watched me, barely touching his food.

“Not hungry?” I cocked my head to the side.

“I was just thinking about how money changes people.” My eyebrows pulled together as he looked at me. It finally registered that he was worried I would take a payoff if I was was offered and the possiblity was there. I could tarnish his family’s reputation if anyone found out about us.

“I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m not that kind of person. I’m not her.” I reassured him, reaching out and putting my hand on his. He stared out my hand for a moment before lacing his fingers in mine and squeezing gently. He nodded his head but didn’t say anything. I understood why it was hard for him to trust. I would just have to prove to him that I won’t break his heart. I pulled my hand back from his and walked in to the bedroom to grab my phone. I came back out to the island and sat back down with it pressed to my ear. He looked confused for a moment.