Mrs. Pearson’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and she glared at me with the same sour look I had known for years. “I see exactly what this is,” she said. “And Rory? Someone your student’s age? How disappointing.”
I felt a tremble building in my gut, radiating out through my body. I wanted to get out of there, to crawl right back into the bed with Franklin and Rory. And more than anything else, I just wanted to know what the fuck was going on.
Rory stepped by my side, then rested his arm across the back of my shoulders. Immediately, relief and warmth tingled across my skin, and I leaned against him, letting him support my weight. “Asher was just here to say goodbye to Daryl,” he said. “The rest is our business.”
He started to walk me out, directly past Mrs. Pearson, who stared with contempt. I held my body close to his warmth, needing him to guide me through the bright lights and back to something good.
“You’re disgusting,” she said as we walked away. “Both of you. You’ve ruined my son and god knows how many other people. I’m ashamed to even know people like you.”
Rory stopped in his tracks. He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly as he turned. “What did you say?”
“I said you should be ashamed of yourselves,” she spat out.
Rory turned down to me, then pulled me closer. He pressed a kiss against my forehead, softly and sweetly, and Mrs. Pearson gasped in response.
“I’m proud of you,” he said to me.
I swallowed. “You are?”
“I am,” he answered, then turned back to Pearson. “And you?” he said. “Frankly, I don’t give a damn what you have to say.”
Rory turned abruptly and walked me back down the hall, leaving Mrs. Pearson squawking and cursing behind us.
I kept myself pressed close to him, not wanting to lose the comfort and safety I felt. “What just happened?” I asked. “How do you know her?”
“She’s the chair of my department,” he answered flatly.
“What does that mean?”
The elevator dinged in front of us, and we stepped in. “She’s my boss.”
“Your boss?” I yelped as we stepped in. “Fuck, Rory, I am so sorry!”
He shushed me softly, then kissed my forehead again. “Don’t you worry about that,” he said. “That’s none of your concern.”
I felt sick to my stomach, a new wave of worry crashing down on me. I could cost Rory his job and fuck over their entire life together. All because I had to go hanging out with fucking Daryl, even though I should have known better.
“Did you take care of what you need?” he asked. “You say what you needed to say?”
“I did,” I answered, although that hardly felt like enough.
“Good,” he answered. “So did I.”
