Always You (13 page)

“Wow,” she mumbled, furrowing
her brows together. “That’s pretty incredible, huh?”

“No,” I replied, kissing her
lips. “
You’re
pretty incredible.”

Dalton

I collapsed into bed late
Sunday night, too tired to bother showering, or even undressing. I was
exhausted.
 

I’d barely gotten any sleep the
night before. I’d spent most of it lying in bed with Wrenn curled up in my
arms, watching her sleep. I loved the way her lip twitched, and how every few
minutes she’d sigh. It was like I couldn’t let myself fall asleep because I
wanted to remember every second with her.

Now we were back on campus,
back to reality. It was ironic that being back in the real world meant going
back to pretending to be I was something I wasn’t. We only had to get through
one more week, and then things would be easier. I still didn’t know how we were
going to break the news to Layna—or even if there was any news to break.
Wrenn had a lot of thinking to do, and I didn’t want to assume she would decide
to be with me just because of last night.

***

The following afternoon, I was
sitting in the teacher’s lounge when Layna came in. “Dalton, can I see you for
a moment. In my office?”

I nodded, eyeing her
expression. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

God, she knows. Fuck.

I followed her into her office,
all the classic signs of a panic attack beginning to manifest inside me: the
shaking hands, the rapid heartbeat, and the pit in my stomach. I took a seat at
her desk, trying to hide my shaking hands by positioning them under my thighs.

What was my best move here?
Wait for the accusations to begin, or get everything on the table now, first?

“Dalton, there’s no easy way to
say this . . . ” She sighed as she sat down, her hands clenched together on her
desk. “There has been an accusation made against you.”

“An accusation?” I repeated,
shocked. My mind wandered to Wrenn. There was no way in hell . . . would she? I
mean, she was confused about us right now, but she would never do that.

“A student has made a claim
against you . . . ” She stopped and took a breath. “Gosh, I don’t even know how
to phrase this. Have you had any inappropriate dealings with Paige Warner?”

“Paige?” I almost shouted. Part
of me felt relief. The rest of me wondered what the fuck Paige had told her.
“Never. I’ve never even been alone with her, other than a minute or two before
or after class. What is she saying I did?”

“Ms. Warner is saying that you
asked her to your room last night. She claims that you forced yourself on her.”

“She told you that I
raped
her?” I said, incredulous.

What the fuck?
Last night I had been with Wrenn, fifty miles from
this place. I’d worked myself up so much expecting this to be about Wrenn that
my body was in panic mode. It was Paige’s word against mine, and the only way
to clear my name would be to admit my relationship with Wrenn.

Fuck
. Once these things got out, it didn’t matter if I was innocent
or not, my career would be in the shitter.

“She said that you intimidated
her into having sex with you. She is not saying you raped her, but she is
saying she felt she couldn’t say no, given your position.”

“And that’s not rape?” I asked
sarcastically. “What happens now?”

“I need to notify the school
board and let them know. Then I will have to inform the police.”

Holy shit
.

This was crazy. I had no idea
what the fuck was going through that girl’s head. Why the hell would she make
up such lies? Was this all because I shot down her advances?

“Dalton, if this isn’t true, we
will get to the bottom of it.” Layna looked at me sympathetically.

“Right, because an indecent
assault investigation will have no influence on my future employment prospects
at all,” I growled. I felt bad for snapping at Layna. She was just doing her
job. “I’m sorry. I understand that you’re in a difficult position.”

She smiled at me and nodded.
“We will sort this out, Dalton. Try not to worry. In the meantime, I’m going to
have to suspend you. It might be an idea for you to stay off campus for a few
days while the police complete their investigation.”

I nodded curtly, and stood up.
“If that’s all, I will go and collect some of my things.”

***

“She what?” Wrenn squeaked. Her
reaction was the same as mine: horrified and angry. “What the . . . I mean, you
were with me . . . oh, that
bitch
.”

“What?” I said, balancing the
phone on my shoulder as I packed my bag.

“That little slut! I know
exactly
what her game is, Dalton. She
doesn’t want to rat on us, so the next best thing is to make us expose
ourselves.”

Holy shit, Wrenn was right.

Paige knew the only way for me
to truly clear my name was to admit my affair with Wrenn. She knew I was with
Wrenn the night before. How, I don’t know, but it all made sense: she was so
threatened by Wrenn that she would do anything to destroy her
—a
nd me, it
seemed.

“I can’t believe it,” I
muttered.

“So what now? You just leave?”

“I can’t just leave, I’m under
police investigation. The school is putting me up in a hotel for a few nights,”
I replied glumly.

“Which hotel?” she asked.

“Wrenn, that is such a bad idea
. . . ”

“I know. But not seeing you
will be torture,” she muttered.

“Does that mean you forgive
me?” I asked, holding my breath.

“I forgive you. I mean, I
understand why you didn’t tell me, and it doesn’t change how I feel about you…”
her voice trailed off.

“But?” I prodded gently.

“I need to think. But that
doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you. Even though we can’t, anyway.”

“We can see each other, just
not there. Maybe speak to Kass and see if she has any ideas on where we could
meet?”

“Good idea. I’ll talk to her
today,” Wrenn replied. “I better go. Layna just got home. Text me later?”

“Okay. Bye.” I hung up, still
reeling over what had happened. Though I knew I’d done nothing wrong where
Paige was concerned, I couldn’t see this ending well.

***

The motel on the edge of town
was dark and seedy, and apparently all the school thought I was worth. The
stained sheets made the bed look uninviting, and the scratching sound of
cockroaches digging around on the floor made my stomach turn. I texted Wrenn to
let her know I was okay. There was no point letting her know how bad this place
was; I was already worried she was going to come clean to Layna. I didn’t need
to give her more reason to.

I couldn’t stay there. Grabbing
my bag, I exited the motel room, slamming the door shut behind me. I’d rather
sleep in my car than in that shithole. I threw my bag in the back and slid into
the drivers seat. I searched on my phone for a hotel in Hollisbrook. I’d stay
one night there and then go to Mom’s. If the police wanted to speak to me, they
could do so there.

After booking a room and going
inside, I threw my bag down on the floor and collapsed onto the bed. How the
hell did things get this fucked up? I dreaded what the police were going to ask
me. Had I been inappropriate with a student at the school?
Well technically,
yes, but it’s not what you think!
Yeah right, that was going to go down
well.

***

What the hell was that?

It was pitch black. It took me
a moment to remember where I was and why I was there. I fumbled blindly for a
bedside lamp. My fingers grasped the cord. Light filled the room.

Bang, bang, bang.

I jumped up and headed for the
door. Wrenn stood there, frowning at me. She ducked inside and shut the door.

“You look like shit,” she
observed.

“Thanks.” I rubbed my aching
head. “How did you know I was here?” I croaked.

She gave me a strange look.
“You messaged me.” She leaned over, and for a second I thought she was going to
kiss me. “Have you been drinking?”

Had I?
I glanced over at the minibar, and the several empty bottles
that lay scattered over the counter. Well, that explained a few things.

She walked over to them and
disposed of the empty bottles in the garbage. Next, she took the coffee pot and
half-filled it with water, then coffee, before plugging it in. In the back of
my mind stuck the words ‘memory loss.’ Like every other time any possible
symptom surfaced, the question raced through my mind: was this the beginning?
Did I have it?

Even a few weeks ago, the phone
slipping out of my grasp at Wrenn’s. I’d gotten out of there so fast after
that.

“I’m going to tell Layna
everything,” Wrenn announced.

“Wrenn, don’t—”

“Do you have a better idea?”
she asked, spinning around, her eyebrows raised.

I shut my mouth.
No, I didn’t.
I sank onto the bed and
sighed. Wrenn sat next to me and reached for my hand. She was so warm. How did
she do that?

“Look, she’ll be angry, but
whatever she does it has to be better than the alternative, right? As soon as
the police start questioning you, our secret is going to come out.” The coffee
maker boiled. She stood up and filled two cups with coffee and cream.

“Thanks,” I muttered, taking
the coffee from her outstretched hand. “I’m going to stay at Mom’s for a few
days. I can’t stay here, staring at there walls. It’s driving me crazy.

“So I won’t see you?”

“I’ll give it a few days and
see where this goes. Hopefully I’ll be back before you even start missing me,”
I said. I set the coffee down and reached for her hand, pulling her onto my
lap.

She sat, straddling me, my arms
around her waist. Even a few days away from her was too long, but I couldn’t
stay where I was.

“I already miss you,” she
mumbled, frowning.

I kissed the tip of her nose
and rested my forehead against hers.

“I can barely get through a few
hours without you, Dalton.” Her voice cracked as she closed her eyes, refusing
to look at me.

Gently I lifted her chin, my
lips pressing against hers. As we kissed, arousal began to build inside me. I
slipped my hand under her sweater, running my fingers along the curve of her
spine. She sighed as my lips found her neck.

Her fingers closing around the
hem of her sweater, she lifted it over her head. God, she was so fucking sexy.
I kissed hers breasts around the cup of her lacy black bra, pulling it down to
expose her soft skin. My mouth fondled her nipple until it sat erect.

“I want you so fucking bad,
Wrenn.”

She kissed me and then stood
up, wiggling out of her jeans. Pushing me back on the bed, she reached for my
belt, unbuckling both it and my pants. I lifted my hips, letting her pull them
down, along with my boxers, until they pooled in a pile on the floor. My cock
ached for her as she kneeled down. Taking the tip in her mouth, she began to
suck.

Oh lord. Fuck yes.
Her tongue ran along the length of me as her
soft lips worked my cock. My hands found her head, my fingers raking through
her long, silky hair. There was something incredibly erotic about watching her
as she sucked, her eyes firmly on me, like she knew the power she had over me.

“Come here,” I panted, reaching
for my wallet. I pulled out a condom and rolled it over my erection. Taking her
hand, I helped her onto the bed, lowering her onto my length. She groaned as I
slid inside her, grinding against me as I rocked her back and forth.

My fingers roamed up her bare
waist, running over her breasts, squeezing them in my hands, then back down,
clutching onto her hips, thrusting myself deeper inside of her.

“Oh God, yes,” she gasped. She
bent over me, her breasts spilling in my face as she rode my length. I curled
my tongue around her nipple and sucked hard, making her scream out. “I’m going
to come. Oh God, yes!” she cried as I rocked her faster.

Oh God, what this woman did to me.

I gasped as I released, her
nails digging into the skin on my chest, the pain nonexistent in the midst of
the orgasm I was experiencing. She drove me crazy and pressed every single
button, sending everything about me into overdrive.

She collapsed beside me on the
bed, panting heavily. I rolled over and spooned her, exhausted and content. I
knew she couldn’t stay, but even a few minutes with her in my arms was worth
everything.

Wrenn

Even before I left Dalton, I’d
made up my mind to tell Layna everything. I couldn’t see the point in keeping
us a secret any longer. There was no other way out of this mess for Dalton, and
in a week none of it would matter. The only problem was Dalton’s career
—
but Paige had
pretty much made sure that was a bust.

Dan was out when I got home. I
was glad. This was going to be hard enough with just Layna. She would tell Dan,
and I was fine with that, but telling both of them together was way too
overwhelming. I found Layna in her office, eyebrows creased and deep in
thought, poring over papers. I rapped on the door. She looked up and smiled.

“Can I talk to you about
something?” I asked her, walking over and sitting down opposite her, my hands
clasped tightly together in my lap.

“You can always talk to me.
What’s up?” she asked, taking her glasses off.

I held my hands together to try
and combat the uncontrollable shaking in them. I was honestly terrified of what
she was going to say. “I need to tell you something. I know you’re going to be
angry, but I hope you can at least listen to what I’m telling you and be
open-minded.”

Layna frowned at me. “You’re
scaring me, Wrenn. Are you pregnant?” she gasped.

I snorted and shook my head.
God, no
—
though
maybe her thinking that was a good thing? Maybe that lessened the impact of
what I had to tell her?
I wish.

“I’ve been seeing someone.” I
swallowed hard, the huge lump in my throat not moving. “He is the most amazing
guy I’ve ever met. Around him I feel special. Like I’m one in a million. He
makes me want more for myself. He makes me want to live, not just exist. I
honestly can’t explain how deep my feelings for him are, Layna. There just
aren’t words to do it justice.”

“Well, that’s good,” Layna said
nervously, smoothing her blonde hair with her hands. “When are you getting to
the part I’ll hate?”

“It’s coming,” I assured her
with a grin. “You’re not going to be happy when you hear who this guy is.” I
paused for a moment, rubbing my lips together. “Dalton.”

“Dalton?” gasped Layna, her
mouth dropping open. “As in…”

“Yes.”

“Oh, Wrenn. Why? How? Did you
instigate this or did he?” Layna’s eyes welled up with tears, her hand flying
to her mouth.

“It wasn’t like that, Layna. It
just happened. Please don’t be angry at him. If anything, I pushed for us to be
together.” I was trying so hard to explain, but no matter what I said, he was
always going to be my teacher who took advantage of me.

“Come on, Wrenn. He’s your
teacher, of course he’s at fault. He abused his position of power. Regardless
of how it might feel, he took advantage of you.” She was past being upset and
had moved straight into anger. Anger that was directed at him.

“But I’m eighteen,” I argued.
“I’m an adult. There is no law stopping us from being together—”

“Again, that doesn’t matter!
This school prides itself on its reputation. How do you think this will look to
our investors? And I can tell you right now this does nothing to help his case
against Paige.” She stood up, pacing the small space in her office, every now
and then stopping to shake her head.

“That’s why I’m telling you
this. I know he wasn’t with Paige that night, because he and I were at the
vacation house in Cinter Beach. Paige is
lying
.”
I sighed and shook my head.

This was such a mess. I felt
like all I had done was make things worse. Fuck Paige. This was all her fault.
If she had kept her filthy lying mouth shut, none of this would be happening.
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that Layna would’ve found out
eventually. She wasn’t stupid; she would’ve put it together and realized what
we’d been doing.

“She made a pass at him, he
shot her down, she wanted revenge. She knew about him and me, and she knew that
I would do anything to protect him, even if it meant ruining my relationship
with you,” I explained softly.

Layna was quiet for a moment.
“You could never ruin our relationship,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.
“I’m shocked, Wrenn, and disappointed. This is a lot to take in. But no matter
what, Dan and I will always love you and be here for you.”
 
She sat down next to me, taking my hand
in hers. “This is why you were so upset after hearing me on the phone with his
mother.” Her eyes welled up again. “God, I’m so sorry you had to find out that
way.”

 
“So you’ve known all along that Dalton
might have this…disease?” I finished.

Layna nodded, her eyes full of
sadness. “I take it he’s told you what it is?”

I nodded.

“His father was a wonderful
man. It was so hard for his mother to watch him suffer like that. Are you sure
you’re ready for that, Wrenn?”

“No,” I admitted, “but I’m not
ready to let him go, either. So what choice do I have? I’m thinking about it.
Everything. I haven’t given him an answer yet.”

Layna nodded. “You’re a very
mature young woman. Most girls your age wouldn’t be thinking so far into the
future, but you have your life pretty much planned out. I admire that.”

I smiled, her words meaning
more to me than I could express. I was so sure she wouldn’t understand, and she’d
been more supportive than I ever could’ve imagined.

“I’m not even sure what I’m
doing,” I admitted honestly.

“No, but the fact that you’re
thinking so deeply about things says a lot.”

I moved forward, fiddling with
my fingernails as I worked up the courage to ask her what was on my mind
—t
hings I had
been too afraid to ask Dalton, morbid things that I couldn’t get out of my
head. Every time I thought to myself that I couldn’t do it, I’d think about not
being with him and realize that leaving him wasn’t an option. I
had
to do it. More than that, I had to
suck it up and stop being such a selfish child. This wasn’t about me. Not
really. The picture was so much bigger than what I was feeling at the moment.

“Layna? Dalton’s dad
—d
id you know
him well? I don’t know much about this disease, only what I found on Google and
what Dalton has told me.”

“Yes, I knew him well. He was a
proud man who didn’t like to be fussed over. That made the whole thing so much
worse.” She sighed and shook her head sadly, her eyes clouding over with
memories.

“How do you mean?” I asked, my
voice small.

“The disease robbed him of all
his independence, Wrenn. Even the smallest thing, he needed assistance with.
Early on in his diagnosis it wasn’t so bad, but as things progressed…it was hard,
even for me, a
person outside of their circle, to watch.” She looked at me earnestly. “I’m not
going to lie to you, Wrenn. How Mary and Dalton coped with that is beyond me.
Huntington’s disease is relentless. It’s a terrible, horrible illness. And it’s
not just the physical symptoms you need to watch out for. Things like
depression and other mental illnesses are common symptoms that can occur way
before any physical symptoms kick in.”

“What scares me the most is
losing him. I don’t know if I can handle that. How can I be strong for him when
I can’t cope with things myself?” My voice broke.

Layna stood me up and hugged me
again, her warm embrace comforting. “You’re stronger than you think, honey. And
there is so much love and passion inside of you. Your mom would be very proud,
you know that?”

I nodded, wiping my eyes. She
would be proud of me. Not so much the falling for the teacher thing, but
everything else. How I’d handled everything I’d been through the past year. And
now this.

“God, Wrenn, I can’t be mad at
you. Everything should horrify me, both as
your
aunt and as
his
boss, but both of you
have been through so much. And no matter what, you’ll always have me. Whatever
you decide, and whenever you need me, I’ll be right by your side. You won’t be
in this alone, honey.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. “That
means a lot to hear you say that.”

I rubbed the side of my head
and stifled a yawn, only just realizing how tired I was. The last couple of
days had been huge, and so stressful I’d only managed a few hours of sleep.

“So what happens now? Is this
enough to get Paige’s claim thrown out?” I asked nervously.

“It will certainly be enough to
create doubt in her story. And if you’re right and all she wants is to ruin
you, then your admittance should be enough for her to drop her accusation.”

“And Dalton? How will this
affect his career?”

Layna shook her head.
“Unfortunately, that’s not completely up to me. I’ll do my best for this not to
go on his record, but I can’t promise you anything. You should stay away from
him for a few days, though, Wrenn. It will be best for both him and you. Until
this is cleared up. Until after your graduation.”

I nodded and hugged her again,
wondering how I was going to go without seeing him, but at the same time
relieved I had the time I needed to think. Without the distraction of him.