Honor Student (17 page)

“My stomach.” I sighed as
I rubbed my hand over my belly. His eyebrows pulled together as he
scanned my face.

“I’ll run to the store
and get you something for it.” He kissed me on the forehead and
left the room before I could protest.

“Emma” William whispered
in my ear, jarring me from my dreams.

“What?” I asked, rubbing
my eyes.

“
Get up” His voice
was low and commanding. I waved my hand at him and buried my face
in the blanket.

“I’m not in the mood.” I
whined. His hand grabbed my wrist and squeezed as he pulled me
up.

“
Get up now.” His
voice was steady but low and I could tell he was not in a good
mood. He pulled me towards the bathroom of the hotel and flicked on
the light. It was insanely bright and I had to cover my eyes from
the harsh intrusion. William set something down on the countertop.
It made a loud slap as it hit the stone, causing me to jump. He
didn’t look at me. I glanced over to the counter and back at
him.

“What is that?” I
whispered. I was beginning to get scared.

He rubbed his hands
through his hair and over his mouth. “It’s a pregnancy test.” My
stomach began doing summersaults.

“
But I’m not…I
mean…I can’t be” My memory was going thinking of all the encounters
I had had with William. My heart sank as I realized we hadn’t
always been safe when we got caught up in the heat of the moment
and William was blaming me. I bit my lip and stared at him, unable
to form words.

“Now” he hissed, his eyes
darted to mine and back to the wall behind me. I jumped at his
angry tone and grabbed for the stick on the counter. I was
mortified. Pregnancy had never crossed my mind. I reluctantly took
the test and sat it back on the countertop next to him. My eyes
overflowed with tears as I pushed passed him with my shoulder. I
began to frantically gather my things wanting desperately to get as
far away from all of this as possible.

I glanced behind me
towards the bathroom before dragging my things out the door.
William didn’t try to stop me. I fumbled with my phone as I made my
way to the sidewalk in front of the building. I was in a strange
city thousands of miles from everyone I knew with no where to go. I
hopped into the first cab that pulled up.

“Where to?”

“A hotel, something
inexpensive…but safe” I choked out between sobs. The cabby nodded
and pulled away from the curb. We drove for about ten minutes
before pulling up outside of hotel.

“Thanks” I said, whipping
my tears and handing him some money from my bag. I dragged my
things into the hotel, paying with an emergancy credit card.

My phone never rang
that night. The next day the I awoke feeling like I had been ran
over by a truck. I flipped through the phone book and got the
number for an airport to schedule my trip home. I could barely
breath, barely think. My heart sank as my thoughts automatically
went back to William. I needed to get out of this place before I
lost my courage and went running back to him. I scheduled a flight
for a few hours away and set off to wait at the aiport. The time
flew by and before I knew it I was on my plane headed back to
Florida. I slept away the entire trip after spending the night
before awake and sobbing.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The plane landed
and I stepped out in to the airport. I wrapped my arms around
myself and waited for my bags as I stared off into nothing. I
gathered my things and stepped out onto the sidewalk. I had nowhere
to go. My aunt was not expecting me home for days. I grabbed my
phone and looked the screen. I had no missed calls, no messages. I
sighed as I scrolled through the small list of numbers on my
phone.

Can you do me a
favor?

I clicked send and waited
for a response. A few minutes later my phone rang and I smiled
nervously as I answered.

“
Hey, Jeff”
Everyone else I knew was on vacation celebrating graduation. Jeff
had mentioned that he would have to stay behind. We talked for a
few minutes.

“
Thanks, I really
appreciate it.” I sat down on the curb and waited for Jeff to
arrive. I slipped a flat orange container from my purse and pushed
a tiny pill through the foil and popped it in my mouth. I realized
that I was on the sugar pill week of my birth control, but I took
it anyway to keep routine. My stomach was twisting in pain. I
closed the pack as I thought of William. If he had known I was on
the pill he wouldn’t have flipped out the way he did, but in a way
I was glad it happened. He had turned cold and heartless at the
drop of a dime. I couldn’t be with someone like that. Jeff’s car
pulled up to the curb and he grinned from ear to ear when he saw
me. I smiled back, trying to look happy. He jumped out of his seat
and quickly took my bags, loading them into his trunk.

“That should do it.”

“
Thank you, Jeff.
You really helped me out here.” I smiled. He gave me a one armed
hug. I almost pulled back from him but it was nice to have someone
care for me. I turned up the radio as soon as we got in the car to
avoid the awkward conversation as to why my eyes were puffy and red
and I needed a place to stay.

“This is it.” He said,
pushing open his apartment door. It was small and dark but he kept
it clean.

“It’s nice” I smiled. He
scratched the back of his head.

“
My roommate is
gone for vacation, so if you want you can take his room he won’t
mind.” I nodded my head as I looked down the hallway.

“Thank you, Jeff.” I drug
my back back to the room and sat it on the bed before walking back
into the living room.

“So…” He shoved his hands
in his pockets and looked at me.

“I’ll explain it over a
beer, okay?” I held up my hand, not wanting to let my thoughts
linger on William.

“
Deal” Jeff flashed
me a smile and grabbed two beers from his fridge, making sure to
open my bottle before handing it to me. I chewed on my lip as I
pulled my legs under me on the couch. I took a long sip as Jeff
stared at me.

“
So?” He said,
trying to get me talking. I explained my situation, leaving out
certain details like names and sexual habits.

“Wow” His eyes looked
down at the floor.

“yea” I sighed, afraid to
look him in the eye. He pushed off the couch and made his way
across the room. He returned a few seconds later with a bottle and
two small glasses.

“
We are going to
need something a lot stronger.” He smiled and I immediately
relaxed. I had judged him a little too harshly when I had first met
him. He was going out of his way to help me and make me feel
better.

“
Thank you” I said,
my eyes pressed shut as I gasped. The liquor burned my throat and
for a minute I thought it was on fire. Jeff laughed and drank back
his. “So, what about you?” I asked, watching him pour another
round.

“
I really liked a
girl once, but she was busy carring on a secret romance with some
asshole who broke her heart.” His eyes flashed up to mine. I smiled
nervously and took the glass from his hand.

“
To assholes and
the idiots who fall for them.” He bumped his glass against mine and
we drank them down. My phone rang and I froze in place, my eyes
wide as they locked onto Jeff’s. He shook his head and grabbed the
phone from my hand.

“She doesn’t want to talk
to you. You missed your chance.” He hung up the phone and held it
out for me. My jaw fell open and I blinked several times trying to
erase what had just happened. My phone rang again and I quickly hit
the switch on the side to mute it.

“Another?” Jeff asked,
holding up the bottle. I nodded, handing him my glass. He filled it
and I slammed it back, holding my hand out for a refill.

“
That’s what I’m
talking about!” he laughed and filled our glasses again, spilling
some on my lap. The shots slid down my thoat easier now and my head
was beginning to feel light. Jeff stumbled into the kitchen and
grabbed a rag to clean up his mess. He rubbed it on my lap, his
breath reaking of alcohol on my face.

“Woah! I got it!” I took
the rag from his hand and rubbed it on my jeans. “Shit” I
muttered.

“I’m so sorry.” Jeff
stumbled to his feet.

“I should go change.” I
stood up, falling back against the couch to catch myself. I
stumbled back the hall, leaning against the walls for support. My
phone lit up and vibrated in my hand.

“
What?” I slurred
into the phone. William was breathing heavily.

“
What’s wrong with
you?” He hissed angrily. I made a face at the phone.

“What is wrong with me?”
I pointed to myself as I stumbled into the bedroom.

“Are you drunk?” He
asked, sounding concerned.

“Hey, if you need a shirt
or something I can grab you one of mine.” Jeff called from the
doorway.

“Who the fuck was that?”
William yelled in my ear. I pulled the phone back from my face.

“My friend” I said as
angrily as I could.

“
I’m five minutes
away. Come outside
now!
”

“How did you…” I
rememebered he was able to track my phone and rage boiled inside of
me.

“Here” Jeff held out an
oversized Kippling shirt.

“Thank you” I took it
from him and stumbled. He caught me by my arms.

“I think you should lay
down.” He said, inches from my face. I pushed him back from me.

“
I’m fine” His grip
didn’t loosen as he pushed me back towards the bed. “I said I’m
fine!” I lost my footing and tumbled back onto the bed. Jeff landed
on top of me, his hands groping at me. “Get off of me!” I screamed.
A loud banging came from down the hall and in an instant Jeff was
pulled off of me. William slammed him against the wall, causing his
head to crack loudly against it.

“
Mr. Honor?” Jeff
slurred, in shock. William pulled back and hit Jeff hard across the
face. Blood flew from his nose on impact. He held him by his shirt
and leaned in close to him.

“
If you
ever
hurt her again I will kill you.” Jeff pressed himself
against the wall, terrified. William stared at him for another
minute before letting him go and holding out his hand to me. I
slipped my fingers in his and he grabbed my things, dragging me
from the apartment. As soon as we reached the sidewalk I lurched
forward, vomitting all over the ground.

“Well, I guess you know
that you’re not pregnant.” He said dryly. I looked at him for a
long moment.

“I knew all along.” I
glared at him. He swallowed hard and opened his car door.

“Let’s go” he said, no
anger in his voice. I slipped into my seat and slammed the
door.

“
Just take me to my
car.” I felt his eyes on me and he took off fast down the road. My
stomach was churning and I wanted to beg him to go slower, but I
didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

Chapter Thirty-Three

After taking a shower and
eating something I felt a lot better but my heart still ached and
the cause of it was sitting just a few feet from me.

“I want to go home.” I
said, pulling my knees to my chest.

“
Give me a chance
to explain.” He said, his voice panicked. I glared at
him.

“What is there to say?” I
could feel my chest growing heavy as I relived what had happened in
my mind.

“
I know you deserve
better than me.” He looked at me and waited for a response. I
didn’t say anything. “Can I hold you?” He asked. His words caught
me off guard. I wanted to scream at him and run out of the door but
I sat, frozen in place. William slid closer on the couch and
wrapped his arms around me, pulling me down on him as he laid back.
He sighed, pushing my hair back from my face.

“Abby was pregnant.” He
whispered. My blood ran cold.

“What?” I asked, in shock
as I twisted to see his face. His eyes were pink and swollen like
he had been crying since I left.

“We had just found out.”
He smirked at the memory.

“You have a…” He shook
his head before I could finish my sentence.

“
She took the
money, remember? She didn’t have room in her life for me and our…”
His voice trailed off. He pressed his eyes closed, trying to
forget. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just…couldn’t.” A tear
escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. I wiped it with my
thumb, staring into his eyes.

“
I’m so sorry.” I
whispered. He ran hands through his hair as he sat up.

“
You’re
sorry? Emma, I damn near
ruined your life in the short time that I’ve known you.” He was
angry with himself and on the verge of breaking down
completely.

“William, everyone has a
past. Mine isn’t that great either but it made you who you are
today. The man I love.” I put my hand on his chest. His heart was
beating wildly.

“You still love me?” His
face was pained as he braced himself for me to break his heart.

“More than anything.” I
smiled as I looked down at my hand on his chest, thinking of how
far we have come in this short amount of time. “I belong to you.” I
said quietly. His eyes began to burn and I could tell his mood was
shifting. He grabbed my hand and held it tightly against him.

“I love you more than
anything, Emma. I don’t want to ever feel the way I did when I
thought I had lost you forever.” I smiled and leaned in to kiss
him. His lips pressed hard against mine. “Marry me”

‘Honor & Obey’ will be available
soon!