로그인I woke at 3 AM from another nightmare that I couldn't remember.
The sheets were drenched in sweat, my heart hammering against my ribs as if it would at any moment burst out of my chest. I lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, while I waited for my breathing to slow.It didn't.I reached for my phone. 3:17 AM. Four hours until I had to get up for school.No new messages. Not that I expected any. Derek and I weren't talking. Weren't texting. Weren't anything.I opened my photo gallery and scrolled to the album I'd created before deleting everything visible. Hidden deep in a folder labelled "Bio Notes" were the photos I couldn't bring myself to completely erase. Screenshots of texts. Pictures of us from before everything went to hell.Evidence I should have destroyed.Evidence I needed like air.I stared at a photo from two months ago of Derek and me at the motel, his arm around me, both of us smiling like wI woke at 3 AM from another nightmare that I couldn't remember.The sheets were drenched in sweat, my heart hammering against my ribs as if it would at any moment burst out of my chest. I lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, while I waited for my breathing to slow.It didn't.I reached for my phone. 3:17 AM. Four hours until I had to get up for school.No new messages. Not that I expected any. Derek and I weren't talking. Weren't texting. Weren't anything.I opened my photo gallery and scrolled to the album I'd created before deleting everything visible. Hidden deep in a folder labelled "Bio Notes" were the photos I couldn't bring myself to completely erase. Screenshots of texts. Pictures of us from before everything went to hell.Evidence I should have destroyed.Evidence I needed like air.I stared at a photo from two months ago of Derek and me at the motel, his arm around me, both of us smiling like w
Derek's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "That's. an insightful observation."Emily stared at me, her face unreadable."Of course," I went on, unable to stop myself, "most of those stories end in tragedy. Because forbidden love can't survive in the light. It exists in the shadows, and eventually the shadows consume it.""Or," Derek said in a quiet voice, "it finds a way to step into the light. To transform into something that can survive. But it does take time. And patience. And often, sacrifice."We were talking in code again: The whole class could hear us, but only we knew what we were really saying."Mr. Hales?" Emily's voice cut through the moment. "What do you think happens to forbidden love? Does it ever actually work out?"Derek turned to her, and I saw the muscles in his shoulders tense."I think," he said slowly, "it depends on whether the love is genuine or just the thrill of breaking rules. If it's real, it might survive. If it's just infatuation or obsession masqueradin
Lydia's POVOne week.It was seven days since Mrs. Chen had shown me those photos, seven days since Derek had gone through the very same interrogation, seven days since we had both lied through our teeth and managed to get away with it.The investigation hadn't closed-Mrs. Chen had made that clear-but it had gone quiet. No more emergency interviews. No demands for phone records. No police involvement.Just. silence.The type of silence that felt as if one was standing on thin ice, waiting for the crack.I should have felt relieved. But instead, a feeling of smothering had overcome me."Lydia, you're doing it again."I blinked, focusing on Jess across the table from me in the cafeteria. Her lunch tray was empty, while mine was still full- its contents cold and uneaten."Doing what?" I asked. My voice came out hoarse; I wasn't used to speaking much."Disappearing." She leaned forward, concern etc
"I am not admitting anything. I'm saying hypothetically, if a student had feelings for a teacher, the right thing to do would be to maintain professional boundaries. Which I have done."Mrs. Chen pulled out more papers. "Let's talk about your employment history. You taught at Riverside High School for two years before coming here. Why did you leave?"My jaw tightened. "I wanted a change of scenery.""Or you were forced to resign?"I resigned voluntarily.""We contacted Riverside. They wouldn't provide details, citing confidentiality agreements, but they did confirm there were 'concerns' about your conduct with students there as well."That couldn't have been true. It had to be a lie. I'd left Riverside on good terms. Unless.Unless Emily had done something. Made calls, planted rumors, created a paper trail that didn't exist."I don't know what they told you," I said carefully, "but I left Riverside because I wan
Derek's POVI watched Lydia walk past me in the hall outside Mrs. Chen's office. She didn't look at me—couldn't look at me—but I saw the terror in her rigid posture, the way her hands shook as she clutched her backpack straps.They had shown her something. Something bad enough to shake her that badly."Mr. Hales?" Mrs. Chen appeared in the doorway. "I'm ready for you now."I stood, smoothing my tie out of habit, and followed her into the cramped office. The same chair Lydia had just vacated was still warm when I sat down.Mrs. Chen settled behind her desk with that same clinical expression she'd worn during our first interview. Professional. Detached. Like she was documenting a particularly interesting insect specimen."Thank you for coming in on such short notice, Mr. Hales.""Of course. Though I have to say, being pulled out of class in front of students isn't exactly subtle. People will talk.""People are alr
Mrs. Chen's temporary office was in the administrative building, a small room that had probably been a storage closet at some point. There was barely space for a desk and two chairs.She was waiting when I arrived, her portfolio already open, pen in hand."Miss Martins, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, sit."I sat, my hands folded into my lap to hide the trembling."I'll get straight to the point," she said. "We've received new information that we need you to clarify. Specifically, regarding your interactions with Mr. Derek Hales."Here it was."I already told you everything," I said, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking. "We're not close; he's just my teacher.""I see." She pulled out a photograph from her portfolio and slid it across the desk.My stomach dropped.It was Derek's car. His black sedan, parked outside of a building I recognized immediately—the motel on Route 5. Th







