18

LUCIA

Once Beth left, I slowly prepared for bed, and once I lay down, it didn’t take long for the thoughts that I had been trying to escape to invade my mind.

I had made a horrible mistake, and I didn’t even realize it at the time. How could I be so stupid and careless?

How could I have sex with my students on campus grounds? In my office? Without even locking the door?

There was no explanation for this. I had lost my damn mind. That was for sure. I couldn’t believe what I had done?

What if a professor or student walked in on us at the time? What would I have done then?

The fact that nobody walked in on us did not make me less afraid. The fact that we did it on school grounds again and again was still horrible.

What if someone had heard us from outside? My heart rate sped up at the possibility, and my hands and feet instantly began trembling at the possibility.

If someone had overheard us from outside, it meant that we were not off the hook just yet.

The thoughts of what could happen to me now kept me up through the entire night, and soon it was morning again.

I let out a loud groan, feeling like a zombie. I had an excruciating headache, and my eyes felt heavy as lead, but unfortunately, I had no choice but to go to work.

I managed to get up from the bed despite feeling like I was about to die. I managed to get dressed very slowly, and by the time I got to school, I was extremely late, and unfortunately, Jeremy’s class was the first class I had to teach.

I let out a loud groan, running my fingers through my hair roughly at that realization, but that was a huge mistake on my part because my head felt like it had been lit on fire.

“Ow!” I cried, pressing my cool fingers to my forehead, unfortunately attracting attention from the students in the hallway.

“I’m okay.” I said, managing to plaster a fake smile on my face before rushing off to my class.

My heart did a flip when I saw Jeremy already seated along with the rest of the class and once his eyes landed on me, he gave me a bright smile which almost made me melt into a puddle.

I was almost enchanted by that smile, but I quickly shook my head, forcing myself to tear my gaze away, but it was only short-lived because I found myself gazing at him once again.

The girl he had been kissing earlier was trying to get his attention, but he was focused on staring at me instead.

He was smiling at me again, but it only made my heart bleed because I knew I would have to break his heart again.

We could not let what happened last night repeat itself. I would have to tell him to stay away from me once again, and we would be back to square one.

I saw through Jeremy’s attempts to grab my attention, but I ignored it each time, and soon, the class was over.

I was packing up my stuff when all of the students dispersed. When I noticed Jeremy making his way towards me from the corner of my eyes, I let out a loud and tired sigh.

Cutting him off would be way harder than I thought.

I slowly turned to him, managing to plaster the iciest expression I could on my face.

“Mr Hale.” I said in a cold tone, placing my hands on her hips.

He let out a chuckle at that, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was so funny. “You don’t have to call me that right now. The classroom’s empty. Unless you’re into roleplays in bed? We could be professor and student.” He whispered, wiggling his brows.

I let out another sigh, crossing my arms over my chest as a scowl made its way onto my face. “That’s not funny. And we’ll not be doing that.” I said sharply, and the smile slowly slipped from Jeremy’s face as his brows furrowed in confusion and concern.

“Oh. Well, if you’re not into roleplays, then that’s okay. Can I please take you out to dinner?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline, Mr Hale.” I shot out instantly, and Jeremy’s expression looked crestfallen as he moved closer to me.

“What’s going on, Lucia? I thought we were good after yesterday?” His eyes roamed my face, and his expression looked even more concerned as he took another step closer to me.

“Are you okay? You look a bit pale.”

He raised his hand to place it on my forehead, but I quickly moved away like I had gotten burned. My heart tugged at the hurt expression on his face, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“I’m fine. Whatever happened between us last night will not happen again.” I said in a harsh voice, and he flinched, the hurt expression on his face intensifying.

“Did I do something wrong?”

I shrugged. “You didn’t, but it was a mistake. It should never have happened. We should never have happened.”

“Lucia,” His voice broke, and my heart went along with it. “Why do you keep doing this to me? Did you forget that it was you who kissed me first?!” He whisper-yelled, clearly upset, and I flinched before regaining my composure.

“Why the hell did you kiss me if you were going to break my heart again?” He was clearly upset, but I was glad that he did not raise his voice.

“I’m sorry that I kissed you, Jeremy. That was a mistake on my part, but this is a dangerous game we’re playing, and I refused to be a part of it. Goodbye.” I took my bag and began making my way out of the lecture hall, but just as I expected, I felt Jeremy grab my arm, spinning me around.

My heart instantly shattered at the fact that there were tears in his eyes.

“Lucia, please. If I did anything last night, I’m sorry. I’ll make things right, but please, don’t do this to me again. Please. I just got you back, and you’re leaving again.”

I slowly took my arm from his grip. “It’s not you, Jeremy. It’s our unfortunate circumstance.”

Jeremy’s face was panicked as he roughly ran his fingers through his hair. “I know you’re scared because you’re my professor, and I’m your student, but we can keep this a secret.”

I shook my head instantly. “I’m afraid not after last night. A costly mistake like that could end up happening again, and that would be the end of my career. I’m not going to let that happen. I won’t. This is the end, Jeremy. I’m done for real this time. Stay away from me.”

With tears in my eyes, I walked out of the lecture hall, and this time, Jeremy did not stop me.

My entire body trembled, my head and eyes hurt, and I just wanted to go back home, bury my face in my pillow, and cry my heart out, but I couldn’t do that. I had work to do.

I went into my office and composed myself as much as I could before continuing with the day’s tasks.

As I continued working, I couldn’t help but feel paranoid about the events of last night. The way Jeremy and I carelessly made love in my office.

I couldn’t help but wonder if someone had overheard us and reported it to the higher-ups. I wondered if I would get a call to face a panel anytime soon.

Whenever anyone came up to me to talk, I instantly thought they were here to deliver the news of me facing a disciplinary panel or perhaps the news that I had been fired, but they ended up being trivial things and when it was finally time for me to go home, I still had not received any news that I had been fired.

It still did not relieve my paranoia as I could only think that the evil day had been postponed.

I still managed to make my way home and even though I was not feeling too well as a result of the sleepless night, the paranoia I felt only made things twice as worse and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to pay my best friend a visit.

She was the only one who could make me feel better whenever I felt like this, and besides, I owed her and her husband a visit, which was long overdue.

After changing out of my work clothes into something more casual, I slipped out of the house, feeling the wind ruffle my clothes and hair.

I wasted no time calling a cab, which instantly took me straight to Beth’s residence. The ride was extremely silent, and even though I tried to resist, the thoughts of Jeremy kept invading my mind.