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  “Finally. I thought they’d never leave.” I walk up the risers to where Edith sits in her seat, her books on her tabletop. Her hands are folded in her lap demurely as she smirks. Brat.

  “So impatient, professor…” Edith rolls her eyes at me. I’m betting that is something Shelby taught her.

  “That doesn’t sound like a student who studied, Ms. Willows.” I lean over her table, pushing her back into her chair and sliding her offending book away from me so I can reach her better. The heavy book loudly falls to the floor.

  “That book cost over a hundred and twenty dollars…used.”

  “I’m more of an experiential kind of teacher, Miss Willows.” I shrug.

  “You know, Professor Hamilton, if we wait another week, it won’t nearly be as naughty when we get caught.” Edith mocks me with her tone as she unbuttons the top two buttons of her blouse. I should have noticed it before because it isn’t something she’d normally choose to wear. I know my girl’s wardrobe pretty well. Torn jeans that are butter soft, tanks and t-shirts with flip flops even in November. My little tease is egging me on, thinking that I won’t take the bait.

  Class is in session, Miss. Willows. “I’m not sure you understood the extra credit assignment very well, Miss. Willows,” I say, using my most authoritative voice. I rub my nose against her cheek, breathing in her scent. I reach out to touch her blouse, slipping my palm inside to cup her small breast. I rub my thumb over her nipple and listen for her breath to catch.

  “Explain it to me again,” Edith moans, whispering harshly in my ear, nipping it. I can feel my dick press up against my pants, straining to explain to her exactly what she is doing to me. I give her nipple a pinch, just hard enough to make her yelp. I rub it again, letting her take in the different sensations.

  “You better get going. I’ve got papers to grade.” I hang my head in defeat, slipping my hand back out of her shirt and buttoning it back up to the top. If we start something now, Edith will make me finish it and I would, but then I’d be jeopardizing everything we were working so hard to conceal.

  “See you Wednesday after my tutoring session. Meet Aiden, Shelby, and I for dinner? Please?” Edith leans back over the table and takes my chin in her hands, kissing me tenderly.

  “You bet, babe.” I grab her fingers and kiss the tips before letting her go, watching her walk out of my classroom in her skinny jeans and silky top. I wait fifteen minute after she leaves before I do the same. I really don’t want to get caught.

  Chapter Ten

  Edith

  I know Jack is struggling with this as much as I am. We have enough obstacles in our way without me trying to needle him into an impromptu make out session in the classroom. I rub my breast in the empty hallway, gently relishing the feel of his hand on me earlier. As I rounded the corner, I nearly collided with Daniel.

  “Edie, hello.” Daniel eyes my chest and I immediately drop my hand, feeling the burn rise up to my hairline.

  “Hey yourself, Daniel.” I try to smile, but from the moment he started tutoring me, the interaction felt strange.

  “Since I’m seeing you now, I have a favor to ask.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I tuck my hair, which was sure to have escaped its braid, behind my ear.

  “I know we usually meet at the library, but I was wondering if we can meet somewhere else tomorrow. I have this other meeting which is off campus, near Halsey Street.” That’s right near my house and since I’ve gotten to know him somewhat from the last few weeks, it will also save me time from having to go home and change to meet Jack, Aiden, and Shelby anyway.

  “Why don’t you just come to my place?” I sigh eager to get this over. “I’m three blocks from Halsey on Birchwood, number eleven. Text me if you get lost.” I cringe because I don’t know why I just agreed to have him come to my place.

  “Okay, great. See you tomorrow.” Daniel takes my hand and awkwardly shakes it before leaving. I swear he is sauntering down the hall, but I push the image out of my head and set out to meet Shelby for coffee before I go to work.

  ***

  Today breezes by and I’m looking forward to seeing Jack, Shelby, and Aiden later. Daniel texts to say he’d be a little early, which is fine with me because I will be glad to just get the tutoring session over with and finish this horrid class. I know Jack is in a meeting, so I send him a text to let him know I’ll be with Daniel and will finish sooner than normal, except we’ll be at my place instead of the library.

  When Daniel shows up, I open the door and give him a tour of my apartment. Sweeping my arm over the couch, I declare this my proud abode. “Okay, ready to crack those numbers?” he says, as we settle on opposite ends of the couch. I check my phone, but no message from Jack yet. I don’t want to be rude so I turn my phone over, blocking the screen incase Jack does respond and go back to looking over the review sheet from the day before. We review problem sets for about fifteen minutes, then Daniel starts inching toward me on the couch.

  “Uh…hey, you want something to drink?” I stand up and go to my small fridge and then the cupboard for glasses, noticing his slightly startled look. I can’t stop the feeling in the pit of my stomach and I wish we were at the library instead of in my apartment.

  “What did you have in mind, Edith? I’m kind of a beer guy, but you seem a little more sophisticated, older even.” Daniel’s tone of voice drops and I get a chill that runs up my spine, making me shiver.

  “What? I meant like water or orange juice?” I turn, but he has already blocked me from getting to my door. A door I just realized is locked from the inside and reinforced steel because Jack, my Jack, made sure it was a safe door. That is the shitty part of having a studio apartment. Things were closer, but never so far away. How safe am I with Daniel looming closer to me?

  “So, Edie, why did you think people wouldn’t notice you and Jack making moon eyes at each other?” Daniel takes a step closer and I take a step back, bumping my butt against the counter.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daniel. Do you think you could grab me the review sheet? I think I know the answer to the third question.” I am hoping he’ll step away, but no luck.

  “Do I look stupid, Edie? Am I just another idiot you bat your eyes at and fuck your way through?” Daniel growls at me and takes another step closer. Jesus, there isn’t much left between him grabbing me and me flipping out.

  “Daniel, I think you’re making a mistake. I don’t even know Mr. Hamilton that well.” I can feel my resolve shaking.

  “I must look stupid to you.”

  “No. Not at all, Daniel. That’s why you’re the tutor. I need your help.”

  “Tsk. Tsk. Fucking the professor isn’t very ladylike. I thought you were different, Edith. Much different.” I watch Daniel lick his lips, and sickening dread fills me. Nobody knows he is here with me, except Jack, who is across town in a meeting and hasn’t texted me back. Daniel has a crazy look in his eye.

  “Daniel, please. It’s not what you think.” I will beg and I will fight.

  “Who do you think found Jack’s phone, Edith? I did, and I did not like what I read. You have a lot of nerve going behind my back to be with him after all the work I’ve put into you this semester. Teaching you, guiding you, giving you the fucking blue books all semester. ” Daniel huffs and turns around, angrier. “I did everything for you, you ungrateful little whore. Just for you to give it away to him.” Daniel throws his hands up in the air dramatically and stalks me around my studio. I keep backing away from him, but I don’t have anywhere left to go.

  “Daniel, please. Think about this. You don’t want to do this. Let’s just end the session and I’ll never tell anyone.” Daniel backs me into a corner. I have nothing to fight him off with and no way to get to my door.

  “Oh, but I do, Edith. I really do.” Daniel lunges for me, grabbing my shoulder and ripping my shirt.

  “No!!” I scream, but he slaps my face. Stunned, I shut up really quick, fighting to keep my limbs free t
o punch, scratch, and kick what I can.

  “I want what he gets, you little whore,” Daniel yells again and punches me in the stomach. The tears burn and I kick at him, catching him in the shin. “You bitch!” I lunge away, landing on the floor and crawling, trying to get to my phone on the coffee table. He grabs my foot, dragging me back.

  “Daniel, no. Stop it!” I yell out again. A small part of me flickers with hope, begging some higher power that maybe my neighbors will hear something through the impossibly thick metal door. I don’t live in the greatest of neighborhoods, as Jack has often reminded me. I kick back, connecting with his face.

  “Whore!” He is more infuriated as blood spurts from his nose.

  “I hope I fucking broke it, asshole.” I grab for my phone, fumbling to dial. I can’t get to the door, but if I can just connect the call, maybe the police can get here. I barely get 9-1-1 into it before he knocks it from my hands.

  “You think you’re special? I see girls like you come through each semester. Ignore me, laugh at me. I’ll show you who is in control of your grades, you dumb bitch. Flaunting your body like the garbage you are.” He crawls over me as I struggle to get away, but the fight has taken a lot of my energy.

  “Edith! Edith! Baby! Open the door!” I hear a muffled voice. Loud banging, followed by kicking and punching, comes from the door. Tears clog my throat, making speech difficult. Jack is here. He’ll save me. If I can just get to the door… I reach out my hand, feeling the stubby corner of a book barely within reach of my fingertips.

  “Oh, good. Your lover can listen while I take pleasure in you begging me to stop.” Daniel renewed his efforts, determined to take a piece of me that I’m not going to relinquish easily. He let go of my hand to brush my hair out of my face. His eyes are wild and darting all over. I have never wanted to shave my head bald more than at that moment. My fingers try gripping the book, a fingernail catches and pulls painfully, slipping once before I can get enough of my grasp on it.

  “Fuck you,” I say, angling my head away, forcing him to grab my face to look at him. His hand bruises my chin and tears slip from my eyes as I hear Jack still trying to get the damn door open.

  “Excuse me?” Daniel settles his weight over my body, making me want to puke, as he tries to rub his nearly non-existent dick into my stomach. I can hear Jack yelling through the door like a lunatic, and my heart hurt for the helpless feeling he must have. The banging of the door echoed the pounding of my heart.

  “I said, fuck…you.” I spit in his face, then took the book that had been tossed to the floor in our struggle, smacking him in the head with it. I have never been so happy for the heftiness of the Principles of Statistics before. My actions only stun Daniel, but it is enough for me to get to the door and unlock it.

  “Bitch.” Daniel staggers over and tries slamming the door shut again, but once unlocked, Jack kicks it in, propelling us both backwards. Both Daniel and I are pushed back over the coffee table and onto opposite sides of the couch.

  “Edith! Oh, my god, baby!” Jack rushes over to me and picks me up, shoving me behind him and rounding on Daniel. “You fucking little shit! I’ll kill you!” Jack punches Daniel twice before Aiden and Shelby push into my apartment.

  “Jack, no. He isn’t worth killing. You’re already sleeping with a student. Stop it!” Aiden yells and I grab his shirt, but Aiden’s words are the ones that actually get him to stop pummeling the little douchebag. His chest is heaving and he looks like he could kill Daniel, which scares me as much as it makes me feel safe.

  “Jack, Edie might be hurt. You need to think clearly about this. Let him go.” Shelby is holding me up now, but barely. Aiden stands between all of us and Daniel. My best friend is like a grizzly bear protector, his hands fisted in Jack’s shirt, barely holding him back.

  “He hurt her, Aiden.” Jack is breathless as he takes in the scene. Shelby grabs his arm and puts our hands together. Just like that, Jack is holding me and breathing me in. I bury my head in his shoulder and feel the tears start to overwhelm me. “Oh, Edith. Baby, are you okay? I could hear him, but I couldn’t get to you.” Jack is shaking as much as I am.

  “I’m okay now.” I hug him tightly before wincing from my injuries, but I don’t care. It’s over. The place that once was my home looks like a tornado imploded inside the four walls.

  “Okay, so this is how things are going to go down. I’m going to call this in and report it, but you never saw Jack here. You got that, scum?” Aiden grabs Daniel by his shirt and slams him up against the wall, almost choking him. He releases him when Daniel gives a weak nod. “Jack is going to call Dean Andrews and let him know you’ve been stalking Edith, and that he suspected something might be up with your odd behavior lately. She fought you off as we were coming over to pick her up.” Aiden slams him against the wall again, holding him there. “Shelby, be a dear and call 9-1-1.”

  “You bet, sweetheart.” Shelby dials her phone. “Hello. This is Shelby Moore and I’d like to report a break-in and assault. Please come to 11 Birchwood… Yes, my boyfriend is holding the guy who attacked my friend. Her name is Edith Willows… No. No ambulance is needed. Thanks.” Shelby stays on the phone and pushes Jack and me out into the hallway. “Jack, don’t you think you should…?”

  She trails off as Jack is shaking his head. “Absolutely not. I’ll explain this somehow. Let’s just worry about Edith.” Jack holds me tighter and the tears flow freely. “I do think she should get checked out medically though. There will be bruises tomorrow.” Jacks leans back from me to look in my eyes, searching. I rest my head on his chest wishing this day away. I should have never let Daniel come here for the study session.

  “H-how did you know?” I shiver from the shock and Jack rubs his hands up and down my back, shushing my whimpers. So much of this is my fault.

  “I just had this feeling. It doesn’t matter now. I’m here and you’re safe.” Jack kisses the top of my head and holds me as tight as he can for a long moment. I don’t care how painful my stomach feels or how bruised my face might be. I don’t ever want him to let me go again.

  ***

  The police arrive and question all of us. They process and charge Daniel Munson with breaking into my apartment and assaulting me. They haul him away in handcuffs and his stare makes me sick to my stomach. I think back to all those tutoring sessions in the library and how he, more than likely, was planning this all along. I wonder if I could have seen this coming if I hadn’t been wrapped up in my relationship with Jack. They have all of us drive down to the police station to make a formal report and taped statement. They make me repeat my story at least six more times. Telling the story over and over again, feeling my body succumb to exhaustion and pain, I feel this must have been my fault, although no one ever says that to me. It’s just the sympathetic looks from everyone that make it worse. I get a “No Contact” order, and the police let me know my apartment is a crime scene for the next few days while they take pictures. I’m going to Jack’s anyway. I couldn’t stay here even if I wanted to. Still worried things might leak out about Jack and I, Jack takes his car and drives home, while Shelby and Aiden pack a bag for me and drive me over. I’m safe, but still unsettled. When we get there, Jack is on the phone with Dean Andrews, letting him know that his TA attacked me, but not that I’m staying in his house. I’m sure Dean Andrews has an idea that something is going on, but he’s probably too polite to say anything.

  Over the next few days, we learn that Daniel has a case pending and the prosecutor tells me I might need to make another statement. The university hasn’t expelled Daniel and, right now, I don’t think I even care. I’m just overwhelmed and shaky. I can’t even think about my last semester and if he’ll still be on campus. Jack promises me I’ll be safe because he will make it happen and I believe him. Justice is not always what we envision it to be, so I’m prepared to let karma have her way with him instead. Whatever steely resolve I had is now floundering, and Jack is really the only thing keeping me grounded.
I’m excused from taking my final exam, but I opt to go through with it. Daniel was a shitty tutor, but I still work hard to get through this class. Dean Andrews actually grades my exam and I pass it with an 81%. I’ll take it. I do my best to forget the worst parts of this semester, highlighted by probably the best thing in my life. Jack.

  Jack

  Edith has been pretty listless since Daniel attacked her. I feel like it is partly my fault for making him tutor her in the first place. The university is still investigating the matter but, technically, it happened off campus. I’m in contact with the prosecutor’s office daily, making a nuisance of myself until they ask me why I am so involved in the matter. Edie asked me to leave things alone, but I can’t. I will never forget the look on her face or the helplessness I felt. When the police took preliminary photos of her bruises, it lanced my eyes with a vision I never want to see again and they didn’t even see her the day after. Shelby came over and took photos with her digital camera the next day. The blank look in her eyes is one of the memories that pains me the most. I retained a lawyer, just in case things go further. I decide I’ll let her know if and when it’s necessary, but I don’t want her unprotected again. She has days when she smiles and I think things are okay; other days, she mopes around the house. It’s hard to express how proud I am of her and how much I admire her strength without getting choked up. Even on her worst days, she is a fighter. She passed all her exams and she has one semester left. I’m not sure what will happen after the Christmas holidays and she goes back to class. Her determination is a bit intimidating at times and I’m afraid to ask her.

  We move to the new house, just to get away from campus and give her some distance from things. The house feels new and safe, and I’ve installed a top notch security system, which I don’t even know how to really work. Edith read the manual and knows it better than I do. The first time I accidentally set it off, I thought she might have a panic attack, but she just smiled and calmly told me the disarm code. We laughed about it, and I joked about tattooing it on my body backwards so if I forget it, I can rip my shirt off and check in the hallway mirror to read it. Needless to say, Edith was against the idea.