Don't Let Go (A Student/Teacher Relationship)

Don't Let Go (A Student/Teacher Relationship) Part Twenty One

                 I spun around, glaring at the person who’d dared to interrupt my first kiss with Jeremy. A tall man with dark hair stood in front of us, his forest green eyes looking down at us in disapproval. I took in his cutting cheekbones and stubbly beard and felt the blood drain from my face. I pressed myself back into Jeremy, my body shaking slightly in shock and his arms held me tightly as he looked at me concerned. I could hear Danny calling my name but I couldn’t bring myself to focus on anything other than the man in front of me. He looked older than I’d remembered; his face was more haggard looking and there were a few lines of silver streaking his neat hair.

“Riley, what’s wrong?” Jeremy asked me quietly but I could do nothing but pat his arm gently. Danny’s voice was growing closer now, his footsteps accompanying it but then I heard both of them stop. I tore my gaze of the man’s face and looked at Danny, his eyes wide in anger and surprise. Without turning, he called Jamie over but warned him to leave Robin over there for which I was grateful.

“How dare you show your face around here, you bastard?” Danny hissed harshly, stepping between me and the man, who was now smiling slightly down at me.

“Daniel Anderson, you’ve grown up a lot” I gasped at the sound of his voice. In the five years that had passed since I’d last seen him, it hadn’t changed one bit. “It’s nice to see you’re still good friends with my Riley” He said slickly, his smile widening.

“I’m not your Riley. I’m not your anything!” I growled, pulling out of Jeremy’s arms and standing at Danny’s side; Danny who took my hand gently as Jamie also joined the party curiously, but then I saw his face drop and felt his arm wrap around my shoulders protectively.

“Oh I disagree sweetpea”

“Don’t call me that!” I clutched Danny’s hand tighter, my voice rising slightly and becoming tighter. I was torn between running flat out from the room and swinging for the guy in front of me.

“Why ever not honey? You are still my daughter!”

               I heard Jeremy gasp but he didn’t understand, I hadn’t told him about my parents yet.

“You lost the right to call me that when you went off with that stupid whore” I snapped savagely at my ‘dad’ “You’re not my father; you’re nothing to me”

“Harsh words Riley” He seemed amuse and I felt both Danny and Jamie tighten their grips on me, sensing my anger. “How’s your mother?”

“Mr. Wells I think it’d be better for everyone if you left” Jamie’s voice was calm and level but I could feel the tension in his arms that contradicted it completely. A surge of gratitude and love washed through me for Jamie and Danny, despite the fire of anger and pain that burned my insides.

“Jamie, I think we know each other well enough to be on a first name basis. I just want to talk to my daughter. I haven’t spoken to her in five years”

“That’s because you ignored all my emails, letters, phone calls and texts” I shrieked painfully, feeling tears sting my eyes yet again “For six months I tried to contact you, and you ignored me. Whatever would make me want to see you now?”