DISTRESS

CHAPTER 20

Principal Evans POV

It was a brief and quick kiss. It happened in a blink of an eye that I don't even know whether it did happen or not. Yet the warmth left from her lips still lingered in mine making my lips feel tingly and my body tremble like a wave of electricity just passed through my veins.

That's what I felt the first time she kissed me and it was when we were in the storage room. Ever since then she never left my mind, well it's not like she ever did. It kept me up thinking of reasons why she did that to me. Does she like me? or did she do that because of the atmosphere between us during that time? I really want to know why she kissed me in the first place.

No matter how many times I try to ask her she won't tell me. Even when the timing is right Dawn would deliberately cut the conversation especially when it's about what happened in the storage room. It's confusing and annoying everytime she does that but what confused me even more is when she kissed me again and left me hanging like last time. I wanted to get angry, to demand a proper answer from her but I don't want to force her. I already made a mistake for adding her in the field trip but I only did that because I don't want her to stop just when she's about to finish highschool.

Nothing changed that much during the field trip but when she was left behind and walked all the back to the hotel drenched in rain I almost lost it. I didn't get the chance to talk to her during the hiking because of the teachers who kept pestering me and also Dawn who keeps avoiding me. I was worried as hell when I didn't see her stepped out of the bus. I even scolded the teachers for being careless. I was so angry and worried as I search for her everywhere. I contacted the staff of the Flora Forest but they claimed that there was no one left in the forest nor in their station. Many terrible thoughts kept flashing in my head but all that vanished when she appeared right outside our door.

We had a short argument mainly because I was so worried that something might've happened to her. Just thinking about that makes my heart clench tightly I almost couldn't breathe. I only stopped nagging her when she insisted to since she still needed to change. I contacted the teachers that Dawn is here now then I grab the towel in the cabinet and took it in the bathroom where I witnessed the most unexpected and heartbreaking sight. The bruises, wounds and cuts that covered almost her entire back broke my heart in pieces. I have a hunch that there's something going on in their household and this only proved my hunch. There's no one who could've done this but her father. I've been keeping still just to not upset Dawn but this time it's different. I can't just keep quiet not when she's clearly in danger.

Instead of demanding answers from her all I did was embrace her tightly and assure her as much as possible. This is all I can do for now and I'm glad that she accepted it. I was so happy even if she never told me anything about her situation or cleared things up between us, I'm still happy that she didn't push me away. She's still cold and harsh like always but I know she's slowly warming up to me. I don't mind waiting for her. She had it rough for a long time so it's understandable if she stays away from anyone. I'll just keep on reaching out to her until she fully accepts me.

Just before the field trip ends, I tried talking to Dawn but she was back on her guard again. She told me to stop whatever I'm doing and that we shouldn't continue this anymore. To say I was hurt is an understatement, I was devastated. I thought we were fine last night but now she's pushing me away again. I was overcome by anger that I even threatened her. I just don't want her to end things between us just like that. The thought of not being with her pains me so much to the point that it's killing me. I begged her and when her eyes showed her true feelings my heart raised rapidly. She might be saying hurtful words but she can't deny that everything her eyes is showing is the exact opposite of what she's saying. I know she's scared and worried not only because I'm her teacher and a married woman at that but also because of what's happening with her life but I can assure her that there's nothing to worry about my marriage and status. I can handle all that.