Hostage of Love (Teacher/Student)

Chapter 10

He's asleep. He's only been eating for ten minutes or so, and he's fallen asleep. Standing up from my own place at the table I walk over to Joey's chair and lift the little boy up. I carefully hold him before heading to his room. Laying Joey down on the smaller bed, the duvet covers him before I leave. I close the door of his room, making sure to close it slowly so that it doesn't creak, therefore having the potential of waking him up. Walking back to the kitchen, I retake my seat to finish eating.

Mum is working all day, she's back to her eight to ten hour shifts. So Joey and I are the only ones home. After spending the night, and a good portion of the next morning, at Stephen's, Mum had asked me where I had been. I expected that she would, she always does when I am out for the night without telling her first. I couldn't very well tell her exactly where I was; "No worries Mum. I was having sex with my boyfriend. You know, the professor who brought me home the other day?" Yeah right.

A friend was the explanation I had given. I can't very well tell her the truth although I hate lying. So many lies I've given in my lifetime and I continue to live in one. I sigh, merely playing with the potatoes on my dish instead of eating them. I hear a knock come on the back door and "Come in" comes out of my mouth half-heartedly. I'm still distracted by the thoughts of mine. "Adrianna..?"

A soft voice calls out to me as the owner comes closer. I look up and see John taking a seat beside me and I offer him a tiny smile. "How goes the riding?" John shrugs his shoulder, but he can't help but smile. He loves animals, he really does. So now that Lady is the right age for training, and my dad isn't here to take care of it, John offered his time most willingly.

"She's a fast learner. Lady's trying to figure out how I do everything, and then figure ways to get around it. She's a smart girl." I smile back, lifting the plates from the table. Any scraps go into a bucket by the door before the dishes land in the sink. Depending on what the scraps are, I deposit them into my garden, covering the tops with it. The mulch is a natural fertilizer, a good recycler, and a nutritious diet for the crop. The bucket then becomes refilled and the cycle continues.

"You okay A? Cause if you need my help I can stop with Lady. Its not a bother or anything, or if you want to talk." I turn around and see John looking a bit concerned. He's probably more so, but he has a damnable good habit of hiding his feelings so that only a little bit seeps through

I step forward, hugging my best friend. "I'm just tired John." And still sore. "But I'm okay." John's arms wrap around my shoulders, hugging me tightly. "Cause I can still come in." I smile into his red cotton shirt. "Really. I'm fine." John's head, which had been resting comfortably on my own, slowly lifts up. Very gently, slowly, I can feel his lips press own on my head, a gesture that is comforting, welcome, and a bit surprising.

We stand there for a moment, John giving me sweet and silent reassurance should I ever need it, me accepting it. His arms slip from my back, slowly dropping back down to my sides. "If you change your mind, you know where I'll be. I'm going to come back when Lady's done for the day, alright?" I nod, once again smiling as he departs. Eden and John are both my best friends, and I love them both equally, but some days I feel closer to John.

The water over the sink turns on, bubbles from the soap I've poured rising with the hot water. I take the dishes Joey and I had used in our meal, and deposit them in the water. Cooking for him and I is certainly not the equivalent to cooking a Christmas dinner. Its nice though, to be able to make something for the two of us. My soapy hands leave the warm water, dripping a little on the floor as I reach for the final few dishes.

Eden and I had an interesting discussion a few days ago, one we've visited more than once, about cleaning. I smirk as I remember, the washcloth wiping down the surface of the wooden table. She doesn't do housework, at least not as much nor as often as I do. Eden's parents are both very well off, which means that Eden is also very well off. She's not a snob because of this, or any other fact, not by a long shot. She simply doesn't think housework is that important for to do - because she doesn't really do it. Someone else takes care of them all.