Mr. Hemmings |l.h.|

chapter 10

"I just didn't want you to." Cassi says, making her voice louder than mine. She looks up, making eye contact with me and crosses her arms over her chest.

"That's a lie." I reply, staring right back at her.

"Okay. Whatever. Bye." Cassi rolls her eyes and walks away from me towards the road. Is she seriously about to flag down another cab?

"Don't walk away from me." I yell after her, but Cassi continues walking. She isn't going to stop walking away, and I guarantee she'll get in a cab and leave. I don't want to end tonight on an even worse note.

"Wait!" I run to Cassi and grab her wrist. She quickly turns around and gives me a death glare. All that I can do is look at Cassi's soft brown eyes. They are starting to fill with tears, and one slips out and slowly runs down her cheek.

"I'm sorry." I say softly. I genuinely mean it.

"It doesn't matter." Cassi says. I can tell that she is holding back tears. I let go of her wrist so she can wipe away her tears. I so badly wanted to wipe it for her, but that would be too much.

"Olivia. I just want to know why I couldn't have picked you up."

"I don't want to tell you."

"Why? Just trust me." I beg. Cassi rolls her eyes at me. I know that she will spill it eventually.

"Fine," Cassi sighs. "Can we at least go somewhere more private to talk?"

"Let me take you home. Then we can talk on the way, okay?" I suggest. I point to my car and raise an eyebrow. Cassi looks conflicted, but she eventually nods. I walk her to my car and open the door for her.

We both get into the car, and I begin driving. Luckily, I remember which neighborhood she lives in since I took her home last night. Is this going to become some kind of nightly ritual?

"So tell me what's wrong," I say. I reach out to my radio to turn the music off. I want Cassi to know that she has my full attention.

Cassi continues to stare out the window. She has her arms crossed again, and her body is facing away from me. Did I say something to make her mad at me?

"Cassi?" She looks over at me when I call her name. "Please, just talk to me. I'm here to listen."

Cassi begins to turn her body, so she is facing the front of my car instead of her window. She starts twiddling her thumbs as if she's nervous.

"Um, I really don't know what to say."

"It's okay. Just say what's in your mind. I'm not going to judge you." I assure her.

"Well. It's um, it's Layla." She says and looks down at her hands.

"What?" I ask her. What did Layla do that made her so upset? And how did that affect me picking her up?

"Well. It's not completely Layla, but she kind of is. I don't know. I'm just confused." Cassi sighs and leans her head back against the seat rest.

"Confused about what?"

"Jesus," She mutters under her breath. "I'm confused about us, Mr- uh Luke. I don't understand what you're trying to do. I don't get why you asked me on this dinner, not date thingy. I don't get why you're so nice to me when I'm not at school, but in class, you seem to hate me. I don't understand your feelings or motives. And I don't understand why Layla being your ex made me feel so jealous."

Wow. That was a lot. I don't even know how to respond. I almost slammed on my breaks when Cassi said she was jealous of Layla. Does she like me? Have a little school girl crush on me? Do I have feelings for her? I take a minute to think before I say anything I'll regret.

"Cassi, I'm sorry you feel like that. I never meant to cause any confusion. To clear things up, I want to say I enjoyed getting to talk with you last night. We seemed to have clicked. I meant what I said this morning. Tonight was just supposed to be dinner as friends, nothing more. Although, I think I did overstep my boundaries as your teacher. I apologize."

Cassi doesn't say anything after that; she looks back out the window. I hope I eased her mind and didn't cause any more confusion. The rest of the ride is silent. I feel so awkward I can't even want to move to turn the radio back on. I continue to think about what Cassi said. I suppose I have given off different vibes at school as opposed to outside of school. When I'm at school, I'm Mr. Hemmings. But last night and now, I'm just Luke. I'm Luke, who enjoys Cassi's company and thinks she's a great girl.

However, I still can't figure out where my feelings lie with her. Or anyone at the moment. Seeing Layla tonight is making my head spin. My heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw her. I felt like I was going to collapse on the ground when she hugged me. Do I still love her? Am I trying to have feelings for Cassi to fill a void in my life? I don't know. But I need to continue to think about things.

I pull up in front of Cassi's house and park my car just like I did last night. Cassi once again grabs her purse, but she doesn't open the door. She sits there for a moment.

"Luke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rain on your parade." Cassi says.

"It's okay. I think it was rained on before this conversation." We both laugh at what I said. At least we can both agree that dinner was beyond awkward.

"I also just want to say, I don't mind being your friend. I like who you are, Luke. But Mr. Hemmings is a different story." Cassi laughs. It's nice to see her happy again.

"Yeah, I don't blame you."

"But seriously. We can keep being friends if you want. I don't think there is anything wrong with that."

"Okay, Cassi. I'll see you in class tomorrow." I say. I suppose this can work out. It's okay for us to be friends. There aren't any rules against friendship.

"Alright, Luke. Bye." Cassi says as she gets out of my car.

"Bye." I respond to her. I let out a sigh of relief as she closes the door. I'm happy that we were able to clear the air and continue what we have right now. I enjoy her presence. 

Updated 4.22.20