Paint Me, Professor - The Sequel | Student-Professor Erotic Novel | 18+

Chapter 43 - Debrief

Christopher
***

Kent followed behind me as we went to the balcony for a smoke. I usually didn't use it during the colder months, but the purpose of going there really wasn't to smoke. The separation between the bedroom door where Ali had refuged herself in and the corridor that led to the open space of the living room wasn't enough to conceal the conversation I was going to have with my friend. We needed glass to divide us so that when Ali returned I'd be able to see her and cut the conversation short.

"I'm sorry for the ambush," I started, lighting up a cigarette and handing over the lighter so Kent could do the same. "This must be very disorientating for you."

"Nah man, it's fine," he said, leaning against the glass door. He had his feet crossed and his arms folded from the cold. "I mean, I still can't believe what I just heard but you don't need to apologise."

Of course I had to apologise. I could tell his generosity to help Maddie wasn't entirely out of the goodness of his heart. If anyone came to me with an ounce of Ali's sadness and despair begging for help I wouldn't be able to say no either.

"Listen, before Ali comes back," I said hurriedly, "The text I sent you... I was just afraid you'd remember something I told you and you'd make some remark — not that it would've been your fault if you said you remembered."

Kent interrupted me. "You're talking about the conversation we had on the drive from the hospital, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Kent shook his head in disbelief. "Chris, you only told me that she was in an abusive relationship. I thought it was one of those situations where people get unlucky and they fight a lot because their partner is fucking crazy... I never in a million years expected this. Did you know about this all these years?"

"She told me what happened to her before... You know..."

"Before the big fight where you hit her that sent you down that spiral," he said, his voice cold as ice. I looked away from him. This was too much.

"Yes," I said candidly. There was no point in denying it. "You see now why I was so distraught? Why I drugged myself to forget?"

Again, silence as we smoked.

"Fuck," Kent sighed, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Fucking hell Chris."

Yeah, that was the only way to describe the situation adequately.

"When I told you everything on that drive I didn't know yet how reserved Ali is about this," I explained. "I told you because I needed someone to understand how depressed I was feeling. I shouldn't have told you, that's what I'm trying to say. This subject is deeply private for Ali and I know she wouldn't have wanted me to tell you about it at the time."

"Can't blame her, it's horrible," Kent agreed. "Honestly, I still can't believe what I read on that damn court document."

"I know it's very jarring," I continued. "And it's precisely because it's so shocking that she doesn't want anyone to know about it, not even the smallest detail. I was afraid that if she saw you have any sort of reaction that might indicate this information wasn't new to you, she'd flip out."

"Why would she get so angry?" Kent asked. "You'd tell her exactly what you told me and explain you were in a very vulnerable position at the time. You almost died Chris, like for real. You were going through a very tough time. You did nothing wrong for telling me then that something bad had happened to her in the past."

"You don't understand," I shook my head, taking a long drag from my cigarette. "We've fought over this before... She doesn't want people to see her differently, she doesn't want to be a victim. I mean, look at her, the last thing she wants is to be perceived as weak. She is super independent, and I think this way of being was triggered from being abused by that son of a bitch."