After We Jumped (Student/Teacher Relationship)

The Jacket

Copyright © 2015 ThatMeddlingKid

All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT: This story "After We Jumped" including all chapters, prologues/epilogues and associated content is copyrighted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights are reserved by the owner and creator of this work (ThatMeddlingKid) and any unauthorised copying, broadcasting, manipulation, distribution or selling of this work constitutes as an infringement of copyright. Any infringement of this copyright is punishable by law.

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I was sitting on the stone wall by the school sign when I saw his headlights sweeping round the corner. He got swiftly out of the car and strode over to me.

"Jess, are you okay?" He asked, taking me by the shoulders.

"Chris. Chris, you came. Thank you."

I had stopped sobbing by now. Instead I just felt exhausted and sad, and my slurred voice had taken on a strangely muffled quality.

"Hey, hey, of course I did." He said. "Tell me what happened."

I wiped a hand under my eyes. The fingers came away with mascara smudged on them.

"We were at this big party. Me and Meg and Rhona all went even though the rest were older, and I was starting to feel really weird and Ronan took me into the forest, and then he pushed me against a tree... And I didn't..."

I stopped. Angry tears were pricking my eyes again and I wiped them away furiously.

"I was so fucking stupid."

"Hey, you're okay."

He pulled me into a hug.

"You're fine."

I leaned into his embrace until the weight was almost completely off my feet.

"You should go to bed." He said. "We can talk about it tomorrow."

"No." I said, suddenly anxious.

"I'm not going back there. I don't want to see anyone."

He separated us, holding me at arm's length and fixing me with a critical look.

"And where else are you going to go?"

"I just need to clear my head. I'll go for a walk or something."

"Jessica Blake if you are even thinking of going cliff jumping tonight, forget it. You can barely walk in a straight line."

"I'm not going to go cliff jumping." I mumbled, looking away.

A few moments passed in which I stared fuzzily at some gravel before he put a hand on my shoulder and started to steer me towards the car.

"Come on. You can stay in my apartment."

"Really?" I asked in astonishment.

"I'm not having you wandering off in the dark and I don't trust you to go back. Will anyone miss you?"

"No... No one checks on us at weekends and my friends won't say anything."

I settled into the passenger seat and he draped a jacket over me that smelled like him. I didn't feel like I needed it but I kept quiet because I felt warm and safe and I didn't want him to take the jacket away. He didn't put any music on and I just watched his hands on the steering wheel sliding in and out of focus.

I think I drifted off a few times on the short drive down into the village but I'm not sure.