~My Teacher Hits Me~ (Book 1) [Rewritten]

Chapter 14: Times are A Changing

"Rylan?! What the—?" Mr. Winchester cries, stumbling backwards in an effort to stay upright.

Rylan watches Blake and Liam finally slow to a walk. Liam narrows his eyes suspiciously and Blake glares as if to say, 'This isn't over.' For now, Rylan's glad it is.

"What is going on? I thought you weren't feeling well." Mr. Winchester asks, looking his daughter over with concern.

Rylan purses her lips and knows she has to tell him something. "There were some creepy guys following me. I got scared." She leaves out that she knows them and that they attacked her.

"My God. Why didn't you call me?" He looks around for any unsavory characters.

"I was scared, dad. I thought I could get here fast enough and I thought it would look suspicious if they saw me using my phone."

"Then why did you text me you were feeling sick?"

"That was before I noticed them."

Mr. Winchester wants to believe his daughter, but a nagging edginess tugs at the back of his brain. It's the same feeling parents get when they know their child isn't telling the whole truth.

"Can we go? Please." Rylan pleads.

He shakes his head to clear it. "Yeah, of course. Let's go."

Mr. Winchester keeps a sharp eye out for these guys, but no one sticks out. When they get home, he fixes pasta for lunch. The incident bothers him all throughout the meal.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

Mr. Winchester observes his daughter as he thinks.

"You'd tell me if you were in some kind of trouble, wouldn't you?"

"I'm not."

"But you would tell me--if you were." He insists.

Rylan quirks an eyebrow and shrugs. "Yeah."

After lunch, she retreats to her bedroom. Blake is more dangerous than she realized. Today was a close call. Rylan regrets not telling her dad the truth. His help would be invaluable, but it would also be the reaction of a wrathful father. She can't tell him. Not yet. Rylan isn't prepared to watch the truth destroy her father.

She expects there to be a scene with Blake on Monday, but it turns out she doesn't have much to worry about. Blake remarkably keeps his distance. Rylan has an inkling it has something to do with her dad's call to Miss Burns. She observes her class closely and, on Tuesday, announces a seating change. Blake and his cronies are separated amongst the middle and back of the classroom and Rylan gets a seat in the front row.

"I had no idea you were so fluent in Spanish, Rylan." Miss Burns comments. "You need to speak up. I'll whip up some assignments that will actually challenge you."

Rylan smiles. "Thank you."

The move doesn't stop Blake's malicious gaze, but it does allow her to focus more. Rylan has taken her newfound liberation as a chance to focus on schoolwork. In just a few weeks, Rylan's grades have risen considerably and she has stopped skipping class. With Blake mostly out of the way, that left the insufferable Mr. Quinn.

As promised, Cas keeps a close eye on both Rylan and Dani. He has even taken to walking them to and from class so as to avoid any altercation like the last one. The Fall comes and goes slowly. Rylan's day to day is much more relaxing. She knows it can't last, but she stays in denial of that fact until the day Dani finally tells Tuck about Mr. Quinn.