Teacher's Pet (13 page)

Lost in Jadia's smile, David hadn't noticed that he had stood up completely in front of the window until Jadia looked directly at him. Her smile was replaced with a look of terror and she screamed.

Shit!

David jumped back into his car and peeled out of the parking lot, narrowly missing another car.

God dammit!

He hadn't meant for Jadia to see him. It was going to be a lot harder to get her now. But he would do it. One way or another, Jadia would be his.

==========================

"How are you doing?" Alex whispered. I smiled at him. "Good. Really good. I kind of psyched myself out about being in public tonight, but this is perfect. Small and cozy." I took another bite of my lasagna. I didn't usually eat fattening food, but I wanted to put a few pounds, and I was surprisingly hungry tonight. The atmosphere in the restaurant was cozy. The first few minutes were slightly uncomfortable, given that I hadn't been out in public for months, but it didn't take long for me to get comfortable.

"So have you thought about going back to school?" Alex asked.

I nodded. "I want to. I really do. I'm going crazy being at home all day. And I feel like I'm almost ready. But..."

"But what?" Alex asked softly.

"But I'm scared of people staring at me and judging me. I know I shouldn't care what people think of me. But I do. Everybody is going to look at me and know that I'm the girl who got raped by the English teacher. How do I deal with that?"

He took my hand. "It sucks, Jay. And you're right. You can't stop the stares. But it won't last forever. People will lose interest eventually. You just have to decide if it's worth it for you to get your life back. And you'll have me and Carly. And Amber."

I laughed. "Amber? Really?"

He held up his hands. "I'm serious. She's been asking about you. And if she hears anybody talk about you, she gets in their face and tells them to shut up. We've all got your back Jay."

I thought for a minute. "Yeah, maybe it won't be so bad." I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I glanced to my left.

David was staring at me in the window.

I gasped and screamed. Alex whipped his head to see what I was looking at. "Son of a bitch!" He shouted, jumping up from the table and running outside.

"Alex, no!" I screamed. I wanted to run after him, but I couldn't move. I started to hyperventilate. "Oh God, no," I sobbed.

I felt an arm around my shoulder. I looked up and saw my waitress looking at me, concerned.

"What happened?" She asked. I shook my head. "I called the police," she continued nervously. "They'll be here soon. Calm down, ok?"

"Where's Alex?" I rasped.

"I'm here, sweetie," Alex said, jogging back inside. "He's gone. Fucking bastard."

I started sobbing. "Oh God, Alex. He's following me again. He's going to get me."

Alex slid next to me and held me. "No, Jay, he's not. He won't touch you. I won't let him."

Alex held me and comforted me until Officer Ferrell and another officer that I had never met before came in the restaurant. He talked to the waitress for a minute then made his way over to us. "Ms. Galvin," he said, shaking my hand. "Mr. Lipton. What's going on here?"

I sniffed. "David was here. Watching me through the window."

He raised his eyebrows. "David Hayes?" I nodded. "And you're sure it was him?"

"It was him," I said firmly. "He had shorter blond hair, but I'd recognize him anywhere. Those eyes..." I shuddered.

Ferrell turned to Alex. "And you saw him too?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't see his face. Just a guy running away. But I have no doubt that it was him."

Ferrell nodded. "Ok. Did you see what he was driving?"

"It was a tan sedan. I didn't see the make or get the license plate number."

Ferrell sighed. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Alright. We'll keep our eyes open. Chances are, he's not coming back."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I shouted. "He's not gone. He's stalking me. He thinks I'm his fiancée. You told me that he was gone last time. Do you even care what happens to me?"

Alex put his arm around my shoulder. "Sweetie, calm down."

"No," I cried. I looked at Ferrell. "Do your god damn job!"

I stalked out of the restaurant and sat on the curb, sobbing. I felt an arm around my shoulders. "Jay, don't cry," Alex whispered softly. "He won't hurt you."

"Alex, you don't know him. He's crazy. He won't stop stalking me just because the police are after him. He doesn't care. He won't stop until he gets me. And when he does, he'll never let me go. He'd rather kill me." I put my head on my lap and cried. I heard Alex take out his cell phone and press buttons. After a minute he said "Hi, Mr. Galvin. We had a little problem at the restaurant." He paused. "No, she's ok. She's right here. I'm taking her home now. We'll talk when we get there." Alex hung up and put his arm back around my shoulders. "Come on. I'll take you home. Ferrell well meet us there." I sniffed and nodded. I got up on shaky legs and made my way to his car. Once I sat down, I realized the severity of my situation and it brought on a fresh wave of tears.

Alex reached over and held me. "Jadia, he will not get you. That's a promise. We won't let you be alone."

I sniffed. "I'm just so tired of this. He's never going to leave me alone until he's in jail or dead."

He started driving. "Let's just get home. We'll figure this out. But don't worry, sweetie. He won't touch you."

I stared out the window for the rest of the ride home, thinking. Where did David go? What was his plan? When he caught me, would he keep me as a prisoner or just kill me? I thought back to the day that Alex rescued me. I had been sure that David would kill me. After I called for help, the only time he even looked at me was when he was raping me. And the hateful look in his eyes had been chilling.

We pulled up to my house and I ran out of the car, bursting inside. Ferrell was already there. I flew into my dad's arms, sobbing. "Daddy, he was there. He was watching me."

He stroked my hair. "It's ok, sweet pea. You're safe now."

Alex came inside, shutting and locking the door behind him. He sat down in a kitchen chair, exhausted. I felt bad. I was sure he wasn't expecting the night to turn out the way it had. "I'm sorry, Alex," I whispered. "I really wanted tonight to be special."

He gave me a half hearted smile. "Jay, it's not your fault. We need to figure out how to keep him from getting to you."

My dad nodded. "Good idea. Marie, can you take more time off of work?"

"I'll quit," she immediately said.

"Mom, no! We can't afford that," I said.

"I don't care," she replied. "I'm not leaving you alone during the day."

I sighed. "Mom, no. I'm going to go back to school. It's time anyway."

Dad shook his head. "Sweetie, you're not ready. Especially after tonight."

"Dad, I have to. Mom can't quit her job. I'll ride back and forth with Carly and spend after school with Alex."

"Carly can't keep you safe," he muttered.

"Dad, it's just back and forth between her house and school. There are multiple people at both. He won't get me there."

Dad reluctantly agreed. I was going back to school on Monday.

==========================

On Saturday, I called Dr. Schor for an emergency meeting. The more I thought about going back to school, the more it scared me.

Ferrell had assigned a police car to be stationed across our house, watching for suspicious activity.

We talked for awhile about what had been going on and my impending return to school.

"So you saw David? Staring at you?"

I shuddered. "Yes. I mean, I never really believed that he was gone. But to see him again..."

"What did you feel when you saw him?"

"Terror."

She paused, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, she asked, "That's it?"

I closed my eyes. "Terror. Shame. Humiliation. Vulnerability. But mostly terror. Knowing for sure that he won't leave me alone until he has me. And what's he going to do when he gets me? Kill me? Keep me as his sex slave? I'd rather he kill me. I can't go through that again." I put my head in my hands and cried.

She gave me a minute to pull myself together.

"So, you seem pretty sure that he's going to get you." I nodded.

"Yeah. Unless the police catch him first. Which is pretty unlikely. They don't really seem to give a shit about me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because they don't. They keep telling me that he's 'probably gone now.' I don't know why they don't get that he's not just going to give up."

She nodded. "Understandable. What are your concerns about going back to school?"

"Mostly the stares and rumors. I know that people are talking about me. It's not like I'm not prepared for it. I'm just...not looking forward to it. But I am kind of looking forward to being in a different environment. I'm getting sick of it here."

After talking to Dr. Schor for awhile, I felt a little better about tomorrow. After she left, Alex came over to give me a driving lesson. I hadn't driven in over 2 months. It was a little weird at first, but after a minute it became second nature. I drove around in a few circles before pulling back into my driveway.

Carly came over shortly after. She was staying the night with me. Alex stayed for pizza with us, then went home, promising to meet me in the morning by my locker.

"Are you going to be ok?" Carly asked me, sitting on my bed. "You didn't eat any dinner."

"I'm just nervous. And frustrated. Everything is happening too fast and I'm not ready. And none of my fucking clothes fit me anymore."

Carly sighed. "You look fine. And I'm sorry that you're not ready. But you're gonna have to deal with it. Honestly Jadia, you're putting way too much thought into this. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know. Lets just go to sleep."

Carly fell asleep next to me as I laid in bed worrying. I took a sleeping pill and, thank god, didn't have any nightmares.

Carly and I woke up the next morning and got ready. I wore a pair of Carly's old skinny jeans that she had outgrown. They fit pretty well, but were way too long. I tucked them into some knee high boots and they looked better. I threw on a lime green tank top with a black cardigan and let Carly do my hair and make up. She finished and stepped back, examining me. "Perfect," she said. "Lets go."

We drove to school in silence. I was too nervous and stressed to talk.

I parked in my spot and took a few deep breaths. "I can't do this, Carly."

She leaned over and gave me a hug. "You can. And you will. Now come on." She jumped out of the car before I had a chance to respond. I sighed and reluctantly got out of my car, following her.

I kept my head down, trying to stay invisible. I still felt the stares. Surprisingly, most people ignored me. Thank God.

Carly and I reached our lockers. "How are you doing so far?" She asked softly. I shrugged. "Ok I guess. I'm not..."

I was interrupted by a huge hand slamming into the locker next to me. I jumped. "Hey, Jadia."

Ugh. It was Dan Harris. One time when I was overweight he asked me out as a joke. I still hated him with a passion.

"What do you want, Dan?" I snapped. I wasn't in the mood for this today.

"What are you doing tonight?" He asked, ogling my chest.

"None of your fucking business," I muttered.

He laughed. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that. If you play your cards right, you could be doing me."

I burst out laughing and he narrowed his eyes at me. "Something funny about that?"

I narrowed my eyes back at him. "Yes. You're a giant asshole and I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. So fuck off out of the way," I said, pushing past him. "Come on, Carly."

We started walking away. "Oh sorry, I forgot," he called after me. "You only fuck teachers!"

I stopped short and closed my eyes. The entire hallway went silent.

Let it go, Jadia. Let it go.

No. Fuck this.

I spun around, stormed back to him, and slapped him hard in the face. He gasped and stumbled back a step. "You little bitch," he growled, grabbing for me. Before he reached me, he went flying into the lockers. "Fuck!" He yelled.

Alex grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the lockers. "If you ever go near her again, I'll fucking kill you."

Dan pushed Alex away. "Jesus Christ, fine. I was just kidding." He shot me a dirty look and left.

Alex turned to me and pulled me in for a hug. "You ok?" He whispered. I shook my head.

"He's a dick," Carly interrupted. "Nobody likes him. That was awesome how you slapped him, Jay. He totally deserved it."

I sniffed. "I'm fine. Let's just go."

Carly left for gym and Alex walked me to English. I stopped outside the door. All I could picture was walking inside the door and seeing David sitting behind the desk. "I can't...I can't go in there," I said, panicked.

Alex smoothed my hair, and as if reading my thoughts, said "He's not in there, Jay. Mr. Driscoll is covering the class."

"Yeah," I whispered. I started to shake.

God, please don't have a panic attack right now.

I felt another arm around my shoulder. I looked up and saw Amber smiling at me. "Come on, Jadia. It's cool." I nodded and let Amber lead me away. "See you at lunch!" Alex called after me.

I sat down and Amber sat next to me. "How are you?" She asked. I ran my hand through my hair. "I'm ok. How are you? Are you fully recovered?"

She nodded. "Yeah. All I have to show for it is a bald spot, but my hair covers it pretty well. He broke my arm when he dumped me, but I got my cast off last week."

My eyes filled with tears. "Amber, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that he would try to kill you."

She grabbed my hand. "Jadia, you can't feel guilty. Nobody knew how crazy he was."

"Yeah, but when you came he had already...I already knew he was insane. I shouldn't have said anything."

She shook her head. "I don't blame you. At all. So you need to let go of your guilt."

I impulsively hugged her hard as she laughed. I felt so much better that Amber didn't blame me for what happened. I still felt guilt, but I definitely felt better.