Page 26 of Professor Obsessed

“Chase,” I whispered against his chest.

“Yes, kitten?” his voice heavy with sleep.

“You’re not the villain in my story.”

He was silent for so long I almost worried he didn’t hear me when he said, “I’ll be the villain for you. I’ll play any role you give me as long as I’m yours forever.”

I felt tears threaten to boil over. Chase’s dedication to me was so potent, it almost felt as though I fabricated him out of my wildest dreams. Normal people would be terrified of the things he’d done, terrified of the things they’d seen in his apartment, but not me. A calm washed over me at the things he admitted, the raw honesty was refreshing after all the lies I'd been told in my life. A safety of sorts, knowing I could easily shut my mind off with Chase and trust him to guard me.

The person I thought I was, was slowly being replaced by a different version of Emma. This Emma felt closer to Chase than she’d ever felt to anyone. It was chilling.

This man would be the death of me.

23

CHASE

News spread like wildfire around this office. The faculty were in the lounge on our floor talking about the accident of “beloved student Nate Atkins”.

“You look unusually annoyed, Dr. Lowe,” one of the old hags that flirted with me daily said to me as she droned on and on about how sad it was what happened, “I can’t believe you won’t be attending the funeral for Nate.”

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable in that environment,” I said truthfully, though I would’ve gone if it were an open casket, to really admire my work. But it wasn’t, “feels like an insult to the family to go when I wasn’t personally involved.”

Her frown deepened, showing off the intense frown lines. Her frizzy red hair fell in long stringy strands around her face. God, she was annoying. I didn’t even know her name as her voice pierced my thoughts, “Well, I’m going to go,” her hand ran up my arm, “I was thinking maybe we could meet up afterwards, you know, now that you and her aren’t a thing anymore.”

She was walking a wafer thin line bringing up Emma. I didn’t know what anyone did or didn’t know about our relationship, but one thing was fucking clear, she was in fact mine. Whether she agreed to it or not.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say,” I told her, shrugging her off of me. Her face fell in ugly disappointment, “but we are happily together.” I wanted to say more, I wanted to tell her that I found her repulsive and hideous. But it was getting close to the time my kitten should be showing up and I didn’t want to waste more time on the unfortunate looking woman.

Her jaw dropped as she sputtered for words, reminding me of a fish out of water. I left her standing, not interested in anything more, making my way down the elevator to Emma’s office. The commotion of Nate’s death was weird to me. Who really cared about him to begin with? Just like with Murdock, everyone was feigning giving a fuck when in one or two days it would blow over and he would be forgotten.

Could never be me.

As I turned into the back cubicles where Emma and Anna worked, I saw her before she saw me, her eyes red with tears, her chest heaving as she spoke with Anna, a shrill sob left her throat as she turned towards me.

“You,” she pointed her shaking finger at me, “he’s dead, Chase.”

Ah, so she found out.

I didn’t know what to do with my face, so I just blinked.

Anna wrapped her arms around Emma embracing her, but her eyes never left mine as more tears rained down her puffy cheeks. Anna looked like shit as well, as if she’d been crying all day and night. Ugh, all of this over Nate? I thought it was unbelievable the impact a tiny little ant of a human being could make on one office.

“I just can’t believe he’s gone,” Anna sniffed pulling away from Emma, “we were just talking to him last Friday. When I got the news I just,” she sputtered wiping her nose on her sleeve sniffing, “I just didn't want to believe it.”

Emma’s entire body was convulsing at this point, I went to her trying to take her in my arms when she shoved me away, “No!” she pushed at my chest shoving past me, creating more distance between us, “Don’t touch me, Dr. Lowe.”

Her nostrils flared as she glared at me, the tears never stopped flowing and watching them confused me. Nate and her weren’t dating anymore, he was trying to take her from me, he was trying to come between us. Emma was my entire heart outside of my body, she was the only thing I lived for, so why was she upset that she now had one less problem without him?

“Anna, please tell our boss I’m leaving,” she stormed out through the doors, a crying mess leaving me standing there unsure and awkward.

Anna took her seat back at her desk, blowing her nose loudly, shaking me from my confusion.

I took off after Emma, catching her just as the elevator opened. She slammed her finger on the close button just as I wedged my foot between the doors. She huffed as I got in.

“Emma,” I said softly, reaching for her, “I don’t understand why you’re upset.”

She moved out of my reach holding her pointer finger up, “Don’t fucking touch me Chase.”

---