Page 60 of The Teacher
“Addie,” he hisses at me. “What are you doing here?”
I slip into the room, closing the door behind me. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m freaking out…”
“Well, coming here isn’t going to make that better.” He rises from his seat, a frown on his lips. “You should not have come to my house last night. That was a huge mistake.”
I chew on my lower lip. “I know…”
“Now you’ve put yourself on the radar. You’ve putuson the radar.” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe you would do something so stupid.”
The tears that have been pricking at my eyes since I went to the principal’s office now threaten to fall. One escapes my right eye, and I quickly brush it away. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I feel so stupid.”
Nathaniel notices my tears, and that takes some of the fight out of him. He glances out the small windowon the door to his classroom to confirm that the hallway is still empty, then he comes around the desk. “Addie, don’t cry.”
“I just…” I wipe my nose with the back of my hand before I end up with a snot bubble. If he sees a snot bubble come out of me, it is definitely over. No, I shouldn’t say that. He wouldn’t be so superficial. “I don’t want you to hate me. I made a dumb mistake.”
“Addie…”
His eyes soften, and after one more look at the door, he reaches for my hands. I was stupid to worry. Nathaniel and I are soulmates. He’s not going to throw away what we have because of one stupid mistake I made. We’re too important to each other.
“I could never, ever hate you,” he says. “You’ve become my entire world. You’re mysoulmate. But we have to be a little bit more careful now. Just for a little while. I don’t want Eve to get suspicious.”
“So…we can’t meet today?”
I’m hoping he says yes. It’s Friday, and my mother lets me stay out later on Friday because I don’t have school the next day.
He hesitates, then shakes his head. “Better not. Maybe next week.”
Oh God, I’lldiebefore then. “Nextweek?”
He flashes me a lopsided grin. “I know. I’m going to go out of my mind.”
The idea of not being able to touch him or kiss him for an entire week is enough to make me want to scream. Impulsively, I reach out and grab his brown tie. I tug him closer to me, and even though I can tell he’s nervous that we’re in his classroom, he lets me do it. Ifwe’re not going to be able to go to the darkroom for an entire week, I need something to hold me over.
And he must feel the same way, because he leans the rest of the way over and kisses me more passionately than he ever has before. He laces his fingers into my hair, his lips mashing against mine. The kiss seems to last for an eternity, and it’s painful to pull away from him.
I could write a poem about that kiss. And I bet it would win that stupid contest.
“We can’t do this again,” Nathaniel says in a stern voice. “Not for a little while. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”
“Can we still text?”
He considers this for a moment. “A little. Once or twice a day. And obviously, only on Snapflash.”
I nod, trying to swallow down a lump in my throat. What am I going to do for a week without him? Nathaniel isn’t just the best thing in my life—he’s theonlything.
This is all Eve Bennett’s fault.
“You better go,” he tells me.
He gives my hand one last squeeze, and that’s when the bell rings. I square my shoulders, turn around, and leave the classroom. I’m going to get through this. And someday, the two of us are going to be together. That’s what he promised me.
Chapter Forty-Seven
EVE
I feel utterlyunsatisfied after the meeting with Higgins.
Addie Severson was outside my house last night, in the bushes. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. Isawher, first of all. And she has plenty of reasons to hate me.
