Page 71 of The Teacher
I didn’t want to kill her. I swear I didn’t. I know Nathaniel said that thing about how if she were dead, we could be together and it would solve all our problems. And maybe for a split second, I thought… But not really. For real, I never considered trying to hurt her. But I was having an angry moment. I just needed her to stop talking.
It feels like déjà vu from what happened with my father. Except this is so much worse. Also, back then, I had Hudson with me to help. Now I’m all alone. If they find out what I have done, I’m going to jail. Not kid jail but realadultjail, maybe for the rest of my life.
There’s only one person who can help me.
I don’t have Nathaniel’s phone number. He wouldn’t give it to me. And even if I had it, it would probably be a bad idea to call from my phone. Then there would be a record of the call, and my mom has access to my phone records. But Mrs. Bennett’s phone is right on the kitchen counter. I could use her phone to call him.
I snatch the phone off the counter, but of course, it’s locked. It seems to have fingerprint unlocking, so I gently lift Mrs. Bennett’s finger to the pad, andmiraculously, it unlocks. Now I have access to her entire phone, including her list of contacts. Nathaniel’s name is listed as one of the favorites, which gives me a little pang in my chest, but there’s no time for that. I click on it without hesitation.
It rings for a long time, and I start to worry he’s not going to pick up. After all, she threw him out. He’s probably mad at her. But then just when I’m sure it’s going to go to voicemail, I hear his angry voice: “What is it, Eve?”
“Nathaniel? It’s Addie.”
There’s a long pause on the other line. “Addie? Why are you calling from Eve’s phone?”
“Something happened.” I swallow down a ball of fear at the base of my throat. What I have done is so unbelievably awful. I need Nathaniel to help me fix it. “You’ve got to come home. I…I don’t think she’s breathing.”
“Addie,” he gasps. “What are you talking about? What happened?”
“It wasn’t my fault,” I choke out. “Please, you have to come…”
Again, there’s a long silence on the other line. I’m certain he’s going to tell me that he’s calling the police, and I wouldn’t blame him. Or maybe we need to call an ambulance. I can’t tell if she’s alive or not, but either way, she is badly hurt.
“Okay,” he finally says, “I’ll be right there.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
ADDIE
I’m not entirelysure where he was, but less than twenty minutes later, I hear the lock to the front door turning. I have spent the entire time sitting in the corner of the kitchen, hugging my knees to my chest. Where I am sitting, I can’t see Mrs. Bennett’s face, but I can see her bare feet. She hasn’t moved since I hit her with that frying pan. I am scared that she’s dead, and I’m even more scared that if I leave the room, she might come back to life as a zombie.
I can’t believe I might have killed Mrs. Bennett. What happened with my father was a pure accident, but this… I slammed a frying pan into her head three times. That’s no accident. No jury would think so.
And while my father was a worthless drunk, it’s harder for me to argue that Mrs. Bennett deserved this. I don’t think she was a wonderful person, but at the same time, she had good qualities. Even though I struggled tolearn the material in class, I could tell she was passionate about teaching.
And now she’s dead.
Oh God, she’s dead.
“Addie?” Nathaniel’s voice calls out.
“In here!” My own voice has a strangled quality. “In the kitchen…”
The kitchen door swings open, and Nathaniel bursts into the room. He looks different than he does at school. His tie is completely off, the first three buttons of his shirt are undone, and his hair is disheveled. Despite everything, I can’t help but think how sexy he looks.
“Addie?” He stares at me, curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking slightly. “What…?”
“She’s over there.”
Nathaniel creeps across the kitchen to where Mrs. Bennett’s body is lying. I stand up and follow him, keeping a safe distance behind. I watch his face as he catches sight of her.
“Eve…” he murmurs. Then, “Jesus. What happened?”
“I… I sort of…” There’s no point in lying—not to him. “I hit her on the head with a frying pan.”
Nathaniel’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Youwhat?”
“She was threatening to tell the principal!” I swipe at a tear about to fall from my right eye. “I just… I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to do something.”
