Two men and a woman suddenly enter the classroom, all of them wearing dark suits. They give off that cop vibe, and when the female pulls out a pair of handcuffs, I realize my instincts are correct.
“David Figueroa, you’re under arrest,” the woman says as the two males flank either side of Fig and grab his arms before he can get away.
Not like he was trying. Defeat is written all over him.
“Hands behind your back,” she says as the other detectives turn Fig, so his back is to her. The woman lists the charges. Contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor. Inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor. Sexual misconduct. The list goes on for a while.
Our teacher is in massive trouble. I don’t see him ever recovering from this.
And them arresting him in front of us is sending a message to the entire school. He’s been caught.
Finally.
They haul him out, Fig’s head hanging down the entire time, all of us in the classroom deathly quiet. We’re all in shock. I know I am, and I even had a heads-up.
Matthews stops in the open doorway, contemplating all of us. “Don’t worry about the final. You all got an A on it,” he says.
Right before he turns and leaves.
FORTY-TWO
WREN
The rest of the day is uneventful, thank goodness. We have a shorter lunch break because of the shortened schedule, and Crew never leaves my side. He’s very possessive, slinging his arm over my shoulders as he sits next to me in the dining hall and talks to his friends. Claiming me in front of everyone at school.
There are stares and whispers and gossiping behind hands, but a lot of it has to do with Fig’s arrest and not because of Crew’s obvious attention—and affection—towards me. This is a big deal, having a teacher arrested in front of our class, during school hours. Hauled off in handcuffs and paraded around the entire school.
Because that’s what those detectives did. They walked Fig down the main hall, hoping to catch the eye of everyone they could. Totally unexpected.
But then again, not surprising.
When the final bell rings, I walk out of my sixth period final to find Crew waiting for me, leaning against a row of shiny blue lockers. He pushes away from them to approach me, and I frown.
“What are you doing here?”
“Walking you to your dorm,” he says, taking my hand and falling into step beside me.
I marvel at this new Crew. We have sex and this is what happens? He becomes super possessive and wants to spend all of his free time with me? It’s so…weird. And thrilling.
Something to get used to, that’s for sure. I’m not used to this sort of attention, and while I like it, there’s also a small part of me that wants to run and hide.
People seeing me with Crew will eventually realize that something happened between us. Something sexual. My role model days are over.
I fell, just like the rest of them.
And I sort of don’t mind. I get it now. I understand why it happens, and how all other things cease to matter when the boy of your dreams, the boy you’re falling for, smiles at you and makes you feel like nothing else matters to him.
Just you.
Once we’re outside, I pull my hand from his and slip my gloves on. He tries to grab my hand again, but I won’t let him.
“What the hell, Birdy?”
The irritation in his voice is obvious, but I ignore it. “You should put gloves on first.”
“Oh.” His annoyance clears and he pulls a pair of black gloves from his coat pocket, putting them on and then taking my hand. “Is this your way of taking care of me?”
“I have to try sometime, since all you want to do now is take care of me.” I should sound more grateful. He needs to understand this will take some getting used to for me.
He shrugs, seemingly uncomfortable. “I feel protective.”
“Why? Because of what happened over the weekend? I can still handle myself, you know,” I remind him.
“I never thought you couldn’t,” he agrees. “But…I can’t help the way I feel.”
“And how do you feel?”
“Like you’re mine and I want everyone to know it,” he answers seriously.
I absorb his words. The fierce way he said them. I believe he cares about me. That he feels possessive of me. But we’ve gone from nothing to everything in a rapid amount of time and I still need to process this.
When we arrive at the dorm hall, I turn to face him, grabbing hold of the front of his jacket and giving him a little shake. “I love how protective you are, but you have to be patient with me.”