Free Honor Thy Teacher by Teresa Mummert

towards the elevator, the sound of her feet on the wood floor in the distance. We rode down to the next floor in silence. I was so incredibly selfish. I knew she had doubts about me but I chased after her. She never had a choice. She was vulnerable and sad and I knew exactly what to say do to get my way. I felt ill.
     
    As we reached my living space, she headed straight for the bathroom. I didn’t doubt that she wanted to cleanse her body of me. I picked up her phone from the counter and began flipping through the settings absentmindedly. My phone ran g and I dug in my pocket to retrieve it. A small folded piece of paper came with it. I threw it on the counter and looked at my phone. Angela was the last person I wanted to talk to but I knew if I ignored her she may just show up. I walked towards my living room, trying to put some more distance between Emma and I.
     
    “What?” I snapped, not caring how she felt.
     
    “What’s wrong with you?” She asked and I didn’t know how to respond. There were too many answers to that question.
     
    “Let’s start with the note.” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low.
     
    William, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sounded confused and hurt. I wasn’t going to let her off the hook.
     
    “I’m not the only one who could get hurt if anyone found out about us.” I threatened. I heard her suck in a shocked breath.
     
    “William, I swear. I didn’t do anything.” She was begging me to believe. Emma slowly walked past me to the kitchen. I ran my hands through my hair, wishing I had the strength to keep her out of my fucked up world. I didn’t have control anymore. Whoever had sent me the note made sure of that. I turned my back to Emma and lowered my voice.
     
    “It’s not a fucking joke. If you did this I will find out.” I hung up, not wanting to hear anymore of her excuses. If it wasn’t her than I had much bigger problems on my hands. I walked to the fridge, yanking it open to grab a beer.
     
    “What’s wrong?” Emma asked . So naive. My world was unraveling around me and I was going to take her down with me. I was a monster. I slammed the fridge and took the top off the bottle. She stared at me expectantly.
     
    “This is what’s wrong. This is why I came to see you this morning.” I shoved my finger at the note and waited for her to say something, anything. Her eyes danced over the scrap of paper.
     
    “What does this have to do with me?” She asked, confusion twisting her face . “It was that woman wasn’t it? The one I saw you with at the theater.” She looked back at me, not able to hide the hurt from her eyes . “We have to call the police!” I shook my head and took another drink from my beer. There had to be another way out of this.
     
    “It’s not that simple.” Did she not understand that if the police began digging around it would ruin her life?
     
    “What are you talking about? She threatened your life!” She was shouting. This was a side of her I had never seen before. She was worried about me. Maybe she was worried about herself. I took another drink as I thought that over.
     
    “She doesn’t seem to know anything about you.” I reassured her. She looked confused at my words, running her hands through her knotted hair.
     
    “Shit” She muttered, trying to free her fingers. I smiled and pulled open a drawer on the island and pulled out a pi nk hairbrush, a reminder of Abby . My thoughts never went to her.
     
    “We have to find somewhere safe for you to go tonight.” My stomach panged at the thought of her leaving but I knew it was best for her.
     
    “Why can’t I stay here?” She asked as she brushed the last few tangles from her hair. She wanted to stay. “Never mind” She quickly followed, placing the brush on the counter and standing. I had to swallow hard before explaining.
     
    “It’s not that I don’t want you to stay. I wish I could lock you up and never let you leave.” I had to