Perfectly Broken [COMPLETE]

(3) A Little Guidance

[For Mature Audiences]

He stared at us for an awkward minute, his eyes coursing back and forth from me to Ryan several times. We just froze, still mingled together, our eyes wide at Mr. Mason who had to clear his throat to get us to realize the significance of the situation. Ryan calmly exited my moist spot, pushing back his hair, not afraid to show off to Mr. Mason who only grimaced, looking away. I grabbed my clothes off the floor frantically and began slipping into them, trying to hide behind the padded mats in embarrassments.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan barked. Ryan always had to be the badass, so typical of him.

"I should be asking you that question," Mr. Mason deflected smoothly.

Once I put on all my clothes, I stood up, handing Ryan his pants so he could put them on and stop showing it off to him like it was a prized trophy. After I had to slam my hand into his stomach, he finally obliged disgruntled as if I told him to cut it off or something. Once we were all appropriately dressed, he turned around, skimming the both of us with a stern expression. "The rules about this should be obvious even though they aren't written or told to anyone bluntly."

I looked at the floor shamefully. "We're so sorry—"

"She is, I'm not," Ryan inserted grumpily, crossing his arms against his broad chest. Mr. Mason mimicked his gesture, glare down at him since he was a few inches taller than Ryan, much taller than me.

"Don't give me any back talk because you're in front of your girlfriend." I would have told him we weren't a couple but it didn't seem like the time. When his sea green eyes traveled to me, the kindness that once inhabited them no longer existed but instead he looked at me with afresh eyes as if it were the first time we were meeting. It only made me feel worse about myself. He sighed, placing a hand on his hip. "You both should be heading to class. The end of second period should be ringing soon."

"Whatever, asshole," Ryan insulted, storming past Mr. Mason in a new fit of rage. Just when I had calmed him down too, I guess it was a waste.

"The key." He swerved towards Ryan who dug in his pocket, slamming the key in his hand roughly, and giving him a nonchalant expression. "And no more of this shenanigan." He looked between both of us, his eyes only glancing at me cautiously, asking if he was clear and I nodded, disgracefully. Ryan just scoffed, proceeding to class confidently.

Never mind getting on the new teacher's good side, I was practically walking garbage now. He knew my secret, Ryan and I's s*x secret, and it didn't really look very innocent and angelic which was the role I'd basked with for a while now. With a blushing face, I scrambled passed him out the door, only to feel heated shivers spiral down my arm when he grabbed it gently.

"Emma," he muttered, the melodic sound leaving me breathless. "Is Ryan forcing you to do this?"

When I whipped my head around to deny his accusation, there was anguish and concern pleading in his eyes, begging, hoping, and praying that I wasn't getting abused by Ryan. "No," I answered honestly, hoping the painful look would dissolve. But it remained.

He wanted to ask more questions, his mind not wanting to believe I was capable of having s*x in a P.E. storage closet with such a bully like Ryan. However, he just sighed, looking away from me and letting my arm go which made the tingles cease. "You should head to class." I nodded, preparing to take "the walk of shame," and he paused me again. "I'd also like to talk to you during your lunch break if you don't mind."

I nodded again, my words unable to spill out. I just wanted to make like a bullet and shoot out of this situation. And I did.

In class, I felt so disgusted with myself. For the last three months, it had only been Ryan and I who knew about this arrangement. Although Mr. Mason didn't know the complete details, he knew Ryan and I were intimate. It was enough to make me blush at the thought, tapping my pencil, thinking of an excuse to tell Mr. Mason, knowing he was going to ask questions in his office. But everything that came to mind only made me feel impure in his eyes, something I'd never been before now that I think about it.

"Where're you going, Watson?" Alec wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his warm touch soothing the tension in my gut during lunch break. I loved it when he touched me like this but I fought the urge to lean my head on his shoulder which was beckoning for me. "The cafeteria's back there."

"I need to meet Mr. Mason in the counselor's office," I informed him. He frowned, not used to having lunch by himself since Brooke would be eating lunch with the fashion club today. Never liking his pouty, sad look, I reassured him with a smile, holding onto my books like they would hide the scent of s*x protruding off me. "It's only going to take ten minutes and I'll be in there, 'Kay?"

"Sure. I'll save you a seat."

He left and I continued on my way to the guidance counselors, taking a deep breath before knocking on his door, holding the knob with trembling hands. "Come in." He sat at his desk, papers scattered before him with a pencil in hand, peering over his glasses with a comely smile. Devilishly handsome repeated itself in my mind as I entered the room, his green eyes entrancing me while I closed the door and took a seat shyly. It should have been a crime for a teacher to be so sexy, taunting students with his look who knew they couldn't have him, including myself.

"Um, about earlier," I began, breaking my lingering stare. "I—"

He held up a hand, slipping off his glasses. "Ms. Thorne, I'll overlook it this once but you know you shouldn't be doing such acts on school property." His condescending tone was so much different than his gentle, friendly voice saying my first name instead of my last.

"I know."

He picked up a paper, glancing over it. "You're a good student, good grades, never been to detention, you volunteer for many organizations around town, and your teachers praise you." Wow, I sound...boring. Was I really that boring? With eyes full of altruism, he asked, "So why is such a sweet girl like you hanging around someone like Ryan Brighton?"

Because we made a pact to have s*x with each other in replacement for the ones we love but won't return our feelings, I thought mournfully, fiddling with the strap of my bag. I couldn't tell him that, I was still holding only a thread of my angelic image. "It was just a thing we do sometimes," I confessed, averting my eyes. "It's a kind of stress reliever for us when we're dealing with...things."

"What kind of things, if I may ask?" His focus fell on me, the concern in his tone causing me to gasp shamefully for breath.

"Emotions." It was the first time I spoke to anyone about me and Ryan, our relationship being something further than physical. "Ryan and I understand each other, not only physically but emotionally. We both have people we love but because we can't have them, we find support in each other. In a way, we're each other's temporary cure for our heartaches."

Contemplating on my words, his green eyes pierced through me, their touch making my heart race with a fervor I willed myself to veil. Those eyes were so hypnotic. I could have sworn he knew what he was doing to me, an alluring eyebrow rising with ease.

"Is there no other cure?" His tone hinted for possibly a different partner but I blamed it on my naughty imagination, his tone most likely meaning anything other than s*x.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "That's been the only cure I've known."

He nodded, holding my gaze. "I don't want to pry into your life, Ms. Thorne, or tell you how to run it, but do you think you might...be an addict?"

I went breathless at the accusation, trying hard to hide the affliction he'd caused with his words.

"No, I'm not! Ryan's the only guy I've ever...you know."

I sank down in my seat, feeling the personal barrier between me and Mr. Mason gradually crumbling, making me uncomfortable. Sensing the invasion, a flash of guilt crossed through his eyes like a shooting star.

"I'm sorry for getting too intimate with you. I know we just met but I assure you, I'm a professional and I will remain unbiased. That accusation was very disrespectful of me, and, again, I apologize."

I waved away his words. "It's alright, I've just never spoken with a therapist before. It's your job to dig a little deeper so you can point me in the right direction, right?"

That made him smile, his teeth shining, making me swoon and convulse internally. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You should head to lunch for now."

Standing up, I didn't even have to look at him, knowing his sweet green eyes were resting on me, the shivers of pleasure down my spine making it impossible to ignore. God, the way he was making me feel because of those eyes, that smile, it was something supernatural.

"Emma." Thank goodness I was facing the door because I could hold onto my sensual sigh at the sound of my name off of his lips. "I swear to you, this will be the last time I pry, but why don't you take a week off of getting 'cured' and spend some time figuring out your emotions by yourself? And if you'd like, you can come in anytime and talk to me about it. Everything you tell me is a hundred percent confidential."

Over my shoulder, I smiled at him. "I'll try that, thank you. Mr. Mason."

As I walked out, I realized there was a boulder lifted off of my shoulder after speaking with someone about my forbidden affair. I've never told a soul about Ryan and I and every single day for three months, I've been carrying it around like it was my curse. And Mr. Mason had just broken it—not completely, but enough to help me walk with dignity again.

Walking down the bare halls with pep in my step, I skimmed through the window in the student parking lot only to stop in my tracks. A black accord Sedan pulled up to the back doors of the school and out stepped Brooke in her short multi-colored dress. That didn't look like the fashion club room at all!

Strutting to the door, I ducked down, pulling out my phone to text Alec about Brooke's lying ways. But wait, she always lies! That wouldn't be news to him. He wanted to see if she was cheating. I peeped out the window on my knees watching Brooke pause by the door and, to my luck, the driver stepped out.

He was tall with curly blond hair, wearing the nearby all-boys private school uniform, crimson red blazer, and white slacks. He was pretty hot, chiseled jawline and lean body structure, raking his fingers through his hair, approaching her.

Turning the camera on, I determinedly waited to catch them in the act. However, all I snagged were a few shots of him handing her money and she gesturing him to run off snobbishly. These would probably be interesting if I wanted to accuse her of prostitution but a cheater? It was a fifty-fifty chance.

When she proceeded to enter, I scurried onto my feet and headed towards the cafeteria happily. Alec was slowly becoming mine and Brooke didn't even realize she was vacuously handing him over.

Should have been in the fashion club meeting, I tsked in my head, smiling deviously, because now I'm going to bust you!