Page 34 of Her Forbidden Teacher

Me: Deal.

It’s funny to me that Dad is a cool, relaxed parent, but when it comes to energy drinks, that’s the hill he’s willing to die on “to protect” us.

“I like that smile,” Theo says when he makes his way over to me. “It’s happy. I love seeing you happy.”

I toss my phone into my purse and rove my gaze over him. “My family wants me to come over for dinner. Cason might have some information on Lucy.”

“As much as I wanted you to myself again, I think this’ll be good for you.”

We start walking toward my car and our hands brush a couple of times. I want to take his hand, but someone could be watching.

“I could come over later,” I say when we reach my vehicle and turn toward him. “Finish what we started later.”

His gaze darkens, eyes dropping to my lips. “I would love nothing more than to eat you alive tonight.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a but in there?”

“I don’t want to go too fast,” he murmurs, a frown tugging at his handsome mouth. “I just want to do what’s best for you.”

I take a chance and step closer to him, angling my head up so I can see him better. “Spending time with you is what’s best for me. This thing between us is inevitable. No fighting it, Theo.”

He looks around and when he determines we’re alone, he dips down and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “Come over later and tell me all about your dinner. See you soon, beautiful.”

I watch his cute ass as he strides to the faculty parking lot.

Later won’t come soon enough.

“Here.” I sneak out an energy drink and thrust it at my brother as I close his bedroom door. “Spill.”

Cason smirks at me. He cracks open the can and takes a long gulp before giving me any information. “It’s juicy. Like destroy her life juicy.”

I gape at him, shocked by this revelation. “Really? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

He pulls out his phone and shows me old social media pictures of her and her some girl around her age. They must have been thirteen or fourteen at the time if I remember what Lucy looked like correctly at that age. Both girls have Lucy’s red hair and freckles. One of the pictures has a hashtag of #cousinbesties.

“Okay,” I say, shooting Cason a look of confusion. “This is her cousin.”

He plucks his phone from my grip and then navigates to some other screenshots he took. The cousin’s name is Ophelia. Ophelia was happy and doing well until about the time the #cousinbesties picture was taken on what appears to be a summer lake trip. Then, Ophelia’s posts got weird, darker, and eventually stopped altogether.

“What happened to her? Did she die?” My stomach twists with nerves.

“Better,” Cason says with a wicked grin. “She was institutionalized.”

I gape at him. “That’s not good, Cason. Is she okay?”

“She tried to take her own life multiple times. They committed her for her own safety. Once she was out, she was good for a bit, but then the next summer, she went off the rails again. While at the lake, she overdosed on a bottle of her mother’s pills.”

“This is a horrible story,” I tell him, feeling terrible for Ophelia. “Did she die?”

He laughs. My brother has always been a bit of a sadist. “Better. She was institutionalized again.”

“Where is this going?”

“It’s a pattern. The next year, same thing. She gets better until the summer. Each year it happens.”

“Poor girl.” I rub at my temple wondering how all this fits.

“This past summer, though, the pattern broke.”