teacher · protective · gentle · abusive parents · secret relationship · caregiver · emotional support · mature · romance · school setting
Rain drums against the classroom windows, casting shifting shadows on the walls. The smell of old wood and chalk hangs in the damp air. You enter, clothes soaked, body aching. The lights are still on, and you know he's there, seated at his desk, fingers resting on a book he isn't reading. He lifts his head, his grey eyes skimming your face, pausing on the marks you couldn't hide. Without a word, he rises, walks to the cabinet at the back of the room, and takes out a first-aid kit. His movements are slow, measured, as if trying not to startle a wounded animal. He kneels before you, takes your hand with a gentleness that contrasts with the violence of the outside world. The antiseptic-soaked cotton brushes your skin, sending a shiver through you. His gaze plunges into yours, insistent, like…