Page 54 of The Teacher of Nothing
“So you have three brothers and one sister?” She stops, pausing to look at a painted family portrait. “Him?”
It’s a picture of all of us when we were kids. When Mom was still alive and Jude wasn’t so…destroyed. Jude actually smiles in the picture even though we were supposed to look serious. I’m not sure he’s smiled since Mom died.
“The picture you showed me on your desk in your home office just had you, the twins, and Hugo. Why wasn’t Jude in that picture?”
“You can barely get Jude out of the house once a week for Sunday dinner at Dad’s. A picture is an impossibility. He’s not exactly happy with the way he looks.”
She frowns at me. “What’s wrong with the way he looks? He’s a cute little boy in this painting.”
“That night,” I say softly, “when Mom died, Jude had been the one to try and save her.”
“How did she die?” She flinches. “I shouldn’t ask that.”
I take her hands in mine, peering down at her. “You can ask me anything. I want to open up to you, sweetheart. Just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”
Her smile is breathtaking. “I like learning about you and your life.”
Dipping down, I press a kiss to her supple lips. “Then I’ll tell you everything. Let’s get dinner started first.”
Willa moves around my kitchen like she belongs there. While I season the steaks, she starts pulling out vegetables to prepare a salad. A deep ache forms inside my chest. I like having her here. This thing between us feels so damn right, despite how it’d seem to everyone else.
“I think Mom tried to burn the house down with herself inside,” I grit out, unable to meet Willa’s stare. “She and Dad had already split up, but after learning how he’d gotten my girlfriend pregnant, I think it was too much.”
“That had to be awful for everyone.”
“The fire department ruled it as a kitchen grease fire. They claim she didn’t do it on purpose.” I close my eyes, remembering the smell of smoke that stayed with me for months after. “Her body would have completely burned up in the fire, but Jude happened to be skipping school and was at Park Mountain Lodge. He saw the smoke. By the time he made it to the house, it was engulfed.”
“Oh no,” she murmurs. “He went inside?”
“He did.” I swallow down the ball of emotion in my throat. “The firefighters found him passed out from smoke inhalation. He’d been dragging Mom’s body away from the kitchen, trying to get her outside, when he succumbed to the smoke.”
“That’s so awful.”
“He won’t talk about what he saw, but I know he feels guilty for not rescuing her.” I turn my back to her to focus on cooking the steaks. “He never leaves the house. A total hermit aside from our family dinners. That fire completely fucked him up.”
Willa hugs me from behind. “That’s so sad, Callum. I’m sorry your family has had to go through this.”
It feels nice being comforted by my girl. Hugo likes to pretend nothing bad ever happened to our family, while Jude lives with the pain every day. I fall somewhere in between—trying to mostly forget, but constantly reminded of what we lost.
By the time we finish dinner, I’m done talking about sad shit. I learn from Willa that she’s obsessed with the Discovery Channel, hates bugs with a passion, and can’t wait until she’s graduated so she can get the hell out of that house. I certainly don’t blame her.
“I like having you here,” I say after we clean up. “I wish I could keep you.”
“Me too.” She rests her cheek on my chest. “But my stepdad will be looking for me soon.”
Neither of us moves.
“Soon, but what about now? Do we have a little time?”
She laughs. “Yeah, we have a little time.”
I guide her over to my sofa and then sit down, pulling her into my lap. She lays her head on my shoulder, inhaling my neck and pressing a kiss to the flesh there.
“I want to take things slow with you,” I whisper, “but sometimes I don’t think I have it in me.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to go slow.” She nips at my skin. “Maybe I want you to hurry up and have your way with me.”
Her bold words make my cock thicken. “You’re a bad girl.”
