And that is what left me uncomfortable.

I didn’t know how to handle that.

“If you’d like, I can go over these notes with you. We’ve got a little time before your mom should be home.” For the first time, he didn’t seem like an adult. He didn’t act like a teacher. To me, he came across more as a friend, someone my age. And it was a good look on him.

I agreed and let him teach me the day’s lesson. He leaned against the other couch across the room, leaving practically the entire living room between us. I took notes as he covered what had been discussed in class, and then answered the practice questions he’d given the other students. It really was no different than him tutoring another student after school. Only…he was in my living room. And I wore pajamas with a blanket around me.

“Oh, I did have one other purpose for stopping by,” he said, and pivoted toward me on his way out the door. “But before I give this to you, let me explain it first. This is for emergencies. I, obviously, would like you to use it when you need to get ahold of me, but in the event of a real emergency, please use it to call the authorities.”

Confusion didn’t even begin to describe my mood before he pulled a cell phone from his pocket, handing it to me. “A phone? You got me a phone? I can’t afford this. I’ve already told you. I don’ have—”

“It’s prepaid,” he said, his words cutting me off mid-sentence. “It’s just a flip-phone with a basic plan. It has unlimited text messaging, and five hundred minutes a month. I would have gotten less minutes, but figured you might have times when you just need to talk to someone, and I didn’t want you to run out. But if we need to adjust the plan, it’s really easy. It’s just month to month.”

“Mr. Taylor…”

“Axel. I’ve already told you.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping that would ease some of the worry that had consumed my nerves. “I can’t accept a phone from you. I can’t pay for this. Not to mention, I don’t even have any friends to call.” I tried handing it back to him, but he wouldn’t take it.

“We’re friends, right? Call me if you need to. It has me worried just thinking about you sleeping on your porch in thirty-degree weather because you couldn’t call anyone.”

“It was a one-time thing. It’s never happened before, and probably will never happen again. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” He held a finger up in front of me, making me pause my thoughts for his argument. “Then use it the next time you don’t have a ride somewhere. The next time you miss the bus, before or after school. The next time you’re out somewhere and the weather is too bad to walk in it. It doesn’t matter what you need it for, there will be a time that you will. And I would feel much better knowing you had a way to get in touch with me.”

I nodded, contemplating a rebuttal. “If my mom finds it…”

“Don’t let her find it.”

I finally met his eyes. It was the first time since after he walked in that I’d wanted to tease him. “You want me to hide something from my mother? Doesn’t that go against some kind of teacher oath or something?”

“No.” The small curve of his lips said so much. “I would never tell you to do something like that. All I meant was to keep it safe. But whatever you do, don’t tell her about it.” He winked and then turned to open the door.

I kept my mouth shut, even though I wanted to say more. I wanted to keep him there, keep him joking with me. I didn’t want him to leave, but I knew he needed to. The hardest part was having to remind myself that he was my teacher, that he was seven years older than me, and these butterflies had no business taking root in the pit of my stomach.

“See you tomorrow, Bree.” His smooth, deep voice enveloped me through the open door.

“See you then, Axel,” I replied, wanting to keep the silly grin off my face but knowing immediately that I’d failed. My cheeks ached from the strained muscles, so I gave in and let the smile widen.

An airy laugh escaped him before he left. He shook his head all the way to his Jeep. I wanted more than anything to know what that had meant. Because I didn’t trust my own imagination to figure it out. I couldn’t allow myself to fill in the blanks and come to my own conclusion.

I had to remind myself that I was nothing more than a child in his eyes.

A poor, defenseless child that he had to protect from her big, bad mom.

A student in desperate need of a caring adult.

And that’s all he was—a caring adult.

I rolled my eyes and headed back to the couch, studying the phone in my hands. His number was the only one programmed into the contacts, and I must’ve stared at his name for a while, because the next thing I knew, my mom had come home.

“You didn’t go to school today?” she questioned from the kitchen.

I glanced up to her, shoving the phone beneath the blanket. “No. I didn’t feel well. I stayed home and slept all day. I just woke up a couple of hours ago.” I feared what would come next. Each of her steps taunted me with the promise of a lecture. But that’s not what I got.

Instead, she came to me, knelt in front of the couch, and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. “You are a little warm, but not bad. Have you taken anything?”

Nodding was all I could do to answer. She’d stunned me too much for my mouth to work properly.

Her eyes dropped to my lap as she let out a long breath. “Aubrey,” she started, which worried me since she hardly ever used my full name. “I had no idea how sick you were. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

I wished I’d had a mirror so that I could see my reflection. I’m sure my face registered shock and surprise at her words. My eyes opened wide and my mouth fell open as air refused to enter my lungs.

“Aubrey, we need to talk.”

A jolt of hysteria overcame me. Did she know Mr. Taylor had been here? Did she see the phone in my hand before I covered it up? Did she get a call from the school? So many paranoid fears flooded my mind and kept me unable to respond to her. Knowing her, if she even thought I’d befriended a teacher from school, she’d have him fired before morning. And I couldn’t lose him.

He was my only friend.

He was the only person who ever cared about me.

I couldn’t lose him so soon.

“The other night…” She seemed so nervous to talk to me, which was completely out of character for her. I’d never seen her even hesitate when speaking to me, so this had me quiet and still, waiting for the familiar sting of her words. “I was mad and made the decision to let you walk home. I honestly had no idea it had started to rain until way later. And I swear to you, I thought you had come inside. I saw your keys on the counter when I came down from my shower, and figured you’d gone upstairs. And since I was mad, I didn’t want to go up and check on you, because I knew it would only cause me to yell.”

“I don’t get it, Mom. I rang the doorbell and pounded on the door for a long time. At least five straight minutes. How did you not hear that?” Tears stung my eyes, remembering that night so clearly, and unable to believe a word she said.

“That must’ve been while I was in the shower. I’ve done some awful things to you, things I’m not proud of and don’t want to discuss right now, but I’d never purposely leave you outside in that weather overnight. I’d never do that.” Her voice shook, causing me to focus on her watering eyes.

I’d never seen her cry before. I’d heard her after my dad left, but it was always behind a closed door. Watching tears pull at the rims of her eyes before cascading quickly down her rosy cheeks weakened my resolve. It crumbled my hard exterior when it came to her, and it softened my fight. I didn’t want to believe her, but witnessing her guilt over it, I couldn’t help but buy her story.