Chapter Nine
Pressing the door handle down to open the door, it made a little cracking sound. Her heart rate was set on full speed, never tearing her glare away from the couch. She couldn't hear or see any sign of her father. The back of the couch was facing her room and she couldn't see whether he was there or not.
Waiting for a couple of seconds to pass, she opened the door more widely, so her body could sneak out. She knew that Rick was on the phone and right in front of her door, but for some reason the tension and the fear could not disappear.
"You can do this." She heard him speak on the line in assuring and rich with corroboration tone.
Her lungs took a long intake of breath, moving forwards. Her eyes were downed the entire time, as if to not step on some of the broken pieces and make noise. With her one hand she was holding tight onto the phone and the other was wrapped carefully, around her middle.
It felt like if she doesn't support her ribs with something the bones would fall. Every move and intake of breath were causing terrible pain, making her whole insides burn. On top of that her feet were bare and one of them was bleeding from the piece of glass stuck inside, leaving small drops after her on the parquet.
Finally, when she reached her goal - to get to the carpet, Kate started moving faster and more reliably. Walking on the carpet was much easier and noiseless.
In the meantime, Rick was outside of her apartment, busy with listening to every single noise. His fist was ready next to his side, in case he hears something that would make him break inside and give some lessons to her father. And this time they wouldn't be Literature lessons.
Seriously, who would do that? As far as he had noticed, she was the perfect daughter. Everything that every father would dream of. Smart, harmless, independent, studious and breathtakingly beautiful.
Alright, the last one is true, but he must be careful not to say it out loud. It's going to make her avoid him for the rest of her life. And there was something terribly wrong with having such thoughts, especially in a situation like this.
He managed to push these thoughts aside, because right now she needed someone's help. Someone's moral support, someone she could open herself to without any hesitation and he was willing to be that person. Teacher or no teacher, her life was more important.
His head immediately turned at the sound of the opening door, staring at the small gap between the door and the threshold. He waited patiently until she opened the door more widely and blue eyes met with a hazel red rimmed pair of eyes. He stopped breathing at the sight of her slim and limp body. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and she looked, so exhausted from life - it made him want to just get her someplace safe and make sure she's okay forever.
Kate was now bouncing on her bare feet quietly, closing the door behind her. His eyes studied her whole body frame. She was hunched and barely moving, because of the pain in her left side.
He felt helpless once again.
She looked up at him, propped against the wall, sniffling and holding hands securely around her middle. Rick stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. What now? Did Kate wanted to call somebody or maybe she changed her mind and wanted to go to the hospital, get her ribs checked? He doubted it.
Locking eyes with her, he realized that she was crying and shaking. His heart stopped at the sight of her, so small and tired of everything that she was allowing herself to cry in front of him. Usually she was the type of person who always hides when there's something. Struggling and coping all by herself, but now... He was here. And all he wanted to do is gather her in his embrace and tell her everything's going to be fine. But he couldn't. It wasn't right and she was deeply scared at the moment.
So instead he decided to take a slow step forward, closer to her and cleared his throat before speaking. "Hey, you did it. You're out and safe. I am not going to let your dad get to you again."
Somehow his presence and words made her feel better, but - the pain was still there. She extended her one hand to brush away the tears with the sleeve of her shirt and let out a shaky breath. "Thank you."
He heard her whisper brokenly and offered a weak supportive smile.
"Come on, let's get out of here." He nodded with his head towards the direction of the elevator.
"I eh - can you help me walk, I don't think I can-" Rick stopped her from talking by taking her one arm gently, wrapping it around his big torso. The next thing he was doing was placing his other hand around her waist, going under her arm, holding her weight protectively. The whole time she was following his movements with her eyes, feeling a little shy all sudden.
Their bodies were this close for first time and it felt kind of good and warm. But she was not supposed to get used to this feeling. Nope. But pointing out that his cologne was making her feel more secure in some way, wasn't too weird, right? Her heartbeat quickened at this realization and she wondered if he could feel her reaction to his embrace. She allowed her body to let go and take comfort in the support that he was offering her.
Relax, Kate.
"I already have a cab waiting for us outside. It's really close to the entrance, so you don't have to worry about walking too much." They started walking together towards the elevator. Kate was on his side, gripping hard on her teacher's waist and letting out small whimpers of pain.
They made it to the lobby with the speed of a turtle and then to the doors, which led them outside to the waiting taxi. Going out made chills go through Kate's body, feeling the cold air slip beneath her thin clothes. Oh, and the cold pavement under her feet was not helping, too.
On their way here Rick suggested to carry her, but she immediately refused, saying she could manage by herself. Picturing herself in her Professor's arms was not - right.
He helped her carefully to get to the back seats of the cab and settled inside right after her, closing the door quickly. It was the end of October, although it felt more like December. It was getting cold really quickly.
In the corner of his eye he noticed that Kate was shivering and freezing and quickly took off his coat offering it to her. She gave him a confused look, which by the way was adorable - the way her eyebrows knotted together and-
Stop it, right there.
Anyways, this time she decided to stop being stubborn for a moment and took the coat, wrapping it carefully around her slumped body. It was warm. And it felt like home.
The cab driver was looking at the scene in his back seats through the mirror with interest. After a beat, Rick realized that they're still not moving and snapped out of his daydream, telling the driver where to go.
Kate heard him say some kind of address, but it didn't sound familiar to her. It wasn't the address of the university and it was past midnight. So he wouldn't take her there, would he? Where were they going?
"Where are you taking me?" Kate blurted out in way too shaky voice from the cold, that it made the driver look at them with suspicion through the small mirror again. He must be having a lot of different scenarios inside of his head, right now. God, knows what they made him think.
"At my loft." Rick spoke calmly, eyes never meeting hers. Kate was trying to close her hanging mouth, looking with big horror written over her features at him. What did he mean by that? What the hell was this guy thinking? He was her fucking teacher and - but - fuck. This was crazy. How could he even think that she is going to actually agree to stay at his place? Is he insane or what-
"If it would make you feel more comfortable and acceptable with the thought of it, my mother is going to be there, too. There's an available room for you, which you can stay at until we figure out another place you could go to. But for now, I can't leave you go to your father's again. Your body went through enough physical pain and you need some break. Some warm meal, would be great, too." He spoke with his lecturing tone, still staring out of the cab window.
"Prof. Rodgers, I can't do this." She bit her lip nervously, feeling embarrassed. Her insides flipped, because she felt like a homeless person. And somehow it was like that. Living with Jim Beckett wasn't an option anymore. But - still... staying at her Literature teacher's loft was, too much? And she barely knew the man.
"Look, there's a TV and a couch in the living room. You can avoid sleeping if you want and stay on alert all night along - if that would make you feel better and safe. It's warm, you and my mother will get along. You can even order pizza, watch something on Netflix-"
Woah, adding his mother to this whole thing - honestly it didn't make her feel better. Actually, it made her feel more nervous than before.
"Can we go back?" She whispered and this time he turned his head to look at her. Something between concern and worry written over his face.
"Kate, you can't go back there. Not after everything - you're barely standing on your feet. You can't defend yourself."
"I can - I just can't get the courage to hit someone, especially my dad." She said, twisting her hands in her lap. The cab driver once again raised his eyebrows sharing a glance at their direction.
"It's not about courage - it's about the fact that you might have broken ribs and infected foot. And you are actually considering on getting back there where is much more dangerous, instead of coming at my loft - for just one night. It's safe and it's not like we are going to be alone, you know - awkward and creepy. My mother will stick around, besides she has broken foot, too. You're perfect for each others company.
This time his words made her feel a little bit better and convinced. Maybe it was not going to be, so bad. She could just stay up all night on his couch and then leave when the sun shows up. But then the thought about her having no shoes and clothes, made her rethink everything. Oh. She could call Lanie to come somewhere near and bring shoes and clothes with her. She could do that, right?
"Alright." She spoke quietly and he smiled with something like victory.
"Well, in that case, you better not call me Prof. Rodgers in front of my mother. It will get a little weird and she'll never drop it." She watched his face go adorably with something like annoyance and a little laugh escaped her mouth. Surprisingly, this time it didn't make a burning friction inside of her bones.
