Chapter 3.
He had no idea how he got home, the empty feeling that had started in his stomach when he left the hospital had spread, by the time he walked through his front door he felt numb. He walked to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out a bottle of scotch and a tumbler, then he walked over to he couch and collapsed upon it. He poured himself a drink but didn't drink it, instead he stared into the ambler liquid as his mind replayed the conversation he'd just had at the hospital. The look in her eyes as he walked in, as if everything would be all right just because he was there. The way her face fell at his outburst. The pain in her eyes as she asked if it was so bad to be in love with her. He had nearly broken then and begged her to be his forever but that small part of his mind wouldn't let him so he had left.
He loved her so much it hurt, those times that he was reminded of her age he was always surprised – travelling all over Europe competing had given her the level of maturity of a women in her early 20's. The way she played down her skill as a horsewoman when she was at home, being the same person she always was. She was one of the most popular people on the junior circuit with trainers, judges and competitors alike -
"but she's 16!!" he exclaimed out loud, "she's still a child, and I'm a teacher! This is wrong, I shouldn't be feeling like this..." he trailed off as the memory of the kiss came unbidden to his mind, he swore and downed his drink, poured himself another and downed that too. He spent the night brooding in silence.