Teaching Willow: Session Three Read Free Page A

impact than I thought they would.
    “Why don’t you want me?” Willow asks bluntly.
    The question is like a sucker punch to the balls.  I want her so fucking bad I can almost taste it.  And I want to taste it, to taste her.
    “Willow, you’re my student.”
    “What if I weren’t?” she asks, something…anxious in her eyes. 
    “But you are.  And I’m dating your sister.”  I see my words penetrate her daze like razor sharp arrows.  But I don’t stop. I can’t.  I have to make this clear.  For both our sakes.  “This can never happen.  Never.”
    I don’t know what to make of the expression that sweeps across her beautiful face.  It looks like a million things, few of which make any sense to me.  The only thing I know for sure is that I have to get the hell out of here.
    “Will you be okay by yourself?”
    Her laugh seems bitter.  “Oh this?” she asks, nodding to her immobilized arm.  “This is nothing.  I’ve been through worse.  A million times worse.  And that’s only the beginning.”
    She laughs again as she turns away from me.  “See you in class, Mister Daniels.”
    I actually move about an inch and a half toward her, nearly giving in to my desire to sooth her, to sooth myself.  To rid my body and my soul of this need for her, once and for all.  But I stop myself.  God only knows how, but somehow I manage it.
    By the time I get to my car, I feel like putting my fist through the windshield.  Anger is boiling in my blood.  Anger over Willow and the fact that I could’ve taken what I’ve wanted for so long.  Anger over my mother and the fact that she has found me after all these years.  Anger over Sage and the fact that I can’t seem to reach her yet her car is here in the parking lot.
    I push back into the driver’s seat, straightening my arms and squeezing the steering wheel until my fingers ache.  Then I pound the heel of my hand against it until I fear I might break the damn thing.
    Ten long minutes of internal battle have passed before I start my car and drive away from Willow and everything that she represents.
     

THREE- WILLOW
     
    A loud thumping wakes me.  At first, it coincides so perfectly with the pounding of my head that I don’t realize the noise is actually external.  It’s when I hear the clatter of keys hitting and skittering across the bar that I come fully awake.
    I don’t have to ask or wonder or be afraid. I know exactly who it is. I can feel the chill in the air, the disturbance in my soul. 
    It’s impending doom. 
    It’s Sage.
    She’s home.  And the jig is up.
    Seconds later, my door is unceremoniously flung open to reveal my very upset sister.
    “What the hell?  I told you I’d be coming home today and you couldn’t even bother to drag your ass out of bed to pick me up?”
    I lean up just enough to glance at the clock. It’s already past noon.  I flop back down, wishing I could turn back the clock, and not just metaphorically speaking.  Meta physically as well.
    “God, you are such a bitch,” she mutters, shaking her head as she turns away.
    “Sage!” I snap, sitting up in bed and flinging off my covers. She whirls back toward me, fury in her eyes, until she sees my shoulder immobilizer.  Her brow furrows, but she doesn’t ask any questions; she just waits for me to explain myself.  “I was in a car accident.  Didn’t you wonder why the phone suddenly went dead?”
    She shrugs.  “No. I thought you were just being pissy and hung up on me.”
    “Because I do that so often. I think that’s more your M.O. than mine.”
    “Whatever,” she mutters off-handedly.  “What happened?”
    “I got T-boned as I was pulling into the lot.  Dislocated my shoulder.”
    “Is that it?”
    I can’t help but laugh.  She really is a cold, selfish bitch.  “Yes, Sage.  That’s pretty much it.  I was in the hospital for twenty-four hours for observation and then Mom brought me home.”
    “Where is she?”
    “She went back