Teacher's Girl (Aflyingwhale)

Chapter 50: Exit Strategy 

IAN’s POV :

"Emma! Emma!"

I yelled her name a few more times but she wasn’t responding and the line went dead.

"Shit!" I cursed as my fingers frantically called her again.

She had turned off the phone.

It didn’t even ring.

"I know you don’t want it and I’m sorry, but this is a choice that I have to make on my own,"

Her words were ringing in my head.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was she seriously not gonna do the procedure? Not waiting for a second more, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

She didn't tell me which clinic she was in, but I figured there weren't that many abortion clinics around.

I'd go to every one of them to find her if that’s what it takes.

I have to see her.

She was upset and scared, I got it.

I also didn’t like the way we ended things last night.

But literally, she came over and just dropped a bomb at me.

What was I supposed to do?

"I'm...pregnant,"she said in an almost whisper.

For a split second, I thought she was kidding.

But god no, she wasn't.

That look in her face said it all.

And her eyes too.

They were swollen as if she had been crying alot. When it finally hit me that she wasn't joking, I was hit a wave of emotions.

Everything from denial to anger, happiness, and confusion.

I never thought much about having a kid.

And why should I? I was only twenty-four years old for crying out loud.

And Emma was only a high school kid.

And the fact that I was still her teacher was another damn thing.

If word got out that I was the father of her baby, I would not only lose my job but I would also go to jail.

We were definitely not ready and far too young for this kind of ordeal.

We weren't settled enough in life to take on this role and this would change everything.

All her dreams and our plans for the future, it would all go down the drain.

And for what? For a little, living, breathing thing.

Okay, honestly, if the circumstances were different, I might have been the happiest man alive.

Emma was the girl of my dreams, the one person I ever truly loved and cared for.

If I were to end up with anyone in this world, it would be her.

She was my other half, and I would want her to be the mother of my child. My mind was still racing with thoughts of Emma as my car raced through town.

I kept trying to call her again, but it was useless.

"Fuck!"

I cursed and hit the steering wheel.

I should have handled the situation better.

I should have gone with her to the clinic.

If I was there, maybe she wouldn't this scared. Where are you, baby girl? I need to see you right now! My tired eyes scanned the road for any sign of her, but there was nothing so far.

I was tired, angry, and confused all at once.

I couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night.

When I closed my eyes, all I saw was this image of Emma.

I didn’t know if it was imagination or if I was lucid dreaming, but I saw her standing in front of me.

She was beautiful, of course, but her stomach had grown into a full belly.

"It’s okay, lan, we'll be okay," Emma said in my ears.

"We can't have a baby.We're not ready,"I replied back.

"But it’s ours.We can’t not have it,"she insisted.

"It's a baby, Emma.It's not a puppy,"

"I know," she looked at me as if I was stupid.

"If people found out about us"

"No one has to know.Graduation is only five months away and we're gonna get out of this stinky town anyway,"

"But what about college? It’s gonna change everything, all our plans, all our dreams"

"This is my dream now," she said simply, ending all my arguments.

Then she reached for my hand and placed it on her grown belly.

I was reluctant at first, but when I touched her there, I felt a kick under her skin.

My breath was caught in my throat as soon as I felt it.

"You feel that?"she smiled brightly.

"That's ours,"

"Ours..."

I repeated after her.

It was a dream that would haunt me for life.

I was covered in cold sweats when I awoke from that dream last night, and I couldn't close my eyes again after.

It sounded sweet, sure, but dreams were dreams for a reason.

They weren't logical and real.

I'd be damned if I let Emma gave away here future to raise a baby.

Damn, how can I be so stupid? How did I let this happen? I had no clue, honestly.

She said she was on the pill and I never asked questions.She made a mistake, we slipped up, and now we had to deal with the consequences.

Shit, what if she’s really not gonna go through with the abortion? I couldn't let that happen.

I had to talk her down.

If I could just find her and talk some sense into her, she would know that I was right.

I tried calling her again and I even sent a few text messages, but there was nothing.

I finally arrived at the first clinic on my list.

I burst through the door and frantically scanned the room.

There were no signs of Emma or her friends there.

Ignoring the stares and glares the people inside were giving me, I turned around quickly and headed back into the car.

The engine was still running so I could dash to the next location in a hurry.

About fifteen minutes later, I arrived in the second location.

It was a smaller clinic and it was empty.

I asked the front desk lady if there was a girl called Emma in here earlier and she said no one had been in here all morning.

I banged my fists on her counter in anger and that scared her a bit.

Damn my manners at this point.

I had been driving around town for almost two hours now.

I had been to three clinics in total and there were no signs of her.

The last clinic refused to give me any information if a girl called Emma was there earlier.

Something about patient privacy privileges.

Fuck that shit.

The next clinic was a town over and I wondered if she would go that far away.

I didn't have any other choice but to go over there and check it out myself.

I spent the next hour driving again, but when I reached the clinic, I saw the sign that it was closed today.

I was fucking mad at this point.

My fists went slamming against the dashboard in anger, and I felt the sting on my knuckles.

They were still sore and raw from yesterday.

I was so confused and angry last night, I was punching the wall in front of Emma.

Violent outburst was an issue that I had to deal with all my life.

But I also did it because I wanted to prove a point to her.

The point was that I was just a broken guy who had no abilities or the right to raise another human being.

In frustration, I tried calling Emma's phone again and it was still off.

I let my phone fall out of my hand and it landed on the seat next to me.

I didn’t understand what was happening here.

Why won't she take my call? Why was she avoiding me? Was she mad at me? Was she mad because I got her into this mess? Or was it because I was trying to be the logical adult in the relationship? I hoped she knows that I meant no harm.

I only wanted what was best for her.

I could imagine she must be so distraught right now.

If only I could see her, I would wrap her in my arms and tell her everything's gonna be okay.

Whatever happens, whatever she wants, I'll do anything for her.

Maybe that was what I should have said.

I should have told her that whatever happens, I would support her decision no matter what.

I would stand by her and give her whatever she needs.

Now on top of all the anger and confusion, I was feeling regret and guilt.

I wanted so much to talk to her and make things right.

Whatever her choice was gonna be, we would figure it out together.

Talk to me, please.I’m here for you.

Where the hell are you, Emma? I started the car again and thought about going to the nearest clinic around.

There was another one in this town, maybe I'd have more luck there.

Just as I pulled out of the parking lot of that clinic, I heard my phone ringing and my eyes shot to look at it immediately.

I was hoping it would be Emma, but all I saw was an unknown number.

I decided not to answer the call and focus on driving.

The call stopped and it went to a missed call.

The next second, however, it was calling me again.

It was as if the caller was urgently looking for me.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this, like something wasn’t right.

Reaching for my phone, I answered the call and put the phone next to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Mr.Hayes?" a girl spoke.

"Who's this?"

"This is Tiff and Carrie..."another girl spoke.

"Where’s Emma?"I hit the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt.

"Mr.Hayes, there’s something that you should know,"one of them said.

"Emma’s been in a car accident,"the other one followed.

"She ran out of the clinic alone, panicking.She was driving the car it swerved and hit a tree"

"We called 911.The paramedics brought her to Mount Sinai.They think she’s gonna be okay, but we thought you should know "

I think I stopped listening after they said the words ‘ Emma’s been in a car accident’.

Everything else after that became a blur.

I could just picture it in my head...

Emma was crying and distraught, running out of the clinic because she couldn't go through with it.

Her friends tried to stop her, but she was already out the door.

She got into her car and haphazardly started driving.

"Emma's been in a car accident,"

"The car it swerved and hit a tree "

That was the worst thing I have ever heard in my life.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe and I felt like I was punched in the gut.

My hands and knees went weak, I couldn't even hold the phone up for another second.

And for the longest time, all I could do was stare into space with my jaw wide open.

This can’t be happening.

Not to my girl. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Not my Emma.

When I finally pulled my shit together, there was only one thing on my mind.

Her friends said she was in Mount Sinai and since I was a town over, it was about two hours drive away.

Not wasting any more time, I kicked the car into high gear and speeded as fast as I could.I was never one to pray to God, but damn I was praying the entire fucking way. Please God, please watch over my Emma...please take care of my baby girl...please let her be okay...I'll do anything, please