Love Will Come Through

He woke up hours later again. When he reached next to him, he found the bed empty. He sat up and searched the room. She wasn’t there. But he heard her voice in the sitting room. She was crying again, and talking. She was on the phone.
He got out of bed and went to the sitting room. He stopped when he reached the door. She was sitting on the ground, resting her head against the radiator. Her face was wet in tears as she hung up the phone. He had overheard the conversation. She had been calling her brother.
To get her attention, he spoke:
‘You must love him very much’
She looked up at him, the phone in her hand and her face wet. She nodded
‘I had to call him’ she said and held up the phone shortly before she lowered it. It was his phone she had used.
He shook his head. ‘It’s fine’ he said. ‘What did you tell him?’ he knew it must have been a private phone call, but he still was curious to know. Had she told him?
She had.
‘I had to tell him’ she cried softly, staring at her own knees. ‘I-I had to - He said dad had been angry all day, so Corrie stayed out. Corrie said he found your address on the post-it - I left it on my desk’ She covered her face. ‘Dad must have seen it - he must have -’ She did not need to finish the sentence.

He looked down at her. He wanted to say something to her. Let her know everything would be alright. But Chris didn't know whether everything would be alright. In fact, he was afraid too. He was afraid of what could happen to the both of them.
He walked over to her until he stood next to her. He held out his hand, and when she looked up at him, she took it. He pulled her on her feet again. When she was standing again, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed her tightly against his chest.
‘I’m s-so worried’ she cried. ‘I don’t want him to h-hurt Corrie’
He could understand very well how worried she was. That man was dangerous. That man seemed to be able to do anything. Anything horrible.
'Let's hope he won't go to the police' he sighed
Or else it will all become worse -
‘He will probably go drinking again’ she said, her voice more steady now. ‘He always does that after such rages.’
He sighed. 'I'm sorry, Noreen' he said. 'But I wish there was more I could do for you.'
I really do -
'We can only wait until the weekend is over. But - I think it's best if you go home tomorrow. Because we can't be seen together at school - and I don't want you to be here all the time'
God - That must have sounded hard -
'I mean - you don't live here - and I think it's best if you stay home - ' He looked at her 'Do you understand what I mean?'
She looked at him for a moment, but nodded. ‘Corrie said he had a friend who could give us shelter’ she said. ‘We both don’t want to be at home anymore’
He thought that was maybe a better idea. He didn't like the idea of having her in one house with a man who didn't seem to be able to keep his temper. 'Please, do so' he said. 'If - anything happens - I don't want you to be there - with him.'
He sighed and it occurred to him he actually had work to do. He hadn't taught well for a few days, and he had to start making a working schedule. He also needed to get up with his grading work, as he was far behind with grading. It also occurred to him he had forgotten to call of sick. But he didn't care. He had other things on his mind. He needed to be with her.
He kissed her forehead softly.
’Do you want to take a shower?’ he asked her. He himself felt quit sweaty, so he would like to take one after she had taken one.
She nodded. ‘Can we shower together?’ she asked. He smiled at her, and nodded.
He took her to the bathroom and turned on the water. He got undressed first and stepped in the cubicle first. She joined soon. The water was nice and warm and he watched how the water his the top of her head first and how it ran down her face.
‘Come here’ he said with a grin and pulled her in a tight hug again. They stood there for a long time, embraced, until she spoke:
‘I think I love you’
It had been soft, but Chris had heard it.
She - she thinks she loves me? Loves - me?
He felt astonished. No one had ever said that to him. No one. Not even one of those girls he had brought home. No one - Apart from his mother maybe.
God - Does she - mean it?
But he knew Noreen wouldn't lie about it.
Not now -
He rested his cheek against her head and sighed 'I love you too'
And I never thought I would said that to anyone - Ever -
He felt how she kissed his chest, once before she rested her head against it again.
She - loves me - She really does - And I love her -
There. Right there that moment. Chris made a decision. He had never been in love. And now, he finally was. And it was something he didn't want to lose
'We're going to fight for this' he said softly, his eyes still closed. 'We're going to get through this'
Together -
She tightened her grip for a moment, like a little squeeze,
'We will fight for it - fight for our love - ' he repeated and pressed her closer against his body. He kissed her hair again and whispered: 'Love will come through'
Eventually, Chris took a bottle of shampoo and began to wash her hair. He took the soap in his hands and ran them through her hair. He watched how her hair fell through his fingers, all wet and filled with soap. She did the same with his hair. Chris smiled faintly as he saw how she enjoyed how he was washing her hair.
Oh God - She's so cute - And God, I love her -
She had her eyes closed, so Chris took the opportunity to bend down
and gently brush her lips with his. She kissed him back, her arms wrapped around his neck. He felt how the soap ran down his face, but he kept kissing her.
Until…
‘Oh God’ he said in mid kiss as he released himself from her. The soap had ran into his mouth while kissing. He flushed his mouth briefly. She laughed.
‘Don’t you laugh, missy’ he said and pushed her against the wall, took the showerhead. He turned the cold water tap open and began to spray cold water to her.

Chris woke up the next morning. He still had Noreen in his arms, but he felt his left arm was tingling, as Noreen had laid on it the entire night. He now felt how much his face hurt. He brought his right hand to the
side of his face and touched his temple, but he flinched
God, that hurts -
He pulled his arm away from Noreen and he sat up, rubbing his arm which was still tingling. He than got up and entered the bathroom, using the toilet. When he was finished, he turned to the mirror and looked at his face. He gave a small start
Oh God - That looks horrible -
His left eye was black and his temple was both red and purple. He bent forwards to look at his own face. He brought up his hands and gently touched it again, again flinching
Oh Great - That will look charming at school -
He opened the cabin and took out some salve. He gently putted some salve on the side of his face, to prevent it from swelling even more. When he was finished he walked back to the bed and sat on the bedside, watching Noreen. She seemed to wake up, and when she saw his face, she grunted softly.
‘I'm so sorry my dad did that to you - ’
He smiled faintly lat her. 'You couldn't have known he would stop by' he said as he brought up his hand and ran it through her long, black hair. 'You didn't know' he repeated, pinching her hair behind her ear and smiling at her.
‘I know. I just feel bad - I don't like seeing you hurt.’ She said and smiled softly back at him. ‘What are you going to tell people happened?’
He shrugged. 'I don't know' he said. 'I can always try and convince Paul and I had a fight - I don't think anyone would believe that, as Paul and I never fight' He rolled his eyes. 'But on the other hand - everyone would believe he won a fight from me'
She laughed, and it made him feel all warm again. She hadn’t laughed like this in a few days, and he loved to see her do it again
‘I'd have to agree with that - I haven't spent much time around your brother except for in P.E-… and he probably would win a fight, but that doesn't impress me.’
He rolled his eyes again
'Maybe not you' he said. 'But I bet the girls at school would be impressed' He held his hands up and made a gesture 'New headline for the school papers: "Hammond vs. Hammond"' He lowered his hands again.
'I think that would lure more readers for the school papers' he added and chuckled. So did she.
'You know, they did try a prank on us before' he said. 'But that was years ago - before you I think - I think that was the first year Paul came at school - We were both came at school and we had noticed the students and the teachers had switched our works - so I got Paul's P.E diagrams and Paul got all my grading papers.' He smiled at Noreen, who laughed again. 'The prank was that they couldn't separate us' he added and rolled his eyes. ‘Which was preposterous, because we aren’t even twins’
‘Twins don’t have to look like each other’ Noreen said at once.
‘I know that’ he said. ‘But it’s obvious I’m older than Paul.’
He watched her for a moment, because she had started to play with her hair.
'Listen' he said. 'I want you to go home today. I also need to talk to my brother - and - well - I think it's best if you would go home'
‘I don’t want to’ she mouthed softly, but he had heard it.
‘I don’t want you to go either.’ He said. ‘But it’s better if you would’ He sat closer to her and took her face in her hands. ‘We can only wait and see what will happen’ he said, and kissed her on her lips softly. When he released her again, she nuzzled her face in his neck, and after a while, she started to kiss his skin. She placed her hand on his chest, right in the middle where his heart was.
He gave a shudder and closed his eyes for a moment. Even though he knew she was inexperienced, she made it all feel so good; so gentle. He placed his hand on her hand that was on his chest, gently squeezing it. Her lips, caressing his neck was one of the best feelings he knew .He was sure about it. It almost tickled, but it also gave a relaxing feeling at the same time.
She than looked at him again, and he looked down at her. He loved those eyes. He had already done that when he had fist spoken to her. They captured him every time he looked at her. He placed his hand in her neck, gently stroking the line of her jaw.
She is so soft - and perfect
He brought his head in a bit and gently pressed his lips against her, very lightly. He just wanted to feel her lips. Those soft, pure lips. They felt so good, and he needed to feel them. He gently brushed his lips past hers, his eyes not closed this time.
He suddenly felt her hands on his bare back. She had tucked up his shirt.
He closed his eyes and shuddered again, but kept his lips attached to hers. He moved his hands down until they were under her shirt as well. He ran his hands over her lower back, caressing her soft skin
Oh God - Why - ? Why is this so good? And why - is this actually not allowed?
As Chris had been sitting on the side of the bed, she took the opportunity and sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands still on her naked lower back, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, still kissing him. He broke up and trailed a line of kisses past her jaw to her neck. Now it was his turn to suck and kiss her neck.
So - so good -
She moaned softly, so he continued to kiss her neck. He felt he was getting aroused, so he pulled back. It occurred to him in how much trouble they were, so he thought it was better not to go further.
'I - I'm sorry' he said as he looked at her. 'I don't think - we should do this'
She looked at him, with an expression he didn’t like. She wasn’t angry or shocked. She seemed a bit disappointed.
He really wanted this, and she made him feel good when they did this. He really wanted it. But they couldn't make it worse. They were already risking so much. He looked away from her, not daring to look at her because what he had just said.
She than smiled softly and nodded, before she hugged him tightly again.
They sat there for many minutes, until she asked him:
‘Chris - am I a mistake to you’
He pulled back at look at her; the curiosity could be read on his face.
‘W-what?’ he asked her. ‘What do you mean?’
He felt shocked because of this question.
A - a mistake? It took him a few seconds to think about that.
Maybe - maybe it was - But maybe not - I don't regret it - maybe later I will.
'It's because you are my student' he said. 'That's the mistake of it' He placed his hand on her cheek. 'But it's the girl I love - I don't see that as a mistake'
She looked sadly at him, and he really wanted her to believe him!
‘Stay here’ he said as he pushed her gentle of his lap. ‘I will make us breakfast.’
He went to the kitchen and began to make an easy breakfast with ham sandwiches. When he finished, he took the plate that was full with sandwiches, two glasses and he pinched a pack of orange juice under his arm and he walked back to the bedroom.
She had crawled underneath the covers again, and began to smile again when she saw him coming in.
‘Oh, how lovely!’ she said as he sat down on the bedside, the plate on his lap. He gave a glass to her and poured in some orange juice.
'Dive for it' he said and he nodded at the plate with sandwiches. She took one and so did he. They began to eat in silence, and they both knew why. She would leave soon.
'Listen' he said as he finished he glass with juice. 'If there is something wrong, you can always call me'
She nodded. ‘I will-… I just don’t want to leave’
'I will see you again on Monday' he said. 'We will see what has happened'
It annoyed Chris greatly that they just had to wait until they would see what would happen. They had no idea whether Mr. Williams had gone to the police or not. They would all notice it too soon.
‘Will you be going to that friend of your brother’s?’
‘Yes’ she said. ‘I will first go home to pick up some stuff before I go there’
Chris hesitated.
‘Should I-… go with you?’
She nodded at once.
He had no idea what could happen if he would come with her. He would at least be sure she would arrive at that friend’s place without running into her father on her own. He would prefer to know she had arrived there.
‘We’ll get dressed than’ he said and released her.
They both got dressed slowly, and when they both were ready, they left the apartment. Chris had taken a baseball cap. If anyone from school would see them together, it would only get worse. The last thing he would want was students gossiping about them!
They took the tube, and went to her home. When they arrived in the street, his heartbeat began to rise. What would happen if Mr. Williams would see them together? Would he be aggressive again? Had he called the police? Chris would make sure he wouldn’t hurt Noreen. He would never let him hurt her again!
They arrived at the house, and Noreen opened the door with her keys. When she peered into the hall, she spoke back to him:
‘His coat is gone. He’s not here’
He felt relieved.
They went in, and when he was about to close the door, she let out a terrible shriek and ran for the sitting room where she fell on her knees.
‘Corrie!’ she cried.
He came closer, and saw what happened.
A young boy, around the same age as Noreen, lay on the ground on his stomach. His face was bleeding.