In Love With My Teacher

9- Snitching On Mr. Demetrius And Refusal Of Pasta

I never disliked anyone as much as I disliked Mr. Demetrius when he asked me to sit inside his car. It wasn't hard for me to know that Mr. Demetrius had a good financial background because his income as a college professor could have barely helped him buy the car he was driving.

The silence between us was heavy. I could feel it in the air as I inhaled deeply to calm myself down. My fingers were pulling on the hem of my t-shirt. It's been a long time since I have visited a doctor. The bruises on my body, the scars, every flaw would be so exposed to the doctor's eyes. I didn't wish to see sympathy for the pain I had long left behind. I didn't want to feel the same pain again. The same trauma again.

"Miss Green, you'll be alright." Mr. Demetrius said, after a long period of silence. It was like someone burst the bubble I had surrounded myself with, making me snap out of my muses.

For a fraction of a second, I thought I heard concern in his eyes. The strange emotion that pumped inside my blood made me feel uneasy. I shifted my leg on my seat, gazing outside his car. It was still dark. But bright enough to make me see the serene roads, calm wind, deserted lanes. It was a beautiful nightmare. I remember getting kidnapped on one such night.

I often laugh at what happened on that night. I often laugh until my face is drenched with the tears that involuntarily, disobediently roll down my eyes, damping my cheeks. My misery is long gone, but the pain.... the pain of those endless painful days and sleepless nights, still persists. It is hard to think of it when I can feel the air of freedom.

"I am alright. I just don't wish to see any doctor at the moment. You shouldn't even force me, Mr. Demetrius." I said quietly, and he shook his head, parking outside a small building, making my heart almost jump out of my chest. It's fine. He's just a doctor. And you can fight him if he tries something.

"You're still bleeding, Miss Green, this should be enough for both of us to realize you're far below than fine." He said, pushing the door of his car open and I mimicked him, stepping outside of the car, my tattered shoes hit the road, a little too harshly.

"Are you not concerned that if anyone from the college saw you here, with me, at this hour of night, we'd be in really big trouble? That you would be in really big trouble?" I asked him, and he raised his eyebrows at me. The smug look on his face made me roll my eyes at him.

"My brother owns this hospital, I can always show them your medical report. And I have quite a reputation for helping my students." He boasted, making me look at him with a teasing shimmer in my eyes.

"So, you go around invading the personal spaces of your students and blackmailing them with your position in the college to make them come to your brother for treatment? That's quite a different level of marketing to his hospital, Mr. Demetrius." I said, walking inside the building with him, and he slightly glared at me before knocking on the reception counter.

"Be quiet now, Miss Green."

"As your highness demands," I said, zipping my mouth close and the receptionist let out a small giggle at my gawky bow.

The poor lady straightened her spine when she was rewarded by my professor's glare.

"Mr. Demetrius. Did you hit the young lady with your car?" She asked him, looking at me with her concerned eyes and I couldn't stop the chuckle that was threatening to break free from my chest.

"No, Mrs. Waters. She was beaten up by some men on the road. Where is Denis?" I clenched my jaw at how easily he told her that I was beaten up by some men on the road, and not caring to tell her how I had made them run away after defeating them.

"The doctor is inside his cabin. He just got back from emergency surgery. And I don't believe he has anymore emergencies to deal with for now." She said, and he nodded his head, taking the data book from her hands and started filling out my name and address. I sighed, closing my eyes as the headache returned to me.

"Come," he said, nodding his head at me, and I bit my lips but nodded back, nonetheless, cursing my life for not paying attention when the man hit my head. Damn, if I had been scolding Daisy for buying drugs from the underworld, I would certainly have paid attention to what was awaiting me.

And then he pushed the door open of a cabin, revealing a simple yet tidy cabin, with an inspecting bed attached to it on the corner. It's been four months since I have been to hospitals. And I never liked them more.

"Brother, you're here. And young lady, please rest on the bed, I'll be there in a moment." The doctor, who looked slightly older than Mr. Demetrius said with a small, gentle smile, pointing towards the bed. With a pinch of fear, I did what I was asked to do. The main concern being money. I could barely hold my self-respect.

A minute later, he walked over to me, with a nurse beside him. With the doctor standing so close to me, I could see similarities between Mr. Demetrius and his face. Mr. Demetrius was cold. His face told me tales of his anger and dislike towards people. But he, he looked soft, warm. His smile was professional but something more than professional calmness flickered in his eyes as he motioned towards himself.

"Hello, Miss Green. I am Dennis, your doctor for today. And I hope Theo told you that I also happen to be his elder brother. You can call me Dennis" He said, pushing his palm out for me to shake, which I did, very cautiously, may I add.

"Theo?"

"Theo. Theodore Demetrius, your chemistry professor." He said, glaring slightly at my teacher, who looked at him with the same cold eyes. Does this man ever smile?

"Don't tell me, Theo, your students are not aware of your first name." Dennis continued, shaking his head as he looked at the nurse asking her to take my blood pressure and pulse rate.

"I am Valeria Green. You may.... call me Valeria. I heard enough of those Miss Green things from your brother at college and at my bar." I said, and he chuckled softly, sanitizing his hands before looking at me.

"Well then, Valeria, can I remove this bandage of yours to check your wound? If you have any trouble with me touching you, I can always ask my nurse to do so." He said, and I felt my respect for him widening as I shook my head, smiling gently at Dennis.

"No, Dennis, I am fine with you checking my wound." I said, and he nodded his head, wearing his gloves before unwrapping the bandage I had wrapped around my head. He winced as soon as he saw the mess my head had. There must be blood everywhere.

"I am afraid your wound is infected, Valeria. And not to mention the bad bandaging around it. Please rest your head against the cushion easily, I'll be cleaning your wound." He said, picking up the cotton on the stick, making me gulp as I looked away from it. It was easier to deal with injuries on myself. Not when a doctor was criticizing my bandaging talent.

"And she thinks she did quite a good job with the bandaging." Mr. Demetrius...... Theodore Demetrius, my bittersweet professor, snitched my name indirectly to his brother, making me roll my eyes as I rested my head against the pillow as he motioned the nurse to grab my hands as he moved my hair away to clean the wound.

"Shut up, Theo. This is not the time to jeer or castigate her. She must already be in loads of pain. She doesn't need your reprimand now." Dennis scolded Mr. Demetrius. And I felt a smile surfacing on my face, but I quickly covered it when Mr. Demetrius gave me a death glare.

"Please hold yourself tight, little lady. This might hurt a little too much." Dennis warned me in his warm, gentle voice and I felt something forming inside my throat. When was the last time someone talked to me with such tenderness? When was the last time I saw someone being this gentle with me? It was warming. Quite warming. Maybe.... maybe if I had a brother, or a sibling, I wouldn't have been drowning in the pit of loneliness.

"Don't worry, Dennis. It's not something I can't handle." I said, a little too early. Because the moment he pressed the anti-septic soaked cotton against my open wound, I hissed in pain. Like a thousand bees stung me all at once.

Before I could have reached my hand to grip Dennis', to stop him from cleaning my wound, from how bad it was burning, a warm pair of hands held mine, covering my eyes. The warm touch of Mr. Demetrius' hands made me inundated. It was like a thousand emotions rushed inside my head.

What the f**k were these Demetrius brothers making me feel? One was making me feel bad with his gentle voice, while the other was messing with my heart by holding my hands, covering my face, gently rubbing my cheeks to keep me from crying out in pain. One made me crave for a sibling, while the other made me feel way more than I should feel. Or maybe it was just my pain. Just the anti-septic burning the open wound on my head.

I was shaken.

"Sh, you're okay. It's almost done." My professor's surprisingly soft voice made my chest rise and fall from the gush of emotions inside me, and from the burning and pain I was feeling on my scalp, behind my head, and on my forehead.

"I really encourage your affection towards your student, Theo, but I hope you have at least cleaned your hands before stroking her. I don't wish for her to catch another infection." Dennis said, still cleaning my head.

"I did, Dennis. Just clean her up fast. She's in pain." Mr. Demetrius grumbled, making me try to open my eyes, but all I saw was light darkness. His skin.

"Yes, yes. And little lady, I am almost done. You're very brave. I'll just bandage your head, just hold yourself a little longer. I am almost done." Dennis said, making me fist my fingers around my t-shirt, as I nodded my head.

"Please move ahead." I said, trying my best to keep my voice levelled. I was too pained to keep my voice levelled.

"Okay, all done, Valeria. Please keep lying down on the bed. And if you feel uneasy, or nauseous, or dizzy, please let me know." Dennis said, walking over to his table before picking up his notepad.

"I'm prescribing you some medicine. I believe your platelet counts have decreased because your tendency to blood clotting is low. But I'll need to run some tests for that. That nurse over there," Dennis said, pointing towards the lady who had checked my blood pressure. "Her name is Cassidy, she'll be taking your blood sample and we'll be performing certain tests because I believe your immunity has gone immensely down. Until then, I'll be prescribing you some multi-vitamins to help you out."

"Okay." Heck, I don't even have money for this.

"Okay, great. Have you eaten anything? Because I'll be giving you some pills to swallow. They'll help you with the pain and help you ease up at night." Dennis asked me, and when I was about to deny him, Mr. Demetrius beat me to it.

"She hasn't. I'll get some porridge and a bowl of fruit for her from the cafeteria down there." Mr. Demetrius said, making me scowl at him, leaving me alone with his doctor-brother.

///

"So, are you studying at Theo's college?" He asked me, and I looked at doctor Dennis, nodding my head softly as I rested my head back, feeling a strange pain spreading on the back of my head.

"He teaches me Chemistry. And he is also my mentor." I answered him, not wanting to seem rude to him by not answering his question. He nodded his head. His crystal eyes were staring at me, as if trying to point out my discomfort.

"Are you feeling pain behind your head?" He asked me softly, walking towards me, and I pinched my lips as I nodded my head. I hadn't even realized how hard those shitty people hit my head until now. It was indeed hurting me like I was hit by a thousand trucks at once.

"I didn't know it was this bad." I said pathetically, chuckling, and he frowned at my joke, not enjoying it even a bit. Some habits do match those of these brothers, I guess.

"It is. You need to change your dress regularly, young lady. Else, your infection will worsen. And make sure that you don't wash your hair or pour water over your head for at least five days." Dennis said, making me wish to roll my eyes. But I didn't want to act like a brat when he had been sweet to me.

"Yes, doctor. Thank you so much for addressing my problem at such an hour. I didn't want to cause any discomfort to you, I'm sorry." I said, and he laughed at me, shaking his head.

"Don't sweat on it, little lady. I was already in the emergency ward before you came in. And it looks like my brother and your professor are here as well." He said when Mr. Demetrius walked in with a huge tray in his hand, filled with food and drinks. I narrowed my eyes at him, shifting on the inspection bed.

"Here, porridge and fruit for you, Miss Green. Eat it all. And your machiatto, Dennis." He said, handing up our respective orders before he settled for a container of pasta and a latte for himself. A small smile slipped on my face as I leaned towards him, my eyes were sparkling with mischief. No amount of pain, blood-loss, or anger can reduce my mischief towards my professor. Especially when the professor also happens to be Mr. Theodore Demetrius.

"And here I thought you only drank alcohol." I said, and his eyes narrowed dangerously at me, threatening me, daring me to speak another word. And I had always been too keen on taking challenges. I loved this witty part of mine more. It made me feel more alive. More lively.

"You drink alcohol?" Dennis asked his brother in a tone that could make one think that Mr. Demetrius besmirched their family reputation. It was fun to see Mr. Demetrius squirmed in his seat. His eyes glared daggers at me before he turned around to look at his brother, who was expecting an answer from his younger sibling.

"Sometimes." He grunted in answer, stabbing his plastic fork into the poor pasta before shoving a piece of creamy pasta, painted red in the burning sauce, garnished and decorated with the shredded cheese. My mouth watered as I leaned further on my bed, my feet dangling down.

I hate porridge. Especially when I am not feeling healthy. I wanted to have a bite of the pasta, Mr. Demetrius was having.

"A teacher shouldn't lie without blinking his eyes, Mr. Demetrius. You come to the bar I work every night, and now you're lying to your brother that you don't drink? What kind of message would that spread to your students, Sir?" I asked him with an evil grin and he clenched his teeth, locking his mighty jaw as he gripped the edges of his chair tightly.

"A very beautiful message that messing with your teacher can land you in detention even after college. Maybe you should pay more attention to the messages, no, Miss Green?" His voice was low, threatening. His low, extremely rough voice curdled my blood, making me shiver as I felt chills racking down my body.

"Theo!" Dennis hissed, placing his coffee down as he hit his younger brother on the back of his head. I pressed my lips to keep myself from laughing at him. How I wish I had a phone to record this precious moment of Mr. Demetrius got whacked on his head by his own brother.

"Do not threaten the young lady here. And I thought you stopped drinking." He said disapprovingly, and I smiled innocently at the doctor.

"Or maybe he just stopped telling you, Deniss." I decided to help the doctor, who glared further at his younger brother, who in turn was glaring at me.

"Miss Green, eat your food and then take your medicine." Mr. Demetrius said, and I curled my lips into a smile, shaking my head.

"Oh, I am feeling very well. Can you share your pasta with me?" I asked him hopefully, and he raised his eyebrows at me, almost mocking me as he raised the aphrodisiac food closer to his lips as he ate the delicious, cheesy pasta, licking his upper lips, cleaning the sauce from his lips, making my eyes widen as I felt something in the pit of my abdomen.

I was quick to avert my gaze away from him, making me blink my eyes. I swallowed the thirsty feeling that suddenly dwelled inside me.

"After you intentionally snitched on me, you really think I'll offer you my food?" He asked me with a dark, sinister look in his eyes. Nothing came out of my mouth when I opened my lips, looking nothing but like a gaping fish. It wasn't fear, but something else. Something way more intense .

"No, Valeria, you are not to eat anything spicy or oily for at least two weeks, okay? And eat on time. Three meals. With fruit in between. Eat soft food, yes? And Theodore, stop teasing the poor lady." Dennis said, and Mr. Demetrius looked away from him.

"Okay, porridge doesn't taste that bad. And I can cook pasta at home. I am quite a good cook, Mr. Demetrius." When my professor opened his mouth, I beat him to it. "I meant doctor Dennis. I am quite a good cook."

I said, taking a bite of the bland, spiceless porridge. Thinking about it, porridge is quite a good meal. Cheap. Healthy. And easy to cook. And not to mention the perk of porridge getting cooked easily. But I don't like how Mr. Theodore Demetrius brought me such a bland, tasteless porridge. But then again, I was grateful to him for bringing me food. Even when I didn't ask him to bring me any, he brought me food by himself. How can I even owe him back?

"Dennis," I called the doctor, who looked up from his laptop, taking a lazy sip from his coffee. I envied Dennis. I envied how easily he managed to smile. While I had to be witty to put a smile on my face, Dennis naturally looked so happy all the time.

"Yes?"

"What's the charge for your service?" I asked him, removing the wallet from my bag, and this time Mr. Demetrius stared at me. He wasn't glaring for once, he wasn't warning me. He just kept staring. And for some weird reason, I couldn't withhold his stare. I couldn't hold his gaze.

Something often rustled inside me when Mr. Demetrius stared at me with his intense oceanic eyes. The depth of his oceanic eyes left me with nothing but hollowness inside me. I wanted to feel the waves his oceanic eyes had. I wanted to get drenched. Remembering which, I hadn't been drenched in rain for a very long time. It feels so abnormal to not feel normal.

"No, little woman. I don't charge from kids." He said, and I shook my head as a chuckle erupted from the deepest part of my chest.

"Dennis, I work two shifts. In two different workplaces. And when my customers come for my service, I charge them. Be it for making them a drink they desire, or serving them the food they ordered. When I get paid for my work, it would be very unfair of me to not pay you for the service you rendered me. And I would forever be in the guilt of not paying you, when I am earning to pay such kinds of expenses. Please, Dennis. Don't make me indebted to you."

"You stun me, Valeria. You stun me with your bravery. You stun me with your self-esteem. You stun me with the kind of humor you have. But if it makes you relax at night, here, here is my bill." He said, scribbling the amount.

I tried not to show him how he had scribbled the amount that could have filled a week of my groceries. But I also had an idea that he didn't even charge his full fee. He was a gentleman.

"Here, Dennis. You're a really sweet man. If we are done here, can I leave for my house? It's pretty late and the lecture I have in the morning is very important. My professor doesn't entertain tardiness. Right, Mr. Demetrius?" I asked, looking at my professor with a toothy grin, who didn't react to my remark.

"No, actually we need to run a few tests. To check the number of your platelets in your body. And a few tests to confirm the infection. Cassidy will take you out to the laboratory. It won't take more than five minutes." Dennis said, and I played with the piercing on my lower lip, tugging on my ring, rolling it around.

Mr. Demetrius suddenly looked very uncomfortable. His fingers were gripping the edge of my bed as he was breathing harshly, barely even looking at me anymore. So my lip piercing makes him uncomfortable. Cute.

"I don't have any more money left, Dennis. But don't worry, I'll take good care of myself." I said, and he shook his head, pointing down to the bed when I tried to get up. He suddenly looked stern. See, another similarity.

"You can pay me in installments. But it can be dangerous to eat medicine without checking the reports. And I can't let you leave my hospital, knowing something bad could happen if you continue with your recklessness, Valeria. You're a smart woman. Saving a small amount of money may cost you a fortune later." Dennis scolded me, making me close my eyes as I leaned back.

"I don't like this." I mumbled under my breath and Mr. Demetrius had enough of my denials for today. Because he was now staring at me, with a kind of authority that wasn't really foreign to me, but definitely breath-squeezing.

"You don't have to like this, Miss Green. This is what you need, so this is what you'll do. Are we clear on this? You're my student. I'm your mentor. It's my responsibility to look after your health." Mr. Demetrius said sharply. His voice was extremely edgy, so I decided not to argue anymore.

"I'll pay you in installments, Dennis. I hope you won't be troubled by that." I said, looking at the doctor, who shook his head, picking the landline from his table as he called someone. Maybe his nurse, Cassidy.

"Don't be ridiculous, little lady. It won't bother me. I'll give you the pills once your blood is taken for the test, okay? And Theo, please drop the young lady at her abode after the tests, yes? Shouldn't let a young woman like her wander all alone in the road, all alone with medicine in her system and a bandage wrapped around her head."

And for once, I didn't understand. Who was worse? Theodore Demetrius, who always tried to assert his dominance over me? Or Dennis, who made sure Mr. Demetrius was with me, all the f*****g time!