Contract marriage with my professor

CHAPTER SEVEN

Catherine groaned quietly as the harsh vibration of her phone roused her from her sleep, with her face still buried in her pillow she tapped around trying to find it, and when she didn’t, she raised her head irritatedly and spotted the vibrating device which wasn’t far from her pillow. She grabbed it and stared at the screen blankly for a while, her mind not processing what she was seeing, her mind somewhat dazed from the amount of fun she had had last night.

But it soon became clear, and it was far too clear for her to believe that it was 7:35am…..7:35am!

She was out of bed at once, her legs moving as fast as they could take her to the adjoining bathroom. What had she been thinking? Going to a party on a bloody Monday? She had a class by 8am for heaven’s sake!

She struggled with the zipper of the dress she had worn last night, how she had managed to sleep in it was a wonder to her. Last night, during the truth or dare game she had being forced to take a sip or two of alcohol, or more, perhaps it was a bottle or less, all she knew was that she hadn’t been herself when she got back, Cam had offered to walk her into her room but she had declined, she may have been tipsy but she wasn’t stupid enough to let a guy into her room at night, especially when she wasn’t in a right frame of mind.

Last night had been fun and all, she had felt free, had felt peace, but it was over now, and she wasn’t only running late for a class but nursing a splitting headache too, a hangover.

20 minutes later, she was hurrying into the campus premises dressed in a thick hoodie and skinny jeans matched with a pair of snickers, her backpack hung loose on her shoulder as she hurried towards the lecture hall the class would be holding, five minutes more and she’s be late, it was a bloody new semester and she was already running late.

Having taking several successful bends she decided to take the next one quite rashly, not bothering to check if the coast was clear she dashed out of the bend leading to the hallway of the lecture hall, and just like that she collided with something hard, someone rather. Though it felt as though she had walked right into a redbrick wall she knew all too well that she had bumped into someone, she wouldn’t have shrugged the impact off had she not been nursing a headache already.

It happened all too quickly, hurrying down a hallway, taking a bend, bumping into someone and falling backward due to the impact, she had braced herself for yet another impact, the one that would come from hitting the floor, however she felt nothing, nothing other than the intensified throbbing in her head, it took a moment or two for her to realize that she hadn’t fallen because the person she had bumped into had held her arm to keep her from falling.

It was then she began to think straight, it was then she let her mind focus on the present, yes she was going to be late for Lit. 301, it was unavoidable, especially since she had managed to get herself caught in a spot that’d require apologizing before she could leave. She cleared her throat quietly as she raised her head to look up at whom she had bumped into and her eyes were met with striking dark ones that were all too familiar.

For a moment she froze, didn’t know what to do as she stared up at Professor Nathaniel Houston, didn’t know what to think, didn’t know what to say. All she knew was that whatever peace whatever freedom, and whatever she had felt last night had all vanished and her troubles came weighing down on her again.

~~

Nathaniel hadn’t expected a student to suddenly dash out of a bend and crash right into him, he most certainly hadn’t expected his bride to dash out of a bend and crash into him

For a split second her had been caught off guard by the sudden collision but he had recovered fast enough to be able to hold the student’s arm before she fell backwards, and it wasn’t till she raised her head to look at him did he realize that it was she. He watched as shock register on her face which seemed to pale with every passing second, she seemed frightened, like a deer caught in headlights.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, a student running in the hallway and bumping into a professor could be a cause for chastisement but a student who happened to be the bride he had married over the weekened….it was complicated. Normally he would have said “No running in the hall”or something, but instead he found himself saying:

“My office”.

It was then that she began to attempt to speak.

“I…..I’m…sorry”.

He watched her struggle with the words like she was a child learning to speak for the very first time. He released his hold on her arm and stepped back putting a reasonable distance between them, anyone could pass by, I was best to avoid anything that would stir up suspicions.

“I have…I have to be at Lit.301”. She stuttered quietly, her voice barely sounding at all.

“Go to class then”. He told her. “And come to my office once you’re done”.

Saying nothing more, he stepped passed her and walked away leaving the student standing alone in the hallway. If they were going to go ahead with whatever it was that they had they would have to lay down some rules, he would have to lay down some rules, though he would have preferred they have the talk somewhere more conducive; his house, he had a feeling he wouldn’t be seeing much of her there, thus, he had to settle for his office.

~~

Lit. 301, the class she had so desperately rushed to. Catherine found that she had heard nothing of what had been said, understood nothing of what had been taught. Her mind had been so occupied with the encounter she had with the professor she could hardly think of anything else. On getting to the lecture hall she had quietly apologized to the professor and taken her seat, and the very second she sat down her mind became a whirlwind of thoughts.

She sat there trying to understand what had happened, one second she was worrying about being late for class and the next she was worrying about meeting up with the professor she was married to. Her heart had never pounded harder against her chest, he had that effect on her, he made her feel small and insignificant he made her feel weak. She had felt the exact same way when they had been in the car headed to his house on the day of their wedding, she had felt the same way when their gazes had met yesterday in class, her breath had hitched painfully and she had found herself feeling completely and absolutely out of control.

She didn’t want to go to his office, she was sure of it. She didn’t want to see him, she dint want to talk to him, she didn’t want him looking at her with those eyes, she didn’t want to face him….she didn’t want to face the reality. She was married to him and she was his student, should a single soul find out it could lead to the end of his career, the one he had told her took priority over everything else, she didn’t want to face any of it. But like always, when he was involved she found she had no control, she found she had to do whatever he said, she found herself walking out of class when the professor had concluded his lesson and dismissed them, she found herself walking down a hallway headed to the office of the head of the Philosophy department, she found herself headed to……..his office.

Every step she took was unnerving, so unnerving that she felt nauseous, weak, and exhausted. She could hardly breathe, she could hardly think, it felt as though she was working under some kind of compulsion, one she couldn’t break from even if she tried. She kept on walking, though the weather was cold, the tank top she had under her hoodie had become damp with sweat, as were her hairline. She clutched the straps of her backpack as though her life depended on it, she clutched them until she found herself standing in front of his office, her hand rose slowly and she knocked quietly.

She wasn’t sure how many times her heart flipped when she heard his voice from inside answer:

“Come in”.

She hesitated, for a moment she just stood there staring at the wooden door, her hand lingering on the metal handle and her gaze cast to the granite floors. Her heart pounded against her chest and the sound of it was loud and clear in her ears.

~~

Nathaniel tore his gaze from his computer screen when a knock sounded at the door, having an idea on whom it may have been he set aside what he had been doing and answered:

“Come in”.

His gaze lingered on the door for a while, and when nothing happened he became somewhat irritated, he was a busy man, there was no doubt of that, and he didn’t want people wasting what little time he had to spare. He had no doubt as to who was behind the door, it was certain it was she, the student he had asked to come to his office, who else would knock and then refuse to open the door even when he had given the permission to come in?

It was difficult to wrap his head around the fact that he was married to a slow and dim student, one who couldn’t even form a straight sentence, it was hard to wrap his head around the fact that he had married a child. Finally, the handle moved, the locks clicked, and the door opened.