Caught Between Multiple Mates

Chapter 1: Annalise POV

Chapter 1: Annalise POV

"Anna-lize?" I sighed at the teacher holding the roster as I held my hand up in the air. No one ever got my name right.

“It's pronounced An-na-lee-se," said the girl next to me named Maggie.

I was mute and she knew from being classmates for the last few years that not even the most clever or persuasive teacher could get me to speak. I nodded in appreciation and then laid my head back down on the desk. Today was the first day of our senior year in high school and it was already proving to be an even bigger pain than I expected.

"I hope you weren't upset I spoke for you," Maggie whispered.

I shook my head. I wasn't going to speak nor did I care if she did. She had been talking to me for years, knowing full well she wasn't going to receive a response beyond gestures or glances. I think she considers me her friend but I'm not sure what she is to me. I don't think I make a very good friend.

I felt a glare on the back of my head. I turned my neck to see the source of my pain in all his handsome glory. I hadn't spoken a word since Zack Westin told me my scar made me ugly like a monster. He was the boy I had a crush on in middle school. He told me ugly girls don't get to talk to him. My young insecure brain decided if he didn't want to hear me no one did.

Halfway through the class I felt something hit the back of my head. I craned my neck around again and saw Zack sniggering. I looked down and saw a paper ball. It was crinkled from being balled up. I unwrapped it as if it were a gift. In bold letters all it said was FREAK. I sighed. How unoriginal. I balled the paper back up and tossed it into the waste bin at the front of the room. It went in. One of the boys in a basketball jersey whistled his appreciation at my throw. I smirked but felt my face fall when I saw Zack glaring at me. I don't know why I let him get to me, why he effected me the way he did. His mood seemed to overwhelm me any time I was near him. It was like he had an invisible power over me. It only added to my anxiety and depression.

Maggie talked my ear off as usual as I walked down the hallway after class. I wish I could say I absorbed what she said to me but I didn't. I was a terrible friend...if that is what I even am. I didn't have relationships or bonds with other people. I didn't know how to have them.

Even my own family rejected me. My father treated me as some financial burden while my mother acted like I didn't exist. This was nothing new. I was the consequence of their irresponsibility.

I was just another reason for them to argue and for me to run away to the forest that night five years ago. Their screaming upset me so badly that I ran from the house and into the forest. I was 14 and just wanted so badly to disappear. I thought I'd be better off anywhere but home.

I sighed, stress racking my body and mind. Thinking about that night, about my parents, the animal, everything made my head pound. I wanted so badly to scream at the top of my lungs that I deserved love too but the voices of my parents, Zack, and anyone who had ever bullied me rang in my head. I rubbed my temple, wishing the voices would go away. Maggie was the only person who had never said a single mean thing to me. She never even stared at my scar. She seemed to be the only person who didn't hate me.

I was trying to listen to Maggie and ignore the oncoming migraine when I walked into a wall. Just my luck. I thought I'd hit the floor, but instead an arm held my waist. I looked up to see the handsome face of a man I didn't know.

"Careful, Annalise, students shouldn't fall for teachers."

His flirtatious words, his smile, the way he pronounced my name correctly was very attractive, but who was he? I pulled away when I heard Maggie gasp. I'd almost forgotten what position I was in because his existence overwhelmed me for some reason. Once I was free of his grasp I rubbed my lower back which seemed to be experiencing some weird nerve issue, it was tingling.

"Wow, you're hott! Who are you?" Maggie begged, not hiding her shameless curisoity as usual.

He laughed, "I'm Haddon Marx. I'm the new student teacher in the Math Department."

Maggie looked at him with big eyes. "Student teacher? So you're still in college?"

His smile beamed with pride as he said, "Right on the money. I'm almost done getting my teaching license. I will teach 12th grade math and prove my classroom management skills this year, then graduation next Fall." He leaned in close to us and said, "Please be kind to me. I know students love to prank new teachers."

Maggie swooned as I stared. This man was flirtatious and dangerous. I needed to flee before I got pulled in any more than I already was. Something inside me was stirring and it scared me. I tugged on Maggie's arm and pointed towards my next class. She nodded as I took off.

"Is she okay? Is she shy or sick?" I heard him ask Maggie. His voice sounded disappointed.

"Oh, my friend? She is mute. I doubt even a handsome teacher like you could get her to talk."

“Oh," was all he said, a sadness in his tone.

I felt tears prick my cheeks. He probably wouldn't try to reach out to me after that. No one was even trying anymore. Some hidden part of me wanted someone to care but I knew deep down only Maggie cared and she would leave me too one day. She is the heir to some fancy family business. I'm nobody. I will never go anywhere or make anything of myself. I'm an ugly useless monster.

I am alone.