50

50
Michael.

“Tell me the truth!” I barked my grip tightening around Claire’s throat as she gasped for air, her eyes wide and wet with tears.  Fake ones. She wasn’t sorry, she was just terrified she’d finally been caught.

“Please…. I beg you, let me go, I can explain…” she stammered, her neatly manicured nails digging into my flesh trying to pry my grip off but I won’t let her go, until she has confessed.
“I will let you go, when you confess.”

“Okay…” she breathed.

My patience was running thin as anger spread all over me.
“Say it!” I griped, hissing through clenched teeth. “Now!”
I let her go and she began to cough like she had inhaled a lot of smoke.
“I’m not… pregnant, the test, it was all fake, a plot to get your attention.” She said breathlessly, her chest heaving.
I didn’t flinch, I wasn’t even surprised, “I know, you dumbass,” I snarled, as a dry chuckle escaped my lips. “ I knew it was fake, when I saw you drinking wine at my father's wedding.”
She looked down in embarrassment, her red eyes filled with tears. “There…. There is something else.” She cried.
“Go on,” I said, turning my back against her, pouring myself a glass of bourbon.
She walked to my front, rubbing her neck, swallowing hard before saying; “I did it for you. For us, I would walk on fire if it means we would end up together.” She blurted, her eyes shimmering with tears and desperation.
I arched my brow in confusion. “Yes, what did you mean by that?”

She went silent.

“What did you do?” I screamed at her, startling her.
“I took that picture, you never wanted to be CEO,” she began shifting backward as if sensing the rage that was rising inside of me.

“Are you crazy? No, you are crazy!” 
“You hated it, you wanted to be independent, not walk under your father's shadow.” A crazy smile played on her lips. “ I helped you achieve your dream, made him hate you, so you can finally be free to love me, we can steal his money, travel around the world, and you can be a free man Michael. Just you and I, living happily ever after!”
I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just gazed at her eyes filled with madness, it was terrifying, I couldn’t believe I once fucked this crazy bitch. 
“What did you just say?” I asked, my tone dropping to a whisper.

“I did everything for you.”
“So, you were behind his sudden illness too?”
She blinked twice, her expression changing from satisfaction to shock.

“No! God forbid! I’d never do that to my father-in-law,”
“So who did?”
“ I don’t know, Michael!”
I grabbed her throat again, slamming her back against the wall. “Tell me the truth, Claire!” I shrieked, choking her, instead she began to laugh.

Then a quick  knock came at the door,

“Who is it?” I shouted.
A maid stepped in, her expression looked shocked, I released Claire letting her fall to the ground, she was coughing and gasping but I didn’t care, the maid cleared her throat before bowing curtly. 
“It’s your father, sir,” her small frightened voice whispered.
“What’s going on?” I asked 
“Your father is…”

Dead?
I didn’t wait for her to complete the sentence, I ran towards his room to see for myself what I’d just heard or what I assumed she was going to say. I raced like I was running a thousand miles.
Could he be dead? No… no… this has to be a false alarm.
I thought as Into burst into my father's master's bedroom, but what I saw made me freeze.
My father, Mr Bolton who had been in a coma for a week, was sitting upright laughing with Heather by his side. The home health nurse Mrs Martha helped him swallow a small pill of medication. 

“Dad?”I muttered, my voice barely loud enough.
His wrinkled face turned towards me and for the first time in years, he smiled at me, his dear son. 
“Hey… my boy,” he snickered weakly but alive.
Immediately I rushed to him, hugging him tighter, something I’d never done before. Heather stepped aside staring at me with that venomous gaze but I didn’t care, I was glad he was alive. 

“Your father woke up a few minutes ago, when Mrs  Heather  was rubbing his legs.” The nurse said, I nearly rolled my eyes, if only they knew how she was planning to take over, they wouldn't praise her this much.
“It’s a miracle,” I muttered, gripping my father's hand. “You scared the hell out of me, Dad.” 
He chucked weakly, stretching out his hand as Martha injected him. “I won’t do that again.”
“Don’t you dare skip your meds again!” I warned.
“ I wouldn’t do that either,” he grunted then kissed Heather right in front of me, my stomach almost churning out of disgust.
“I’ve missed you, honey,” she moaned, kissing him back.

Martha left and soon after, so did I. Everything felt good once again. My father was well, the house finally at peace, yet all I could think about was seeing Betty, she deserved to know this news.
As I approached the garage I heard Claire’s voice from a distance.
“Michael, please wait, we need to talk!”

I  didn’t stop walking, “I’m not in the mood, Claire!”
She matched my pace, grabbing my arm. “Please… You must hear me out!” She said breathlessly.
I yanked my arm free, “You should be glad I’m in quite a good mood, otherwise, you’d be spending a week in prison for deceiving and blackmailing me .”
Scared, she shifted watching me hop in my favorite Mercedes-Benz.

Where was I headed? 
Betty’s apartment was a ten-minute drive, not far.
I pulled up in front of her building, climbing out of the car and walking to her front porch knocking lightly on the door.
The door creaked open, and Betty stood in white lacy nightwear, her black hair wet like she had just come out of the bathroom, a small cat curled in her arms. Her gaze was laced with shock. 
“Michael? What are you doing here?”
“Can I… come in?” I winked.
She looked outside before stepping aside, letting me in.
I was right, she had just finished bathing because her apartment smelled like soap mixed with flowers. Candles were lit all over the place. The cat stared at me with mysterious green eyes meowing from time to time.
“Wow, I didn’t see the cat the other day…”
“What do you want?” She asked, setting the cat down on the couch.

“I came to tell you something.”
She lifted a brow. “We are in a digital world, Michael.”
“Well, I wanted to tell you… In person, my father is well now.”
She widened her eyes in surprise and happiness. “Oh! “ she exclaimed. “That’s … that’s good news!”
“Yeah… I’m glad he is fine.”I smirked at her.
“Still, you should have texted.”
I frowned hard. “What, I thought you said I could come anytime
Her gaze darted to the window. “It’s not that, I think we are being watched!”
“By who?”
“I don’t know.”
She reached out for her phone and scrolled through her gallery before handing it to me. She was right, on her screen was a photo of me leaving her building. It wasn’t clear but still suspicious.
“How?”
“I don’t know, it was sent to me a few days ago, no message, just the photo.  Whoever this is can’t be good!”
 I moved closer to her, our gaze locking against each other. “ He or she  is just some jobless creep!”
“But they saw you coming out of my house, it’s wrong!”
“ I don’t give two fucks,” I said my tone rising. “ I’m not scared of whoever is playing these games, I’m going to track them and….”
“No,” she cut me off. “You need to stay away for now.”
“Why?”
“Because if this gets to the school I might be sacked and my license  might be revoked, I can’t afford that!” She shrieked.

“So you are just going to chicken out because some creep is watching us?”
“We can talk in school but not at my house.” 
I rolled my eyes, “ I know, but I don’t care, I like you a lot, Betty… professor Betty .”
She swallowed hard, rushing to her feet.
“You should leave.” She said,

“I know it’s wrong, I know we aren’t a perfect match and you deserve a working class man but I can’t help not being attracted to you, you are like a magnet….”
“Michael… “ she moaned softly.
“You are all I think about, every damn day of my fucking life…”

She closed the distance between us, raising her finger and pressing it against my lips tears gathering in her eyes. 
“I’m sorry.., I don’t feel the same way,” she whispered, stepping back.
“But… you kissed me…”

“I was just horny and bored, “ she blurted. “That’s all it was.”

I smiled, “Are you saying this to send me away? To protect me?”

She let out a dry chuckle, “ I care about myself only, I don't feel a thing for you, Michael Bolton, you’ll   always be my most hated student.” She said, her grey eyes glowing in the dark.