When October Starts Read online

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  Juno

  His hands squeezed my ass tightly, and while he slowly walked back to shore, I clung to him with my legs and arms around him. I felt his cock grow underneath me, and I knew he couldn’t resist on having sex with me right here on the sand.

  As he reached the towels, he slowly let me down onto one of them, then leaned over me to keep kissing me.

  He pressed his shaft against my pussy, and the friction he caused sent sparks through my whole body.

  With his right hand, he cupped my tit and squeezed it before pulling off my bikini top. I wasn’t patient enough to go through the whole foreplay thing, so I reached down to push off his shorts, then my bikini bottoms.

  I lifted my hand again and cupped his cheek with it, then broke the kiss to look at him. “I need you,” I whispered.

  “I’ll always be right by your side, Juno.”

  He grabbed his cock and stroked it, then, in one swift move, he slid into me. No matter how often we had sex, that first thrust was always the most intense one. I loved feeling him inside of me without anything being between us, especially when he came deep inside of me.

  Like any other girl who took the pill and didn’t use condoms, I had a few pregnancy scares. Luckily, there was nothing growing inside of me yet. I wanted to have a family someday, and I wanted Ezra to be the father of my kids.

  But right now, I wanted to enjoy the time we got together.

  We were perfect, and as soon as I turned eighteen, we could finally be together without being constantly scared of getting caught.

  Ezra was my everything.

  Aggie always said that things happened for a reason, and I deeply believed in that. Ezra happened, and it was clear to me that I couldn’t have just ignored him, no matter our circumstances.

  I wished that only good things happened for a reason, but I should’ve been more careful, because soon enough, all the walls we built around us crumbled, destroying everything Ezra and I had built to protect our love.

  Chapter Thirty

  Juno

  “And you’re sure you want me to delete all the videos and pictures in this folder? What about all the memories? They’ll all get deleted from your iCloud.” Pixie and I were in the studio where I put together my movie back in November, and since I was the only student ever using the room, Benji assigned me to clean it before summer break. Our finals were on Friday, so we had three days left.

  “I’m positive. I have the movie on my laptop at home, and Benji got his copy already. So, delete all of it. It’s just footage I didn’t use.”

  I was wiping down the shelves which had nothing on them anymore. Even that metal bar that ripped my tights vanished.

  I grinned at the thought of me trying to seduce Ezra in the classroom. We hadn’t really talked since we spent the last Friday afternoon together by the lake. Pixie came over for the weekend to study for our finals, and I had to try to not think of him the whole time.

  It was hard, but I somehow managed to make some space in my brain for Math and the other subjects. Today, he wasn’t in school. Benji allowed him to stay home to look through the exam papers to make sure there weren’t any mistakes in them, and that everything made sense.

  “Holy shit,” Pixie whispered.

  “Another video of you where you look hideous?” I chuckled.

  Pixie was quiet, and all I could hear was the clicking of the mouse. Then, I could hear her say something under her breath, but I didn’t understand what it was.

  I turned to look at her, and her face was pale.

  “What?” I asked, my heart immediately beating faster. “Pixie…what is it?”

  The way she stared at the screen made me anxious, and I tried to remember what kind of pictures and videos were on there.

  I didn’t move, scared to see what she was seeing. “Pixie,” I whispered, hoping her disgusted expression would suddenly turn into a grin, telling me she was just messing with me.

  “How long have you been…sleeping with Ezra?”

  For a second, I felt like the room was spinning, and my vision blurred as my eyes filled with tears.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” I lied, still no knowing what she was seeing on that computer.

  Pixie got up and turned the screen around, and a picture of Ezra holding me close to his chest while kissing my head was displayed. I remembered him taking that picture. It was in December as we went to a Christmas market two towns over.

  My mouth was dry, and I tried to speak to defend myself, even though there was nothing I could say that would justify me hanging out with our teacher.

  Tears rolled down my face, and Pixie shook her head slowly. “This is disgusting,” she muttered, reaching for the flash drive next to the keyboard.

  “W-what are you doing?” I asked, stepping closer to her. “You can’t show this to anyone,” I said in a shaky voice. I was about to start crying uncontrollably, and I felt the first few sobs already building in my throat.

  “Please, don’t—”

  “Do you really think I will just forget about this? God, Juno! He’s our teacher!”

  I tried to take the flash drive away from her by grabbing her arm and pulling her hand toward me. She fought against it while the first sob escaped me.

  “Please,” I begged, trying not to raise my voice. “You can’t tell anyone! Let me explain.” My voice cracked, and while I kept trying to get that flash drive out of her hand, she pushed me back against the shelves, making me crash into it and hitting the back of my head.

  Not ten seconds later, Benji opened the door. “What the hell is going on in here?”

  I rubbed my head and tried to get back up before Pixie got a chance to show Benji that picture, but I felt dizzy, and standing up was more difficult than I thought.

  “Pixie, please don’t,” I sobbed, but she didn’t listen.

  With no emotion in her eyes, she pointed to the screen and Benji’s gaze moved to take in the picture of Ezra and me.

  “Oh, no,” he muttered, immediate disgust and disappointment flashing in his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Juno. How long has he been grooming you? That son of a…”

  “He didn’t!” I managed to croak out. My heart was heavy, and I wished I was dreaming. This couldn’t be real. Not now. Not when we were so damn close to making it.

  “I swear, he didn’t! I love him,” I cried. My fingers were wet, and I must’ve cracked my head open as I hit the shelf.

  “God, you’re bleeding. Don’t move. Pixie, go grab a wet towel from my office.”

  I watched as Pixie shook her head, then silently left the room.

  “Great. You stay here. Don’t move,” Benji repeated and also left the room.

  I couldn’t control myself, and sob after sob escaped my body while I stared at the picture of Ezra and me on the computer screen.

  He had no idea what just happened, and I hated to think about all the consequences there’d be once Benji called him and confronted him about it.

  I wasn’t ready for it, and I felt like I had just destroyed everything we worked so hard for.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, wishing I would be close to him, with his arms around my body.

  “How long has this been going on, Juno? I need to know,” Benji was back, and he kneeled in front of me to press the wet towel against my wound. “If he’s been grooming you, I need to know. God, I had no idea that he’s—”

  “He’s not the bad guy!” I shouted directly into Benji’s face, not caring about who he was in that moment. “We love each other!”

  He sighed, patting my shoulder. “This is the worst timing for this. Let’s get you to the hospital. You’re not thinking straight. Must’ve hit your head a little too hard, hm?”

  That was it. I had enough of him not listening to me. I shoved at his chest to make him get away from me.

  After gaining a little strength, I got up on my feet and ran out of the room. “You’re gonna faint, Juno! You’re hurt!” I heard Benji ca
ll out but I didn’t listen.

  I ran down the stairs, finally getting outside and reaching my bike. I didn’t care if I was bleeding. I needed to get to Ezra as soon as possible.

  I felt sick and wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

  Ezra didn’t need to find out about what happened through anyone else other than me, so I rode my bike to his place as quickly as possible.

  My heart was pounding, and while more tears streamed down my cheeks, I went to the building’s entrance. It was open, so I quickly ran up the stairs to bang on his door.

  “Ezra,” I cried. “Open. It’s me.”

  I heard his footsteps come closer, and once his door swung open, I fell into his arms and closed my eyes tightly, trying to ignore the pain coming from the back of my head.

  “Shit, Juno, you’re bleeding! What the hell happened?”

  His hand touched the bloody wound on my head, and he pulled me into his apartment to sit me down onto the couch.

  He kneeled in front of me, his hands brushing my hair out of my face. “Shh, Juno. I need you to breathe in and out calmly.” He kept his hands on my cheeks while his thumbs brushed over my skin.

  His touch was enough to make me concentrate on my breathing. I kept my eyes on his, but I was scared to see the emotion in his turn into more than just concern.

  “Tell me what happened, sweetheart,” he whispered, staying calm.

  A few more sobs escaped my throat. Before Benji could call him, I had to tell him what happened.

  “They know,” I choked out, trying to hold back the next sob. “They saw a picture of us.”

  “Who’s they, Juno?” His voice was serious now.

  “Benji. Pixie.”

  He swallowed hard, but instead of going into it more, he was more concerned about my head. “You need to go to the hospital, Juno. You’re bleeding pretty bad.”

  “No,” I frowned. “I don’t wanna leave you. They’ll tear us apart. I don’t wanna—” My sobs took over again, and I let myself fall into his arms.

  “Fuck,” he muttered. “Okay, hey, listen to me.” He brushed over my hair, not caring about all the blood running down my head. “I need you to go home, okay? If they find you here, we’re in even bigger trouble.”

  He leaned back and looked into my eyes. “You can’t be here right now. Go home, or go directly to the hospital. You need stitches.”

  There were so many emotions swirling around in his eyes, and I was sure mine were the same.

  “I love you, Juno. We’ll figure this out, but I need you to go now.”

  “But I don’t want to!”

  “Juno, leave! You need to see a doctor.” His voice was stern.

  I couldn’t leave without one last kiss. I leaned in and pressed my lips against his while he cupped my face again. Salty tears mixed into our kiss, and after what felt like an eternity, he let go of me.

  “Go,” he told me, nodding toward the front door. “I’ll figure everything out, I promise.”

  And so I left, leaving my heart with him and taking his with me. Our love wasn’t over, and from now on, it was only a matter of time until we’d be together again.

  I just wished it was sooner rather than later.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Juno

  Benji called Mom last night, asking her to go see him with Aggie and me in school today. After leaving Ezra’s place, I went straight to the hospital because the pain at the back of my head was starting to get unbearable.

  They stitched it up and the doctor told me that I shouldn’t have waited so long to get there. I had lost a fair amount of blood, and I was lucky that I didn’t pass out.

  But as much as that should’ve been bothering me, it didn’t.

  This morning, instead of going to school, I went to the island to process everything that happened in school the day before.

  I was angry at Pixie for not keeping her mouth shut. Angry at Benji for not listening when I said that Ezra wasn’t the bad guy in this situation, and I was mad at myself for not hiding all those pictures of Ezra and me.

  I didn’t talk to my mothers after that phone call, instead I went into my room and pushed the nightstand over the gap in the floor so none of them could come up there.

  Some alone time was what I needed, and although I missed Ezra, I didn’t call him.

  It was all my fault, and I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about all the consequences he would get because of me. I was just an underage girl who let her teacher get too close, and just like Benji, any other adult would point at Ezra and say that he was the one who took advantage of me.

  He didn’t. If anything, I was the one to urge him into letting me get closer. But what was I supposed to do when my love for him grew stronger each day? I couldn’t stay away.

  I was sitting on the steps of the old carousel, staring blankly ahead. It was almost lunch time, and Benji wanted us to meet him at two. I still had a little bit of time left before I had to face him and my mothers, and this was the only place I wanted to be for now.

  My phone vibrated in my backpack, and I thought about just letting it ring. I didn’t want to talk to anyone unless it was Ezra.

  Luckily, it was him.

  I stared at the screen for a second, then took a deep breath and tapped the green button with my thumb.

  “Juno?” I heard his voice through the phone, and after lifting it up to my ear, an uncontrolled sob left my throat.

  “I’m so sorry,” I cried. That seemed to be the only thing I was able to say to him at the moment. My heart was beating fast in my chest, and I had to close my eyes to focus on him.

  “I don’t want you to apologize for this, Juno,” his voice was calm, and I couldn’t help but notice the cars passing by in the background.

  “Where are you?” Panic rose inside of me. I brushed the tears off my cheeks, scared to hear his answer.

  He sighed. “I’m on my way to Ontario. I can’t stay any longer. Benji kicked me out.”

  I couldn’t find words, so I stayed quiet and hoped he would say something that would keep my hopes up of ever seeing him again.

  “I know this is hard for you, Juno, but I want you to know that I’m not giving up on you.”

  “So you’re just leaving me behind?” I croaked, feeling more anger than pain now.

  “I have to. We can’t be together. Not right now, but when October starts, when you turn eighteen, I will be waiting for you on the island. I love you, Juno, but it’s best if we keep our distance for now.”

  He tried to sound all tough, but his shaky voice was enough for me to know that he was on the verge of crying.

  “I don’t think I can wait that long, Ezra. I wanna come with you.”

  “You need to complete your finals and then start college after the summer. It’s not going to be easy, but if you love me like I love you, we’ll meet again when October starts.”

  His words hurt just as much as they gave me strength. He still wanted me, even if he lost his job. This town was his home, and I ripped it away from him because of a stupid mistake I made.

  I was the reason why he was gone. I deserved to feel like this.

  “You’re on the island, hm?” he asked softly. “I figured you’d be there.”

  “I miss you. I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Don’t,” he sighed, and I knew he was running his hand though his thick, wavy hair. “I love you, and I’ll wait for you. Don’t forget about me, Juno.”

  “Never,” I sobbed, and that was the last word I said to him before he hung up the phone.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Juno

  “This is serious, Juniper. I need you to sit up right and look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you.” Benji has never been this serious, and I hated it.

  I crossed my arms and sat up straight, then looked over at Benji who was sitting across from me in a chair. I sat on one of the couches in Ezra’s classroom, and both my mothers were on my right, looking as disappointed and worried
as ever.

  “I need you to be honest with me. Only then I can report the truth to the police. He’s gone now, so you can stop feeling pressured by him.”

  His words made me so fucking angry, and I wanted to throw the couch I was sitting on at him. “He never pressured me to do anything,” I muttered. This was unreal. Ezra had already been kicked out, and was probably going to lose his teaching license, but he didn’t deserve any more than that. Hell, he did not deserve any of it.

  “Juni,” Aggie said quietly. “Why haven’t you talked to us about it? We could’ve gotten you out of whatever he pulled you into. I feel sorry for what he did to you.”

  “You’re not even listening to what I’m saying! He didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to! Hell, I even started it,” I exclaimed.

  “I think she’s a little confused at the moment,” Mom told Benji quietly.

  I couldn’t explain the lump of frustration I had inside of me. They didn’t understand, and no matter how often I’d tell them that he wasn’t the bad guy, they wouldn’t believe me.

  “Juno, it’s not okay for a teacher to take advantage of a student like that. Has he ever bribed you with, I don’t know…better grades? Or money?” Benji asked.

  “Don’t be fucking ridiculous,” I muttered, and Mom gave me a serious look.

  “Watch your words, young lady.”

  “He never bribed me,” I told them, but they didn’t seem to believe that either.

  “I never noticed something going on between your daughter and Ezra,” Benji said to Mom and Aggie. “I was actually friends with him until yesterday, and he always was a kind and good friend. Who knows how many students he has done this with?”

  That was it. I had enough of them acting like they didn’t hear what I was saying. Their minds were set on Ezra being at fault here, when I was the one who couldn’t hold back on falling in love with my teacher.

  “He’s not done it before.” I looked at Benji, then at Mom and Aggie. “You have to believe me. We’re in love, and I don’t think it’s fair that you guys judge who I’m in love with after all those years you struggled to get even a little bit of respect and validation from others.”