Page 48 of Never Let Go (Forbidden #1)

Chapter Forty-Eight

CALEB

A fter getting back from the dean's party last night, I barely slept. Thoughts of what he could be implying and what had Lauren so spooked, messed with my head. I got up this morning and showered, trying to wake myself up before I headed downstairs and made coffee.

Sliding out my phone, I text Noah:

Need advice/help.

Noah

Meet me at the diner. Thirty minutes.

This guy never fails me.

Walking to the door, I put my sneakers and leather jacket on before grabbing my baseball cap and putting it on backwards. I drive to the diner, Hello Heaven, Hello by Yungblud playing quietly on the radio .

I head inside the diner, the bell ringing as I open the door. Noah’s not here yet so I grab a seat and wait for him. He arrives a couple minutes later, wearing his usual black T-shirt, black jeans, and black coat. I wouldn’t put it past him to start wearing guyliner.

I stand up and we do one of those guy hugs.

“You good?” he asks as we sit down. A waitress comes over to take our order so I wait before replying.

“Something’s up with the Dean of Admissions,” I say as I lean back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest.

“I’m not following. What’s that got to do with anything?” Noah questions.

I rake a hand down my face. Queue the lecture. “That girl, Lauren, that I was seeing?” He nods as I continue. “Something’s happened and I’ve got a funny feeling he’s the cause of it.”

“And when you say something’s happened…” He gestures with his hand in a ‘get on with it’ motion.

And so I explain everything from last night. Once I’m finished, Noah blows out a puff of air. “Something definitely ain’t right there, man.”

“I agree. We’ve been careful so maybe he hasn’t found out about us?”

“Oh, he knows. There’s no way he wouldn’t, not with the comments he’s made. What can I do?”

“You’ve changed your tune,” I observe as I run a finger along my bottom lip. “You warned me off Lauren if I remember correctly.”

“Things change,” is all he says.

“Got something you need to get off your chest, Noah?” I smirk.

He looks out the window before mumbling so low, I almost don’t catch it. “Let’s just say I have my own student to deal with.”

To say I’m shocked is an understatement. He’s a high school teacher.

“Noah—” I start.

“She’s legal, Caleb,” he snaps. “She was held back a year.”

“Fuck,” I whisper shout. “We’re really fucking things up for ourselves aren’t we.”

Noah nods his head in agreement. “So what are we gonna do about your problem?”

“I’m not sure yet. I need to talk to Lauren but she’s not replying to my messages or calls.”

“Let me know what the plan is, if there’s a plan.”

“Thanks, man. Appreciate you.”

We finish up and I head home, still unable to get hold of Lauren. When I get home, I go straight into my office, trying to lose myself in work. Anything’s got to be better than sitting here wondering what the hell’s going on with her.

I’ve been working for the past four hours straight—my legs are numb and my back’s killing me.

I stand up, stretching out the kinks and head into the kitchen to order dinner.

Grabbing my phone from the kitchen counter, I see a text message from Lauren.

I nearly dropped the damn thing I’m so eager to open the message from her.

Lauren

We need to talk.

Why doesn’t that sound good?

About what, baby girl? Are you okay?

I’m standing here like a simp waiting for her reply, watching the three dots appear to show she’s typing, which only causes anxiety to claw at my insides. After what feels like forever later but was probably only a minute tops, her message comes through.

Lauren

Meet me at Strokes at 7 p.m. I’ll explain then.

I message her back telling her I’ll be there and close down my phone. What does she want to talk to me about? To tell me about what happened last night?

I look at the time and see that I’ve got a couple hours before I need to leave. Going back to my original plan, I order dinner and put a film on in the background, trying to keep my mind busy so I don’t start spiraling.

I turn up at Strokes five minutes before Lauren told me to meet her.

It doesn’t open for another hour so I stride into the bar area.

She’s sitting on a bar stool with her back to me and from what I can see, she’s wearing her usual jeans and a hoodie, arms propped on the counter with her head hung low.

She must hear me approaching as she turns around, the smile that she normally graces me with not in sight. I lean in to give her a kiss but she puts her hand on my chest to stop me .

“Lauren?” I question as I take a step back, my brow furrowing. She’s never pushed me away before.

She stands up from her seat, not making eye contact with me.

“What’s going on, sweetheart? Talk to me,” I implore. This not knowing is slowly killing me from the inside out. The feeling of dread is getting worse with every passing second. She’s not…

“I can’t do this anymore,” she whispers.

And there it is. I feel like she’s just punched me in the gut. In all honesty I think it would’ve hurt less.

“Why?” I grit out. Pain like I’ve never felt before engulfs my body, making it hard to breathe.

“You know my past. We’ve had this conversation before, this” —she gestures between us— “isn’t going anywhere. You're my professor.”

Confusion grips me. Yes we’ve had this conversation before, but I thought we were past it? That I meant something to her like she meant something to me.

I rub my chest, my heart aching, as I try again. “You don’t know that it’s not going anywhere, Lauren. We’ve been dating for a few months, you just need some more time to get used to the feelings.”

Her head snaps up and I know it was the wrong thing to say. Fuck!

“Don’t you dare try telling me what I need or what I feel , Caleb.” The fire in her eyes tells me exactly how much I’ve just pissed her off. “We’re done.”

“‘We’re done?’” I exclaim, my own emotions taking over as I start pacing backwards and forwards in front of her, hands buried in my hair. I glance up at her. “I don’t get a say in this?”

“No, Caleb, you don’t. I’ve made my decision. Nothing you say will change that,” she replies angrily.

“Lauren, please,” I beg. This woman is the best thing that’s ever happened to me so yeah, I’m gonna beg.

“Don’t do this,” I whisper, tears in my eyes.

I’m on the cusp of falling to my knees in front of her, to throw myself at her mercy because anything is better than this all-consuming loss, pain, and sickness that I’m feeling.

She can’t walk away from me, I honestly don’t know if I’ll survive it.

“Goodbye, Professor Anderson,” she whispers back, finally looking up at me, tears shining in her eyes.

“No.”

“No?” she repeats.

“No. I refuse for this to happen.” I rush to her, placing my hands on her cheeks and my forehead against hers. “I love you,” I breathe out. “I won’t lose you, Lauren. I’m not letting you go.”

Lauren lets out a sob, and it suddenly dawns on me that this is affecting her just as much as it is me. I just can’t figure out why she’s doing it.

“Whatever it is, we can work through it, sweetheart. Just let me in,” I plead, placing a kiss on her forehead and breathing in her vanilla and strawberry scent, one I’m possibly about to lose forever if she has her way.

Lauren cups my hands in hers, squeezing them gently before removing them from her face. “Regardless of your…” She pauses, swallowing as if forcing out the words is causing her physical pain. “…feelings… this is over. I’m sorry, Caleb, I really am.”

Lauren wrenches herself away from me, grabbing her bag from the stool and walks out, taking my heart with her.