Tawny stretched her arms and triumphantly slapped her pencil across the desk.

She had finished relatively later than the rest of her peers due to her healing her injuries, but with her English exam behind her, she had finally completed her exams and her semester.

She was disappointed that it was not McCurdy himself who proctored the exam -- instead, it was Miss Lynch -- but Tawny finally reconciled that she might not see them again until the fall term began.

Tawny handed in her exam package and practically skipped down the empty halls, excited for her newfound freedom from academic obligations.

"--I hear Eugene is elated--"

Tawny froze midskip in front of the Teachers Lounge. The door was left ajar so she could hear the conversation between two teachers who were occupying the space by sitting at a table having coffee.

"Yes, he was so excited to break the news to the staff," one of the teachers said. "Once Rebecca was 3 months pregnant. I never would have guessed, she's barely showing."

PREGNANT? Tawny leaned against the wall. She began to hyperventilate, so she slid down until she was sitting on the ground and held her head between her knees.

This was absolutely NOT the news that Tawny wanted to hear.

"So I guess she'll be on the move again?" the other teacher quipped. "She never stays stateside for long."

"Oh yeah, I hear she's heading back to Europe," the first teacher. "Permanently this time. And Eugene is going with her this time. They want to start a new life together with the baby."

He's not coming back.

Professor McCurdy is not coming back.

Tawny slowly got to her feet. At first, she was walking calmly down the hall, as though she was in shock after witnessing a horrible calamity. But then she began to run, practically sprint, until she reached the double door entrance and flung herself out into the open.

She was supposed to meet up with Maddie and Audrey after class but not anymore. Tawny was in crisis mode and couldn't think straight.

Even though it was raining heavily outside, Tawny sprinted down the road leading away from Ivoree Gates and towards the McCurdys.

Immediately she was brought back in her mind to the moment when Professor McCurdy "rescued" her after being bullied during her first gym class.

That seemed like an an eternity ago, when she first visited her teacher at his residence, where she was eventually to be taken in and meet McCurdy's lovely wife.

Now his lovely wife was pregnant, and they were preparing to leave her -- no, ABANDON her -- to fend for herself for the remainder of her time at Ivoree Gates.

Audrey and Maddie said it themselves. Aside from the presence of the Dylantantes, nothing would ultimately change. The Evil 3 would be the same shade of evil sans Elaine, just a different coat of paint. She would still be mocked and ridiculed for her status. Only this time she wouldn't have the idea of Professor McCurdy -- the hope of him -- to get her through a day of torment.

Tawny was brought out of her spiralling thoughts by the sound a horn behind her. She turned and squinted; the intensity of the vehicle's headlights were distorted by the rain so she couldn't immediately identify who was on her trail.

"Professor McCurdy?" she said hopefully.

The vehicle pulled alongside Tawny; only then could she identify the familiar details of the red Porsche. The passenger side of the vehicle swung open and Dylan leaned across his seat so he could see her. "Get in!" he commanded over the roar of the rain.

Tawny shook her head, opting to keep walking down the road.

Dylan swore; in the next instant, he emerged from his vehicle and placed his hand around her, guiding her back to his car. Surprisingly, she did not put up any resistance.

Once they were both inside and the doors were closed, Dylan slammed his hand against the driver's wheel. "What's the matter with you?! Why are you like this?!"

"Take me to the McCurdys," Tawny said.

"Are you listening to yourself?!" Dylan yelled. "You sound like a woman obsessed!"

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"The McCurdys," Tawny repeated.

"I don't know where they live," Dylan replied.

Tawny pulled out her phone and wordlessly tapped on her screen until she brought up the address on Google Maps, then showed it to her driver.

Dylan sighed. "Okay," he said finally. "I'll take you to them."

Normally the speedster, Dylan was downright the defensive driver as went the speed limit down the rainy road. Tawny chose to remain silent for much of the journey, chewing on her fingernail and opting to look straight ahead.

It was Dylan who finally broke the silence. "You know, you look like a wet dog right now, Matthews," he quipped. He waited for a witty retort, but when none came, he continued talking. "Why are you going there anyway?"

"Did you know Professor McCurdy is leaving?" Tawny said.

"...Yeah," Dylan said. "He announced it at the last class of the semester. "Good riddance, if you ask me."

"Just shut up and drive," snapped Tawny.

"Hey!" Dylan snapped back. "You know, I could have just left out there to get swept away in a ditch, but I didn't!"

"Well, why not? Is this your annual act of kindness for the poors? My how humanitarian of you!"

"'For the poors?' Do you really think we speak like--?" Dylan shook his head. "Anyway, consider this my thank you. For helping me and my father get back together."

"I didn't do anything," Tawny said.

"Not by your knowledge," Dylan said. "Did you ever consider why there had never been mention of any other scholarship winner?"

"It had crossed my mind..." Tawny replied.

"Sarah confided in me afterward," Dylan said. "My father...he was looking for you. He had orchestrated the scholarship to get you to come to Ivoree Gates. It was never about the memorial dinner. It was all for YOU."

"What?" Tawny said. This was a lot to take in. A million thoughts ran through Tawny's head but only one question came out: "Why?"

"I don't know," Dylan laughed bitterly. "I honestly don't know! It makes no sense to me, none of it does!"

"You're pulling my leg..." Tawny said.

"Matthews, I'm as serious as a heart attack right now," Dylan said.

The ride remained silent again until the Porsche crawled up the familiar driveway.

"Just drop me off here," Tawny said. "I can walk the rest of the way up."

"Don't be stupid, it's a torrential downpour out there."

Tawny ignored Dylan's warning, undid her seatbelt and opened the door. She was halfway out the vehicle when Dylan unexpectedly grabbed for her hand.

"He's not right for you," Dylan said.

Tawny's eyes widened at the admission. "Excuse me?"

"I love both my parents," Dylan said. "But sometimes I wonder if they were truly a match. My mom had just graduated college when she married my dad...he was in his 40s. Even as a little boy, it just seemed odd to me."

Tawny narrowed her eyes at Dylan. "Stop lecturing me. And let go of my hand!"

"I'll let you go," Dylan said, a touch of sadness in his voice. "But...I'm not trying to lecture you. I just want you to be safe. After all we've been through together, Matthews....I realize I care about you. But it seems like you've made your decision, so I'll let you go."

He kissed her hand before releasing her from his grip. Tawny closed the door and watched as the Porshe did a U-turn before it sped off toward the road and out of sight.

Tawny turned to look at the McCurdy household, suddenly a more foreboding landmark than she had ever noticed before.

---

Professor McCurdy was enjoying a cup of espresso while watching the rain from in the dining room.

When he thought he heard a strange sound, he turned around and dropped his espresso, the ceramic cup shattering along the hardwood floor.

Tawny stood a few feet away, soaking wet from head to toe, with tears streaming down her already damp face.

"Miss Matthews?" Professor McCurdy said, confused. "What are you doing here? I thought you were joining your friends after your last exam?"

"You're leaving me," asked Tawny.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Professor McCurdy.

Tawny took a step toward her teacher. "Why are you leaving me?"

"My wife," replied McCurdy. "She's with child. I'm choosing to be with her, and accompanying her back to Europe."

Tawny took another step closer. "And...you couldn't tell me...?"

McCurdy cleared his throat. "Miss Matthews..."

Tawny shivered. "I'm so cold..." she said, and began unbuttoning the blouse of her damp collared shirt.

In only a couple of strides, Professor McCurdy was in front of Tawny. "No. Stop this right now. This is highly inappropriate."

Tawny shook her head and continued to unbutton. Eventually, to prevent Tawny from taking the shirt off entirely, McCurdy had to restrain her by grabbing onto her wrists, which is when she proceeded to beat angrily on his chest.

"You're leaving me!" she cried. "I can't believe you would leave and not tell me!"

"Miss Matthews, please..." begged Professor McCurdy.

"I love you!" Tawny blurted out, struggling to catch her breath between tears.

At that, McCurdy released her wrists. Tawny brought her hands to her face and began to sob hysterically.

"I know," replied McCurdy. "That's why I must leave."

Tawny tried to step closer to Professor McCurdy, but he gently pushed her away, keeping her at arms length. "No," he repeated softly, shaking his head.

"This is Hell," Tawny said, looking down at her feet, her voice mired in heartbreak. "I'm in Hell right now.

"'There is no greater sorrow than thinking back upon a happy time in misery;," recited Professor McCurdy.

"Dante's Inferno," Tawny said, smiling in spite of herself, as she first read it in his class. She then looked up at her professor, still smiling, but eyes red and swollen with tears. "Is there no other way?"

A-hem.

Both Professor McCurdy and Tawny turned to look in the direction of the living room and froze. There, standing in front of her own austere self-portrait, was Rebecca, holding a folded white towel in her arms.

At this point the collared shirt was on a crumpled mess on the floor. Tawny gripped her arms around her chest, partially from cold, partially from the shame of being in her bra and both figuratively and metaphorically naked in front of the couple that had chosen out of the goodness of their heart to take her in.

Rebecca silently approached the two of them, her face impassive. First, she regarded her husband, gently caressing his face. Then she looked at Tawny; she unfurled the white towel and wrapped it around the teenager, then took her into her arms in an embrace.

"Oh, Tawny..." she said. "Of course, there's a way. For all of us."