Ashley took a deep breath and entered Mr. Andy's office, the door ajar.
She crossed to his desk and simply placed his coat down, preparing to leave. But then his voice stopped her.
"Ashley...please, wait."
She turned to see him approaching, until he was standing right behind her, close enough for his breath to disturb her hair.
A shivery feeling danced along her spine.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I never expected any of this to happen. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through. You didn't deserve that."
Ashley slowly pivoted to face him, yet remained silent, holding his remorseful gaze.
The two stood there, locked in stillness and wordless tension.
"Say something," Andy finally implored. "Your silence is killing me."
She found her voice, laced with quiet anguish. "What do you want me to say? Congratulations, you won? Should I thank you for teaching me manners? Or just say you're forgiven for nearly letting me get assaulted, even after I begged you not to send me out there?"
Tears burned her eyes, but she angrily blinked them back. "What was the point of all this? I had so many chances to get revenge after how you humiliated me that first day at the market. But I didn't. Because I only ever looked at you with pity for how your stupid pride and ego consumed you. That's what all those 'looks' meant that you asked about."
To her surprise, Andy closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a tight hug. "I know you want to cry," he murmured gruffly. "I hurt you, and that was my fault. So go ahead...let it all out. The hurt, the anger, all of it. Don't hold anything back."
Part of Ashley longed to push him away.
But something within her also craved this human connection, this show of vulnerability and remorse from her stoic instructor.
So instead of shoving him off, she found herself hugging him back, burying her face against his chest as the dam burst.
Racking sobs shook her slender frame as the pent-up anguish poured out.
Amazingly, she soon realized Andy's own tears were dampening her hair, his body shuddering with emotion; he had likewise been bottling up. Student and teacher clung to each other, united in shared catharsis and regret.
The tender moment was shattered when a sudden knock made them jump apart like repulsed magnets.
Ashley quickly ducked out as Mr. Williams entered, giving her a questioning look.
"Lily told me what happened," he stated, turning to Andy with a censuring glare. "Why do you never listen? You're so bullheadedly stubborn. I just hope this silly game of yours doesn't land you in serious trouble."
Andy's face was drained of color. "I never wanted her to get hurt!" he burst out desperately. "It was only meant to teach her a lesson! If I hadn't arrived in time..." He shuddered, plainly horrified by the implications. "What if I was too late?"
Williams shook his head grimly. "Let's just be thankful she's alright. But she may report this whole fiasco to the authorities. We need to be prepared for any potential consequences. I'll do whatever I can to help you through this, but I can't give you guarantees."
The rest of the day crawled by for Andy in a haze of guilt.
He couldn't stop replaying Ashley's tear-streaked face when she had first run into his arms, or her anguished cries as those thugs tried to rip off her clothes.
He had never felt like such a despicable monster.
For her part, Ashley spent the evening in a distracted daze, aimlessly pacing about her room and balcony, hugging her pillows with a sunbeam smile.
Whenever she closed her eyes, Andy's face swam behind her lids - not glowering in disdain as usual, but filled with protectiveness and concern as he shielded her from harm. An unfamiliar warmth bloomed in her chest.
When she finally crashed into a fitful slumber, she tossed and turned restlessly, thoughts endlessly revisiting the same moments - Andy's fierce defense of her, the tender way he comforted her after, and the vulnerability in his tear-filled apology.
She had seen an entirely new side to her prickly instructor today, and she didn't know what to make of it.
Morning found Ashley looking pale and exhausted from her lack of sleep.
Her mother grew concerned at her listless appearance as she headed for the door. "Are you sure everything's okay at school, honey?"
"Everything's fine, Mom," Ashley answered with a weak smile. "I'm just a little run down."
Her mother frowned. "Well if you're not feeling up to it, you should stay home and rest today."
"No!" Ashley responded, perhaps a little too quickly. "No, I...I'm okay. No need to miss school."
Because part of her was admittedly dreading the prospect of facing everyone after her traumatic ordeal. Of having to recount the humiliating attack, of suffering judging stares and whispers.
But another part felt an impatient, anxious fluttering inside - as if she were finally looking forward to attending class again.
As if some newfound sense of safety and comfort awaited her there that overrode all her usual aggrieved resentment.
A safe harbor to run to, someone's embracing arms to fall into...
These conflicting emotions made her antsy and yet excited in a way she couldn't quite identify. She nervously checked her appearance repeatedly - fluffing her hair, adjusting her lip gloss, inspecting her teeth.
Hannah noticed her friend's new flustered glow and growing anticipation. "What's got you so worked up today?" she asked in bemusement. "You look really...amped about something."
But Ashley only blushed and stammered, "N-nothing! It's nothing, I'm fine."
She strode into school with a brilliant smile, emerald eyes roving in hopeful longing until they landed on the one person she burned to see more than anyone else.
The two friends went their separate ways, Ashley floating distractedly to her music lesson in a bit of a dreamy trance.
Henry waylaid her in the hall, calling, "Hey Ashley! You left your sweater in our car."
"Oh...thanks!" Ashley replied with a sunny grin.
Henry's stomach somersaulted her radiant expression and sparkling eyes. Could it be...had his wildest fantasies about her at long last begun coming true?
Ever since that first fateful glimpse of her, Henry had fallen hopelessly in love.
No matter how much his sister mocked it as an adolescent crush, no amount of attempted dissuasion could extinguish his enthusiasm.
So with a new hope beaming in his chest, he eagerly fell into step beside Ashley, trying not to seem too obvious as he basked in her dazzling presence.
Her mind was clearly elsewhere though, a million miles away as she made vague conversational sounds without really listening.
A tiny furrow of frustration creased his brow - wasn't she even aware of how lucky she was to be graced by his company? Still, he persisted undaunted, awaiting his chance.
Ashley was too preoccupied with envisioning her destination to pay Henry any mind.
She pictured Mr. Andy awaiting her arrival, awkwardness and remorse in his eyes, desperate to make amends, to-
Her wayward reverie crashed into Miss Lily like a derailed train, the other woman pinning her with a look of bloody murder before sweeping her icily away. "What was that all about?" Henry blurted, jarred from his own hopeless daydreams.
Had anyone else noticed Lily's scorching glares of hostility?
Ashley felt a prickly chill.
Those heated looks couldn't possibly be about...
No, that was ridiculous. There had to be some other source for the woman's venom.
Surely she couldn't have stumbled onto the older teacher's illicit feelings for her colleague - the same colleague currently consuming Ashley's every thought? No, she was just being paranoid. Probably.
Upon reaching her classroom, Ashley stilled in the doorway, frozen by a scene of profound silence.
Instead of finding Andy awaiting her arrival, she discovered the entire class arrayed in a semi-circle.
It was as though she and Henry interrupted during some grave conversation.
Everyone went quiet and there was no sign of their instructor.
Her heart stuttered in her chest as she hovered at the entrance, breathless.
Just where was Mr. Andy?
And what terrible misfortune had befallen in this room mere moments before she got there?