A Rose by Any Other Word

I rolled over to face her.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." I whispered, still feeling giddy from my earth shattering orgasm.

"Says the girl who just came." She laughed.

"No, I'm serious. I think I'm falling in love with you Caelynn." I reached out and pulled her against me, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

She kissed my forehead, "I think I'm falling in love with you too, Alex."

I looked up at her and she reached down and kissed me tenderly. I could still taste myself on her lips.

I broke off the kiss and looked at her. She was so beautiful, I couldn't believe she was mine.

"Do you want me to..." I broke off, giving a pointed look towards her crotch.

"Only if you want to baby." She said kindly.

"I do want to but I'll admit I don't have any idea what I'm doing." I admitted, feeling embarrassed at my lack of experience.

She kissed me tenderly, "Just do what you think you'd like." She whispered against my lips.

"But what if you don't like what I like?" I asked.

"Just listen to me baby. You'll be able to tell when you're doing something right from my reactions." She reassured me.

She pushed me up into a sitting position before laying down on her back and spreading her legs. I took a deep breath and positioned myself between her legs.

I'd never seen another woman 'down there' before. It looked pretty much the same as my own neither region. Caelynn shaved hers but left a little bit of fuzz on top in the 'landing strip' style. Her lips were pink and glistening with her juices. She must have really enjoyed going down on me.

I bent down hesitantly and gave her a tentative lick. She tasted similar to what I had tasted on her lips after she'd gone down on me but slightly different. Muskier somehow. It wasn't an unpleasant taste at least.

When my tongue touched her she gave a shaky gasp. I followed her advice and listened to her, paid attention to what she enjoyed the most. She liked it when I would swirl my tongue around her opening before plunging it inside. When I traced circles around her clit with my tongue her leg started to twitch slightly.

Following her soft moans and gasps I quickly had her writhing underneath me. I found that I enjoyed teasing her, a lot. Soon I had her begged me for release.

"Ohhh..." She moaned as I avoided directly touching her now swollen nub once again. "Make me cum Alex, please!" She begged.

I giggled before giving her what she desired. Using the same technique she had used on me earlier I plunged a couple of fingers inside of her while taking her engorged clit between my lips and flicking my tongue wildly over it.

She gave a low grunt and twitched, her orgasm washing over her. Her legs clamped down on my head, holding me in place. I slowly licked her through her orgasm until her legs released me.

I climbed up the bed to lay beside her. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close.

"That was amazing baby." She kissed me slowly and leisurely.

We stayed as we were, naked in each others arms until it was time for me to leave and go home.

The next day at lunch Jessica pounced on me for information.

"So? How was it? What happened?" She asked as soon as I'd sat down beside her.

"It was good." I said, blushing.

Jessica caught on immediately. She gasped, "Spill! Something happened because you're blushing! Tell me!" She demanded.

I looked around to make sure we weren't being overheard, "We had sex." I whispered.

Jessica threw her arms around me, "I'm so happy for you Al! So how was it?"

"It was amazing. I mean, the sex was good but it felt like we connected on a whole other level than what we have before. I even told her that I think I'm falling in love with her." I explained as soon as Jessica had let me go.

"And what did she say?"

"She said that she thinks she's falling in love with me as well." I smiled at the memory.

Jessica let out a very girly sounding shriek, "That's wonderful Al! So, when are you seeing her next?" She asked wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively.

"I don't know yet Jess. As I told you last time, we don't plan these things in advance."

"Alright, alright I'll stop bugging you on when you're going to stop seeing each other. Plus, I have some news of my own." She smirked.

"What?" I asked, curious. What could be more important to her than grilling me on my night with Miss Mitchell?

"You know Ben?" She asked.

"Ben Miller?"

She nodded before continuing, "He asked me out on a date!"

"What!?"

"Earlier on in our science class. We've been sat next to each other all year and have kind of been flirting and today he asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him."

"And what did you say?" I asked, curious. Jessica had never made any mentioned of being interested in Ben before.

"I said yes!"

"That's brilliant Jess! You'll have to tell me how it goes. When is it?" I hugged her warmly, sincerely happy for my friend.

"Tomorrow night." She beamed.

"Well, I hope it goes well." I smiled.

The next few months were the most amazing of my life. I would go round to Caelynn's house on average, twice a week. We would either hang out, cuddling and watching some TV program and sometimes engage in rather vigorous love making. I lived for the days where I would see her.

As the end of the school year approached I was nervous for my exams but it was overwhelmed by my excitement at not having to hide my relationship with Caelynn any longer. Due to the circumstances we had never actually been on a real date due to fear of being seen. We always stayed in at her house. Once I started exam preparations this didn't bother me too much as I would take my revision to hers with me and she would help me study.

Jessica and Ben began dating not long after their first date and were pretty much inseparable at school. This meant that Jessica could no longer interrogate me about my visits to Caelynn's house as Ben often joined us for lunch. I preferred things this way as I no longer had to worry about us being overheard.

In the middle of April something happened that started to cause problems between Caelynn and myself.

Caelynn Mitchell

Something was wrong with Alex.

She was sat next to me on the sofa studying for her upcoming exams and the first thing I noticed was that she was unusually quiet. The next thing I noticed was that she was in pain. Every time she bent slightly she'd flinch and suck in breath sharply.

I had asked her earlier if anything was wrong and she'd insisted that everything was fine. This only served to heighten my concern. If she wasn't willing to tell me it had to be something serious. We'd been a couple for around six months now and she'd never hidden anything from me before.

I watched her studying and wondered how best to approach the topic. I had an idea but it wasn't going to be pleasant and would most likely cause an argument. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing while something was so obviously seriously wrong.

The next time she got up to go to the bathroom I waited until I heard the door click and then followed, waiting outside the bathroom for her to reappear. As soon as she did I pouched on her, pushing her against the wall gently, trapping her lips against my own.

She kissed me back to begin with before shoving me away. This was out of character for her as well. I was normally the one to initiate anything intimate but she'd never pushed me away in this fashion before.

I kept my arms against the wall on either side of her. "What's the matter?" I asked, my tone serious.

"Nothing." She muttered, trying to shove me away again. I let her this time, but grabbed her hand in my own.

"Alex baby, talk to me. I can tell that something's wrong." I pleaded with her.

"Nothing's wrong!" She snapped, making me flinch slightly but I didn't let go of her hand.

"You've been quiet all night and you're clearly in pain."

"I said I'm fine!" She yelled at me, shaking my hand off hers and stalking back towards the living room.

I stood there for a moment, letting her go. I was now terrified. It was obviously something bad. Something she felt that she needed to hide from me. My mind was racing, thinking on the possible causes for her behaviour. I was almost certain I knew what it was. My teachers trained was serving me well.

I went back to the living room and found her crying softly, her work forgotten. I sat down beside her. I didn't make any move to touch her and simply waited.

She cried for around ten minutes before throwing herself into my arms. I comforted her, stroking her back, her hair until she calmed down.

Once she was a bit calmer I moved her so we were looking each other in the eyes. I took a deep breath.

"Alex listen to me. I'm a teacher. We're trained to recognise certain behaviours in our students." I explained calmly, "We're trained to recognise the signs of abuse so we can alert someone in the event that a student is being abused." When I mentioned the word 'abuse' she flinched, fresh tears making tracks down her cheeks. "Who has hurt you?" I asked softly.

She just shook her head.

"You can tell me Alex. You can trust me." I took a deep breath. "I won't do anything without discussing it with you first." I promised. I could get in trouble at school if anyone found out I'd made this promise but I rationalized it by telling myself that Alex was eighteen years old. She was legally an adult.

She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I don't like hiding things from you." She whispered.

I didn't say anything and waited for her to continue. It took her a few minutes but finally she spoke again.

"It's my dad." She muttered, looking away from me, "He... He hasn't done it in a while. It used to happen a lot more often. He'd go out and get drunk and when he came home he'd always be... Violent. It started out with him just hitting my mum." She cringed at the memories as I listened, a sense of horror starting inside of me. "Eventually he turned on me and my sister. That's why my sister moved out as soon as she could." She shrugged, "I thought he'd stopped drinking but yesterday he came home drunk again. I hid in my room, not wanting to anger him." She cringed again, "He didn't like that. He shouted at me to come out and when I didn't he came in and started to... to..." She burst into tears once again.

I pulled her into my arms, trying to comfort her as much as I could, tears forming in my own eyes. I wanted to keep her in my arms forever but I needed to know how badly she was hurt.

"Alex baby, can you show me what he did to you?" She stiffened in my arms. "Please. I need to know." I pleaded with her, the concern in my voice was overwhelming.

She nodded and stood up in front of me. Tears still running down her face she lifted up the hem of her shirt.

What I saw made me gasp in horror. Her side and stomach was a mass of angry bruises, black and purple. Fresh tears formed in my own eyes.

"He... He never hits me anywhere the marks would show. That's why no one ever noticed when... When I was younger." She revealed.

This made it clear to me that when her father did this he was in full control of his actions. The drink may make him violent but he had enough control over himself to make sure he covered his tracks. I was no longer horrified or upset. I was livid. I wanted to hit this man myself, for ever daring to lay a finger on this girl.

"You're staying here tonight." I insisted, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I didn't want her to think I was angry with her.

"What if someone sees us?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't care right now Alex. I can't let you go back there. Even if it causes me to lose my job. It's a price I'll gladly pay for your safety." I stood up taking her in my arms.

"I don't want you to lose your job!" She protested, "We're so close to the end of the school year! As soon as that happens we can be together. Properly. Without having to hide. I don't want to mess that up. Not now that we're so close!" She insisted.

"I'm not saying we'll be reckless baby. We'll still be careful." I reassured her before an idea came to mind, "Can your friend Jessica cover for you? Would she be willing to tell people that you've been at hers if they ask?"

"I think she would." I let her go and retrieve her phone.

It didn't take long for her to send the message to Jessica. She didn't explain about her dad, so I doubted that she'd even told Jessica about this. She just explained how she was wanting to stay at mine tonight and asked if Jessica could cover for her if anyone asked.

Jessica replied quickly saying of course she would cover for her. Alex then sent a quick message to her mum, telling her she was staying at a friends place but not mentioning who. When I asked why she explained, "I learnt not to tell her when things were bad with dad before. One time I did tell her and dad beat it out of her before coming to get me and take me home." She shrugged.

We spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the sofa watching a film together. I really wished that our first full night together could have happened under better circumstances but I couldn't let her go back home. I wanted her here, where I knew she was safe.

Later on when we were laid next to each other in bed I spoke out.

"Alex you have to tell somebody." I said kindly.

She shook her head, panicked. "I can't. Nothing would come of it and then he'd just hit me more. Or hit mum more if he couldn't get at me." She insisted. "I'll just wait until the end of the school year and then move out like my sister did."

"But that didn't stop him completely did it?" I asked her, "Yes, he stopped hitting your sister but he still hit you and your mum. If you move out he'll just carry on hurting your mum." I tried to make her see reason, that she needed to tell someone, not just for her sake.

"I can't!" She insisted, sounding terrified. I knew I couldn't push the topic any more right now so I let it drop and we both went to sleep wrapped in each others arms for the first time.

Alex Summers

The next morning before I left for school I managed to convince Caelynn to let me go home. I told her how people would start questioning me if I stayed here too often. I really didn't want to mess up our chances of making it to the end of the school year without people finding out about us. I promised her that I would tell her if anything else happened with me dad and that I would consider going to the police if it happened again.

What she'd said about me moving out at the end of the school year putting my mum at risk played on my mind. I knew she was right. The beatings didn't stop when my sister moved out. It just meant he had fewer targets.

I spoke to my sister, Lucy, about it. She agreed that I should go to the police. The reason she'd never said anything before was because she was scared. When she was still living with us she had similar fears as my own. That nothing would come of it and that dad would take it out on us for going to the police. When she moved out she was still scared of going to the police in case he took it out on me or our mum because he couldn't get to her.

I explained to her that I had the same fears and she understood. She said that I should really consider it if things got worse. I promised her that I would.

The next month passed without incident. I starting thinking that maybe it was a once off with dad. I was also very preoccupied because at the end of May our exams started. This signalled a countdown inside my head until I could be with Caelynn properly without fear of being caught.

I still went to her house as often as I could and she'd helped me study. She didn't bring up the situation with my dad again other than to check that nothing else had happened.

Caelynn Mitchell

I was sat on the sofa enjoying a class of wine thinking about Alex. I knew that she was as eager for the year to be over as I was and I was finding it difficult to contain that feeling. I had been thinking of asking her to move in with me once the year was over. She was adamant that she was moving out of her parents house anyway so I figured why shouldn't she move in with me? We'd probably have to give it some time beforehand though. Just so people didn't ask questions.

Suddenly there was a loud insistent knocking at my door.

"Who the hell?" I asked myself aloud. Alex wasn't supposed to be coming round today. She'd had her last exam today and was going to be staying over tomorrow night to celebrate.

There was another, louder knock again. I stood up and opened the front door.

It was Alex.

She was crying, there was a cut on her forehead and she seemed to be struggling to keep one eye open.

"Oh my god! Alex, what's wrong? Has something happened?" I asked, dragging her inside so I could look at her. She was holding her side, cringing every time she took a step forward.

"It happened again. This time was worse than before. I ran and this was the first place I thought of." She managed to speak between sobs.

I wrapped her in my arms, confirming to myself that she was more or less in once piece. I led her through to the living room. I sat her down on the sofa and went to get the first aid kit from the kitchen.

I sat down next to her and set to work cleaning her up using antibacterial wipes on the cut on her head. Luckily the cut didn't seem too deep.

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"Dad came home. Drunk. More so than usual." She flinched as I dabbed her head, at the pain or the memory I wasn't sure. "He started hitting mum and she let slip that I was planning on moving out after school finished." She sighed, "I shouldn't have told her." Fresh tears started falling down her face, "So he turned on me. I don't know why it bothered him so much that I was planning on moving or why it set him off so much."

"It's about control." I explained, "If you move out he can't control you any more." I took a deep breath before continuing, "And I think he lost control this time."

She looked at me, puzzled, "What do you mean? It's the drink that makes him do this. He doesn't know what he's doing." She insisted.

I shook my head, "It's not baby, at least I don't think it is. Last time you mentioned that he never hit you anywhere that it would show. That tells me that even though the drink makes him violent, he's the one in control. You moving out must have made him lose that control." I put the wipes in the bin. "Let me look at your side."

She stood up carefully and lifted her shirt. I stared on in horror. It certainly was worse than last time. Most of her side was black and part of her stomach.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital. Just in case you have any broken ribs." I insisted.

"No!" She insisted before we heard a commotion outside.

Alex Summers

"Alex! I know you're in there!" He yelled from outside, before there was a crash. It sounded like he'd kicked over a bin.

I started shaking and panicking, "Oh my god! It's him. How did he find me?"

"It's your dad?" Caelynn asked, a weird expression on her face as she lifted the curtain slightly to look outside.

"Yes but I don't know how he knew I was here. The only person who knows about us is Jessica and I know she wouldn't have told him."

"Alex! Get out here now!" He demanded from outside.

"I'm calling the police." Caelynn said, whipping out her phone and dialling before I could speak.

I started to pace, feeling somewhat like a trapped animal as Caelynn started speaking to the police on the phone.

"Hello, I need the police please."

"Alex! If you don't come out here right now I swear I will break down the door!" He shouted outside, this time from right outside the front door. I fled upstairs into Caelynn's bedroom and she followed, still on the phone.