"It's late, you should head home."

Cephan gave a slight nod to his older colleague, handing a glass of raw gun to a customer.

"Yeah, it's late," he muttered and turned to leave.

The day had already passed so fast, just this morning, Cephan Miller was having it wild with his teacher. He sighed, glancing at his phone to check the time.

10:00 pm.

He followed the long route half praying that his father was out cold on the floor because if he wasn't...

No. He didn't want to think about the outcome.

Mr Miller, cephan's father, wasn't always like that. He was that vibrant, kind and gentle man every woman dreamt of, but after cancer took his wife, he changed.

Mr Miller drank, gambled and soon sought to abuse.

Cephan sighed. He was used to it already.

Reaching home, he turned the knob subconsciously holding his breath.

"You're late," someone said and all his built up hope came crashing down.

"Work," he muttered, bracing himself for what came next.

"Money? I need money!" He demanded trying to stand.

The stench of alcohol filled the house making Cephan wrinkle his nose in disgust.

He was drunk again.

"I told you I don't have money," he spoke up shutting the door behind him.

Broken glass decorated the floor and he was careful not to step on any.

"What do you mean you have no money?!" Mr Miller screamed, taking a glass and throwing it at Cephan.

He ducked, shielding his head with his hands.

Pathetic.

He wasn't going to put up with this old man he called his father.

"If you want money, then go make yours!" He screamed, flinging the door open and slamming it shut.

As soon as he slammed the door, a bottle smashed behind it.

"Now I have to look for where to sleep," he muttered walking away from what he called his home.

Cephan decided to go to the park and stay for sometime before heading back home. The park was safer than home.

Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at it and the name on the screen made him grunt.

Another pest.

He answered the call already knowing what the bastard wanted.

"Did you do it?"

"I have the money, come to the park," he said, hanging up before the bastard said any other thing.

A few minutes later, some guys came to the park, a cigar in their hands.

"Want a smoke, old man?" One of them whom they called Dav asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Cephan declined, searching his bag for the money.

He assessed the boys, Dav, a Blondie with a foreign accent and a sleep build that made girls trip - he was gay.

Chuck, the nineteen year old guy that looked like a golden retriever.

Mason, dark haired Italian with eyes so intense you might think he wanted to kill you. The youngest amongst them was seventeen, Christian Waner.

"Yooo, someone's a Mama's boy," Christian cackled, puffing out smoke.

"My Mama's dead, and you're too young to smoke," Cephan retorted, handing the money to Dav.

"You didn't make a move on her? How did you get the money?" Chuck asked, throwing his cigar on the ground and stepping on it.

Cephan shrugged standing to leave, he tucked his hands into his jacket and made to walk away.

"Chill bro, where are you going? How did you get the money, eh?" Dav asked.

Their presence was beginning to irritate Cephan so he said nothing, bumping past Mason.

Mason pulled him back, giving him a hard punch on the jaw and that set them off.

Cephan stumbled to the ground and they began kicking him, but little did they do he could take them all.

They knew.

He dragged Christian's feet pulling his trousers and standing to his feet. Punching Dav in the nose, he elbowed the fucking golden retriever, Chuck.

They groaned but didn't give up.

"Mother fucker!" Dav cursed lunging at him.

Cephan planted his knee to his stomach making him cough up dark blood.

"You guys don't know when to stop, really," he gritted his teeth waiting for them to attack.

Mason came at him and threw a few punches, but he dodged although one landed at his chin.

He fisted the young boy's throat making him scream in pain.

"Your mother didn't teach you when to give up, did she?" He asked ironically, banging Christian's head on a pole.

They groaned in pain, cursing and hissing.

Cephan noticed Dav picked his phone to call some people, and he knew immediately that it was time to run.

He was probably calling his other guys and he was too weak to take all of them at once so he did what he knew was best.

He ran.

He ran past the line of streetlights. Ran past the masked lady who was probably stealing from a store.

He ran into an alley holding his breath as he sped.

This was the moment he wished he had a home to go to - he did but that place couldn't be described as a home.

He needed peace and quiet.

The alley was dark and although he knew they couldn't catch him he kept on, sweat pouring from his face.

"Fuck, I need a shower," he said, his shirt sticking to his skin.

Just as he left the alley, he cornered to a street, this time slowing his pace. He jogged but not too slow.

His stomach rumbled and he knew he had to eat something if he wanted to gather strength to run again.

Lost in thoughts, he didn't see the lady coming towards him.

Cephan hit her, making her fall to the floor.

He stopped and stared at her.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, are you okay? Is your nose broken?" He asked concerned about the impact of the collision.

"I'm fine," the lady said, lifting her head to look at him.

Time froze and the memories of the morning flooded again.

The way she moaned when he thrusted his fingers into her, the way she squirted all over him... .

"Miss Abby?"

Her home wasn't bad.

It looked normal for a highschool teacher except the furnitures were pretty expensive which made Cephan wonder how she got all that money she gave him.

He sat on a stool in her kitchen while she made coffee.

"Your face looks swollen," she said inspecting his face, his gray eyes stared into her big brown ones trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"I know, got into a fight with some guys," he murmured and made to smile but ended up wincing in pain. Those bastards had done him real bad.

"Wait here."

Abby marched off from the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a first-aid kit.

"I'll clean it," she said, opening the box and bringing out some cotton. It took about five minutes to be done with his face and while she cleaned they didn't say anything.

Not about the fight.

And definitely not about what happened in the morning.

It was best not to bring that up or so Cephan thought, he had promised not to cross paths with this woman till graduation but here he was, in her house injured.

"Thank you, Miss Abby," he muttered, standing to leave.

"I better head home."

Miss Abby turned to face him as he walked away in thought of where to go.

"You could stay here for the weekend, it's late by the way," she suggested.

Cephan wanted to badly decline, but he hadn't a place to stay.

"Sure, thanks. By the way, won't that coffee run cold?"

Abby entertained him with coffee while they sat in the kitchen envelope in awkward silence. Abby assessed his face, Cephan Miller wasn't a random face she saw one day, it had always been there in Christon high, but why did he look even more sexier than the last time.

She knew how dangerous this was and the consequences that followed, but she wanted to do it.

"The coffee's to your liking? I'm not much of a cook, sorry I didn't get you something edible," she said, breaking the silence.

"It's fine... you got something on your face," he replied blandly.

Abby touched her face searching for the so-called something.

"Where?"

Cephan took a napkin and inched closer to her face, their breath touching. He raised his hands and cleaned the corner of her lips.

For Abby Sean, time stood still. His gray eyes that looked like a dark cloud storm stared at her, his elbow brushed past her nipple sending a wave of undescribed and raw feeling.

What the fuck was her problem?

"You got coffee there. I've been itching to clean that," he said finally allowing the flow of time, but he didn't adjust back to his stool, he gazed at her, his heartbeat going faster than normal. This seemed unusually strange and needed to be stopped.

No, he wanted to see what would happen next. He liked things like this.

Abby sighed, rolling her eyes like a thirteen year old teenage girl who just started rebelling against her mother.

"You're so good at being blunt, huh?" She asked her breath brushing his skin, it tickled.

"Maybe, it always gets me in trouble, but it seems like it doesn't do that with you."

Cephan smirked. He shouldn't be doing that with his teacher, his breath quickened by just looking at her which he could describe as strange.

He had encountered Miss Abby Sean a lot of times and she even sent him to detention twice, but why did he so badly want to feel what he felt that morning with her.

"Can I request something then and be blunt about it?" He asked gulping hard.

She nodded, telling him to keep talking.

"Let's kiss... can we?"

Abby looked stunned for a while but realized this was Cephan, a basketball player who wanted to go pro, someone who girls drooled over and someone who got involved in something shady that made him bet on her.

She should be angry that they placed a bet on her. She was meant to slap him across the face and tell him off, but no, she wanted to kiss him... to do a lot more than kissing with him.

"Since you're not speaking, I'll take it that you want it," he muttered and inched close to her so that their noses touched.

Cephan placed his lips on hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He savoured every bit of her as their tongues danced in their mouths.

He reminded himself to stop there, but he didn't.

He moved on.

Cephan found his fingers trailing up to her breast. He noticed earlier on that she was bare breast when his elbow brushed her nipple.

"We shouldn't do this, should we?"

He had thought of the possibility of anyone finding out. They could do it and stay safe as long as no one found out.

"Who's going to find out?" he smirked.

Cephan picked her up, his hand squeezing at her butt. She wrapped her arms against his neck as they kissed.

Taking her to a room, he lay her down on the bed and unbuckled his belt.

"You're a really smart kid," she said, helping him with his belt.

"Does it matter if I'm smart or dumb here?" He retorted, finally removing it.

He motioned for her to come, and she obeyed standing before him naked. Her nipples stood begging for him to have her.

Cephan brushed his fingers against her nipples, it sent shivers of pleasure down to his toes. He kissed her neck slowly sinking his teeth into her skin. She let out a gasp clutching his hair.

"You smell like pineapple, I could eat you up whole, Miss Abby," he whispered, kissing her down to her tits. He stuck his tongue out and played with her nipples.

He felt his muscles tensed, and his dick hardened.

What was this lady doing to him, she probably was way older than him although she looked rather young.

He didn't care anyway.

"I'll make sure you scream with every passing second... Miss Abby."

Abby opened her eyes, she had slept past her usual time, but she didn't bother. Her whole body felt sore and she wondered what had happened, then the realization hit her - she had slept with Cephan Miller, for the second time.

She turned over to the other side to see Cephan wearing his hoodie. His muscles flexed as the hoodie went down to his waist.

"If you keep staring at me like that you might not be able to walk for days," he teased, brushing his hair with his fingers.

He smelled like pineapple.

"You already showered?" He nodded, taking his phone from the bed.

Cephan eyed her body, he couldn't understand the growing hunger in him - the hunger to devour her, but he composed himself.

"You should cover up too," he said, eyeing her breast again. Abby looked at her body realizing she was completely naked.

"I'll be leaving, thanks a bunch, Miss Abby."

"To where?" She asked eager to know. From what she knew about this man, he wasn't really on good terms with his drunken father, it was an open secret after all.

"Home, oh and I have to visit my sister- I promised I would," he answered, moving over to her side of the bed.

"You should stay for breakfast, I'll make omelette..."

"Nah, I'm good. You've done a lot anyway," he interrupted, then kissed her hair.

"I don't know what we're doing but I like it-" he lifted her chin and pressed his lips on hers, Abby didn't hesitate.

"I'll see around, yes?"

She said nothing but he already read her mind.

Miss Abby wanted it too.

***

The ride to where his aunt lived took about ten minutes and three seconds to get there. He sat in the subway train scrolling through his phone searching for open scholarships.

That was the main reason he was working so much, he wanted to get a scholarship so badly although he didn't have enough money. Maybe getting a scholarship would change his and his dad's life.

"Hi," someone said and he looked up to see a pretty boy, if pretty was the right word.

"Hey," he responded, looking back at his phone.

"Can I get your number..."

The train came to a halt and he stood to leave.

"Maybe next time," he murmured and walked out trying not to think too much about what just happened.

***

Aunt Maryjane was a happy go lucky lady, always cheerful even when she lost her husband and five year old daughter to a car accident.

"My favourite nephew," she squealed, wrapping her arms around Cephan. He hugged her back feeling the warmth he hadn't felt in years.

"How're you doing aunty?" He asked as she led him inside.

"Jolly as always, your sister Rose went to see a friend, she loves it here."

Of course she would.

Cephan couldn't allow her to stay even a day with his father, especially after the night he almost lost her.

He didn't want to remember that rainy night so he shrugged it off and focused on the present.

His Rose was a cheerful girl and just needed the right environment. Aunt Maryjane came to the rescue, she needed a daughter after all.

"She's turning ten today, yes?"

"And Seven years for mother's funeral," he added and regretted it.

Why did he always sullen the happy mood?

Aunt Maryjane smacked his arm hard making him grimace.

"What was that for?"

"For trying to ruin the happy mood. You should be happy for your sister!"

She was right, he needed to be happy for her and not try to ruin it.

Just then, ten year old Rose ran in and on seeing her brother, she increased her pace.

"Ceph!"

Cephan grabbed her and twirled her round.

"You look just like a princess!" She laughed as he brought her down.

"You need to see, aunty made a beautiful cake just for me!" She chatted, her dimples deepening.

This was his life when his mother still lived, and even when she found out about her cancer, she still tried to be the best mom.

His father wasn't always that harsh, he was the most gentle soul Cephan Miller ever knew and maybe that was why he wished he could change.

He wished that when he had smashed a glass on his little sister's head.

He wished that when he came back home and blamed him for mother's death - and he still wished that his father would see reason and change.

The alcohol consumed him and if he pushed on a little bit more, he might return to his old loving self.

"Go on and get ready for shopping, I'd like to speak with Cephan," Aunt Maryjane said, bringing him back to reality.

Rose nodded, running off upstairs. When she was out of sight, Aunt Maryjane turned to face him.

"How's Charles? Still drinking?"

Cephan nodded, already overwhelmed with emotions.

"You know you could stay with me, I need an extra..."

"You've already done so much, aunty, I'm old enough to handle everything," he said firmly.

Aunt Maryjane watched him, although he said he could handle it, she knew he was lying. Nineteen was still teenage years.

"Call me if you change your mind," she muttered, assuring him that everything would be fine.

Cephan stood to his feet, he brought out a small gift box he had bought on his way.

"Tell Rose I have to work overnight, and I'm sorry I couldn't stay for her birthday." He handed her the box and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"You know, to pour out my sorrow to the dead."

***

The rain that was only a drizzle started to pour once he reached his mother's grave. The flower in his hands was already wet, but he dropped it anyway.

"You liked roses a lot, so I brought you some..."

He squatted, his fingers feeling the hardness of the stone and the words written on them.

"Rose is happier with Aunty, I told you she was staying there for sometime until I get a stable job and a house..."

Cephan clenched his jaw as the rain dropped to his eyes causing the tears he tried to hold in to flow.

"Father's fine too, I shouldn't worry you about how he's changed- you wouldn't like that..."

He hiccuped, tears pouring down mixing with the rain.

"I'm sorry I couldn't handle all this. It's my fault everything's like this and even now, I'm crying like a child... you said I was strong but sometimes... I want to end it."

Cephan wiped his tears, his throat itched from crying and his hands shivered due to the cold.

"But Rose needs me and father... I'm sure he needs me too. I'm good at basketball now too, like very good at it and I find myself intrigued by my highschool teacher too, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He laughed lightly standing to his feet.

"Anyhow life goes, I'm sure I'll end up making you happy, wherever you are."

Cephan turned to go, he glanced over at the grave once more, then walked away.

He needed to be strong for Rose and himself.

"I should head home," he muttered to himself.

***

As soon as Cephan stepped into the house, he had a loud bang on the floor. His father had smashed another glass on the floor.

"I should clean this up tomorrow," he gave a mental note walking past Mr Charles Miller.

"How could you leave me," he mourned, taking a huge gulp of alcohol.

Cephan stopped and watched his father looking for a sign of redemption. He was always like that every year on this day.

"Cephan..." he muttered, bringing Cephan back to reality.

Did his father call his name?

"Yes," he answered.

"Your mother was good, and it's not your fault she died, let's just say life has a way of taking the things you cherish the most," he said, taking another gulp.

"I know that."

He wished he believed it too.

"You don't. You kept Rose away from me because I'm a heartless father anyway. Y'all will end up leaving me to die," he said.

Cephan bit his lips so hard that it drew blood. He needed to go upstairs and catch some real sleep before his father returned to his normal self - drunk and angry.

"Let's hope we won't come to that," he muttered and disappeared up the stairs and into his room.

His mind wandered to last night, he felt at peace at that woman's place. Miss Abby was kind and gentle, he didn't want to ruin her reputation by doing all those things with her, but he couldn't help it.

Desire was like a small fire, but once ignited could spread and destroy a whole nation.

That was the kind of desire he had.

"Miss Abby Sean," he muttered, shutting his eyes.

He knew he should avoid her, it was dangerous - the sexual relationship they had together.

Cephan also knew he wasn't going to keep his word.

Sex was one thing, but desire was a whole different thing.