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Katelyn McKnight Seller of old books at Next Chapter

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

   Selene drooped visibly against the pole, one leg stretched out in front of her and the other curled beneath her. Had she heard Katelyn she probably would have lashed out, really not wanting the woman to placate her right now, but she hadn’t heard, too caught up in the loud ‘whooshing’ that blocked her ears. 

“He told me he hated me.” Granted it wasn’t the first time the boy had told her that, but each time hurt just as much as the first.

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“What he meant was ‘I hate to be separated from you,’” she could only imagine how much it must have hurt to heard those words from her son. “It must be so hard,” she put her hand on Selene’s and squeezed gently.  

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

                                                               As soon as the word ‘sorry’ left Katelyn’s lips, Selene snapped back, a look of complete and utter horror coming across her features. “What am I…” Standing swiftly, she stumbled back only to grab old of the patio banister to steady herself.

“I don’t-I’m sorry.” She chocked out, “I don’t know what came o-over me.” Bring a hand to the side of her head, she prodded at her temple before sliding slowly down the wooden support, her butt landing neatly on the bottom step.

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Wincing she took a hesitant step towards Selene, although she had not appreciated Selene’s behaviour it had not been her intention to make her feel bad. “Don’t feel bad, sex is an easy escape, I get it.” While she had  never really used it as such she totally understood how other could use it as such. 

She crouched in front of Selene, gently resting a hand on Selene’s knee. “You have enough on you plate, don’t beat yourself up about this.”   

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

“Stop!” Selene snapped, ripping her hand from the woman’s grip only to have it sneak beneath Katelyn’s bra and top to fondle her breast. “Just be quiet.” The professor mumbled before she leaned down and kissed the side of Katelyn’s mouth before she nipped her way up to the woman’s ear.

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She recoiled in response to Selene’s abruptness. She wanted to help, but not to the point of letting herself be used as a soulless temporary remedy. “No.” She shook her head, “stop.” She started moving to get away from under Selene all while making sure not to make the woman lose balance. 

“Selene, I won’t help you like this,” she swallowed “I’m sorry I got tempted and mislead you.”                                                                                                                                                                                         

[mcknightturnsthepage]

The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

     “No.” Selene all but growled out as Katelyn pulled her into a tight hug, arm own arms coming up to push the blonde back before near climbing over her, her mouth seeking purchase on the blonde’s collar bone. “I do not want to wait.” She mumbled between nips and licks, her hands coming to grip the woman’s hips. 

Grinding down, she slipped a hand down toward Katelyn’s zipper and undid it quickly, but refrained from diving in. “And I do not want to talk about that.”

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“Hum...” She reflexively gripped Selene’s hips to make sure that the woman would remain stable as she climbed onto her lap. “Just...” A shiver muted her, they had not been sleeping together for a long time, but it seemed that Selene already knew which spots to exploit. 

“Woah,” she breathed surprised, but not indifferent to Selene’s boldness.  Katelyn’s hand went to circle Selene’s wrist, “I...” She shook her head trying to gather her good sense, “I know it hurts, but-Ah-” she breathed out loudly as pressure was added near her crotch “We can’t,” clearly Selene could so she reformulated “I can’t- won’t, not when you are upset like this.” She held Selene’s wrist tighter to prevent her from using it to distract her.

 “Look at me,” she looked up, searching for Selene’s eyes.

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

Her slips sliding silkily against Katelyn’s. She squeezed her eyes closed as if that single action would block out every surrounding factor except for the woman in front of her. The image of Parker crying, screaming and then just…nothing assaulted her mind. It was like it had physically pained him to leave his mothers side. It definitely physically pained her.

With a sob, she reached blindly for Katelyn’s shoulders, pulling the woman even closer to her. So close that if she pulled an inch more the woman would surely topple into her lap.

Opening her mouth, she ran a tongue over Katelyn’s bottom lip before pushing throw them to the warm, wetness. This would make her forget. Even just for a moment.

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She had to use her hands to prevent herself from crashing harshly into Selene, surely the woman was not conscious of how hard she had pulled. It was not the violence or desperation in Selene’s movements that alarmed her, but the sounds that escape the woman’s lips. Her eyes shot open when she first heard it, her lips harshly immobile against Selene’s.    

Her hands moved to Selene’s shoulders, “Selene,” she whispered, trying to get the woman’s attentions, but certain it would fail. “Hey,”  she tried again between two kisses, “Selene, wait,” she pulled away, but only slightly and cupped Selene’s cheek. “It’s hard, but it’s for his best,” instead of kissing her again she hugged her tightly.      

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

“Yes.” Selene replied slowly, placing the bottle of wine down by their feet, she slid closer to Katelyn, banging their knees together not so gently. “I ate already.”

Reaching out, she cupped Katelyn’s jaw between her thumb and forefinger and steered the woman’s face back to her. Tracing the blonde’s lower lip, her own tongue darting out to moisten hers, she looked up into Katelyn’s eyes for a few moments before ducking back down to stare at her lips. “Help me forget.”

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“Oh, ok,” her pointing hand fell on her lap as the professor said that she had already eaten. Avoiding Selene’s piercing gaze for reasons she was ashamed to admit even to herself, Katelyn  stared straight at her feet. Their knees collided and already she felt her resolve wavering.  

She closed her eyes, but let her head be turned towards the object of her yearning. She opened her eyes slowly, thorn by the feeling the slow reveal was causing inside of her.  

“Help me forget.”

She studied the woman before her, dishevelled, drunk, sad, but still uncompromisingly beautiful. So vulnerable and yet so strong. She swallowed, a steady hand pushing a stand of Selene’s hair from her forehead. “For tonight,” she whispered before bringing their lips together. She tasted like wine which came to no surprise. For someone who had a slight moral dilemma about what she was giving in Katelyn showed no restraint.     

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

Staring at the hand placed on the knee, half listening to what the blonde was saying and half not. She was glad that Katelyn wasn’t upset that she hadn’t shown up, but Katelyn’s presence wasn’t something she felt she needed tonight. All she wanted to do was forget, but as she stared down at the hand, a thumb rubbing slow circles on her inner thigh, she suddenly realized that there was another way of forgetting her day – something that she knew Katelyn could do. 

“No,” Selene husked, lifting her head to look at Katelyn, or rather her lips, “I guess I’m not.”

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“I...Eh...” Katelyn noticed that Selene was looking at her rather- how was it? intently? She cleared her throat and pushed her glasses up her nose. She scratched her neck, with the hand that had rested on Selene’s knee. “Hum...” What was wrong with her? Had she lost the ability to talk? The look Selene had given her was extremely enticing, but she felt like it would be a tad wrong to sleep with someone who was as intoxicated. 

“Have you had dinner? Maybe I can prepare something for you...” She looked towards the kitchen

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

Blinking slowly as Katelyn moved to sit where she had just vacated, she did her best to swallow back a groan before grabbing her bottle of wine and dropping rather unceremoniously down next to Katelyn with a small ‘ophm’.

“I don’t want to talk.” Selene muttered, raising the bottle to take a healthy swig from it. “This is not the first time Parker’s leaving has drove me to drink.”

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“Okay,” she nodded slowly unsure of what she should say next. Katelyn had never been the type to drink her troubles away, she had preferred to burry them under mountains of works. Some people would say it was a healthier coping mechanism, but it had burnt Katelyn’s marriage to the ground so let’s just say she didn’t feel qualified to judge her friend’s ways. 

“But this time you’re not alone,” maybe it made a difference, maybe it didn’t, she wasn’t condemning the drinking nor was she condoning it she was just making sure that Selene knew she didn’t have to go through it alone. 

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

[professor-blakely]

It had been with a grim face that Selene had repacked Parker’s bag and got him settled into the back of her car. He had been crying ever since the sun had broken over the horizon and now as she looked at him through the rear view mirror, snot and tear stained face scrunched into a painful grimace, his trustful teddy bear forgotten at his feet, she found she wanted nothing more than to pick him up and take him back into the house–whispering promises that she knew she couldn’t make.  

She spoke to him the whole way back to the hospital, trying her best to sooth him, her right hand permanently clutching at his thrashing leg, but it seemed that today Parker Blakely was not to be pacified. Her son hated the fact that he had to go back to hospital just as much as she did, if not more. 

Carrying his flailing body up to his floor, a sympathetic looking nurse pushing his green wheel chair behind them, she kissed him soundly on top of his head before she passed him over to Janelle and watched solemnly as the boy went limp in his favorite nurse’s arms. Nodding her thanks to the Mexican lady who reached out and clasped Selene on the shoulder lightly before turning and disappearing into her son’s room with a whimpering Parker.

She had headed to work after that. Snapping at her students and reducing a few to tears. She finished up her grade, having to through out her red pen after the ink had dried up on her. Nobody was safe today, especially herself. 

The professor hadn’t even thought about Katelyn once during the day, her mind completely and utterly wrapped up in her son and his actions that morning. It had killed her to watch her son behave in such a way and it just got worse and worse every time he came home and had to go back. She really did wonder whether it was better to just stop his home visits all together, it was obviously not doing either of them any good. 

Twelve hours later Selene found herself sitting on the steps of her patio, a bottle of nearly finished red wine clasped tightly in her hand and her head bowed painfully. She had yet to eat or change out of work clothes, her normally pristine pants suit wrinkled beyond repair and her face, when revealed,  would tell one of the hard day Selene had been through. 

She wasn’t really surprised, not really, to hear the blonde voice behind her, but it sill made her jump, her neck snapping around to gaze at Katelyn puzzled before she shook her head, cleared her throat, and shook her head again. 

“No, wait, no-I…stay.” Standing, or rather stumbling to her feet, she placed the wine bottle on the flower bed table lip, before taking a step forward, “I apologise for not coming…I had a rough day.”

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She shot the professor and apologetic smile, she had wishfully thought that her gentle approach wouldn’t startle her. “Stay seated it’s okay.” Worried about the professor’s lack of balance she took a swift step towards her. Katelyn gently grabbed Selene’s arm, “We can sit here,” she sat on the stair Selene had just vacated and patted the space next to her. 

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine.” Showing up here unannounced nothing more than a day after they had seen each other probably made her seem needy. “I like our... Thing... But you don’t have to show up every night.” She shrugged, her hand resting idly on Selene’s knee. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything,” but clearly Selene had found her peace in a bottle rather than Katelyn’s bed. “I knew today would be hard. I’m here in case you want to talk about it.”

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The Draw --Kate&Selene--

She had waited, resisted the urge, taken her car keys, put them back and started over again. But after a few hours of the same cycle her resolve was broken and she had jumped in her car to go check on Selene. All day she had expected the woman to show up at her doorstep come nighttime. She thought Selene would have chosen her company over spending her first night alone since bringing her son back to the hospital.  

The clock was a few minutes shy of midnight when she parked her car in Selene’s posh neighbourhood. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea, their relationship had been very one-sided when it came to showing up unnanounced, maybe the privilege wasn’t meant to be reciprocal.  She ignored those sensible thoughts and let her worry take the best of her, she needed to makes sure that Selene was okay. If that meant being chased off the property then she would deal with those repercussions. 

The kitchen lights were on, but the window provided her with no hints as to Selene’s activities. She knocked on the door lightly, no answer came. To her surprise the front door was unlocked, she pushed it open shyly. She noticed immediately that the atmosphere was different from the one she has witnessed the previous day; it lacked the warmth Parker had brought. 

A few steps towards the kitchen and she saw Selene through the screen door. She was sitting on the porch holding what seemed to be a wine bottle. A strange mix of relief and worry washed through Katelyn. She considered turning around and walking away unseen, but she pushed her glasses up her nose and pulled through, “hey,” she  announced herself softly before pushing the screen door. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” She winced at her words, she doubted a mother who had just brought her son back to the hospital could be ‘okay’. “What I mean is that I won’t impose, I just wanted to check in.” 

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Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

“Good.” Selene nodded as she finished cutting Parker’s quiche up. Sitting down to the boys left, leaving his right side open to Katelyn, she grabbed the pitcher of water and filled her’s and Parker’s glasses. “Water?” She asked quietly.

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Katelyn took the seat to Parker’s right. “Please,” she agreed to water, she extended her arm, but Selene filled her glass. “Thank you,” she mouthed while she listened to Parker explaining why this meal was his favorite. When he was done singing the praise of his mother’s cooking she took a forkful under his watchful gaz, “Wow,” she chewed and swallowed, “you’re right Parker, this is delicious.” She gave her host a  a complimentary smile. 

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Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

She shrugged lightly, turning with the quiche in her arms, creating a barrier between the two, “A simple quiche. My mother’s recipe. Parker’s favourite.” She supplied, before moving out between the counter and Katelyn and heading towards the dining table where she placed the dish. Reaching for the knife, she cut three slices and placed them neatly onto the three plates she had set earlier. 

“I hope you two are hungry because I do hate wasting food.”

“I am Mama!” The seven year old sitting at the table chirped, a fork and knife in each hand.

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Katelyn’s eyes went from Selene to the quiche and back to Selene. She smiled and nodded lightly, she felt like she was being held at arms length, she was pretty sure she understood why and she accepted the boundaries that were being set before her. She took the salad bowl and followed Selene into the dining room. 

“Of course I am hungry.” Katelyn smiled ready to share a meal in good company. 

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Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

They made there way back down stairs, with Parker choosing to be piggy picked down the stairs rather than using his chair lift. After pulling him down from Katelyn’s back and depositing him back into his wheel chair before pushing him back into the kitchen and helping him into his chair. Helping may have been the wrong word though, because while Parker may struggle to walk long distances, he was at least able to hoist himself into chairs, which is what he did while sporting a huge, proud smile.

“Good boy.” Selene murmured into his hair as she kissed him on top of the head before moving into the kitchen to remove the finished quiche. “Katelyn, there’s a bowl in the fridge with salad and a jar with dressing, will you grab it and dish it up for me?” She sent the blonde a dazzling smile to go with the request.

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She easily carried the boy down the stairs, he was quite light for his age. She dropped him on his chair and followed as his mother pushed him towards the dinning room. He transfered himself to his chair before his mother’s proud gaze. The sight warmed Katelyn’s heart.  

“Of course,” happy to help she followed Selene to the kitchen. She found the salad and dressing easily and dished it up as she was asked. She moved closer to Selene trying to see their lunch “It looks delicious,” she observed when she was able to peek above Selene’s shoulder. 

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Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

  Selene watched the two interacting with a small smile on her face. Katelyn’s presence in their lives, in Parker’s life had definitely made an impact. He wasn’t so cut off now. So drawn in on himself that he didn’t know how to communicate with lashing out. The first few months of his diagnose had been pure hell, for both of them. Parker had no idea how to process the news that he could potentially die, and Selene could never find it in her to discipline the boy when needed. He was sick. He was allowed to get angry. Or so she told herself. 

He was seven now, still too young to fully comprehend what was happening to him, but old enough to know what the end result might be. He was a smart boy, but he was also very, very innocent and he just hoped that this whole thing never took that innocence away from him.

“Okay, “ Selene started, clapping her hands together, “Parker, let go get your wheel chair and we will show Katelyn around a bit before lunch.” Katelyn had visited once before, but the visit had been restricted to the main entrance and the kitchen only, so there was still a lot of the house yet to be explored, and she knew the boy would enjoy showing her his room.

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It was nice to get a tour of their house, she payed attention to what they pointed out and asked a few questions along the way. “Nice library,” she couldn’t help herself it was the first thing she spotted when she pushed the little boy through his bedroom door. Somewhere along the way, she didn’t remember when or why she had taken the responsibility of pushing Parker’s wheelchair. She reached out to touch the spine of one of his books. A picture caught her eyes, it was of a younger Selene holding who she assumed to be baby Parker. It seemed like a candid moment, Selene’s eyes were absolutely filled with love. 

“Kate?” She shook her head it sounded like the boy had been trying to get her attention for a few seconds. “Hmm? Sorry,” she smiled sheepishly without admitting what had distracted her. “Did you notice my dinosaur collection?” Katelyn walked them to  where he was pointing, “wow, that’s a great collection and you placed them by eras,” she noticed that the cretaceous creatures had been categorized together. “Yeah mama helped me.” Katelyn smiled at the boy’s mother imagining them looking through books to try to figure out which dinosaur would go on which shelf. 

They walked passed Selene’s room, but didn’t go in, the professor just pointed it out and moved on arguing that the quiche must be ready.  

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Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

Reaching for the pie, her gaze still planted firmly on Katelyn’s head, she moved to let the woman through the door before closing it behind them. “Hot is certainly one word for it.” The professor replied, her right eyebrow raised and a small smirk playing on her lips. In truth, the woman’s hair really was quite hot, but it would take more than two minutes to get used to.

Smiling as the woman called out to Parker, the boys excited reply causing her to shake her head, she went to move further into the kitchen, away from the entrance way but was stopped as Katelyn stepped forward and pecked her on the cheek. She swallowed, doing her best to refrain from removing herself from Katelyn’s grip. As much as she had missed the blonde, now was not the time to act on such things.  

Instead of moving, she reached up to run a hand through Katelyn’s hair before retracting her hand and moving around the woman back into the kitchen. 

“Katelyn brought us a pie, Parker. Say thank you.”

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Katelyn smiled satisfied with their brief interaction. “Maybe we should wait after dessert before saying thanks,” she threw a wink towards Parker. In truth she had full confidence in her baking skills, but a little  intrigue only built the anticipation towards their first bite of the delicious dessert. 

She went to the boy and gave him a hug, “Don’t you look smart, is that a NeverEnding Story shirt?” She recognized Falcor and Bastian. “It is!” He admitted looking at his shirt proudly. “Mama said you would recognize it.” He shot his mother a complicit smile. Katelyn laughed, she was so very grateful to be in their presence. 

“It smells nice, did your mom help you while you cooked lunch for us?” Parker laughed at Katelyn silliness, “you know I am too young to use the oven, Kate.” Katelyn couldn’t help, but smile widely, she found it inspiring that the young man didn’t seem to perceive his physical state as limitations, but instead blamed the house rules.  

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[Text] So am I. I'll see you tomorrow? 11 okay with you?

[text] Perfect, looking forward to it.

[mcknightturnsthepage]

Unbeliever

[professor-blakely]

Parker had been sitting at the kitchen counter, his wheel chair forgotten in his bedroom while his mother hoisted him around on her hip, watching Selene put together a simple salad to go with the quiche she had made. The boy had groaned as soon as Selene had mentioned the word salad, knowing full well his mother was going to force him to at least eat half a plate worth of it. 

“But why Mama? Why do I need salad too?”

“Because young man,” Selene replied looking up as she tossed the salad with her bare hands, “Your body needs nutrition and I know for a fact that you have those nurses secretly feeding you sweets when I’m not there.” 

The boy grumbled folding his arms into a tight crisscross before dropping down onto the bar, “I don’t even like tomatos.” He murmured, barely audible, but Selene caught it. 

Reaching over, she tapped him playfully on the back of his head before moving to place the finish salad into the fridge. “Smile Parker, Katelyn will be here soon.” This caused the boy to bolt up right, nearly toppling off his seat but catching himself just in time.

“Yes!” 

Shaking her head, her heart readjusting to the beat that it had skipped, she moved to wipe down the counter just as the doorbell sounded. “Well, would you look at that.” Smirking at her son, she moved past him, dodging his grabbing hands and opened the door. 

“Hello to you too.” The professor smirked, her gaze moving from the pie that had been shoved in her face to the blonde in front of her. She gulped. There, standing in front of her, was Katelyn McKnight, but not the same Katelyn McKnight she had left Friday morning, no, that one had long flowing blonde hair, this one, well this one’s hair was cropped short and shaved on one side. A complete and total turn around from her usual look. It was…hot.

“What have you done to your hair?”

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She laughed at Selene’s question, of the things that made her nervous that day her new haircut was the least of her worries. In fact she was quite confident about her new do. She ran her fingers through her hair “Hot, right?” She smirked, winked and let herself in. 

She kicked off her flats “where’s my favorite young reader?” She asked loud enough to be heard by the young boy. “Here!” She heard from the kitchen. Before she followed the voice she turned back towards her hostess “Thank you for having me,” she kissed her on the cheek briefly, but let her hand linger on the woman’s lower back, it was her subtle way of showing the professor that she had missed her.