My Vampire Professor Chapter 222

Tessa’s POV

“I apologize for the interruption. Please continue,” Joseph said softly as he made his way to his seat.

Dean Miller didn’t look pleased. He just scowled at Joseph and then motioned for Hannah to continue.

My eyes briefly met my father's who I noticed was visibly tense now that Joseph was in view. I wasn’t surprised by that. Penny had placed a hand on his biceps to calm him.

Hannah cleared her throat and then she started her speech. I wasn’t listening to what she was saying though; I was more focused on Joseph as he made his way to the faculty seating and sat beside Miss Emily.

Joseph and I had been through a lot this past month, so I shouldn’t still be insecure and jealous of Miss Emily. I knew she liked him from the minute he showed up at this school, and I knew he didn’t like her in return. At least not like that. She was his friend and nothing more. But something about him sitting so close to her left an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I was not too fond of the way she beamed when he approached. He gave her a small smile and then said something I couldn’t hear as he sat down. Whatever he said, it had her chuckling and her face growing bright red.

She couldn’t take her eyes off him, and it infuriated me.

Joseph was mine. Only mine.

The thought startled me because I wasn’t a possessive person.

I trusted Joseph, so I knew there wasn’t anything to worry about.

Joseph’s eyes met mine and his gaze was so soft and inviting that it soothed away the anxieties I felt in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t help but smile at him and that simple act caught Miss Emily’s attention.

Her eyes widened and then she glanced up at Joseph whose eyes remained on me. Her face reddened even more, and she was soon staring down at her hands sheepishly.

Everybody around me started to clap and cheer and that’s when I realized that Hannah’s speech was over. She looked proud of herself as she waved at the crowds of people clapping and cheering for her. Her face was lit up and her eyes sparkled with ambition.

She waved at everyone and then she shared some words with Dean Miller before she stepped down from the stage to resume her seat in the front row.

It was time for our names to be called and for us to walk across the stage to grab our degrees.

Dean Miller started from the front row and went down the line. As each student’s name was called, they stood and walked with grace up the steps and across the stage. They paused in front of Dean Miller to shake his hand and to pose for a picture or two, and then they grabbed their degrees from Dean Miller’s assistant who stood nearby.

Then they stepped down and returned to their seats.

I could tell whose family members belonged to specific students because when their names were called, specific sections of the auditorium would cheer the loudest.

Ruby’s name was called before mine and she took a deep breath before standing to her feet. She didn’t have any family here; I was her family, so I did what any family would do.

I cheered.

I yelled and clapped the loudest as Ruby made it toward the stage. She glanced at me with a red face, motioning for me to tone it down, but it only made me cheer even louder. I loved embarrassing her like this, especially because she didn’t have anyone here to embarrass her.

When she walked across the stage, she looked a bit nervous and then she paused in front of Dean Miller, and he smiled at her as he shook her hand.

He said something I couldn’t hear, and she nodded, saying something in return.

They paused for photos and then she went to the assistant to grab her degree. She took a couple more pictures with her degree and then stepped off the stage to join me at our seats.

I hugged her happily.

“Tessa Campbell,” Dean Miller announced.

This was it; the moment I’ve been working toward for the last several years. The cheers were louder than I expected. It made my cheeks grow hot; I tried not to look at Joseph as I walked across the stage, but I couldn’t help it. My eyes wandered in his direction, and he was on his feet with several others, clapping and cheering for me.

My heart swelled with gratitude.

“You have quite the fan base,” Dean Miller said as I stopped in front of him.

“Apparently I do,” I agreed.

This made him smile as he held out his hand for me to take.

I took it immediately and we shook. I heard the snapping of the camera before I saw the flash. I turned to see the photographer taking a couple more pictures.

“Congratulations, Tessa,” Dean Miller said. “You may grab your degree now and then join the others.”

I nodded and stepped around him to his assistance. She handed me my degree and I smiled at her before turning toward the photographer again.

She rapidly fired shots as I held up my degree.

Once she was done, I stepped down from the stage and went to join Ruby in our seats.

The rest of the students were called one by one and when the last student was called, everybody cheered loudly. The sound and the echo of the auditorium scrambled my brain.

We all stood on cue as Dean Miller announced our graduating class, we took out graduation hats and threw them high in the air. It was followed by cheer and the excited squeals of those around me.

Ruby was the first to wrap her arms around me and hug me. We both had tears in our eyes, but this time, they were filled with happiness and promise.

I met Joseph’s eyes, and he was watching me with pride all over his face. It made my heart swell knowing that I had him in my life and that I was always going to have him in my life.

Students started to join their parents and hug them, which made me remember that my father and Penny were there.

I turned toward the seats which were toward the back of the auditorium, but I frowned when I saw that the seats were empty. I furrowed my brows together, looking around the auditorium. But I couldn’t see them at all.

Where had they gone off to?

….

Third Person POV

Rick didn’t think much of anything that could surprise him anymore since finding out that his only daughter was dating a vampire. But not just any vampire, the same vampire that was there the night that his wife, Alison, died during that war between witches and vampires.

He didn’t remember much about that night, but he remembered Joseph’s face. It was a face that had been engraved in his mind for many years since Alison's death. A face that he will never forget and now was a part of his daughter's life.

When Joseph showed up late to the graduation ceremony and walked down the aisle to find his seat, Rick noticed that he wasn’t wearing a graduation gown himself. His eyes remained on Joseph as he found his seat toward the front of the auditorium and off to the left, a distance away from the students.

“Aren’t those teachers?” Rick asked, leaning toward Penny to get her attention.

Penny pulled her gaze away from the front of the stage to follow Rick’s gaze.

“Yes. The Dean introduced them earlier,” Penny recalled. “Why?’

“Because Joseph is amongst them,” he told her, motioning with his head.

Her gaze followed his again until they reached Joseph’s and then she gasped.

“Oh, my god,” she breathed. “Do you think Joseph is Joseph Evergreen? That famous writer?”

“No… that can’t be,” Rick said, shaking his head. “It’s impossible. It’s—”

“Tessa is in Jospeh’s Evergreen’s class, remember?” Penny reminded him. “It makes so much more sense now. How could I not but two and two together?”

“Tessa isn’t dumb enough to date her professor,” Rick said, shaking his head as if he was trying to shake the thought out of his head.

“Have you seen him?” Penny said, raising her brows. “He’s hot.”

Rick scowled in response.

He knew regardless of what he did and what he said, Tessa was never going to leave this monster. Rick wished there was a way he could get through to his daughter, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen.

“What kind of school allows a professor to date a student without any repercussions?” Rick asked with gritted teeth.

“Maybe nobody knows,” Penny suggested. “Can we try not to cause issues today? We promised Tessa…”

“That was before I found out he was a professor, Pen,” Rick said, cutting off her words. “He can’t get away with that. It’s predatory.”

“She’s an adult,” Penny reminded him. “I know you still think of her as your little girl. But you can’t protect her from everything. This is her decision, and you need to respect that, or you are going to lose her.”

“It has to be against school policy,” Rick muttered, ignoring her completely.

Penny didn’t respond to that comment; they both fell silent as Tessa’s name was called and she walked across the stage to retrieve her degree. She looked so happy, and Rick’s heart swelled at the sight.

He truly did love his daughter more than life itself. He only always wanted what was best for her. Maybe he was going about this all wrong from the beginning.

All he ever wanted was for her to live a normal and happy life and now, because of that monster, a normal and happy life was out the window.

He clenched his fists with aggravation.

As the Ceremony concluded, Rick stood to his feet and headed towards the exit. He needed to get some air before he completely lost his mind. The graduating class was still cheering and applauding one another, and nobody noticed him slipping out the back exit.

Penny was on his trail.

“Are we leaving?” She asked once she caught up to him. “We haven’t even spoken to Tess and congratulated her. This is a huge moment for her, Rick.

“No, we aren’t leaving,” he said as they stepped outside and basked in the cold air. “I just needed a breather.

She sighed and peered up at him.

“I know you are worried about her, but she’s going to be fine, Rick. You raised her right. You have to trust her.”

“I do trust her. It’s him I don’t trust,” he said, shaking his head. “Maybe I was wrong about keeping the coven from her. Maybe I shouldn’t have sheltered her. They could help her see the monster that he truly is.”

“You say he’s a monster, but he seems to really care about her,” Penny said, folding her arms across her chest. “I don’t understand why you hate him so much.

Penny was aware that witches existed, and she was aware of the coven, but she wasn’t aware of vampires or that Joseph was a vampire. He made a point to never tell her the truth about that and why he truly hated Joseph.

Before he could say anything more, Dean Miller, along with his assistant, walked out of the building.

“Excuse me, Dean Miller? Can we have a word?”