It was never comforting to be told to see the teacher but Miss Connolly had such a nice smile, then there was the reassurance that she wasn't in any trouble. That helped.  Tessa sat down and smiled a bit in return.<br/><br/>As Miss Connolly started to speak, Tessa felt the colour drain from her face. She'd seen her in the back of the car with her father. Fucking her father. Her mouth had dropped open. It had been such a shock that Tessa hadn't had a chance to compose herself in any way. She sat in silence as Miss Connolly spoke, nodding that she agreed, her mother was not going to be in her life ever again.<br/><br/>"Miss Connolly... I love my dad very much." Tessa began, trying to find the right way to approach this. She knew her father had found something very attractive about her teacher and wondered how to get Miss Connolly to open up about it without freaking her out.<br/><br/>"Everything is very good and he's not forcing me, I promise!" Tessa said solemnly. "I can't go back to my mom... ever." She'd almost said that her dad would never allow it but that could be taken the wrong way. It was the truth, in both cases, though. "Miss Connolly, my dad isn't doing anything I don't want him to. He's not making me earn my keep or anything either." Tessa considers the wording for the next bit she will say.<br/><br/>"I don't know that I could explain it very well..." She said after a moment. "My dad really liked you, though. He saw how you ... are." She continued cautiously and watched for any signs that she was going to spook her teacher too far. "Maybe you should have another meeting with him. You could come for supper and you can see for yourself that everything is all fine. My dad would love to see you again, I'm sure of it." Tessa gave her a smile. Her dad would be really pleased if she brought Miss Connolly home for him.