Page 28 of Blake University: HBCU Chronicles – Yon & Imole

The library was nearly empty, just the way liked it.

The soft hum of the fluorescent lights buzzed above her as she sat tucked away in the farthest corner of the second floor. Surrounded by tall shelves and stacks of law textbooks, she felt safely invisible. Her earbuds were in, but no music played. She needed the illusion of sound to keep people away.

She was tired. Not physically, but emotionally. It was the kind of tired that settled in your bones and whispered to you that no one would ever truly understand.

Yon had texted her earlier, saying he was tied up with his line brothers. She told him it was fine, that she needed to catch up on her readings anyway. But the truth was, she missed him. Missed his calming presence. Missed not feeling alone.

The silence of the library wrapped around her like a weighted blanket as she flipped another page in her Crim Law casebook. The words blurred. She blinked hard and rubbed her eyes, glancing at her phone. Nearly midnight.

She should’ve gone back to her dorm an hour ago.

She stood and stretched, thinking she’d grab another book from the shelves before packing up for the night. Her footsteps were soft on the carpet as she moved through the rows.

And that’s when she felt it.

A presence. A shift in the air. The sudden awareness that she wasn’t alone.

paused and glanced over her shoulder.

Nothing.

She shook it off and turned down another aisle, scanning the spines of the books. Just as her hand reached out for one...

A shadow moved behind her. Fast.

A hand clamped over her mouth.

She screamed, but the sound died in her throat.

Her body slammed into the shelves with force, books tumbling to the floor as a strong arm pinned her in place. She struggled, kicking backward, but the grip on her waist only tightened.

“Shhh,”

a voice hissed in her ear.

“You don’t want to make this worse.”

’s heart dropped.

Tree…Terrence.

His breath was hot on her neck, his hand still over her mouth. She could smell the sweat, the cologne smelled cheap and overpowering plus the faint scent of weed clinging to his hoodie.

“I been watching you,”

he whispered.

“You always so damn smart, so damn untouchable. But not tonight.”

She thrashed, trying to scream, trying to dig her nails into his arm, anything but his body was pressed too tightly against hers.

“You think Yon can protect you? He’s not here, is he? Nobody is.”

He pushed her harder into the shelves, fumbling with his free hand. ’s eyes widened in terror.

Then something snapped inside her.

With a burst of adrenaline, she stomped hard on his foot and twisted her head to bite his hand. He cursed, yanking it away, and she screamed even louder this time. A sharp, shrill cry that echoed through the library halls.

Footsteps thundered from downstairs.

“Help!”

she shouted, scrambling away, knocking over a chair as she bolted through the aisle.

Terrence grabbed her wrist but not fast enough.

She tore away and ran toward the staircase, heart pounding, tears blurring her vision. She didn’t stop until she crashed into the chest of someone racing up the stairs.

Campus security.

Everything after that happened in flashes. Tree trying to run, the officer tackling him, backup arriving, someone pulling into a safe corner, wrapping a jacket around her shaking body.

But her mind had already gone numb.

Because no matter how fast help came…

He’d almost had her.

The fluorescent lights in the campus security office were far too bright.

sat on the vinyl chair, knees pulled close, wrapped in a thin blanket someone had handed her during the chaos. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Every time she blinked, she saw it again, Terrence’s eyes, the weight of his body, the feeling of being trapped.

A female officer sat beside her, calm but direct.

“, you’re safe now. I need you to take your time, but we have to document what happened tonight. Start from the beginning. As much as you can remember.”

nodded slowly, her voice scratchy and raw.

“I was in the library. I go there to study, usually late because it’s quiet and... it helps me focus. I didn’t know anyone was following me.”

She swallowed hard.

“I was by the bookshelves, and I felt him behind me. He grabbed me. I couldn’t scream at first. He... pinned me. He said things. Threats. He...”

Her breath hitched, and she had to pause.

“I fought him off. I got away, and I screamed. That’s when security came.”

The officer nodded, jotting down notes.

“Do you know the man?”

’s gaze hardened.

“Terrence. Terrence Chambers. He’s a Phi Ro.”

The officer looked up.

“Have you had previous interactions with him?”

hesitated, then nodded slowly.

“A few weeks ago during homecoming... in the cafeteria. He bumped into me on purpose. Made some gross comment about me needing to smile more. Yon, my boyfriend, he stepped in and checked him. Hard. Since then... it felt like Terrence was always watching me. Like he has it out for me.”

She paused again, staring at her hands.

“He made me feel uncomfortable whenever he was around. I just... I never thought it would come to this.”

The officer’s tone softened.

“You did the right thing, . You fought. You screamed. You survived. He’s in custody now. We’ll handle it from here.”

The door creaked open.

Lala burst in, eyes wide with worry, hoodie half-zipped and Crocs barely on her feet. “Mo!”

stood slowly, and Lala rushed to hug her, holding her tight like she might disappear. melted into her, finally allowing the tears to fall freely. Her body trembled as she clung to her best friend.

“I got here as fast as I could,”

Lala whispered.

“They said... oh my God, I thought I was gonna throw up when I heard.”

didn’t speak. She couldn’t. Not yet.

The officer cleared her throat.

“We’re finished here for now. She’s free to go. We’ll need a full written statement by tomorrow, and we may contact her again with follow-up questions.”

Lala nodded.

“I got her.”

The two girls walked out of the building into the cool night, the silence between them heavy but comforting. Lala didn’t press her to talk, didn’t ask questions. She just kept a protective arm around ’s shoulders as they crossed the campus lawn.

’s voice finally cracked through the quiet.

“He really would’ve done it.”

Lala’s grip tightened.

“But he didn’t. You’re here. We’re gonna get through this, Mo. I got you.”

The lights from their dorm building came into view. For the first time that night, let herself breathe. But in the back of her mind, one thought still burned: someone had set her up. And she would find out who.

Lala

Lala had never walked home so slowly in her life. She didn’t want to rush her, didn’t want to make her talk or think or feel anything she wasn’t ready to. She just wanted to be there, a solid and unshakable friend. A presence. A shield. Their friendship had grown into a sisterhood. This was the least she could do for her. She knew without a doubt that would do the same for her.

Back in their dorm suite, she helped out of her shoes, handed her a hoodie, and set a fresh water bottle on the nightstand. The room was dim and quiet, their shared space feeling more like a hospital room than the warm, chaotic dorm it usually was.

sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor.

Lala paced once, then sat on her own bed across the room, leaning forward, elbows on her knees. She didn’t speak at first. Not until the silence became too loud to ignore.

“Mo… I need to tell you something,”

she said finally.

looked up, slow and wary.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything because I didn’t want to start no drama, especially with everything you got goin’ on. But…”

She exhaled sharply.

“Ace and I saw Stormii sneaking out of the Phi Ro house earlier tonight.”

’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“I swear to God. She had on that damn pink fuzzy hoodie she always wears, and some black leggings. She tried to dip out through the side gate, real slick-like, but I knew it was her. Even Ace was like, ‘Yo, ain’t that your girl?’”

blinked, her breath catching.

“You sure it was tonight?”

“I’d bet my scholarship on it.”

They stared at each other in stunned silence before Lala continued.

“And think about it… ain’t she been actin’ real weird lately?”

nodded slowly.

“Like… watching me. But not in a friendly way. Just… quiet and off.”

“She been on some sneaky time,”

Lala said.

“All of a sudden, everything you do, Shawna knows about it. How Shawna know you got a private meeting with Professor Grant last week? Or that you been applying for that legal fellowship?”

’s eyes widened. “Stormii.”

“Exactly,”

Lala said.

“She been running her mouth. At first, I thought she was just being messy, like usual. But now?”

She leaned back, lips pressed tight.

“This ain’t just drama. This is a setup.”

rubbed her temples, heart pounding.

“But why, though? What did I do to her?”

Lala hesitated.

“That’s the thing, Mo… I don’t think you did anything. I think she just been hating in silence.”

sat up straighter.

“But we were friends. I stuck up for her when Tosha tried to cut her out of the group freshman year. I invited her home with me for spring break when her mom stopped answering her calls. I looked out for her.”

Lala’s voice softened.

“Sometimes, the people closest to you be the ones holding the most resentment.”

“She let him hurt me,”

whispered, barely believing it as the words left her lips.

“She gave him information… she knew I’d be at the library. She told him I’d be alone.”

The weight of it hit both girls at once.

Lala shook her head, her voice suddenly low and cold.

“That’s not just betrayal. That’s evil.”

looked up, eyes filled with something sharper than tears now.

“I want to know what he has on her.”

“Oh, he got something,”

Lala agreed.

“Nobody moves like that unless they’re being pressured—or paid. Ace and Porkchop agreed with me. We’ve been noticing how foul she been moving for a few weeks now and the shit didn’t sit right with us. I was going to bring this to your attention, I just hate that I didn’t do it sooner.”

“She was scared tonight,”

whispered, more to herself than anything.

“When I saw her earlier, she couldn’t even look me in the face.”

Lala sat up.

“If she’s got any conscience left, she’ll come clean.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

asked.

Lala’s jaw clenched.

“Then we make her.”

Shawna

The Bentley SUV was parked two blocks from campus, hidden in the back lot of an off-campus law office. Shawna sat in the back seat, arms folded, eyes blazing as she watched Terrence swagger his dumb ass through the glass doors and slide into the seat beside her.

He didn’t look scared. Didn’t look remorseful. Just arrogant.

Like he thought this was all a game.

“You got one call,”

she snapped, “and you used it on me?”

Tree grinned lazily, like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Ain’t that what family’s for?”

Shawna rolled her eyes so hard it gave her a headache.

“You’re lucky I had our attorney on speed dial or you’d still be in a holding cell eating stale vending machine chips.”

“Yeah, well. I’m out, ain’t I?”

Shawna leaned in close, voice low and lethal.

“You idiot. I asked you to rattle her. Tease her. Maybe humiliate her a little, but not rape her.”

Tree shrugged, smug.

“Technically, I didn’t rape her. Yet, anyway.”

Shawna recoiled.

“But you were going to?”

He rolled his eyes and leaned back like this was just another inconvenience.

“Listen. You said you wanted her shaken. Wanted her off her square. I was doing what needed to be done. She needed to be knocked off that fuckin’ pedestal she walks around on. Like she’s better than everybody. Like she’s untouchable.”

Shawna slapped the dashboard.

“She was untouchable until you gave her a reason to win! Do you realize how fast this is going to blow back on us?”

“She ain’t dead,”

Tree muttered, lighting a blunt before she could stop him.

“And I’m already suspended. Not like I got shit else to do.”

Shawna scoffed.

“You’re suspended pending a hearing. Two weeks. If they decide to expel you, you’re done. No credits. No transfers. And don’t even think about pledging. You’re toxic now.”

Tree exhaled smoke and gave her a sideways smirk.

“So what? I don’t need Blake. I can do real estate or some shit.”

“You are so damn stupid,”

Shawna hissed.

“You think this is about school? About grades? This is about my future. My name. Our name. Your dumbass just gave a sympathy crown she didn’t earn.”

Terrence’s grin returned, slower this time. “Unless…”

Shawna paused.

“Unless what?”

“She’s alone again. When it matters most. Like, say... the night she crosses Veta Xi?”

Shawna’s eyes narrowed.

Terrence continued, smug.

“She’ll be exhausted. Probably drunk. Vulnerable. All eyes will be on the new line sisters, not security. And since I can’t be on campus, maybe I don’t need to be. Not really.”

Shawna leaned back in her seat, chewing her acrylic thumb nail, the wheels in her head turning fast.

“That would be poetic,”

she muttered.

“That high horse she’s on? Gets shot out from under her the same night she becomes one of us. She’d never recover.”

Tree grinned.

“Exactly. All we need is the right setup.”

Shawna tilted her head.

“I know just what to do. You trust me?”

He nodded, eyes gleaming.

“Yeah.”

“Then, let’s end her.”

Terrence

Thank God for family.

No matter what bullshit you did, no matter how dark, how messy, how illegal, they’d still claim you. If they needed you. If you had something on them. And for Shawna, Terrence had both.

This wasn’t the first time she bailed him out of some wreckage he helped create. And if history taught him anything, it wouldn’t be the last. Half the time, it was her own schemes that got him jammed up in the first place. She was the brains, sure. But Terrence? He was the weapon. And he didn’t mind it. Not even a little.

He had a sadistic fondness for chaos; not just starting it, but watching people scramble, watching them break. The sick thrill of knowing he could ruin a life and still walk away clean, smiling. There was a power in that. A twisted, delicious kind of power.

Shawna was right about one thing: had to fall. But she wasn’t the only one.

No, Yon’s pretty-boy ass was next. Tree’s jaw clenched just thinking about him, the golden boy of Blake’s campus. The one everybody loved. The one who got the girls, the grades, the spotlight, the respect. Respect that Tree believed belonged to him.

He may have been suspended, sure; kicked off campus, his access revoked, his name whisper-shamed in every hallway, but he wasn’t alone. Not even close.

His fraternity brothers at Phi Ro weren’t just loyal, they were hungry. They didn’t like how the men of Mega Phi Psi walked around campus like they owned it. They didn’t like how Yon’s pledge line was getting all the shine, or how their step routines got top billing, or how the Dean kept showing up to their events like they were the main attraction.

Tree had been the glue in Phi Ro. Their mouthpiece. Their enforcer. And now that he was out, they were angry. That anger had to go somewhere.

Yon was the perfect target.

There was only room for one top dog on this campus. One name that rang bells. And if Terrence had anything to say about it, it wasn’t going to be Yon Dawson.

He tapped a message into his burner phone, thumbs moving fast.

“We take him down next. The night of the step show. Public. No mercy.”

His phone buzzed back instantly.

“Bet. Let’s make it legendary.”

He leaned back in the backseat of his Uber, a slow grin spreading across his face. He may have been forced off campus… but that didn’t mean the game was over.

It just meant it was about to get ugly.

Stormii

Stormii sat on the floor of the Veta Xi house basement bathroom, knees hugged to her chest, the cool tile pressing against her skin. She’d locked the door behind her hours ago and hadn’t moved since. Her phone buzzed again on the sink. She didn’t know where else to go. So, she called Shawna when she found out what went down with Terrence, and she told her to come here. Things had gotten way out of hand. All she could do was cry.

She didn’t look. She didn’t want to. Couldn’t. She knew it was either Shawna, Lala, or the group chat she hadn’t responded to all day. But, she couldn’t bring herself to face any of them. Especially not . The image of her friend being escorted out of the library by campus police, hair a mess, face swollen with tears, sweatshirt pulled down over trembling hands… it wouldn’t leave her mind.

Stormii had done a lot of reckless things in her life. She’d flirted with other girls' boyfriends, gossiped too much, even lied her way out of drama. But this? This was unforgivable. She never meant for this to happen. Not really.

But Terrence knew how to dig into people’s soft spots. He’d found hers easily: an old video clip she didn’t even know he still had one of her talking shit about her freshman year. Drunk, bitter, jealous. It had been a stupid, impulsive venting session. But he had recorded it. And he used it. Stormii had cried the first time he threatened her with it. The second time, he’d laughed and pulled her onto his bed. The third time, she stopped fighting.

Every moment after that became blurry. Survival mode. Keep quiet. Keep him happy. Don’t let it leak. Don’t lose what little reputation she had left. Don’t let him destroy the only real friendships you have.

But it wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t just silence. Terrence had wanted more. He’d wanted details. Schedules. Weaknesses. ’s routines. And like a coward, Stormi gave them to him.

“I didn’t think he’d actually hurt her,”

she whispered to herself, rocking slightly.

But even that felt like a lie now. A soft excuse she’d been repeating in her head to survive the weight of her own choices. The truth was, she hadn’t cared enough to stop it.

Her phone buzzed again. Then again.

This time, she forced herself to reach for it. A message from Lala.

“I know what you did.”

Stormii’s breath caught. Her stomach flipped.

“You better come clean before I make you.”

Her hands started shaking. She dropped the phone, backing into the corner of the bathroom like the tile could swallow her whole.

They knew.

knew.

Stormii stared at the shower drain, heart pounding like it was trying to escape her chest. The lies were caving in, one by one. She couldn’t run anymore.

But if she told the truth… what would happen to her?

Would they expose her?

Would he come back for her?

She didn’t know which outcome scared her more.