Page 83 of Shadows Within

What is she up to.

“What did you forget? I’m in that area, I can grab it for you?”

“Oh thanks, but I actually need to grab a paper that I handed in to Elliot. I must’ve submitted my rough draft, and I just want to explain myself and resubmit.” She would never submit something that wasn’t perfectly polished.Another fucking lie.

“You shouldn’t go alone.”

“He’s a Professor Callum.”

“Don’t trust him.” My foot pushes heavily on the gas as my hands turn the wheel in the opposite direction. I drive to campus.

“Callum, you need to trust me.”

It’s hard when you’re lying, Angel. I’m such a fucking hypocrite.

“Call me when you’re back then. Don’t be long.” I hang up.

She’s up to something. I should find her on campus and call her out, but instead I do what I’ve been doing for the last four years, I try to protect her.

Even if she’s unaware or resistant, I’ll always keep her safe. I smile, thinking about when she does resist, making this all much more worth it.

I pull into the campus parking lot and pick a spot near her usual space. I fight the urge to go in and confront Elliot. I watch her car pull up. We’re back to where we were not long ago. Again, I watch her from afar while she sits upset in her car.

She holds her bag of sour candy and pops a few in her mouth. I know her well enough by now to know that this can’t be good.

What the fuck is she doing?She lets out a big exhale and steps out of her car. She walks through the parking lot, toward the main building. By the way she carries herself, I can tell that she is hesitant to do what she’s on her way for.

She has three minutes before I’m coming in. She’s lucky I’m giving her that when she’s this anxious. Especially when I can tell something is bothering her this much.

No one messes with what’s mine and gets away with it.Especially not him.

That Night

Scarlett

I’ve grown up surrounded by people who love me. It’s the kind of love that conquers all and gets you through the hardest of days. I’ve always had the most support from Dad and Sophia. They’d do anything for me, and they know I’d do anything for them. Today, I need to do this for all the good times that were robbed from us. But more importantly, I need to do this for myself. I need to face my monster.

I finally remember that night.

I’m halfway through my drink when something feels off. I’ve always been a lightweight, but this is different. I need to lie down for a while before I can get back to the party. I stumble into a room upstairs.

The room is dark. I feel so drunk, fading in and out. My legs are heavy as I crawl across the bed. I just need to rest for a few minutes.

As my head lands on the pillow, the door opens. It’s too dark to identify who’s coming in. “Soph?” I moan.

She doesn’t respond. Two more figures pile into the room. I want to tell them that I’ll be here for a few minutes, but I can’t get the words out. Three of them surround the bed. There’s one at each side with the tallest figure standing at the bottom of the bed. I recognize him. It’s my psych professor.

They speak quietly to each other. I can’t see their faces, but the tall one’s body looks familiar. Unlike the others, his figure doesn't have bad posture or his hands in his pockets. He carries himself differently.

Professor Elliot stands straight. He’s clearly the leader of the pack. He leans over and puts his hands on the bed. He doesn’t come toward me, he just stays there for a minute and looks at me.

I close my eyes, unable to prepare for what comes next.

His hot breath hits my neck, and he tries to pull my shorts down. I try to move my hands to stop him, but I can’t.

“Stay still, sweetheart,” he whispers in my ear.

The pillow under me gets wet from my tears as he pulls himself out of his shorts.