“She was cheating on Cole?” Emily asked, her jaw dropping.
“Yeah, she was. I could have told him. I could have ruined her entire relationship, but I didn’t. Because I’m not that person. I wasn’t as heartless as she was. She knew how I felt about Professor Alden. I confronted her, and she lied straight to my face. She said it wasn’t her and that I was being paranoid.”
“So, you never told Cole?”
“No, not ever,” Zoey said, shaking her head as she hugged the pillow tighter and tighter. “I wasn’t going to sink down to her level. I’m not trying to make you angry. I’m not trying to sit here and talk shit about Blair. Yes, we were good friends at one point; hell, we were best friends. But something changed in her, Miss Keller. She wasn’t the same person I knew all these years. She was cold and manipulative and so secretive.”
“Professor Alden, you said?”
“Yeah, he teaches American Studies,” Zoey said.
“Is he teaching today?”
“Yes, but please, please don’t say anything to him, Miss Keller!” Zoey begged as she turned toward Emily.
“I won’t,” Emily lied as she stood up. She wouldn’t say anything about Zoey, sure.
But Blair, that was a different story.
***
Professor Johnathan Alden ran a black eraser across the large chalkboard that stretched along the north wall of the large lecture hall. Emily stood at the far-right corner of the room, watching the last remaining college students walk through the exit door to her left. How could Blair never tell her about this? How could she not tell her she cheated on Cole? She thought she knew everything about her daughter, but now, she didn’t know what was true and what was a lie.
“Professor Alden?” Emily called out, her voice echoing through the empty room as she made her way down the center aisle, passing the rows of seats that lined both sides.
“Guilty,” Jonathan said with a smirk as he turned from the board, slamming the eraser on the bottom edge of the chalkboard and rubbing his hands together. Emily stepped forward, stopping at the large desk that separated them as her eyes studied the tall, muscular man standing before her. His long, brown, wavy hair was slicked back. His jawline, strong and powerful, covered in a five-o’clock shadow as a big grin spread across his face, revealing a set of pearly whites. “And you are?”
“I’m Emily Keller, Blair Bradley’s mother,” Emily said, clearing her throat as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Can we make this quick?” Jonathan asked as he lifted his left wrist, eying his Rolex. “I’ve got another class to teach on the other side of the campus.”
“That depends on you,” Emily said.
“What can I do for you?” Jonathan asked as he rolled up the sleeves of his red sweater, his chiseled pecs pressing against the sewn fabric. He couldn’t have been much younger than Emily based on the crow’s-feet and wrinkles forming along his forehead.
“I wanted to talk to you about Blair.”
“She’s a good student,” Jonathan said. “She hasn’t been in class since she got back from Greece, though. I’m starting to worry about her. Is she okay?”
“No, she’s not okay. She’s missing,” Emily growled, resting her hands on the edge of the desk in front of her, her eyes burning into Jonathan.
“What?” Johnathan gasped, his eyes widening as he stepped around the desk, making his way toward Emily.
“She’s been missing for two days. Have you heard from her? Has she spoken to you?”
“No, not at all,” Johnathan said, shaking his head.
“I know about the two of you.”
“I’m sorry?” Johnathan laughed nervously, inching away from Emily, preparing for her to pounce at any given second.
“I know you were sleeping with my daughter.”
“Well, this isn’t exactly the way I thought we’d meet,” Johnathan said as he bit his bottom lip.
“Me either. First of all, what the hell are you doing sleeping with a student?” Emily snarled in disgust.
“She’s of age; it’s not like I’m doing anything illegal, here. We like each other,” Johnathan spat over his shoulder as he moved back around the desk, grabbing at the papers spread out on top.
“Well, I bet the dean and the board would love to hear all about your little fling,” Emily snapped.
“Go ahead and tell them. They’ve been wanting my ass out of here for two years now. I told Blair I didn’t care. I told her she was worth it. She knows how I feel about her, and it’s not my problem if you don’t like it.”
“I DON’T like it!” Emily yelled. “But the fact of the matter is that she’s missing! She’s gone, Professor! She hasn’t called or anything. It’s like she just vanished. What the hell are you doing with her anyway? God, you have got to be thirty-five, forty?”
“All I’m going to say is that I treat her better than that frat boy piece of trash she calls a boyfriend,” Jonathan scoffed as he stacked the papers into a pile in front of him.
“Do you know where she might be?”
“No!” Johnathan snarled. “I didn’t even know she was missing until now!”
“So, she never said anything to you? About maybe running away or leaving town?”
“Not a damn thing.” Johnathan sighed as he set the stack of papers down and leaned on the edge of the desk, staring back at Emily across from him. “What did the police say?”
“They checked her apartment and her car. They looked all around town and filed a report. They don’t know where she is,” Emily said, shaking her head.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“I expect you to tell me the God damn
