~
The warmth of the library covered me like a blanket as soon as I opened the door. I gulped in hiccupping breaths of musty air, but calm escaped me. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, louder than ever.
Quiet filled the room, not a whisper anywhere. I turned and peeked out the glass door. A shadowy figure lurked outside, but I couldn’t see his face. Had Jake spotted me, followed me? I ducked into the ladies’ room just in case.
With shaky fingers, I dug my cell phone out of my pocket. I dialed Shanda’s number, and it went straight to voicemail. She must’ve turned it off. Who else could I call? My fingers did the work for me, dialing Bryan—my last resort. It rang four times, then voicemail picked up. Immediately, I hit the end button as hard as I could.
He was still with Colleen—right when I needed him.
What kind of strange message would I leave? Hey Bryan, I think my ex is stalking me, but I’m not sure. Oh yeah, and I saw you with yours so you better explain yourself. Probably wouldn’t go over well.
But what alternative did I have? If Jake really had followed me across campus, I couldn’t go back out there by myself. So I did the only thing I could think of, I sent a text to Shanda and Bryan. Stuck in the library. Jake’s outside. Please help.
As soon as I sent the text, I stared at my phone. No one responded. I paced back and forth across the bathroom tiles, each bootstep clomping back at me. One minute went by, two minutes, five minutes, still no response.
Could I face Jake on my own? Maybe I could sneak past him if I stayed in the shadows, but the idea of facing him sent a shudder through my body. Maybe it was time to stand up to him, once and for all.
I poked my head out the door and saw no one around. My mind flashed back to the initiation, that horrible night that Nexis made us break into the library.
Then it dawned on me.
When I discovered the book, Shanda had dragged me out the back door. If I was lucky, maybe I could sneak out that way again.
I zigzagged among the maze of tables until I reached the back row of stacks. When I rounded the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Will stared back at me. Those familiar gray eyes were flecked with gold in the shadowy library light.
“What are you doing here?” I croaked with another shuddering breath. My cheeks flamed.
“Just doing some research for a paper. You okay?” Will’s golden hair fell over one eye as he held an old book in his hands, a greenish hardcover, not the Nexis book this time. “You look as white as one of those Twilight vampires.”
His hand grazed mine, but it held no warmth. At least there weren’t any shadows around him this time.
“You’re as cold as one of them.” I met his gaze as his lips curled.
Those platinum eyes softened, like maybe he really did care about me. “You must be okay after all.”
His concern pricked something inside, like a dead flower bursting from the pile of ash Bryan left in my heart. If I had any shot at getting out of this, I had to trust this guy.
“I’m not okay. I just saw Jake on campus and now he’s right outside. I don’t know if I can get out of here without him noticing. Maybe if I sneak out the back ...” I trailed off, gritting my teeth and curling my fingers into fists. I couldn’t look at him. What must he think of me? First, I shun him and now I expect him to help me? I just stared down at my black boots, not knowing what else to do, what else to say.
“No wonder you look so scared. And I thought it was me.” He slung his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into the crook of his elbow. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. I’ll call campus security.” In an instant he pulled out his cell, dialed the number, and relayed the situation to them.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” My shaky voice was back. After Bryan and Colleen, and now Jake, my nerves were going haywire.
Will’s strong hands held me steady, stroking my hair.
For the first time in a long time, I actually felt safe. Maybe I was wrong about Will, maybe he really was a good guy and Bryan was the real jerk. The overhead lights flickered as the traitorous thought crossed my mind.
Could everything I assumed was true actually be false? It would flip my whole world upside down. Seeing Bryan with Colleen had already turned the tables.
“They’ll be over as soon as they break up a mob at the stadium. Someone tried to start a fight in the middle of the championship game. Can you believe it?” Right now his gray eyes were warm and inviting, something I’d never noticed before.
“Of course. That’s why the quad was deserted. Thanks for calling security.” I chewed on my lip, staring up at him.
No shadows surrounded him this time. Had I made them up before, or had he changed since then? Words bounced around in my brain, the right words mixed with all the wrong words I’d said to him over the past few months. How could I have been so heartless?
Somehow, I had to fix this. I had to make it right. “I know I haven’t exactly been nice to you these last few weeks. And I’m sorry. I wish things had worked out differently. You have no idea.”
“Me, too, Lucy.
