I slapped my forehead with my hand, wishing I could disappear forever, but I couldn’t. No, I had to solve this problem on my own without my father’s help.
12
I felt terrible because I didn’t sleep at all.Scraping sounds outside my door made me get up three times to check, only to find no one there. There was a party in the park, and firecrackers went off and growling sounds of motorbikes, like they’re having races or doing wheelies or stoppies or whatever they call them, while I curled up under my blankets, clutching my knife, ready to attack if someone entered my room.
Eventually, the party wound down, and silence settled in. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard footsteps down the hall outside my room, followed by a door opening and closing. I was sure it was the metalhead, whose name I still don’t know.
I pictured him alone in his room, or at least I hoped he was. I only heard one set of footsteps. Jealousy flared in my chest as I thought about him with a girl, and I scolded myself for being stupid. This was college, of course—these guys pick up girls and sleep with them. Since most students haven't arrived yet, there probably wasn't much to choose from, but... he did seem anti-social, so... Addie, stop thinking about it.
Knowing he was there, two doors down, relaxed me more, but I still had trouble falling asleep, and I stared at the blinds, waiting for the morning light to seep through the cracks.
I rolled out of bed and took a shower as depression took hold of me, leading me down a path of dark thoughts that could influence my entire day if I let them. Once classes start, life might get better because the students will be too busy... but will I last the whole year, though?
I’ll feel better after breakfast because I was hungry, but I wanted strong coffee more than food. Just as I started to brighten my outlook, I thought about the missing gun, and I felt miserable again.
Once dressed, I pulled my tangled mass of black, curly hair into a ponytail and put on my black cap. Then, I wondered how I could better secure this room when I was away. When I was inside, I put the chain on the door, but when I wasn’t there, the only protection I had was a single lock. It was obvious to me that the masked men who broke in had a key because there was no sign of forced entry.
Setting a trap to catch them was the plan, but I’d need to buy supplies like fishing nylon and hooks. Since there probably wouldn’t be any hardware stores on campus, I’d have to order them online, and they would be delivered on the next train. Or... another option was to venture into the Social Sciences School for inspiration.
I opened my door and just as I was about to close it, I slipped a fragment of paper where the door closed to see if anyone had snuck in while I was gone.
“Hey,” a warm voice from down the hall startled me. The metalhead.
“Hi,” my heart was racing, but I managed to shoot him a smile. “Did you have a good night?”
He nodded unenthused, looking tired, and rubbed his eyes with the base of his palm. “You heading to breakfast?” His voice was husky, and he seemed half-asleep.
“Yeah,” I sighed as I noticed his jaw was unshaven and raven, wavy hair disheveled. “Did you go to a party?”
He nodded without giving anything away and let me go down the stairs first. When I looked back, he was looking at my ass, so I guess his eyes weren’t that tired.
“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to sound polite, but it came out bossy-sounding, which would be very off-putting for a guy like him.
He grunted something, but I didn’t catch it. I waited for him to ask me my name, and when he didn’t, I said, “I’m Adina.”
“I know,” he replied, walking beside me.
“You do? How?” I pressed as he hissed at a group of girls who were in our way, and they immediately moved. “Maybe I should try that sometime.”
“Won’t work with you,” he mumbled.
“Why not?” I asked curiously, still eager for him to repeat his name.
“You’re not scary enough,” he stated. “You need to act mad, like worms infested your brain, making them fearful that you might do something impulsive.”
“So, it’s all an act?” I asked to be sure.
“Yeah, of course, well, most of the time. Sometimes it’s real,” again he was mumbling and kept rubbing his eyes.
“You didn’t tell me how you knew my name,” I asked, hoping he’d tell me. As far as I knew, there was no resident list with our names on it.
“No,” he said, yawning, and my mind drifted back to that moment when I masturbated and thought of him and Warwick touching me everywhere. It was only a dream. Except that Ezrah Warwick caught me in the act, and my cheeks burned just thinking about it. Bane of my life.
“Are you going to tell me?” I persisted.
“Tell you what?” he frowned as his hand brushed against mine when we entered the dining hall. Surprised by how much his light touch burned, I pulled my hand away, glad to be distracted by the smell of food.
Mila waved to me from the same table we had sat at earlier, but my heart sank when the two girls who had essentially accused me of giving Mila the incriminating cupcake were sitting there with her and shot me a warning look as I greeted them.
