Without even looking at Hailey, Giselle pushed her chair back and bolted out of the café. A mass exodus of every patron followed. And then the cooks dropped their spatulas and hurried away, leaving Hailey in the middle of a very large, very empty Bruised Moose.
Suddenly, she didn’t feel like food. Not that she could have ordered a delicious-smelling cheesesteak anyway. The place was deserted. Shoulders hunched, and head low, she slouched toward the exit. Only after taking a few steps did she realize someone stood just inside the café door.
“Asher,” she said, smiling—mostly because she was glad to see him, but partly because it wasn’t she who had emptied the Bruised Moose.
“How are you enjoying my university?” he asked in his very kind way, unfazed by the sudden emptiness of the entire café.
“It’s great,” Hailey answered with zero enthusiasm, and Asher tilted his head. “Actually,” she said, looking away, “I’m an outcast—you’ve made—” She sighed, motioning to the emptiness. “Everyone’s afraid to talk to me.”
Asher closed the distance between them and lifted Hailey’s chin. “Those who look for a reason to fear will find one, and those without reason will follow,” he said. That was what Giselle had told her. Kinda. Asher was far more eloquent. “I believe you’ll feel at home once you’ve met my more seasoned students.”
He held Hailey’s gaze, and she felt he was searching for something.
“What is it?” she said, and he broke his stare to look at her lips.
“We must talk,” he said darkly, and Hailey’s smile vanished. He placed her photo of Holly into her hand, moving his thumb against her skin in a gentle caress before stepping away.
“Thank you for holding this,” she said, her voice uncertain. Then she turned to the window and wondered how she’d get it back to Eureka without ruining it in the rain.
Asher must have sensed her distress, because he gave her a knowing grin. “There’s a better way than through the rain,” he told her. “I’ll show you, but you must eat, Hailey. I can see you’re weak with hunger.”
Whatever Asher had to say must be pretty bad if he didn’t want her to hear it on an empty stomach, she figured, frowning.
“Mitch,” Asher called, and a tall, bug-eyed man tottered from the shadows. “Would you prepare your signature sandwich for Hailey?”
Mitch grabbed his spatula, twirled it in the air, and smacked it on the grill.
“You got it, boss.”
Hailey’s stomach growled. It sure looked and smelled like a cheesesteak. Wrapping it in foil, Mitch handed it to a delighted Hailey.
“Thanks, Mitch.”
“Anytime, Miss Hailey,” he answered, pointing his spatula at her and winking.
“This way,” said Asher, taking her by the hand. He led her to a stairwell, and down they went until they reached an underground landing.
Tapping a switch on the wall, Asher lit four corridors leading away from the stairs at 90-degree angles. They were so long, Hailey couldn’t see an end to them.
“Many of the buildings here are connected by an underground tunnel system,” he told her, and her face lit up. “It’s especially popular in the winter.”
Carved wooden signs with arrows indicated which corridor a student should take to get to the hospital, for example. Olde Main, the Library, and Eureka showed on another sign, which pointed down the tunnel in front of them.
After nervously walking hand-in-hand with Asher for too many quiet seconds, Hailey decided to break the ice. “Has Giselle asked you if she could have a new roommate?”
“She hasn’t,” he said with curiosity.
“She doesn’t like me very much…”
“Yes, you have made quite an impression on her, but I don’t believe it’s negative,” he told her. “Giselle fears rejection above all else. She’s never known the sisterly affection you show her. I believe she’s fond of you,” said Asher, and Hailey pulled her brow together.
“If she is fond of me, she hides it well,” she said. “What is she?”
“When she’s ready, she’ll tell you.”
Hailey turned her attention to an unmarked side passage, slowing her gait to peer curiously into it.
“Dangerous things lurk in the darkness of these tunnels, Hailey,” Asher said. “Always turn on the lights, andneverstray from the main corridors.”
