Page 7 of Lured By Shadows

I wasn’t the one who’d wanted a ride in the first place. He had been the one to offer, to push just a little with that intense stare of his. Still, I had gone along with it, which probably wasn’t my smartest decision in hindsight.

But nothing bad had happened.

“Anyway, seriously,” I added, giving him a small wave as I turned away. “Thanks again.”

“Hold on,” he called from behind me.

I stopped, though I didn’t fully turn this time. “You still need something?” I asked, letting him come closer instead of risking another surprise.

I pulled my vape from my jeans pocket and took a hit, strawberry sweetness curling into the air as I exhaled.

He glanced at it while the vapor drifted between us, drawing in a breath through his nose before tensing at once. The corners of his mouth tightened, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Still, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he cleared his throat and composed himself.

“What classes are you attending?” he asked, his voice smooth but faintly strained, as though he were making an effort not to inhale too deeply.

It was almost funny how clearly he disliked it yet stayed exactly where he was, holding his ground as though the conversation mattered more than the smoke lingering between us. I couldn’t help wondering whether it was just that ingrained politeness of his or if he genuinely wanted to keep talking to me.

“Haven’t gotten my schedule yet,” I said with a shrug, continuing forward.

He fell into step beside me, matching my pace easily. “Just to be certain, you are a student, correct?”

“Yeah… and you?” I shot him a sideways look, realizing that I didn’t actually know if he went here.

“Yes, first year,” he replied, holding the door open for me with an almost theatrical amount of politeness.

“Huh, didn’t expect that,” I muttered, giving him a quick once-over. Then, more pointedly, “So why were you headed in the opposite direction earlier, then?”

He gave the same half-smile again. “You are quite observant.”

I stared at him.

That wasn’t an answer.

Men really would say anything except the actual truth.

Instead of elaborating, he shifted seamlessly. “Allow me to show you to Student Services. They should have already created your account. It seems… unfortunate they have not.”

He sounded genuinely bothered for me when he shouldn’t have, considering we had just met.

As I thought back to what Ma had told me, the rushed conversations before we left, and how her employers had handled everything from my enrollment to choosing my major, unease crept back in. They had sorted out every detail and left me to simply show up without ever meeting them.

It was helpful.

Almost too helpful.

“What is your major?” he asked, his voice slipping back into that low, steady tone that settled somewhere deep in my chest.

“Bachelor of Fine Arts,” I replied, then blinked. “Sorry, what’s your name again?”

He paused before answering, then smiled in a way that sent a small, unexpected pulse through me.

“Culver,” he said. “You would do well to remember it, little lamb.”

I frowned. There he went again with the weird forest-creature dialogue. “Is that name normal around here, or…?”

“Not in the slightest,” he replied without hesitation. “It is a name for you, and only you.”