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It was part of their contract and he’d made it clear she was in no position to refuse.
Orange ribbons and rubber bracelets were being passed around to bring awareness to self-harm awareness month. Small groups gathered and took pictures of their ‘float on’ and semicolon tattoos. Some paraded their scars, wearing muscle shirts and shorts in defiance of the low temperature. It was a beautiful thing to witness people rallying around each other.
Survivors and their beloved.
The sun greeted the sky, golden rays of morning light shining through the gaps in the army of pines.
Even in the midst of the serene, Oregonian daybreak, Kenna likened the scenario to a nightmare. Being with Dr. Merino outside of campus had her anxious, especially in light of the call with Charlee.
At least if something went wrong, there were 510 people around to rescue her.
“You’re going to be sore later if you don’t stretch.” Dr. Merino bent and twisted his body, resembling an origami crane while gripping an ankle to prime his hamstrings. The muscular tone of his calves didn’t escape her notice.
She hated herself for staring.
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take.” Kenna tugged on the cuffs of her snug-fitting athletic pullover and rotated her upper half from side to side in an effort to humor him.
He wore a similar jacket, with an identical high neck and a quarter zip. She wondered if it made them look like a couple to passersby. The idea sickened her. He kneeled to sit on the damp grass, grabbing his toes while lowering his torso to the ground and she got a good look at his sullied tennis shoes.
“Is this something you do often?”
“What, running?” His unruly locks fell over his face. “All the time. It keeps me somewhat sane.”
“I had a boyfriend who ran cross country. I never understood the fascination.”
She never saw the so-called boyfriend beyond the walls of her high school but she didn’t consider that a relevant detail.
Dr. Merino adopted a pinched expression, as if the mention of past lovers had upset him. “It’s freeing. It makes your problems seem insignificant, if only for a short while.”
Charlee had said he was jealous. Hearing about his behavior and experiencing it firsthand were two different beasts. In researching him, he’d posed little threat to Kenna.
Standing there with him at the mouth of the dense woods, she felt like a nervous zookeeper on their first day in the lion’s den.
A crowd formed at the edge of the forest as the start time drew nearer. Kenna recognized a few faces from school, professors and a handful of students.
The event coordinator prattled on about the course and where it ended up, but she couldn’t focus on what was being said as everyone advanced toward the speaker. The resulting arrangement of bodies was packed so tightly it would’ve weeded out any claustrophobes.
Dr. Merino towered beside her, pressed as close as possible without making physical contact. Kenna swore she felt his body heat. It was unimaginable that such warmth could radiate from someone with a chilling demeanor.
He seemed unbothered by their proximity, tucking his hair behind his ears while listening to the man’s speech and she was troubled that the lack of distance between them did not bother her, either.
No matter how uneasy he made her, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame—all at once helpless and sucked in by the sliver of light he seldom spared.
The lines of academic interest and repulsive sexual attraction blurred in the context of this new environment.
Kenna considered the absurdity of the situation.
Any minute, she’d be swallowed by the forest with her possibly deranged mentor for a running companion. They’d both left their cell phones in his station wagon.
A sigh dismissed her overactive imagination. Though he may have had some villainous leanings, she was pretty sure he didn’t plan on dismembering her and leaving the body parts to rot at the base of a red alder.
Hacking women to bits didn’t quite seem like his modus operandi. Maybe it was foolish to put that blind faith in him but Kenna reckoned it was best to forge a brave front.
The speaker raised a starter pistol in the air.
Dr. Merino whispered, “Try to keep up, kid.”
Bang!
