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The only person I have been responding to is Shelby, she checks in once in the morning and once in the evening. I didn’t tell her where I was going, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew, with that little hidden talent of hers. My guess is if I don’t make it back to the dorm room soon, she will be banging on the door here. She doesn’t need to worry, I’ll be heading back there tomorrow.
My lip is no longer swollen, just a little cut on the inside, the rest has healed up, or at least can be covered with makeup. Bruises still litter my breasts and rib cage, but they will be easy to cover with clothes. I am grateful we are almost at the end of October now, the colder weather makes it all easier to hide. There is still a stiffness in my side when I move, but that was there before the night of the undie run, I imagine it will linger a couple more weeks before I can move without feeling any pain.
The scars and marks on my body aren’t the ones I worry about though. It’s the other ones, the deeper ones. The ones that are burying themselves deep inside of me and changing my very being. There is no sunshine anymore, or at least I can’t find it, I can no longer feel it, but I can feel the shadows. Can feel the darkness of his monster crawling over me, claiming me as his own. What’s going to happen when I can no longer fight it? When I just give up and stop trying to escape?
Will I still survive? Or will I perish in the flames of his vicious eclipse?
No, I can’t, I have to fight. If I don’t protect them, who will? They protected me, risked everything for me to save my life that night. I don’t care what I have to endure, I need to do the same for them.
I ignore the mess of the room and focus on the binders, the notes I’ve made. They comfort me, remind me that I can do this, that there is a finish line. I don’t know how far that finish line is yet, but I know it’s coming and that’s all that matters. I make a few more notes and chase up a few emails I sent earlier in the week before I pick up my phone and dial the one person I didn’t want to include in this, but I think he will be able to help me without even realizing.
The call rings a couple of times before a firm voice answers. “Sterling Montgomery.”
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, Sweetheart.” His warm voice washes over me and tears spring to my tears. I miss my parents. “How are you? Your mother and I miss you.”
“I miss you guys too,” I sniffle. He chuckles and I can just picture the smile that’s spreading across his face. The one he saves only for me and my mom. The one that means he’s acting exasperated by the two of us but really he adores our antics.
“You home sick, Sweetheart?”
I nod forgetting that he can’t see me. I clear my throat before trying again. “Maybe a little. I just miss you and Mom.”
“You can always come home, you know? We can send a car for you. Or the jet? That would be faster. I still have no idea why you wouldn’t take your car up there. It would have been much easier for you to visit home. You haven’t come even once all semester.”
I laugh, the first real one that has escaped in weeks.
“I’m being serious,” he chides. “You should take it back with you after Thanksgiving.”
“I’ll think about it,” I promise. “I haven’t really missed it. I mostly walk everywhere.”
We continue small talk for a few minutes. And it eases my conscience over using my dad. He tells me about the latest charities my mother is supporting and what events she’s most excited for on the social season calendar for the rest of the year. No surprise, it’s all the events I’ve already agreed to attend. I really need to make a point of calling them more often.
When there’s a lag in the conversation, I take a deep breath and push the words out as casually as possibly. “How’s everything with business?”
He sighs and I can see him shaking his head in my mind. “More of the same bullshit. The DeBose’s just got a huge deal that is shaking up the social circles. There are quite a few people unhappy about it.”
I grin to myself, knowing exactly who he’s talking about. The Crawfords. I saw the rage on Carson’s face when he took that phone call. “I heard something about that,” I murmur. “It seems to have come out of nowhere.”
“It has. Everyone thought the Crawfords were going to land the deal and acquire several new businesses with it.”
I hum along with his words. He’s hesitating to tell me any more about it, but anything that affects Carson is just ammunition for me. I don’t just want to know what people are saying happened, I need to know. “Carson has only told me a little bit about it. He’s been busy with his father the last few days.”
My dad sighs, but doesn’t say anything about either of the men. He never does. His disapproval of my choice is much louder than words could ever be.
“I can imagine so. No one expected a silent investor to interfere with the deal by adding more capital. Apparently, they basically handed the deal over to the DeBoses.” I can hear the skepticism in his voice as he ponders the entire deal and where it could have gone wrong. It’s a good question. In our circles, deals don’t get flipped around on their ass like that very often. “At least they’re good people,” he concedes. “The better family to do the deal with.” I don’t miss the subtle jab at the Crawfords, but don’t acknowledge it either.
“Does it affect us at all?” I ask, not sure how the ramifications of this would trickle down to our family and our businesses. I only know enough that it wasn’t a huge loss for us.
He hums as he thinks about my question. “It could, possibly. I wouldn’t mind looking into a contract with them now. Might be able to land a new manufacturer out of it. Your mother is in a tizzy about getting together with Eleanor DeBose as well. She wants to recruit her for her charities. You know how your mother is.” I smile, of course I do.
“I can only imagine how excited Mom is.”
“Yes,” he murmurs fondly. “The DeBose’s will probably be at the Thanksgiving ball this year.”
“Really?” I question. “That’s surprising.” They normally center their attention on private, small, family affairs for the holiday. Not falling into the glam of our world for those events. It’s one of the reasons that even though they have the wealth, prestige, and history of being successful, they aren’t at the top of the food chain. Not enough connections to compete with all of the more active families.
“I don’t think it will be their new normal, but they seem to have a vested interest in something they expect to be at the ball.”
