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“I’ll be there,” I said.
I hadn’t been scared until I saw the fear in Maverick’s eyes. The fear he held for Derek showed me how much I should be scared. I wasn’t there for the beating but I’d seen how he left a thirteen-year-old boy.
India slapped her palm down beside my computer and I jumped. “Girl, what happened to your internship with Professor Swoony? It’s all over campus that he’s looking for a new intern.”
Great.
I started my computer and signed in. “I just couldn’t keep up with the workload.”
India eyed me suspiciously. “You couldn’t keep up, Josie? Do you expect me to believe that? WasBoyfriendjealous?"
“No,” I said with a laugh. “Maverick didn’t care if I interned for him.”
She pursed her lips, pulling on her giant hoop earrings. “Hmm. Peculiar. You were so excited about it. Did Professor Swoony make you uncomfortable?”
My gaze jerked up to her heated one.Why would she ask me that?
“No—why would you—,”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” she said, sitting down in the seat next to me. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors of him sleeping with seniors before. Not that they complained to anyone about it, I’m guessing they were into it, but something tells me that you wouldn’t be.”
You got that right.
“What seniors?” I asked.
India thought about it. “One girl Melody Rogers a couple of years ago, maybe Fern Little, too. But, who knows if they didn’t start those rumors themselves? So,” she said, shoving her shoulder against mine. “Did he get friendly with you?”
“Not friendly,” I lied. “He just gives me the creeps and I wanted out before anything happened,” I said. I didn’t need India, with her big personality, taking charge and telling on him.
“What a perve,” she said. “I knew it had to be something, you’d been so excited.”
I shrugged. “It’s over now.”
“Right, you did the right thing,” she said glancing over my shoulder. “Oh, did you hear about King? He’s disappeared, and the drugs were his in the locker room. What an idiot.”
“Speaking of drugs, are there drugs on campus every year?” I asked.
India stood up to log into her computer. “Oh yeah, all the time, but this one is new. I kind of feel bad for the kid.”
A student walked in before I could ask any more questions. After my shift ended, I told India I couldn’t grab lunch, I had to meet Maverick to exchange notes. I couldn’t ditch her for the rest of my life, and I hated lying, but if it made Maverick feel better, I would do it.
I exited the building, down the steps, and toward the sidewalk. I clutched my bag strap, eyeing everyone that passed me. I felt envious at the thought of their carefree minds. I wanted that back, the feeling of being a college student who didn’t have to look over her shoulder.
I took the alley next to the technology center to get to the fountain in the quad. I felt nerves feather down my back, even in the broad daylight, as I walked the length. Once I made it out, my fear faded, and I felt my breath come easier.
I smiled when I passed the alley where Maverick cornered me after the art contest. We hadn’t been in the best place at that time, but I’d loved the way he handled me, even if I left him panting like a dog. I thought about it when I passed that alley every day.
I chuckled to myself.
Dropping my keys, I bent down to get them, noticing something in the corner of the alley. The alleyway opened up into a faculty parking lot on the other end. I stopped, eyeing the object.
When it moved my blood went cold. It was a person, in a blanket or cloth. I took a couple of steps toward it but stopped. Something didn’t feel right. I would just go meet Maverick and call the campus police to come to check it out.
I backtracked my few steps, meeting something hard. I spun around on my heel, and a hooded figure stood behind me, before I could scream, his gloved hand wrapped around my mouth and dragged me through the empty alley.
Tears formed in my eyes as I clawed and kicked, hitting whoever it was between the legs with my fist a few times, but he always gained the upper hand. Being so small, I had no advantage. I tried to remember every move taught to me in self-defense over the years.
Locking my legs around the back of his shins, he fumbled forward, crashing down on top of me. I scurried upward, running for my life, when the object covered in the blanket, bolted upright and close-lined me.
