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Martha nods, her eyes filled with understanding. We've been best friends since freshman orientation. She knows me better than anyone.
Class ends, but neither of us makes a move to leave. The room empties around us until we're the only two left.
Martha reaches over and lays a hand on mine. "Sara, talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
I stare down at my notebook, unable to meet her gaze. Where do I even begin?
"I'm okay," I say instead, plastering on a smile. "Just upset and worried, you know? We have always felt safe on campus before this."
"I get it. I'm freaked out too. Do you want to come stay with me for a while? My place might feel safer than the sorority house."
Tempting as it is, I know I can't. If my father found out I'd left campus, there'd be hell to pay. I also feel somewhat safer here – okay maybe a lot – knowing that Dimitri is on campus. The way he helped me at the frat house brushes through my mind. He seems to want to protect me… I feel that he would be there for me in case of an extreme emergency.
"Thanks, but I should stay put. I've got an exam on Friday I need to study for." Even to my ears, the excuse sounds weak.
Martha frowns. "Sara..."
"Really, I'll be okay." I infuse my voice with false confidence. "I'll stick close to the house and always walk in groups."
I can tell Martha is still hesitant, but she nods slowly. "Alright, but call me if you change your mind. Or if you just want to talk. About anything."
"I will," I promise. And I mean it. Martha has no idea how much her friendship means to me, especially now that everything is crumbling.
Martha walks me halfway back to the sorority house, squeezing my hand before we part ways. I watch her petite figure disappear into the river of students, feeling a pang of loneliness.
As I approach the house, I notice two campus security guards posted out front, an unsettling but probably wise move by the university. I nod to them as I head inside, their presence reassuring me slightly.
As I climb up the stairs to my dorm room, my spiraling thoughts are cut short by the shrill ringing of my phone. I dig it out of my bag, my hands still unsteady. Lorenzo's name flashes across the screen. I hesitate only a moment before accepting the call.
I press the phone to my ear, bracing myself for whatever tirade Lorenzo has prepared this time.
"Where the hell have you been?" he barks without preamble. "I've been trying to reach you for days."
I roll my eyes, even though he can't see me. "I've been in class."
Lorenzo ignores my jab. "Don't play games with me. I know you haven't been in class. I have people watching you."
I bristle at the implication. "You have people spying on me now? What gives you the right?"
"I'm your fiancé!" he roars. "I have every right to know what my future wife is up to."
"Well, your spies clearly aren't doing a very good job," I snap.
"Don't lie to me," Lorenzo says. "I know you've been hanging around with those preppy college boys. Letting them paw all over you like a common slut."
I clench my phone so tightly I'm surprised the screen doesn't crack. "How dare you," I spit out. "You know nothing about me or what I do here."
Lorenzo ignores me. "I know you like flouncing around in those tiny skirts, thinking you're better than the rest of us. You love the attention of any man."
"You have no right to speak to me that way. I don't belong to you." My yell reverberates through the empty staircase.
"Yes you do!" Lorenzo is nearly screaming now. "You are mine now! Our families arranged this marriage and you will do your duty as my wife."
I am seething, and my entire body is trembling with rage. "I don't care what our families arranged. I'm not some object you can own or control. I'm my own person."
"The hell you are," Lorenzo scoffs. "As long as you live under your father's roof, you belong to us."
"Right… Too bad you’re not here, I would feel so much better if you were here to protect me.” Sarcasm burns on my tongue as it comes out of my mouth before I can think better of it.
