Page 6 of The Cruelty of Thorns

She was looking at the sketch I had drawn earlier. I shrugged, embarrassed. “Just something I was doodling around with.”

I started to turn the page but Kristin grabbed the notebook from me to look at the picture more closely. “Talk about hot. Damn girl, you could be an artist.”

Lisa leaned over to get a look at what Kristin was talking about and her face paled. “Where did you get that?”

“I drew it,” I replied defensively. “Why?”

“Do you know who he is?”

“No. I just…saw him and he looked interesting.”

I didn’t know what had made me draw the sketch or why the man had occupied my thoughts so much since I’d seen him at the bar Friday night, but I couldn’t get him out of my mind.

“I’ll say,” Kristin murmured, still looking at the sketch. She glanced up at her friend for the first time and saw the look on her face. “What’s wrong, Lisa? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“That man. Where did you see him?”

“At the bar the other night,” I replied. “Why?”

Lisa was shaking her head. “I didn’t see him there, but I have since.”

“Where?” Kristin asked.

Lisa seemed hesitant to reply, and Myra noticed she became more agitated the longer she stared at the drawing. “In my dreams,” she whispered.

Kristin glanced from the sketch to her friend. “You dreamed of this guy?”

Lisa nodded and for some reason her hand went to her throat. “It was just so…”

“What?’ Kristin asked.

“Real. It’s like he was actually there.”

Kristin grinned. “Well I wouldn’t turn away a dream like that.” Lisa started gathering her books and stood. “Where are you going?”

“I…I just remembered I have something I have to do.” She turned and practically ran from the library, leaving Kristin and me looking at each other in confusion.

“Tell me that wasn’t weird,” Kristin said after she was gone.

I had to agree. I reclaimed my notebook and flipped past the page to find the notes I was looking for, but I couldn’t deny I was rattled by the other girl’s reaction to the picture.

♦ ♦ ♦

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the library with Kristin, first helping her study, then jotting down notes to finish my own theme paper. Nothing else was said about Lisa’s weird reaction, but it was in the back of my mind the whole time. If she hadn’t seen the man at the bar the other night, how was she dreaming about him? Maybe she had passed him on the street and he made the same kind of impression on her as he had on me, but that still didn’t explain her reaction. It was almost as if she was afraid.

I didn’t know much about Lisa, and I didn’t think it was my place to ask, but I wondered if there was something in her past that triggered the other girl’s reaction. Had she been abused or mistreated by someone?

It was getting close to dinner time when Kristin announced she’d had enough studying for one day and was ready to get out of the library. I agreed; I wanted to go back to the dorm room and type up my notes.

“A few of us are going over to MacAllister’s later, if you’d like to come,” Kristin said as we headed across campus.

I recalled Ron’s friend saying something about that. “No, I want to work on my theme paper and finish Madame Bovary.”

“You work too hard. The world won’t end if you’re not a hundred percent prepared. Besides, Edmonds is pretty lenient with his students.”

“I do have other classes I need to work on,” I insisted. “Besides, I like school.” And I hated going to bars.

“Suit yourself. But your social life is just as important as your education.”

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