Page 38 of Reckless Dare

It took her a few moments to get over her initial apprehension, but she finally decided to confront him on the phone.

She started typing the message. It was a lot easier to type what she would say to him in person when she wasn’t struggling to speak like she did around him. The worst part was that her stutter was surfacing every time he was around. The childhood problem she eventually overcame was surfacing back again.

Ava: I know what you did with my assignment. And I need you to please stop.

She hit send and jerked back from the phone like her phone was going to bite her. She stood frozen like she could not believe she had texted him.

Maybe he won’t know who it was because she hadn't sent her name.

A couple of minutes later after what felt like the longest time, her phone buzzed and she jumped in response. Slowly, she raised it to look at the messages.

Tormentor: So, you really do not know how to speak.

Ava bit her lip at his taunt.

Ava: Please leave me alone.

Tormentor: You were the one who texted me, Harvard.

Ava: I’m talking about what you are doing. If you don’t stop, I will have no choice but to report you.

There was an ominous pause. She couldn’t see the icon indicating that he was typing a response.

Oh my God. I just threatened him.

What is he going to do?

She had to take a deep breath to calm herself as her stomach began trembling.

After what felt like eons even though it was only a minute, she saw him type a brief response.

Tormentor: Report me, Harvard. I dare you.

She shuddered looking at the message.

He was right. She had no proof that he was the one who made her assignments disappear. She chewed on her lip nervously as she thought about what to type in response.

Ava: I’m not leaving Simha. I’m here because I earned it with my hard work. I’m not giving it up.

She was glad she was able to stand up to him, at least on text messages if not in person. Maybe she just needed to muster up some courage and be firm and he would back off.

Tormentor: You already told publicly your father is an alumni. You are here because of him.

She was outraged. Her father being the alumni was a small part of her acceptance. Majority of it was purely her own effort. She started to type an angry message but quickly deleted it all. She didn't want this to turn into something bigger than it needed to be. Inhaling deeply, she typed another message.

Ava: Abhi, please stop all this. If I unknowingly did something wrong, I’m very sorry.

There was no response for almost a minute. Her heart started to race when she saw he was typing a reply.

Tormentor: Don’t call me, Abhi. That’s only for my friends and close acquaintances. You are neither.

Ava felt hurt by his rude reply.

Ava: Please. Tell me what can I do for you to stop hating me.

There was the longest pause when she typed that. She thought he wasn’t going to reply. But she waited, staring at her phone desperately. Finally, there was a response.

Tormentor: You already know the answer to that question, Harvard.

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