Page 99 of The Lake of Lost Girls

I wanted to sob into my pillow. I wanted to scream and smash everything I owned. My rage had no outlet. It needed direction before I made another horrible mistake.

I had ruined everything.Hehad ruined everything.

I gasped, feeling short of breath. My grief and anger were all-consuming. I was a pitiful mess. I had destroyed everything and there was no way back from that, but perhaps I could change my course.

I picked up the phone and dialed a number.

It rang once before he answered.

“Dr. Daniels’s office.”

“Hi, Clement.” I breathed heavily into the phone.

“Jessica. What can I do for you?” He sounded surprised. I liked being able to throw him off balance.

“I can’t see you later. I’m not …” I hesitated. “I’m not interested in whatever you think this is.”

There, I had said it.

There was silence on the other end. I thought for a second he had hung up.

“Jessica.” He said my name again, but this time it felt like a warning.

“I can’t, Clement. It’s not right. I can’t do that to your wife. To your kids—”

“Don’t,” he cut me off with a note of finality. “Don’t bring them into this.”

“But theyarein this, don’t you get that?” My voice had a note of pleading. I was trying to get him to see reason. Maybe I could stop all this once and for all.

I thought of his daughter with her pink ball and pigtails.

She deserved better.

Just as I had.

“My family has nothing to do with this,” he snapped. “Now listen to me. You started this, and I expect you to follow through.” My jovial, charming teacher was gone. This was a man that meant to get what he wanted.

“I won’t.”

“Don’t play coy with me, Jessica.”

“What if I told her—your wife? What would you do then?” I was playing with fire, I knew that. But I couldn’t stop myself. I had no sense of self-preservation.

“Don’t even think about doing something so stupid. Who would believe you anyway?” he snarled.

“Clement—Dr. Daniels—this can’t happen.”

Then he laughed, his anger replaced by bemusement. “You think you have any say in that? I know you received your letter about your academic suspension. What if I were to tell you I can make that go away?”

“What?” Was he serious? He was obviously changing tactics, trying to find my weakness.

“I don’t like being strung along, Jessica. In fact, it really pisses me off,” he growled low in my ear. I felt a shiver of fear. “So, give me your parents’ address. I’ll pick you up there. This will work out well for both of us.” He wasn’t asking. The days of him playing nice were clearly over.

“What if someone sees you?” My mouth had gone dry.

“No one will see a thing,” he promised.

“I don’t want to.” I tried one last time to end this.

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