Page 10 of Diluted Truths
“Wait, Will is Doctor Bly?” I questioned as I rose to a sitting position, remembering the book I often browsed and loved. It had multiple times inspired me in one of my fits of writing block.
“One and the same. Are you familiar with any of his other works? I know he is rather popular in the academic community,” Sarah asked with a slight smile growing on her face.
“Truthfully… I’ve read almost all of his writings. I’ve also used him as a source for a lot of my published works in the journal. Which you know. Why didn’t you say he was your friend?” Doctor Bly was one of the most talented academic writers I had ever heard of let alone read. He was able to deduce fascinating conclusions, sometimes from very few facts. He was also willing to look into the unknown and even the abandoned stories of history. His writing and research spoke to me.
“Hmmm.” Sarah looked almost smug as she stared at me.
“What?” I asked as I stood and began to wander around the room. I was never the best at staying still.
“Nothing at all. I just didn’t know you were so mesmerized by his writings, that’s all,” she said with that same smug expression. “Talk tohim. Tell him your theories, he can help better than I can. I also think you two will get along swimmingly.”
“I don’t know, Sarah. From what I’ve heard from Fai, he may not be the best person to help. Or the best person at all.” I myself had heard many of Fai's rants about Will. He had called the professor a playboy, hothead, spoiled, privileged, and honestly so much more.
“Don’t listen to my husband when it comes to William.” She stood up and put her hands on my arms as she looked at me. “Trust me, Ophelia. I would not send you to him if I didn’t think he could help.”
“Ugh, fine,” I conceded. “Don’t tell Fai! He’ll kill me if he knows anything about this.” Just the thought of Fai finding out about the case and Will made me shudder. “Can you send me his info? I want to talk to him as soon as possible. I really think there is something to this story. I don’t know what it is… but I can almost feel it in my bones. You know what I mean?”
“I can’t say that I do, but I am always happy to help. Now I need you to go, my patient will be here soon and I don’t think he would appreciate you rambling about a cult during our session,” explained Sarah as she made her way to the door to guide me to the exit. She held the door open with her hand directing me like an airport employee.
“Yeah, whatever. I think I would be the highlight of the session,” I joked as I made my way out the door.
Just as I was about to exit, I turned to my friend with a somber expression. “Please don’t tell Fai about this. Not just because he doesn’t like Will. He isn’t going to like this. Any of this.”
Sarah sighed. “Ophelia, you need to tell him.”
“I know, I promise I know. Please just let me gather some more facts and evidence first. I want to prove to him that I can do this, that I’m worth…” I cut myself off, she didn’t need to hear the rambling of my insecurities. “I know this case has more to it than meets the eye. He already told me to drop it and I… I just can’t. I need to look into this, I really think there is so much more to the case. Please Sarah, just give me some time to really build this out before I tell him.”
Giving in, Sarah gave me a tight hug. “I won’t tell him, just please be careful. You never know where this kind of stuff will lead and I love you too much to let you get hurt.”
“I love you, Sarah.”
Just as our hug broke, I turned to see Sarah’s patient parking his car in the side driveway that accessed the back office.
“Gross, why is he early?” I groaned.
“Just because you are chronically late doesn’t mean the entire world is. Now go, I have a job to do and it seems so do you,” she said as she actually pushed me out the door. She was stronger than she let on.
As I got back into my car to drive back to the office, I steeled my nerves knowing I would have to start lying to the closest person to me. To the man who saved me, the man who loved me like his own. While it killed me to have to lie to Fai at all, I knew that if I could prove my theories it would be worth it.
The University of Oregon had an absolutely beautiful campus. That was mostly due to the abundant rainfall which fed the beautiful vegetation. It was a pleasurable walk throughout the grounds.
It had been a few days since my lunch with Sarah. She called me earlier today, explaining that she had told Will that I wanted to discusssome ideas with him and let me know that he was free this afternoon. I immediately jumped into the car and sped all the way here.
Just as I was entering the classroom number Sarah provided me, I was stopped in place by a man who I assumed was Will.
At the front of the classroom stood a man about six feet tall. He had short dark brown hair and the most startling blue eyes I had ever seen. It was honestly unfair how attractive this man was.
Why didn’t Sarah give me a heads up? I would have actually brushed my hair or something.
“Dr. Bly, do you have a moment?” I asked as I entered the emptying classroom. As the students left I noticed the movie posters displayed along the back wall, each from a classic horror movie. “I assume Alfred Hitchcock is a favorite.”
“That he is. Brilliant filmmaker, with a true eye for horror,” Will answered as he gathered his papers from his desk, “Have you seen his movies?”
“A few here and there. I’m personally more into comedies than horror films. Life is already kind of scary. I don’t see a big reason to add to that in my personal life,” I responded as I continued to look at the posters and the classroom. It was cozy in here. Also unexpected from what I knew about him.
I knew Dr. Bly was one of the most sought out professors at any institution. He wasn’t just smart, he was brilliant. Sarah raved about his intellect often. She nearly blew a gasket in excitement when he had signed onto the University of Oregon’s staff instead of one of the many ivy leagues, museums, or even the government entities that offered him positions.
I assumed that he would be pretentious and his classroom would match. Hell, he went by Doctor. That is a sure fire sign of being pretentious when not a medical doctor.
