Page 85 of Fall

The campus is deserted, just like Celeste predicted, which brings me hope that the library will be a safe haven of emptiness. That place is a tranquil piece of heaven, especially when there’s no one in it.

As I get closer to the mini George Peabody Library—also known as the Stratham University Library—goosebumps litter my arms and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck raise in alert.

Someone is following me.

I discreetly look over my left shoulder, then my right, but keep walking. Once I reach the bottom steps to the library, I grab the railing and turn around to scan the entire courtyard one more time.

There are a few faculty members walking off in the distance, but no one else. I’m about to turn around when I see him in the shadows of the science building. When our eyes meet, he crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

I narrow my eyes and decide to give him a piece of my mind. My boots crunch the dead grass beneath me as I laser in on the man in front of me.

“Really, Elijah. Stalking me now?” I say once I reach him.

He doesn’t move from his position. His arms stay crossed as he leans against the wall. Rage wafts off him like a heated summer breeze.

“Sorry, princess. It’s a job. Annoying and pointless, but here I am,” he deadpans.

I snap. “Isn’t stalking beneath you?”

He scoffs. “I’m not stalking you.” He leans forward, sending waves of soap and fresh linen my way. “To stalk. To pursue or approach stealthily. By definition, I’m not stalking.”

I roll my eyes. “There are multiple definitions of the word. Such as a person engaging in harassing behavior which can include repeatedly following someone.”

Elijah just stares at me, unmoving, and his steel eyes glint with silver highlights. We stand there for what feels like forever before he speaks.

“Your time is up, princess. Eye-fucking me isn’t going to get you anywhere. Stare any longer and I’m gonna have to start charging you.”

And the motherfucker winks!

Without thinking, I immediately raise my hand and smack him hard across the face.

“Stay the fuck away from me, Elijah. I swear to the fucking powers of the universe, just leave me alone.”

He gently touches the cheek that I just slapped with a slick smirk. “Did I touch a nerve?” he questions.

His cool composure eats under my skin. “Is it you? Are you the asshole who keeps messaging me and sending me shit?”

Elijah’s eyebrows squish together in confusion. “Come again?”

I huff in annoyance as my blood starts to boil to uncontrollable temperatures.

“Don’t play with me. It’s you, isn’t it? You’ve been sending me messages and dresses to scare me. I don’t know how you got all those goddamn pictures, but tell me, did you know what they were doing to me the whole time?”

He drops his arms, along with his foot from the wall, and stands to his full height. “What are you talking about?”

My whole body starts to shake, and I can feel the anxiety creep up my neck. He moves closer, and I take a step back, raising my hands, palms forward.

“Look. I’m not leaving this school. I promised her I’d be here, and so I am. Just give me back my sister’s bracelet and we can pretend we’ve never met. I’ll stay away from Micah and Caleb, too. Just don’t tell them if you haven’t already.”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says in cold seriousness.

He reaches out to touch me, and I scream at the top of my lungs.

“Damn it, Evelyn. Stop being a brat. I’m not gonna do anything to you. At least, not here.”

I stretch my neck, rolling my head from side to side, and smile. “Oh, I know. I’m just making sure you don’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have shit to do.”

My insides are at war with each other, and I’m desperate to keep my anxiety at bay, but outwardly, I just look like a girl who isn’t going to put up with any more shit.

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