Ethereal Love (Book 2 LS Series)

Chapter 18

"Are you alright now?"

Michael seems so out of place in my tiny dorm room. It's so simple, when his house is extremely extravagant, and it's seems like no expense was spared in creating it.

I shrug, ignoring the rapidly rising bruise on my left cheek. I sit on my bed with my back against the wall, my head hung in defeat. It doesn't seem like just this morning Will was with me in D.C, teasing me in the airport. Now the sun has long dipped behind the horizon line, and he is long gone.

"No." I stopped crying a while ago, and now I ache. A hole in my chest aches at the loss of Will, or maybe it aches for revenge against Sperm Donor. Probably both.

"He's only trying to protect you-" "I don't need him to protect me." I snap, and his face falls. Guilt immediately fills me. "Sorry, I just..." "It's fine, I get it. You're upset. One day you'll see what you've been missing." I only study him with my eyes for a short period, before studying the red paint on my fingernails instead.

His fingers lift my chin up, exposing my bruised face to him. "Damn," He groans, anger glistening in his eyes. "Is it bad?"

"No." He lies, as he looks away. "It feels fine, I guess. You should go." I tell him, staring out the window. "You're fine being alone?" He inquires, looking back at me. "Yeah, I just want to get some sleep." I tell him, knowing that's nowhere near what I'm going to do once he's gone.

"Alright, Skip. I'll come see you tomorrow?" I nod, letting my fingers run free in the bedspread. There's a long silence, in which he sits, staring at me. "Hey," He says softy, putting his hand over mine. "I know it seems bad now, but everything will get better. I promise." He gives me a toothless smile, before silently leaving the room.

I stare at the door long after he's closed it, minutes ticking by and turning into hours. I don't want to think about this night's happenings, or even acknowledge that fact that they occurred. Although, I feel the longer I sit here, the more likely it is that I'm going to have to think it through.

So, before I can think about it, I climb to my feet and slip out of all my clothes, pulling on one of my school uniform red plaid skirts. Instead of the usual white button down, I use a black one, pulling on some knee-high socks. I let my hair down, apply some makeup to cover my bruise, and acting on impulse, put my feet into some 5-inch black pumps.

I look unrecognizable in the mirror, much older, and much taller. I don't know why I've done this to myself, until I am climbing out of my window again in my heels, down the tree, and landing on the snowy ground below.

I smile, rubbing the thin material covering my arms to generate warmth. My feet are silent in the layer of fluffy white as I walk through the night around to the parking lot.

I almost fall backward at the sight of police cars guarding the exit to the school, stumbling back around the corner of the school building and pressing my back against the brick wall. I hold my breath for a while, hoping that nobody's spotted me. I guess they found out about my earlier escape route. My heart hammers in my ears as I wait for police officers to come out of nowhere and return me to my dorm forever. But nobody does.

I let out my breath eventually, and inch down the wall, walking across the dark campus until I get to the chain link fence wrapped around the other three sides of St. Mary's. I figure this is the only way to escape this prison, so if I have to climb this fence in heels, I will.

I tentatively stick my foot into the chain link, lifting myself, and putting my other foot into the chain link. I keep climbing slowly, flipping over the other side of the fence, and then climbing back down. I land of my feet, smirking at my success and brushing myself off. I'm finally free again, and it feels better than ever.