Shadows

Chapter 4

Dedicated to @Larkspur15 for her amazing support. Thank you soo much :)

Opening the door of my dorm, I felt as if I was entering my safe haven away from all the stares and whispers. I threw myself onto my bed, and feeling the softness of my sheets beneath me almost made the tiredness of the day go away.

"Hello stranger, you were out before I woke up, and I didn't want to message you in case you were in a lecture. How did your first day go?" A voice asked from beside me making me jump, as I was definitely not expecting Lena to be here at this time.

"Hey. Ugh, today was the definition of tiredness, and all three of my lecture were harder than I expected. The professors didn't even take much time to introduce what we were going to be learning before jumping straight into teaching." I sigh.

"I am sure it will get easier, don't worry. So, did you make any new friends today?"

"Well, not exactly."

...

Earlier

"So, you're the new girl who everyone is not so fond of, aren't you?"

Ugh, here we go, someone who's here to make my day worse than it already is.

"Yes, that's me" I snap in a sarcastic manner before looking up to see a boy my age grinning at me.

"I mean I don't blame them. After all, you did insist on staying in that dorm room even after Riley told you that it was her friend's room."

"Not that it's any of your business but all other rooms are occupied, so it's not like I had a choice. Besides, as you said, it was her friend's room, so was is the keyword."

"Well, if I were you, I would steer clear of Riley and her group for the next few days until all of this blows over." He says as he extends his hand to help me stand up.

"Thanks for the advice," I reply coldly before getting up on my own and ignoring his extended hand.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to be helpful. That's all."

"Of course you were." And with that, I turn around and leave him standing there.

"Wait! What's your name?" he shouted.

Ignoring his question, I continue to walk away.

...

Silence grows between us, as we both think about the encounter. As the seconds pass, I can feel Lena itching to say something but is holding back, so I sit back and look around the room while waiting for her to finally say what's on her mind, in

Three...

Two..

One.

"But maybe he was really just trying to help you," Lena argues.

I knew it, she couldn't have possibly brought herself to wait any longer than that.

"Look, Riley said that she will make us regret staying here, so yes I was rude, but I don't want to trust someone only find out that they work for her or something."

"You can't spend the whole year fearing that everyone is trying to hurt you, Rory. And I think that Riley just said that in the heat of the moment, I'm sure she isn't going to do anything. Anyways, I think I'm going to get coffee, do you want to come with me?"

"No, I think I'll start working on that essay for criminal law."

"Fine, suit yourself."

And the next thing I hear is the slamming of the door, and I'm finally left with my thoughts for the first time since this morning. I really do understand where Lena is coming from, she has lived the second half of her childhood facing one problem after another. I know that all she wants is to live in ineffable happiness, but I just can't help but feel like there's something strange going on here.