Riveroak

Chapter 12

"Elena!" Gala calls from the bathroom in our dorm. "It's time to get up and go to class! Girl you can't be late on the first day!" 

I groan as I throw the pillow over my head. I got no sleep last night. I tossed and turned feeling guilty about lying to Chip. He's a great guy, and he genuinely wants to help me. He's done everything I asked, and I still feel like I can't tell him about the diary. 

Something is telling me to wait. I'll listen to whatever it is, but that doesn't make me any less anxious about it all. 

"Elena, if I have to come out there and get you out of bed myself you're not going to like me much." 

I sigh and get up from the bed and walk over to the closet. I pull out the maroon Riveroak blazer and run my finger over the lion embroider that lines the left breast pocket. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. The first day to changing my future and getting rid of the small town curse. 

Today is also the day that I have to face a potential murderer and definite predator. 

It makes me feel sick to my stomach. The more that I read about Goldstone and Victoria, the more I realized how sick and twisted he really is. She was seventeen years old. She hadn't had a  grown-up relationship experience, and he used that to his advantage and made her question herself. 

There's also the question of who this mystery boy is. Gala hasn't left my side since my nightmares started, and I haven't gotten a chance to read the diary. There are still so many questions, but the one thing I know I need to do is put a stop to Goldstone. 

If he preyed on Victoria, he's likely to prey on others. And people like that deserve to have their lives blown up. I'm not an idiot, though. I know that I'm going to need some kind of proof of what he did other than the diary of a dead girl. She can't even testify to what happened anymore, and it would be the word of a teacher at one of the most prestigious schools in the country versus me, the new girl. 

Gala comes out of the bathroom in her robe and maneuvers around me in the closet. "You're taking forever," she mumbles as she grabs the pale yellow button-down and navy blue pleated skirt and hands it to me. "Let's get a move on, Elena!" 

I realized I hadn't moved. My fingers were still tracing the lion on the blazer. I shake my head off and go into the bathroom to brush my teeth. A few minutes later, my hair is done, my teeth are brushed, and I even have some light makeup on my face at Gala's insistence. She holds my schedule in her hands as she walks side by side with me. 

"The good news is we have pretty much the same schedule," she beams as we exit the girl's dorm. "The only difference seems to be you're taking the investigative researching class, which really just means you're writing about what we had for lunch in the newspaper," Gala teases. "I can show you where that building is. I doubt the teachers would be too annoyed that I was late given that it's your first day and I was assigned to help." 

I smile at my friend appreciatively as we turn into the English and Literature building. My stomach starts to twist as we make our way down the hall and head toward the classroom of Arthur Bryan Goldstone. 

Goldstone, the man who was in a relationship with Victoria Caldwell at the time of her disappearance. Goldstone, the teacher who could have broken into my room in search of the diary. 

You could be next. 

I believe that there are moments in time that hit you with a sense of clarity. That in those moments, the situation you're in finally makes itself known to your brain about how big a deal it is. And as I watch Gala turn into the classroom at the end of the hall my brain finally realizes how serious my situation is.