Arielle
When we arrived, it was only 7am and very few people were on campus yet. Isabelle parked in her usual spot and turned to me. I stiffened instinctively, not meeting her eyes. "Let me see your schedule." I silently pulled it out from my binder and handed it to her. "You don't have class until 10:30." She observed. "In that case, you can sit in on my first class until your classes start. I still need to go talk to your professors quickly, so you can go wait for me in my classroom."
"I don't want to be a bother." I murmured, even though it was probably in my best interest to stay close to Isabelle in public. I also wondered exactly what she intended to tell my professors. Even if she told them that I was a distant relative of hers who was joining in mid semester, I wouldn't be graded for all my previous work.
"It's not a bother. I would actually like you to observe this class. I am teaching Criminal Justice 240, one of the prerequisites to 310. Although you seem to be following along fine without it, I believe that it will be very informative anyways. You can act as my TA." She lowered her voice. "And it's best you stay by me for now in case Vincenzo's people are lurking around."
I nodded, knowing that I couldn't refuse. "Yes, Miss-Dr. Williams." I corrected. She nodded in satisfaction. "Can I have a word with Celine later? She works with Chase."
"Are you going to tell her the truth?"
"I-I have to." I whispered. Her expression hardened. "Celine is not connected to Tristan's gang. None of them are. She's like a sister to me."
"Fine." She breathed. "I am choosing to trust you this once. Do not make me regret it and remember that the fewer people who know, the better. Even if you believe that you can trust them, accidents happen."
I nodded. "Thank you, I won't." I hadn't been intending to tell anyone else anyways, I thought to myself.
She turned and began to walk to her classroom. I quietly followed behind. We arrived at the classroom and she opened the door. She began to set things up and wirelessly connect the projectors. I cleared my throat. "W-would you like some help?" She shook her head and a loose piece of blonde hair fell over her eyes. I had the sudden urge to go brush it out of the way for her. Instead, I just swallowed nervously.
"No, go sit down."
"Yes, Miss." I replied quietly and went to sit by her desk.
Almost immediately, she whirled around to face me. "Don't call me Miss here."
I flinched, my eyes wide. "Y-yes, Dr. Williams." She nodded in satisfaction and continued to glare at her laptop. Five minutes later, she still couldn't establish a connection and ran her hand through her hair in frustration. I stood up, reached in the drawers through what seemed like hundred of cords and selected the ones for the projector. Then, I started manually connecting it to the laptop. She stared at me.
"How did you know which cord to use?" She gave me a curious glance.
"I guess I'm old school," I offered her a small smile, but when met with a blank expression, I just sighed. "We have the same version in the office. It's a pain to use, but I have a lot of practice." I shrugged.
She continued to watch me as I sat down again. Then, she turned and grabbed a stack of papers before placing them in front of me. "Since you are acting as my TA, maybe you could mark some of this for me while I go talk to your professors." She spoke in an slightly amused tone.
I was surprised at how her moods could turn so quickly, even more so than before. Still not looking at her, I nodded and reached for the answer key. "Yes ma'am."
She patted my head. "Good girl. I'll be back soon."
Isabelle came back about five minutes before class was set to start. At this time, the students had begun to file into the classroom. I fiddled with my fingers under the desk, avoiding eye contact. She walked by me and whispered for me to stop.
"Good morning, class. I'm glad to see that all of you have joined us, despite it being so early." She paused. "Now as you know, the midterm exam will be open book, but you will only be allowed your handwritten notes, so please put away your laptops and get out a notebook and a writing instrument." Some shuffling happened and Isabelle started her lecture.
The class ended early for the day, before 9:30 in fact. Once we were alone in the room, I took this opportunity to ask my questions. "What did you tell my professors?" I asked curiously.
"That you were unable to finish the semester due to unforeseen circumstances." She said without hesitation. "I also mentioned that my distant cousin Ava would be joining their lectures. Don't worry about your past assignments. Michael is aware of the situation somewhat and will merge your two student profiles once semester is complete for your transcript." I nodded gratefully. "You can go to their lectures alone, but you need to come here in between and right after."
"How did Mr. Sondales not come storming in here after you told him?" I asked incredulously.
She chuckled in amusement. "Michael is the only one here who knows who my father is. He's the head of department, so naturally he ran a background check on me. I told him it was necessary for your safety and he didn't question it. Your name on campus for now will be Ava Williams."
My heart fluttered involuntarily when I realized that I would be temporarily sharing her last name, even though she had already told me that I would be pretending to be a relative of hers on campus. This was probably a bad time to be wondering about the status of our relationship, but I couldn't help it. She was nice with me one minute and angry the next. I also knew that I had no right to any sort of relationship with her after what I had said and done the day before, but that didn't mean that I had lost feelings for her.
"Didn't you want to meet your friend?" I looked up at Isabelle when she spoke and realized that it was 9:30 now.
"Yeah, I'll be back in a bit." I whispered quietly and got up to leave the room.
I went to find Celine in the corridor she usually hung out in, hoping that she would be there. She was leaning against the wall and didn't notice me in my attire at first. I casually stopped close to her, but still kept a good distance. She looked like she hadn't slept all night and her eyes stared straight forwards.
I sighed quietly. Once I was sure no one was around to overhear us, I spoke in a barely audible voice. "Cel..." Her eyes immediately widened and she turned around, but I kept my gaze directly in front of me and stared blankly at the wall. "Tell Chase I'm fine, but everyone needs to believe I'm dead for now. I have someone helping me. This isn't over yet."
Celine stood up straight abruptly and walked off, but not before glancing at me and jerking her head in the tiniest nod. I smiled to myself and waited a few moments before heading back to Isabelle's room
She looked up worriedly for a moment before clearing her throat. "Oh good. You're alive." When I didn't respond, she tossed something at me. I caught the box and opened it. "New phone. So they can't track you. Next time just text your boss from your own phone." She muttered and I could tell that she was still cross about me using her phone this morning.
"Thank you." I smiled softly at her, but she didn't respond and I sighed again, sitting back down on the chair. I tried not to wince every time the cut on my back brushed against the chair. Upon further discussion, Isabelle convinced me not to attend my other classes today just in case. I stayed with Isabelle and helped her mark papers. At around mid-day, I started to feel sick. I realized at that point that I had skipped both breakfast and dinner last night, but it was also likely because of my back.
When it was finally time for my class, I did everything I could to avoid Isabelle's gaze. I was feeling lightheaded, but it was bad timing and I didn't want to bring up last night. I tried my best to act normal as I stood up to sit by Isabelle's desk instead of my usual seat since I was supposed to play the role of her TA.
Once everyone had arrived, Isabelle stood up from her desk and cleared her throat. "I am aware that it is already several weeks into the semester, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I have been notified by the department that one of our students will no longer be joining our seminar for the remainder of this term."
I could see Mira frown when she noticed my empty chair. My heart started to race, even though I had glanced into a mirror before we left this morning. I looked different enough to not be recognizable. "On another note, my new TA, Ava Williams, will be joining us." Isabelle briefly gestured to me and a few turned and smiled politely.
"Now with all announcements aside, I need to remind you that your essays are due today, so please take a moment to check that you have submitted it online."
The remainder of the class carried on as usual and I started to sweat profusely after the first half. This was like deja vu from the incident with my foot. My head kept spinning and I struggled to pay listen to Isabelle's discussion. Luckily, not too many people paid attention to me since I was just the TA. When the class finally ended, I felt like I was going to be sick.
Once the classroom was empty, Isabelle walked over to me. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm the pulsating headache and nausea.
She suddenly walked right in front of me and I nearly fell off of my chair in surprise. She placed a hand on my arm and I began to tremble slightly. "Stop it." She muttered angrily as she squeezed my arm. "You are going to draw attention. I'm not going to hurt you and if I was, I wouldn't have brought you here."
"I-I'm s-sorry, Miss."
"It's Dr. Williams here." She corrected again in exasperation.
"I'm sorry, Isabelle." I whispered and she met my eyes for a mere moment, as if she knew what I was really apologizing for. After a moment, she cleared her throat and looked away. My arm was practically screaming in protest as she was still holding onto it tightly, but I didn't say a word. She released my arm and frowned at her hand.
"What-" Then she looked at my sleeve. I followed her gaze and noticed that it was streaked with blood. "Did you not get that properly bandaged last night?" She ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation.
"I-I bandaged it, but I'm not sure I did it properly." I said in a small voice.
Without speaking, she spun me around and tried to lift my shirt. I immediately reached to hold it down. "Let. Go." She muttered. I didn't move and she leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "Miss Reagan, just because I cannot hurt you here doesn't mean that I won't punish you later. Everything I've done and am doing is to help you, so it's in your best interest to work with me, not against."
I released my shirt. "Good choice." She commented and raised my shirt. She tried to hide her shock as she released my shirt and walked around to feel my forehead. I frowned at her in confusion. She paused before speaking. "I'm pretty sure the cut on your back is infected. You're burning up."
My eyes widened. "Well I can't explain this to any doctor." I sighed. "And I can't risk going to the ER if I'm supposed to be playing dead."
She smirked at me. "Miss Reagan, you seem to forget that I've stitched cuts for you before. I told you that I'm qualified. What do you think my doctorate degree is in?"
"Criminal Justice?" I offered.
"Medicine." She corrected. "We'll take an early day. I'll see what I can do."
"Why aren't you a doctor then? Or why don't you teach medicine?"
"Curious, are you?" I nodded. "Well your curiosity will have to wait. Come with me. Can you walk?" I nodded.
She appeared to be satisfied with my answer and walked to grab her bag. "Come." I followed her out of the classroom. My head spun again. I made it all the way down Stafford Hall before stumbling forwards. Isabelle quickly caught me. "I asked you if you could walk." She sighed in annoyance and looped her arm around my back. I gasped in pain and she frowned in concern. "Let me carry you." I shook my head in misery. "Miss R-"
"Th-the others will see." It was true. A small group of students had already stopped to observe us.
"Can you walk?" She suddenly asked very loudly. She glanced at me expectantly and I shook my head in confusion. "Here, I'll help you to the parking lot. Your friend is waiting there, correct?" I nodded, realizing what she was doing. The crowd had begun to dissipate. Appearing satisfied, she gently pulled one arm under my shoulder and another under my legs, lifting me up. She frowned as she began to walk. I avoided her gaze in discomfort. "You're very light." She commented. "Have you been eating properly?"
"I-I didn't eat breakfast today...or dinner last night." I admitted in a small voice.
Isabelle growled quietly. "Must I feed you myself every time?"
"N-no, I'll eat when we get back." I stuttered.
She smirked at me. "Smart girl." Then her expression changed to one of seriousness and she let out a sigh. "You should have told me that you were in pain. I'm very sorry that I hurt you. You have to understand my actions last night. My father had just been summoned out because of a commotion that your gang was causing. And then suddenly you break into his office." She said in a lowered tone. "I didn't know if you were some sort of spy."
"I understand, Miss." I still refused to meet her gaze.
"It's Dr. Williams here." She corrected again in exasperation.
"Sorry." I echoed again. We had reached the parking lot. She continued to walk towards her car and carried me to the passenger's side. "Can you open the door?" I nodded and complied. She slowly lowered me onto the seat and reached around me to buckle my seat belt.
"I can-" I started, but was cut off by the look she gave me.
She walked around the car and got in the driver's seat. "Rest your eyes. It'll help. I'm going to stop by the pharmacy to get what I need. Then we'll go back to the estate."
"Don't you need a prescription for antibiotics?" I said in a small voice.
"No," She said simply with no explanation and pulled out of the parking spot. "Just rest for now."
"Yes, Miss." I whispered and closed my eyes, shivering a bit. Moments later, I felt a jacket being pulled over me and I opened my eyes in surprise. "I-I don't want to get blood on your-"
"And I don't want you to get hypothermia. Contrary to what you may believe, I still care for you. Go to sleep." I felt a warmth fill me as I let go of the guilt that had been gnawing at me from the inside out for the past twenty-four hours.
"Y-you don't hate m-me?" A tear fell from my eye again.
Isabelle sighed and turned to me. "Not in the slightest, even though I wished that I could yesterday." I flinched a little at this. "I can't blame you for doing what you felt like was your only choice. I'm angry, yes, but we'll get through this, Arielle. Now close your eyes and get some rest."
I complied and closed my eyes, but kept a firm grip on her wrist which made her chuckle lightly. I didn't care about the pain I was in at the moment, or that she was technically the one who had caused it. She was still my safe haven and I clung onto her, even in my sleep.
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*edited*
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