After outshining my having to explain myself skills that I learnt well from college -- over why and how I was in a vulnerable situation and that I needed help -- conclusively, the old man didn't seem half as convinced. I couldn't blame him though because I understood why he just wouldn't be persuaded.
Proof only existed for physical assault, and not for things emotionally and mentally damaging things. Only the consequence of it was the evidence of that, and I wanted to be anything but an irreparable wound.
My fretfulness got the best of me, as my mind begun making suppositions of how the teachers were manipulated into thinking, I was making everything up, and then all of them would end up thinking that I was just crazy. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Or best case scenario, even if that man was convinced, Edward's persuasion capabilities weren't something to be underestimated, and everyone would believe him, without a second thought.
Why would someone ever believe someone so pathetic and lonely like me? They had no reason to.
After the chairman dismissed me by telling me he will look over the matter, and if convinced would speak to Edward and Hannah privately about it, that was when I realised I had made a big mistake.
Why would they even bother to change once they'll be spoken to about it? It might only make things worse for me.
I had left his office, glancing over the man who had escorted me over and nodded towards him, as a thank you. I got out, feeling shaken by the interaction and the bold decision I had just made. Maybe it was impulsive, what I did, but I didn't know what any other person in their right mind would have done if someone was against them to the extent of threatening to kill them.
I spent the remaining day, taking classes but staying away from any social interaction. Marilyn hadn't come to university today but even if she did, I was expecting she wouldn't talk to me considering how I straightforwardly told her I just felt better alone. It was true and was the first time I had told someone off and said no to them. The guilt did stir inside me at the thought, but my paranoia overpowered the feeling. Perching in a seat at the end of the library, I fished out the novel Marilyn gave me. I had this gut feeling that maybe she did it for my betterment and to warn me on how I needed to let go of what was toxic. It had been nagging my curiosity for some time now, and I didn't think there was a better distraction for me than to hide in a book.
As soon as I settled down, I skimmed and scanned the hardcover of the book, too into my reverie. The big bold letters stood out on the front that read 'Him', and right before I could indulge myself in it, I was yet again interrupted by someone.
"Hey there,"
My eyes instantly snapped up to find Drake towering over the table, not before sitting down in the wooden chairs, just a seat away from me. His dark eyes shone with concern, doubt and suspicion, while he glanced at me silently for a moment.
"Hello, are you here for wanting help with the assignments?" I asked in a very distant tone, not in the state of explaining myself again and answering questions.
"You know why I'm here," He spoke as if hinting at something. "The haircut looks cute on you though." He smiled and I didn't react.
"Get to the point, Drake,"
"You've been acting very distant lately? Is it because I did something...?" He trailed off, looking away into the sea of people stretched on the other end of the library. He sounded so unsure of himself, but I couldn't bring myself to affirm his concerns.
"Did Edward send you here to talk to me?" I narrowed my eyes and he mustered a puzzled look. "Why Drake? There's nothing to talk okay? And why is he even asking you?" I blurted, not being able to keep my thoughts to myself anymore.
"Why would he even send me to you?" He scoffed loudly, returning me the same narrowed look. "We're not even on speaking terms anymore."
"I'm not convinced." I looked at him intently, waiting for an honest answer.
"I'm not going to convince you otherwise either," he replied seriously. "I'll just get to the point directly I guess. I was just bothered by you ignoring me out of all people in class and I wanted to apologise for whatever happened that night at my friend's house, it wasn't the best of moves I know. And you know, part of me is glad now that you're over Edward, he wasn't worth it anyways. Because I know it was because of him, you were ignoring me all this time."
"Please, Drake." I sighed tiredly. "I don't even know what you want from me, and to clear things up, Edward was my boyfriend, yes. And it's just not that he denied that he didn't cheat, but also, suspected that I'm cheating on him. Why? Due to the mere fact that you might have told him when I asked you about a certain Hayden, which was entirely for my confidential reasons and had nothing to do with cheating on my behalf." I curled my fists to stay composed, giving him a disappointed stare nonetheless. "Why did you bother to intrude? It wasn't even your place, to begin with,"
Drake's expression flinched a tad bit at my tone but I didn't budge my expression. He sighed, looking exasperated. "Oh come on Michelle. I didn't even tell him about that. He just found out through another way, and I didn't take him as that dense of a person to accuse you of cheating just because he found that out. That's just strange,"
I curtly cut him off. "I don't know... I just don't trust either of you anymore,"
It was obvious Edward had sent him here to persuade me into his manipulation, and I wasn't going to buy it this time.
Drake stared at me for a moment, unblinking and looking oblivious to himself. He pursed his lips, silently nodding in return. I didn't look back at him, keeping my focus on the book in my hands, and getting occupied in it already. Letting out a long breath, he slowly stood up, the chair creaking behind him in the process.
"I'm sorry about whatever happened but if you ever feel like you need any help or anything, just know that I'm here for you," He lowly mumbled, quickly letting go of something from the palm of his hand, and keeping it on the table separating us.
I followed his motions with my eyes, looking at the small crumpled purple gift paper that was revealed as he retracted his hand. And with that, he walked away silently.
I picked the small unruly package up, glancing at it intently. It seemed like a small present as I traced my thumb around it. Unwrapping the glossy paper, I found a small gold chain bracelet. And there was something scribbled on the inside of the wrapping paper where I undid it.
I know you have been ignoring me lately and maybe it's because you loved Edward too much. And I can't help it anymore but finally confess that I've liked you since the beginning. You're the prettiest, nicest girl I've met and just appealing in general. It's fine if you can't return the feelings. I just wanted to let you know, Happy birthday and just know that...,
I love you.
I gaped at the messy handwriting, unable to decipher the right intentions behind them. I casually traced a finger across the writing, reading and rereading it, unbelievingly.
I cleared my stuffy head, which was already filled with a hundred other thoughts, and quickly folded the paper, tucking it into my bag pocket. I exhaled a fragile breath, tugging at my hair in my fingers.
The handwritten paper meant only two things, either Edward had asked Drake to test me whether I was a cheater. Or Edward sent him to me to ask exactly why I ended the relationship or anything out of the ordinary.
And I wasn't going to be that gullible anymore. Not after what I had experienced in college.
I checked my phone again, to find no sign of any texts or calls, surprisingly. I begun checking up on Edward's socials again, stalking him from my alternate account, obsessively looking out for any concerning signs. There weren't any signs of his new posts or pictures, except for the song he posted last night. I clicked my phone off, frustrated. I knew he knew I was stalking his accounts since he had tapped my phone, and I hated how effortlessly he had a way to get to me.
So precariously, I opened my phone notes application, and started to write hurting lines, to make sure Edward knew what I felt for him. I named the piece, 'My Tears Into Your Fears', which ended up sounding more vengeful than heartbroken. After almost halfway through my devastated rants, I clicked my phone off.
During the next free hour, I tried my best to stay away from my phone and in my alone time, contemplated and reflected on my thoughts and feelings. I distracted myself and finally settled with the novel again, devouring the first several chapters in a small span of time.
The day finally came to an end, and I quickly but quietly rushed out of the library. Looking down and minding my business, I clutched onto my dearest bag and walked. The university wasn't crowded enough since many students had left their cars and personal transport. I walked towards the deserted staircase and slowly descended the stairs.
But for some unforeseen reason, my paranoia sensed something, my consciousness couldn't. It felt like someone was watching me, or even following me close by. I looked back several times but I saw no sign of anyone.
Either this university was haunted, or I was losing my mind.
I begun approaching my steps faster, and I heard a foreign sound of slow footsteps behind me and felt like my heart would give out any moment. I looked slowly across my shoulder again, but to my vain, found the sight of no one. I scanned my eyes around the entire area and parameters of the staircase and it was empty. And every time I looked back, the footsteps seemed to stop.
I quickly latched out and almost ran two steps at a time, down, the footsteps continuing all along the way. I somehow made it alive to the ground floor and went straight out of the university gates without a back glance. Checking my phone for I felt dependent on Hayden's protection, I hastily searched for his contact and clicked the call button.
He picked up instantly. "I'm almost there, just give me a minute," Was followed by quick deep breaths.
"Hey, take your time." I suppressed my lips into a guilty smile, even though he couldn't see me.
He finally came after some minutes, nodding towards me, looking all sweaty. He smiled at me nonetheless, and dropped me home, by walking me out, getting the bus for me, and following along with me, which was enough to help ease me down.
"I'm not that bad am I?" He finally asked, looking smug and glad with himself, as we almost approached my flats.
"I never said you were bad," I mumbled, shaking my head.
"You never said I was good either," He retorted and I sighed, with a smile.
"Thank you for helping me."
With that, we went our separate paths, and I finally reached my house. Feeling relieved of not being followed and safely getting into my haven, I jumped onto my bed lazily.
And before I even knew it, I fell into a deep slumber.
I woke up to a suffocatingly dark room, surrounded by eeriness, and the walls were a deep black colour, omitting any light from inside. Just the faint sound of a distant cricket was heard in the deafening silence that stretched in between.
The entire room was cold and gloomy, and my whole being was drenched in sweat. I looked around the place, unable to make out anything in the dark silhouettes and shadows. My body trembled at the horrifying state, and my eyes trailed around the room in paranoia before finally landing on a small window. I could only make out the frame of the window that stood out of the otherwise dark outside. I saw two bright blue eyes peer right at and through me, and I instantly recognised them without a second beat. It was him.
It was Edward.
Those blue eyes that once felt like warm blue skies now seemed like the frozen iciness of the dark oceans.
His eyes shifted away, and my breath hitched into my throat while I moved a bit, struggling to get up. The intense panic inside of me slowly emerged and erupted. Maybe this was it. Maybe that was how I was going to die. I hadn't known yet what was the cause and how even did I end up at the mortifying place, but nothing seemed to answer my questions.
I looked beneath me and felt like my feet were tied into black shackles, and I couldn't move them more than an inch away. I struggled and tugged hard at them in utter hastiness, while I heard the sound of something sharp and pointy, being dragged across the rough ground, slowly but steadily, making a hoarse screeching sound.
In a matter of seconds, I heard a door click unlock and the faint sighing of the door opening, was then followed. My breathing paced, as I heard slow footsteps of hard boots tapping the rough ground, approach me. I could surprisingly make out in the blinding darkness that Edward was there, dragging a half-broken axe across the gravelly ground.
"You think you can leave me?" His deep hoarse voice asked rhetorically, echoing faintly in the small space of the room.
I breathed harder this time but felt suffocated and breathless instead. Edward stood right in front of me, dressed in all black, a black shirt, black slacks and black boots, accompanied by his dark demeanour. His burning gaze didn't leave my being as I stood there, terrified and paralysed in pure shock.
I sighed out a faint incoherent response, and before I knew it, he dragged the axe towards me. And he begun lifting it slowly, til it was behind his shoulder.
I let out a loud gasp, as I shot up from the bed, out of my sleep. My body was heaving up and down with my deep breathing and I scarily looked back and forth around the room, only to find the dim lamp on the nightstand turned on, and it was nighttime. My sweaty body was lazily sprawled on the bed, all alone, and I cowered myself up to rub my eyes harshly and awaken myself. It was just a bad dream.
Maybe it was my mind telling me and warning me of things, I couldn't otherwise tell about him. I couldn't quite place my finger on how exactly bad he could be, but I was sure it was something along the lines of something that happened to me back in college. Hayden was right, I should've left Edward before it was too late, but now I was just going to have to face the consequences of my actions -- or my mistakes to be exact.
It was simply scary how there were always consequences for mistakes just the same as they were for the actions, but more severe with the factor of never seeing it coming.
Still feeling somewhat on edge, I went out of my room, checking the whole house to ensure safety. Mum was in her room, probably fast asleep and the television was turned on, followed by a low faint voice of whatever advertisement it was displaying. I switched off the telly and went back to my room. I quickly grabbed my phone and dialled Hayden.
"I know it's not the best time for me to be calling you, but can you come over for a little bit?" I spoke without a beat, as I looked over to the clock that read two in the morning.
But the only sound I heard was the voicemail. I groaned in return, feeling frustrated yet severely anxious about my surroundings. The aloneness was slowly killing me, not really making me feel lonely, but instead, more alone.
I took some deep breaths, and counted to ten, to ease myself. Finally, I found myself distracted with my phone, as I put on some light music to help my nerve-wracked emotions. I took my bag and pulled out my register and laptop, and the tiny present Drake had given me just today flipped out, falling onto the soft duvet of my bed.
I placed my accessories on the side, as I carefully peeked at the small thing. Taking it onto my shaky fingers, I surveyed the bracelet, which sparkled undoubtedly beautifully.
For a fact that Edward had sent Drake to give me that as a birthday present, just didn't seem to settle well with me, as I stared at the piece.
And then realisation finally hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe just because I had my phone camera covered, Edward must have sent something he could watch over me with. Maybe the bracelet had some sort of hidden camera, that I wouldn't know of, and Edward might get ahold of something, anything to threaten me with.
I gasped suddenly, as the small piece suddenly slipped from my hands, and onto the floor. I closely looked at it, feeling frightened by the sight of the cold jewellery laying on the ground, flat. It even scared me to the extent of having to pick it up and toss it aside. But I inhaled harshly, plucking the last bits of courage left -- which I was already running low on after the nightmare -- and carefully with trembling hands picked the jewellery with a piece of tissue paper and tossed it away in my nightstand drawer.
The entire night I spent, I felt extremely on edge, the feeling of being closely watched haunting me the whole time.