She hadn’t really considered this route before but the opportunity presented itself so who is she to argue?
“Conway? How did you draw Conway?” Kaplan is incredulous. She stops and faces Holly, eyes filled with concern. “That is not a good fit at all.”
“I know, Dean Kaplan.” Holly nods, “I was shocked when I found out.”
“Let me see what I can do,” Kaplan agrees, her mouth set in a thin line. “Does it matter who you get?”
“No, not at all. Just so long as I don’t have to work with Conway.”
Holly can’t believe her luck, at least she may be rid of one of her problems.
“Good.” Kaplan pats her shoulder. “I’ll talk to Dean Crawford and see what we can do. You’ve been through so much.”
Unexpectedly, Dean Kaplan pulls Holly into an awkward embrace.
“Thank you,” Holly whispers into the other woman’s shoulder.
“Of course, Holly!” Dean Kaplan withdraws, gives an approving nod, and heads off toward her office leaving Holly alone in the middle of the quad.
**
“Be tough when you grade these papers, Holly.” Professor Hamilton leans over her as he gives the directive loud enough for the whole class to hear. He slides his hand along her back in an intimate gesture that is noticed by a few of the undergrads in the front row, who snicker. Holly cringes internally but only nods her assent. She’s been lucky enough to avoid him for almost three weeks except for class times where he’s been remarkably professional, until today. Holly isn’t sure what’s changed but he’s no longer inhibited by the lecture hall full of undergrads.
“Professor?” A hulking jock from the back of the room calls out, his voice echoing through the cavernous room.
Hamilton’s head snaps toward the voice and he walks toward his captive audience. “Yes, I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
The jock stands. He’s a big guy, must be a football player. “Grayson Cooper, sir.”
“Ah, yes, Grayson Cooper, captain of the football team, if I’m not mistaken?” Hamilton beams that toothy grin that Holly finds so unsettling.
“Yes, sir.” Grayson nods. “I was wondering if I could have you grade my paper, sir.”
“Is there some reason why Miss Chamberlain’s grading skills are unacceptable to you, young man?” Hamilton is clearly toying with the guy.
“No, sir. I mean, I’m sure she’s good at what she does and all, but I really would rather you grade my paper.” Grayson’s eyes flick toward Holly and back at Hamilton. He seems confused but Holly isn’t sure quite why.
“Perhaps I can grade your paper along with Miss Chamberlain,” Hamilton suggests, “would that be acceptable to you, Mr. Cooper?”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Holly screams in her head. She doesn’t know how or why this is happening but she knows damn well that Hamilton set this up. The class erupts in a rash of undergrads asking him to grade their papers, too. In the end, Holly is stuck with a classroom full of students insisting that she grade their assignments with Professor Hamilton present.
Hamilton turns from the room, his face a mixture of excitement and victory. “Well, Miss Chamberlain, it looks like we will be going over these essays together. Perhaps after you prove yourself on this first set, they will be more forgiving.”
Holly is shaking inside, rage and fear rolling around in her gut. What the hell is she going to do now?
“If you would prefer to grade the first set of papers, I would happy to defer to you and then review them so I am better prepared for next time,” Holly offers knowing that he’s not going to go for it but hoping it will work just the same.
“No, I think we can work together on this, don’t you, Miss Chamberlain?” Hamilton turns his grin on her, his eyes tell her everything she needs to know. He’s getting her alone.
“Certainly, sir.” Holly forces a smile and nods.
“Wonderful.” Hamilton claps his hands together triumphantly and addresses the class. “Everybody satisfied? Then let’s call class early today so we can get started on those papers! Drop them off on Miss Chamberlain’s desk on your way out, try to make them neat.”
He climbs on his desk, legs swinging carelessly as the class packs up in a rush of excitement at a rare early dismissal. Holly accepts the papers as they’re flung at her, only a few students take the time to stack them neatly despite her attempts to slow the mass exodus and delay the inevitable.
Grayson Cooper is the last to drop his paper on her desk. He gives her an almost apologetic look as he sets his paper neatly on the stack. Holly wants to punch him in the face.
“Shall we get started on those, Holly?” Hamilton calls from his perch.
“Sure,” Holly answers hesitantly, avoiding eye contact as she makes a show of straightening the papers.
“And I told them to be neat.” Hamilton is suddenly standing over her shoulder. She hadn’t even heard him approach. “They don’t listen very well, do they?” His hands are on her shoulders before Holly can get up.
“They were in a hurry to get out of here,” Holly says carefully, trying to figure a way out. Every part of her body is screaming to get away from Jeffrey Hamilton.
“You seem tense.” Hamilton begins massaging her shoulders. “You’ve been avoiding me, Holly.”
“I’ve been busy,” Holly answers, “I work and I have a thesis to research and write.”
“Ah, yes, your thesis.” Hamilton continues to knead her shoulders and upper back. “I heard that Kaplan was able to get you a new advisor. Conway is most offended. You really should be careful who you make enemies of, Holly.”
“I’m not trying to make enemies. I’m just trying to graduate,” Holly retorts. She tries to duck away from him and stand but he slams her back into her chair with unusual strength.
“Now, now, Holly,” Hamilton warns, “didn’t I just say what a mistake it is to make enemies. You don’t want me as an enemy, do you, Holly?”
“I don’t want you as a lover, either,” she snaps. She tries again to writhe away from Hamilton but finds she’s unable to escape his iron grip. Fear overtakes her as she realizes he must be something supernatural. Shit! How did she not see it?
“You should not say such things.” Hamilton squeezes into her shoulder. “You don’t even know what you’re missing.”
“I am not missing anything with you.” Holly throws her head back and catches Hamilton in the diaphragm hard enough that he releases her for an instant. She moves quickly, falls to the ground and slides under the desk, grabbing her bag as she rolls away. Holly springs to her feet and sprints for the door. She’s about to hit the bar to release the door when her head is jerked back. Hamilton has her by the hair.
“Leaving so soon, Holly?” Hamilton growls in her ear, his breath hot on her cheek. “I’m going to show you what you’re missing.”
He pulls her back toward the table but Holly fights back, she kicks at his shin, spins around and drives her knee into his groin with as much force as she can. Hamilton releases her and falls to his knees, clutching his injured genitals.
Holly makes another break for it, bursts through the door into the hallway. She tries a few doors, all locked. There’s no sign of anybody left in the building. Fear rises in Holly’s chest sending her for the nearest exit. She spills into the quad only to find it empty and only half lit. Where the hell is everybody? Why are half of the lamps out? Holly sprints for the nearest lit building, a dormitory. She doesn’t remember which one, doesn’t care. Holly tries to open the door but finds it won’t budge.
“That’s not going to open for you, Holly.” Hamilton’s voice is cold, hard. “I think you’ll find that everything is closed to you tonight, except for me.”
Slowly, Holly turns to face Hamilton. He looks deranged in the dim yellow light from the dorm’s lobby windows. There’s something behind his eyes, something brutal and otherworldly. What is he? Holly wants to ask but fears the answer. She backs away, looking for another place to run while fumbling
in her bag for her phone. Where’s Petey? Or Carmen? Hell, even the sprites would be welcome at this point. I’ve been shadowed for weeks and now that I actually need help there is none!
“Come on, Holly. You have no place to go.” Hamilton’s tone softens but even in this light, Holly can tell his eyes are hard. “It’s no use fighting the inevitable. I’ve been watching you for quite a long time. And you haven’t disappointed me. Our little flirtations have been titillating but now it’s time to give me what we both want.”
“I don’t want you!” Holly screams. “I want nothing to do with you! You’re a creep and an asshole.”
“There’s no need for name-calling. I tried to be civil but you just won’t do what you are supposed to. Why do you keep fighting what you know to be true? We are meant to be together. You are my equal.”
“No. You are insane!” Holly realizes with horror that not only is he a supernatural something, he is completely batshit nuts. “Petey!” she cries into the night. “Help me or get help!”
“Who’s Petey?” Hamilton snarls.
“Nobody,” Holly says, hoping that her gargoyle will appear sooner than later.
Hamilton advances on her, his fists clenching and unclenching. His eyes are full black orbs of hatred. Holly doesn’t know how she ever mistook anything in them for lust. This man knows nothing of love or lust. She decides to take a calculated risk and run for it. Holly bounces off the steps and turns to run. She realizes her mistake too late. Hamilton knocks her to the ground, face first. Her head hits hard on the cement walkway and her vision blurs.
He claws at her clothes, something tears but doesn’t know what, and she can hardly move, he’s clamped so tightly on her back. Holly tries to scream but Hamilton silences her with a punch to her windpipe. Then he’s gone. Hamilton squeals in agony, there’s a crack, and then silence. Something lands nearby but Holly is too stunned to move.
Somebody gently rolls her over and checks her body. A voice she recognizes says, “It’s over, you are safe.”
Holly blinks, attempts to focus on her savior. “Tristan?” she whispers. It hurts. Everything hurts.
“You’ll be okay. He won’t bother you anymore.” The voice soothes her, murmuring words of comfort and love. His face flashes in her vision, Tristan. It’s him. She can feel his hands tracing the shape of her face.
“It is you.” Holly struggles to stay conscious. She feels the darkness overtaking her, a result of the wound on her head or the shock of what just happened. The last thing she sees is Tristan leaning in to kiss her. She feels his lips on hers and then everything goes black.
**
“She’s waking up!”
Holly is immediately aware that her head is pounding. She recognizes her mom’s voice and pulls back to consciousness to a hospital room.
“Don’t try to talk yet, Holly.” A silver-haired doctor leans into her line of vision. “Your throat is severely bruised and you’ve got a concussion so we’re going to have you take it slow. You’ve been through quite an ordeal, but we expect you to make a full recovery. We’ll keep you here for another day to monitor you but then we can release you to your family.”
“Can’t I just take her home now?” Carrie Chamberlain pleads.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Chamberlain, we need to keep an eye on her,” the doctor apologizes.
Holly wants to hug the man. The thought of recovering at home with her mother makes her want to face Hamilton again. Everything comes back to her in flashes, what happened to him? Is he in jail?
“Hamilton.” Holly struggles to whisper his name.
“Professor Hamilton? Is that what you’re asking?” Carrie Chamberlain probes. “He’s dead, honey.”
“What happened?” Holly whispers, her throat burning.
Her mother and the doctor exchange a long look after which the doctor excuses himself politely. Carrie Chamberlain studies Holly for several minutes before answering. “Holly, Professor Hamilton killed himself last night. They found him in his office. He hanged himself.”
Holly is stunned. She blinks at her mom, looking for more explanation, something to tell her how this happened. Hamilton was a psycho and a rapist but he didn’t seem the suicidal type.
“I’m just so glad you’re alright.” Her mom leans over and brushes her lips across Holly’s forehead. “What that man might have done to you! How did you get away? Never mind, rest, you can tell us all about it when you’re feeling better. The police want to talk to you about what happened. That monster basically confessed to everything in his note but they still have some questions about what happened. I can’t imagine what they want to know from you, my poor baby.”
“I’m okay, Mom,” Holly manages to whisper, “just tired.”
“Oh! Of course! I’ll come back tomorrow.” Her mom takes the hint and kisses her lightly again. She stops in the doorway, waves and blows Holly a kiss before leaving.
“You should really go easier on your mom, Hol.” Carmen steps out of the shadows. Holly hadn’t even known she was there! “She was really worried about you. She’s been here the whole time, waiting for you to wake up.”
Holly closes her eyes feeling a little ashamed. She does know that her mom loves her, the feeling is mutual, it’s just that their relationship is hard, especially since her dad passed.
“I’m not here about that, though.” Carmen sidles up to her bed. “I’ve been waiting to apologize. I knew that prof was a creep but I didn’t know he was a warlock. I’m sorry, Holly.”
“Warlock?” Holly mouths.
“Yeah,” Carmen says, “I had no idea. He hid it well. Petey tried to help but he was outmatched. That asshole forced Petey into dormant phase. He’s pretty tore up about what happened to you, Hol.”
“Not his fault,” Holly whispers.
“He heard you calling for him.” Carmen adds softly, “I should have been there, too.”
Holly shakes her head, angry that her friends are blaming themselves for what happened.
“Hamilton’s fault,” she manages.
“But we are supposed to be protecting you,” Carmen argues, “and the worst part is that his death did nothing to the cloud over your fate. You’re still in danger, Holly.”
Tears sting her eyes. What did Holly do to deserve all of this?
“I know what you’re thinking.” Carmen studies her. “It’s not your fault. You don’t deserve all of this. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We won’t let you down again, okay?”
Holly nods and smiles. It hurts but she wants to reassure her friend. Carmen crawls onto the bed, her weight a welcome warmth on Holly’s legs.
“How bad does it hurt?” Carmen asks.
“Bad.”
“I could probably help with some of the pain. We really need to talk and the moans and grunts aren’t cutting it.”
Holly does her best to glare at her friend. She’s exhausted and doesn’t really want to talk until she can sort out what happened. Her head is foggy, probably courtesy of the concussion, but she hasn’t ruled out something supernatural affecting her.
Carmen ignores her and pulls a phial from her bag.
“This will sort of numb the pain for a bit. I can’t do too much or the humans will get suspicious.”
She tips it to Holly’s lips. The cool jelly-like substance slides over Holly’s tongue and down her throat vanquishing her pain as it goes. Holly feels a burst of something pleasant in the pit of her stomach that spreads quickly to her limbs.
“Wow,” Holly remarks, her voice raspy but improved.
“Elf medicine. We used it to barter with humans but that was many ages ago. Anyway, tell me exactly what happened.”
Holly recants her story and how she realized that Hamilton was supernatural though she didn’t know then what he was. When she finishes, Carmen is regarding her thoughtfully from the foot of the bed.
“So, your childhood boyfriend, Tristan, appeared and saved you.” Carmen seems skeptical.
“It wa
s him, Carmen. I know it was.”
“I believe you. But that is not what the police are saying,” Carmen explains. “They believe that Hamilton beat you and then, so distraught over his behavior, went back to his office and hanged himself. Because of the suicide note, they’re considering it an open and shut case.”
“Mom said the cops want to talk to me about it.”
“They do but it’s just a formality. The note was pretty detailed. He admitted to forcing other women into having sex with him and how you refused and he flew into a fit of rage and beat you. Another student found you in the quad and called an ambulance. That’s it, that’s the story.”
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