50

The past few days blurred together, each one heavier than the last. Nights became a cruel joke—empty hours spent tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, or clutching a pillow that couldn't provide the comfort. Sleep barely came, and when it did, dreams twisted into memories of Daniela.

Iris had been a lifeline, always there with open arms. She didn't push for explanations, only stayed until the sobs turned into silence. Eleanor, on the other hand, was clueless, and it was getting harder to fake a smile around her.

Campus was no better. Students rushed past, their lives carrying on as usual, while mine shattered. It felt like the beginning again. Cheryl started pestering me, Bethany and Carol were still behind her, but they looked disgusted at Cheryl's actions. Especially now that Carol and Iris is a thing.

Daniela hasn't shown up since.

Law lectures were a boring.

Adeline's satisfaction practically radiated whenever she was around. She didn't say much, but her looks were enough--a smug tilt of her lips. Cameron, thankfully, moved back to his parents. That, at least, was a small relieve. But Adeline's taunting haven't stopped entirely. Little comments, a text here and there, always reminding that she still held all the power.

The idea of revenge doesn't sound that bad. Thoughts of tearing her down, exposing her games. Each plan seemed too risky.

Days dragged on like this--a whirlwind of guilt and anger. So much anger.

Standing in front of Daniela's office door felt surreal, like being caught in a dream that refused to end.

She isn't in there. She hasn't been for days.

My fingers hovered near the doorknob, the thought of turning it and stepping inside tempting, even though I knew it would be empty.

"Victoria?" A familiar voice broke through. Turning, I saw Professor Clarke walking towards me, a bag of Subway takeout in his hand.

He stopped beside me, looking from the closed door to my face. "You also wondering where she is?"

I nodded, swallowing hard. "She hasn't been here in a while."

He glanced at the door again, his brow furrowing slightly. "Yeah, noticed that too. Daniela's not the type to disappear without reason." His gaze softened as it landed back on me. "You okay, kiddo? You look like you've seen better days."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. It reminded me of when he used to come have lunch with Mom and me-- always bringing Subway, always cracking some joke to make us laugh.

"I'm fine," I sighed.

Professor Clarke sighed too, leaning against the wall beside Daniela's office door. Slowly, he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his knees bent and the bag of takeout resting on one of them.

It was funny how he reminded me of a student ditching class to sit all alone.

He glanced up at me, patting the spot next to him with a warm, familiar smile. "You hungry?" he asked, shaking the Subway bag lightly.

For a moment, I hesitated but then took a deep breath in. Without a word, I slid down the wall and sat beside him.

Clarke looked through the bag, pulling out two sandwiches wrapped in crisp paper. "I wasn't sure what you'd want, so I got the usual turkey and swiss. You still like that?"

He used to order that for me every time he came to lunch with us. Somehow, he remembered.

"Yeah," I said quietly, taking the sandwich he handed me.

We sat in silence for a moment. He didn't say much, which I appreciated. He just unwrapped his own sandwich and took a big bite, leaning his head back against the wall.

"I used to think these hallways were intimidating," he said suddenly. "Back when I was starting out as a student here, they seemed scary. Like you could get lost and never find your way back."

I glanced at him, unsure where he was going with this.

"But you don't, you know," he continued, looking at me now. "You find your way. Even when it feels like you won't."

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that threatened to rise again.

He took another bite of his sandwich, his gaze shifting to the far end of the hallway as if lost in thought. The silence between us was comforting, broken only by the occasional rustle of the sandwich wrappers.

"You're a lot like your mom, you know," he said after a while, his tone gentle.

That brought a sting to my chest, the mention of her name. I didn't respond, staring at the sandwich in my hands.

"She was stubborn too." He continued with a soft chuckle. "Once, we had this debate about the best way to teach rhetoric, and she wouldn't let it go for weeks. Turned out she was right. She always was."

I managed a small smile at that.

"She'd tell you to keep your head up," Clarke said, his voice more serious now. "To face whatever's in front of you and fight for what matters. She'd also probably tell me to stop being so philosophical and let you eat in peace."

A weak laugh escaped me, the first real sound of relief in what felt like forever. He smiled, nudging me lightly with his elbow before taking another bite of his sandwich.

We sat there for a while longer, finishing our food in comfortable silence. The hallway seemed less intimidating with him here. When I finally looked at him, he was folding up his sandwich wrapper.

"You're going to be okay, Victoria." He said, knowing I'm down. "You're stronger than you think. And if you ever need someone to remind you of that... I'm just down the hall. Literally."

The lump in my throat returned, but this time it wasn't from sadness. It was gratitude.

He didn't wait for me to respond, standing up and dusting off his pants before offering me a hand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here before someone accuses us of slacking off. Can't have the faculty gossiping about me sitting on floors with students."

Despite everything, I smiled as I took his hand, letting him pull me up.

We exited the room, students streamed out around us. Eleanor was mid-rant about Professor Abramson endless rambling on case law, gesturing wildly as Iris laughed beside her. I stayed quiet, my focus on the floors as we walk to the cafeteria, my thoughts far away from anything to do with law or university.

"Victoria, are you even listening?" Eleanor nudged me, her tone teasing but curious.

"Yeah," I forced a smile. "Totally. Case law. Thrilling stuff."

Before she could respond, we turned a corner and nearly collided with someone. Or rather, two people.

"Oh, what's up, Cameron?" Iris nodded.

Standing next to him was no other than Elijah.

What the fuck?

My stomach dropped at the sight of him.

Elijah's eyes landed on me and his breathing caught in his throat, just like mine did. Beside him, Cameron looked relaxed, oblivious to the tension around.

There's no fucking way they're walking together.

"Hey, guys," Cameron smiled. "Didn't think I'd run into you guys. Thought my classes ended later than yours."

I looked away.

We haven't spoken about him trying to kiss me.

"Guess today's your lucky day," Iris said sharply, her eyes narrowing as she looked between Cameron and Elijah.

Eleanor, ever the peacemaker, stepped forward, clearly missing the unspoken hostility. "Who's your friend?" she asked cheerfully, gesturing to Elijah. Eleanor doesn't know about Elijah. Iris and I never told her about him.

"Elijah." He introduced himself smoothly, offering a hand. Eleanor shook it, but Iris looked ready to slap it away.

"Great," Iris spat. "Well, we were just heading out. Cam, why don't you come with us?"

Cameron frowned, glancing at Elijah. "Uh, we were--"

"Perfect. Let's go," Iris said, grabbing Cameron by the arm and pulling him along before he could finish.

"Iris, what the hell?" Cameron protested as she dragged him down the hallway.

Eleanor trailed after them, glancing back at me and Elijah in confusion. I stayed quiet in my spot, my gaze locked with Elijah's as he stared back at me. There was something in his eyes--something too sharp, too knowing—that made my skin crawl.

"Guess I'm not welcomed, huh?" he said, his voice low, dripping with mock hurt.

I didn't respond. My throat felt tight, and all I wanted was to disappear.

Before he could say anything else, Iris called back, "Vic, you coming?"

I turned on my heel and followed without looking back.

Once we were outside, ditching the cafeteria, Cameron was still trying to free himself from Iris's grip. "What is your problem?" He asked.

"My problem," Iris snapped, letting go of his arm, "is that you're hanging out with him."

"Who?" He frowned. "Elijah? What's wrong with Elijah?" Cameron asked, genuinely confused.

You'd be surprised.

"Everything," Iris shot back, crossing her arms.

Eleanor looked between us, her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, what's going on? Why are we acting like he's Voldemort?" I just shook my head at her.

Iris sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, Cam, I get that you're trying to make new friends or whatever, but Elijah isn't the guy you want to buddy up with."

"And why not?" Cameron asked, his tone defensive now.

"Because he's bad news," Iris said bluntly. "You weren't here a few months ago, so you don't know, Ellie, you too, but trust me when I say he's not someone you want in your life."

Cameron's gaze shifted to me. "Victoria?" he asked, clearly hoping for an explanation.

I hesitate to speak. "She's right," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. "Just... trust us on this, okay?"

Cameron still looked skeptical, but he nodded. "Fine. But I don't see what the big deal is. He seems like an okay guy."

Iris muttered something under her breath, clearly frustrated. Eleanor, meanwhile, was watching me closely.

"Come on," Iris said, motioning for us to keep walking. "Let's get out of here before he decides to follow us."

As we moved away from the building. I could still feel his eyes on me, even though he was nowhere in sight.

If Daniela finds out that Elijah spoke to me, let alone looked at me...

Well, why would she care?

She's gone.

We all went different ways as we left the campus, but me and Eleanor walked the same direction.

We always walk down the road together, but then she takes the left turn at the end, and I go to the right.

So, before we went different ways, I caught her up on everything. Everything being about Elijah.

How he's a total ass. How he always shouted stuff in class, but that Professor Garcia gave him a last warning... no, it was much more than a warning. It was a threat. How he got mad at me for not feeling the same way, and just how of a player he is.

And just when I finished explaining, we got to the end of the street and went our separate ways.