Page 155 of Under the Bed
Our version of exhibitionism.
He’ll be okay. I trust him.
I repeat that to myself as I cross the hall to the clinic. Electricity pulses through me, short, thrilling jolts that make breathing hard.
I breathe, anyway. I’m alive. Awake. In my most primal state.
The level-headed version of me would’ve turned around and left. Stormed outside of campus grounds.
She would’ve waited for Kaleb to realize she wasn’t coming. Stayed home until he broke in and took her there. Behind a locked door. In the privacy of her home, where it’s safe.
I’m way past being level headed. Past being civilized.
I want him.
I’m taking him.
Plain and fucking simple.
Eddy drags his feet behind me. He only appears next to me when we get to the viewing area.
Hushed murmurs filter through the viewing room, getting louder when I open the door.
Seriously? Again with this?
Professor Dempsey is gone. It should be obvious to everyone that I’m not here because I slept with him.
It should be, yet here they are, huddled together. Shutting up as soon as they notice me.
Fuck them. I don’t care what they think about me. I glower at the three of them.
The two men, dressed in classic pants and button-down shirts, aren’t familiar. I do remember the woman.
She was here yesterday. Tall, her slender figure swallowed up under her large, white, wool sweatshirt and oversized jeans. Her long, slick black hair falls down her back.
Her brown eyes shoot daggers at me.
Accusing me of Professor Dempsey’s death.
Let her, a voice inside me that sounds a lot like Kaleb says.She can’t do anything about it. There’s no proof.
The voice is right.
Whatever,my gaze answers her as I stroll past her.
None of these people matter. The only person who does isn’t in this room.
He’s in the guest waiting area.
Expecting me.
Butterflies assault my stomach as I open the door to the clinic. I hear Eddy gathering the students, his voice less shakythan it was before. Thank fuck. It gives me hope that he won’t mess up if and when he’s ever questioned again.
One less thing to worry about.
The door clicks shut behind me, and I forget about everything. My heart flutters in my chest. Desire and excitement make me heady.
On the outside, I’m the picture of calm, putting my bag on the side table. Shrugging off my coat.
