Chapter Forty-Nine
Sky
I crank the heater as high as it will go before climbing into bed. It’s absolutely frigid, and I can only imagine how Cade is fairing in the woods. I tried to convince him to sleep in his dorm, but he refused. Apparently, Caleb—the guy he manipulated into punching him—is his assigned roommate.
I don’t think there’s anyone he gets along with. Except Bobby, if you would consider not hurting Bobby as getting along. But I think that’s the best Cade can do.
I frown and pull the blanket up over my nose. If Cade didn’t have so many walls, they could be good friends, in an older/younger brother type way. Cade did find the guy who gave Bobby a black eye, and I think that’s an indicator that, in his own way, he cares. Needless to say, he ended up in the headmistress’s office for it.
I don’t understand how he hasn’t been expelled. Surely, a little blackmail can only go so far. Luckily though, the incident on Halloween hasn’t come to light. There’s no way he would have been able to get away with trying to light someone on fire. At the very least, he would get sent back to Briarcreek.
I shudder at what Cade told me about the place after he calmed down from my admission. I don’t know how they expect people who are grappling with their mental health to get better somewhere so depressing. And his own mother forced him to stay there. I can only be so grateful that my father hasn’t thought of putting me in an institution.
The one positive though, is that Cade did say it changed his mind about wanting to kill himself. That it was in there that he realized he wanted to live, to graduate, and I’ll be forever thankful for that. Even if his obsession with graduation is a little odd.
I turn my back on Ruby, who’s already sound asleep, and wonder what graduating will mean for Cade and mine’s relationship. If I can’t manage the funds for Japan—I’m up to two-hundred—I’m going to end up at university. Cade hasn’t said anything about college, but I know he’s gunning for Valedictorian, and with grades like that, he could realistically go anywhere he wants. Would he be willing to follow me?
I close my eyes and fall asleep, thinking maybe university under my father’s thumb wouldn’t be so bad as long as Cade was with me.
Ruby’s scream jolts me awake. It’s the kind that could wake the dead, and my heart hits my throat before I even know what’s happening. On instinct, I scramble against the headboard, the room a blur of darkness. She shrieks again, the time worthy of shattering glass, and I blink, desperate to know what the fuck we’re screaming about.
I just catch the silhouette of a figure fleeing into the hallway. They’re too tall, too shrouded, to be someone from our floor, and I can’t help but scream too. Their boots hit the floorboards, sending vibrations up my bed frame as they bolt down the corridor. The thuds match the pace of my heart, and I clutch the blanket to my chest.
The whole building seems to shake when they finally reach the iron staircase, the rattle so deafening I’m almost afraid it could collapse, leaving us stranded on the top floor.
“Who was it?” I gasp, squinting to see Ruby in the dark.
“He was just standing there!” she cries as doors start to open along our floor.
“ Who ?!” I press, even though she’s frightened. She’s bunched up against the wall, similar to me, and there’s a glistening on her cheeks that must be tears.
“I don’t know! I don’t know. His face was painted.”
“Painted…?” My stomach tightens. Please, no.
“Yes, like a fucking skull.” She seems to get her spirit back and flings her blanket off. “Black around the sockets of his eyes and… and horrible white—”
My mind spins, and I stop listening as she explains. I already know what it looks like: the haphazard paint, as if smeared on without a mirror, and the chaotic streaks of white and black. That face seared into my memory. But it can’t be him. The guy who chased me is just supposed to be a freshman that was fucking around, not a nefarious predator that breaks into girls’ dorms. Our dorm. My dorm . There’s not a doubt in my mind that if it was him, he was in here for me.
A chill runs down my spine as Ruby storms into the hallway. There’s enough light from the others opening their doors that the sinister shadows have dissipated, but I’m lost in my own darkness. He was in here . All that running I did, and he was in here while I slept, completely unaware. What the fuck does he want from me?
Groggy, wide-eyed girls flood the hall. Even Britney, her red hair mussed and frizzy. She gives Ruby a scathing look, and I finally climb out of bed, my legs wobbly, and join everyone.
“Do your nightmares really have to disturb everyone?” Britney plants a hand on her hip and looks down at Ruby.
“It wasn’t a nightmare, you dim cunt. There was a guy in our room.” Ruby narrows her eyes but rubs at her arms, obviously still freaked out.
“Sure there was. Sounds like wishful thinking to me.”
Ruby opens her mouth to retort, but a smaller girl comes forward, cutting her off.
“There was someone in your room?”
“Yes.” Ruby turns to her. “His face was all painted up like a skeleton.”
“A skeleton?” Britney raises an eyebrow in disbelief.
But no one shares her skepticism, and whispers start echoing down the hall as the vine of communication spreads. An uneasy air quickly settles like a thick dust, coating everyone in fear until we are all grouped together. I listen to the symphony of bickering and hypothesizing, desperate for someone to mention that they’ve seen this guy before. That they know who he is. I can’t be the only one that’s had a run in with this guy. But no one has any idea, and I bite my tongue so hard that I taste blood.
Words like rapist and ghost and ax murder swirl around, making me dizzy, and I lean against the wall for support. Knots form in my stomach as I blink back the tears in my eyes. It just doesn’t make any sense. Unless I’m the only one he wants.
The staircase suddenly rattles, and we all swing our heads to the right, freezing in place. One step rings out, and then another. Ruby clutches at me. We wait in hushed silence as someone ascends. Even Britney backs up—with no one to cling to—as they get closer and closer. When the final step clanks, my breath is held so deeply that my heart hammers for oxygen.
But when a slipper crests the floor, we all sag in unison and exhale. Martha is clad in a fuzzy peach robe, two curlers in her fringe, and brandishing a scowl that could make a general cower.
“What on God’s green earth are you all doing ?” She stomps toward us.
* * *
Dawn is bleak and bitter as I huddle next to Ruby on the steps of Lamb Hall. The sheriff of Angel Point still has sleep in his eyes, and I don’t think he’s aware that his mustache is curling up his nose. He doesn’t even write in a little notepad as Ruby repeats what she saw to him, but the headmistress next to him is rapt with attention.
I’ve never met her before, and I’m surprised to see that she’s younger than I thought she would be. The pitch black hair and fair skin puts her at no more than forty, and she wears a trendy pea coat over flannel pajamas. She’s pretty. And something about Cade blackmailing her seems… odd.
“How tall was he, sweetheart?” she asks Ruby, seemingly doing the sheriff’s job for him.
“Tall,” Ruby supplies, giving the sheriff an up and down. “Taller than him.”
He tiredly rolls his eyes and turns to the headmistress. “Probably one of your admirable young men playing a prank.”
The headmistress purses her lips and shakes her head. “Our boys know better, Hammond.”
He sighs. “With all due respect, it was either them or someone on your staff. Hillcrest has enough gates that no one is getting in here without tearing themselves up on those finials.” He points into the distance, referring to the entrance with its iron behemoth of spikes.
I too think that it was someone already on campus, but the sheriff is mistaken if he thinks this was a prank. I bite my tongue, though, and keep my mouth shut. At first, maybe it could have been a prank, but couple this with that I had to run for my life in those woods, knives whizzing past my face…. No. Perhaps if I told him, he would change his tune. But I can’t. Not without having to explain and face further questioning, especially about why I never came forward before. It’s bad enough that the headmistress has already assured us that Dorothy is calling our parents.
My father is going to be livid and probably insinuate that I brought this upon myself somehow. I don’t know what’s worse, his wrath or this skull person’s presence. All I can hope is that my father is too busy to pay a visit and I only have to deal with one of them.
“I disagree,” the headmistress says. “We have plenty of woodland that isn’t—”
“What the fuck is going on?!”
I jump at Cade’s roar and turn to see him climbing the steps, two at a time. He’s in my space so quickly that I stumble backwards and he has to catch me.
“What happened?” He grabs my cheeks, twisting left and right, eyes scanning me. “Are you okay?”
He’s not wearing his hoodie, and his hair is awry, like he just climbed out of bed. I glance behind him, pissed if he made the trek from the shack with no jacket, but when I glance back, I notice deep bags under his eyes, almost as black as his irises. The thin skin beneath his lashes is almost translucent, and I reach up, concern for myself melting like snow in the summer. His cheek is hot, too hot, and a bit clammy. His eyes are red too, and I wonder if even slept at all. Maybe he’s getting sick from sleeping out there in the winter?
“Are you okay?” I ask him.
“Ahem,” Sheriff Hammond clears his throat.
I blush, remembering we aren’t alone, and try to step back. But Cade pulls me into his side and spins on the sheriff.
“What the fuck happened?”
“ Cade. ” the headmistress reprimands him.
“It doesn’t concern you,” Hammond tries to raise his chin, but it’s a pathetic attempt at dominance when Cade towers over him. “Unless…” The sheriff looks between me and him. “You have something to do with this.”
The headmistress and Cade speak at the same time.
“Something to do with what?”
“I can assure you Cade had nothing to do with this.”
The sheriff makes a grunt, ignoring both of them to hone in on Ruby. “What do you think, little miss? Maybe your roommate’s boyfriend spooked you. You were asleep, your dreams blended in with reality, conjuring this ‘skull’ face, and it was all a misunderstanding, hm?”
Cade tenses at the mention of a skull, and I hold my breath, waiting for him to spill my secret. He’s been oddly okay with not going to the authorities about the guy who chased me, considering how protective he is, but hearing this guy was in my room might set him off. Slowly, I look up and find his gaze searing down at me. His jaw is clenched, the vein in his neck bulging, but he holds my eyes in silent communication.
Did you tell them? His eyes ask.
No. I will him my answer.
Thankfully, he squeezes my hand in understanding and keeps his lips sealed, turning a narrowed gaze back to the sheriff. For a second, I think Hammond might have noticed our exchange, but then Ruby scoffs.
“Did he…” She cocks her head sardonically at the headmistress. “Just call me ‘little miss’?”
The headmistress grips her temples and sighs. “We have a strict no boys in the girls’ dorm after seven p.m..”
“I’m sure you do, but that doesn’t mean kids won’t find a way.”
“Ew. God.” Ruby gags.
“Look,” Hammond huffs. “There’s not much I can do.”
“Wait, so someone breaks into our room, and there’s not much you can do ?” Ruby mocks him.
He gives her a weary grimace, and then pointedly turns to the headmistress. “Truthfully, this seems like an internal incident. I can give you the number to a private security guy if it will make your students feel better.”
“Gee, by the looks of you, I thought you were the security guy.” Ruby crosses her arms over her chest.
“Ruby Pelling!” the headmistress snaps. “Up to your room now !”
“Fine by me.” Ruby narrows her eyes at the sheriff, giving him a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing was being done here, anyway.”
She turns on her heel and whips by.
I frown at her outburst, realizing how scared she must be. I know she can be harsh sometimes, but never when faced with authority. She talks a lot of talk, but she’s as tender-hearted as they come. I wouldn’t be surprised if she breaks down in tears when she gets back to our room.
Luckily, the sheriff doesn’t seem to give her disrespect another thought, and tips an invisible hat at the headmistress.
“Let me know if you need that number,” he says and makes his way down the steps.
The headmistress thanks him, and then turns to Cade and me. The silence is deafening and awkward as I realize Cade has me mushed into the alcove of his body and arm, the other braced across me like he’s trying to shield me. I squirm, not sure how much PDA is allowed, and wondering if the headmistress makes a habit of relaying the relationships she spots to parents.
But Cade doesn’t let me budge an inch, and I realize that she’s admiring us. She has her head tilted to the side, a slight smile on her lips, and she almost seems… proud? The scrutiny has me looking at the ground, unsure what to do with such a look.
“So you two…” She makes a soft twirl with her hand. “You two are…?”