Chapter 20
I was so wrong about everything.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
I’m sorry. My mind begs Donovan and Wes for forgiveness. I should never have doubted our crazy, sudden, intense, perfect love.
As I run through the grounds, back to Defectivum house, my mind is screaming at me for being an idiot, to the point where I hardly notice when someone steps out of the shadows and into my path.
I stumble to a halt, and my heart bottoms out. It’s Manu.
“You’re in a hurry,” he says, dragging me closer by my collar. I get the smallest flash of Manu's thoughts and know his intentions are horrible. I have to fight.
Somehow, I manage to swing myself around and slide out of his grip, but that’s the end of my success. He shoves me hard, and I go down, ending on my knees. “Just where I wanted you, baby,” he laughs, but there is no amusement in his eyes, just a dark, soulless hunger.
Shit. Shit times infinity.
I'm fifty percent terrified, but also fifty percent annoyed. I let the annoyed side take over, as I do not have time for this bullshit—my guys need me. Whatever vile bullshit Manu thinks he’s going to get up to is not going to happen.
I put my hands on the pathway and curl my toes under, ready to spring up and run, run, run.
Manu leans closer, and I smell the alcohol and weed smoke on his breath. “Wanna have a good time, little girl?” he says. I try to leap up, but he suddenly pulls my hair tightly into his grasp. “Or do you want a bad time, dud? Either is fine by me.”
My eyes water with pain. Come on, Theo! Fight!
I try to swing a fist towards his groin, but my knuckles just meet solid thigh—he doesn’t even flinch. “Fuck, dud, you’re pathetic. You haven't awoken, have you? That means anything could happen to you…and you’d never be able to stop it.”
Shit, no, no, no. I’m still on my knees, held in place by his grasp that is currently tearing strands from my scalp.
Still, I maneuver myself so that one foot is on the ground, and my kneeling becomes a half-squat.
On the count of five, I’ll push off and run—even if hunks of my hair get left behind in his fist.
One…two…three…
I prepare myself for launch, but it’s too late. “Stay still,” he commands. “Be silent.” The power in Manu’s voice smashes down my feeble attempts at a mental defence. My body is frozen. I’m screaming in my mind, but not a sound leaves my mouth.
“That’s better,” he chuckles. “Now I won’t have to listen to your complaints. I’ll even make you say you liked it.”
Fuck. Panic builds up in my chest, but I have no way to express it. He trails his hand down my cheek, pulling my bottom lip down as he inserts his thumb inside my mouth. I fought Cosmo’s commands. I can fight this; I have to fight this.
Manu leans closer. “Having fun yet? Ready to suck on something way bigger?” He removes his thumb with a wet plop.
If I don’t move, I’m wholly and utterly fucked. With every molecule in my body, I work on freeing myself from Manu’s spell as he drags me further back into the shadows. A fire is building in my chest, but I have so little strength left in the tank. I think I used it all, defying Cosmo.
“Take your top off—let’s see those lil’ bitty titties,” he commands.
To my horror, my traitorous fingers move to my shirt. Please don’t do this, I beg them.
“You may not have magic in ya,” Manu is laughing maniacally, “but you’ll soon have something else, and remember— Never tell anyone about this.”
I’m undoing all the buttons of my academy blouse, completely unable to stop myself. Oh, Gods, help me please. Please.
“What the fuck?” A voice filled with pure fury roars from somewhere close.
The next second, a figure grabs Manu, and I hear a thud, snap, and scream.
“My fucking nose…” Another blow cuts off Manu’s howls, then his body drops to the floor.
I twist my head to see a figure in black kicking Manu with heavy, unforgiving blows.
As suddenly as the attack started, it stops; the night becoming shockingly quiet. My ragged breathing is loud, and I’m close to a total breakdown.
“Wilson…Theo...” Professor Feniks drops beside me, and I bury myself in his warmth. He cradles me, and the panic begins to subside. “Are you OK, rakas? Did he hurt you?”
“No, no. You, h-he.” My voice catches.
The Professor's hands tighten around me. “You’re safe now,” he says, and I believe his words. Something tells me he’d go to extremes to make sure anyone he cared about was protected. “Let’s go to the health center,” Feniks says. “Then I’ll go talk to Dean Crankshawe.”
NO! My brain screams at me, and I know it’s because of Manu’s Elite command.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t say anything.
“Wait,” I croak. Suddenly, I’m sobbing and I can’t stop.
Professor Feniks strokes my back. “It’s alright, Wilson, it’s alright.
” He gently helps me up, then steers me across the lawn, and within minutes we’re in the privacy of a walled gazebo.
After he parks me on a bench, Professor Feniks crouches in front of me. “I’m so fucking sorry. I should have been faster. What do you need? Talk to me, you can tell me anything.”
Talk to him? Doesn’t he realize it’s impossible? And anyway, what would I say? That I’d been at the complete mercy of not one, but two Elites tonight? Forced to my knees, not once, but twice?
Or that I’d just discovered the two loves of my life hadn’t abandoned me, but instead vanished into thin air? I’ve been compelled not to speak about any of it.
The professor wipes tears off my face with his thumb and looks at me with a steady gaze. “Wilson?”
Drawing a breath, I straighten slightly, pulling further back from his warmth. “I d-don’t know what to do,” I croak, and isn’t that the Gods honest truth?
“OK, then let me help you,” he replies, taking a seat on the bench next to me and lighting a cigarette. “We’ll do whatever you want; you have control right now.”
Amazingly, that’s exactly what I need to hear. That I have some agency and that I’m not just at the mercy of every Elite’s whims.
“Want one?” he asks, offering me his packet.
“No, thanks,” I reply, “it’s a gross habit.”
“Very true,” he chuckles, and that small laugh eases my tension a little further.
We are silent for a while, and I know he’s waiting until I feel ready to talk some more.
It’s nice not to feel rushed or judged. Finally, I squeeze out a few words, not officially breaking Manu’s compulsion.
“If I report s-s-something, what would h-happen?” The temptation to lean my head on Professor Feniks' broad shoulder is too much, so I give in to it.
His head gently lies against the top of mine in return. It feels good.
“Honestly, Theo?” he sighs, “if you file a complaint, Manu Hale will probably get detention at most. His mother is on the school board, and this fucked up system will cover up for him.”
“And then he’d be mad and things would get worse for me, right?”
“I’m sorry to say that’s a distinct possibility.”
A bleak future of being tortured by Manu stretches ahead of me.
“Wilson? Theo?”
“Yeah?”
“If I could… get Manu to leave the academy, with no blowback to you, would that be optimal? Would it give you peace?” he asks. His tone is calm, but there is a steel to his voice.
“Get rid of Manu without involving me? Gods, that would be amazing. But how is that even p-possible?”
Professor Feniks gives a mirthless chuckle. “You don’t need to know. Just give me the go-ahead and consider Manu Hale dealt with.”
That sounds awfully final. “You’re not going to…do anything…?” Shit, I can’t say it, but I’m a little worried the physical education professor is going to murder one of his students.
He obviously hears my unfinished question and chuffs out a laugh. “I promise there will be no dead bodies involved, tempting though it may be.” Pinching out his cigarette, Feniks stands, puts out a hand, and takes mine, gently pulling me to my feet. “Are you OK to walk now?”
My legs are shaky, but much more functional. “I can walk.”
“Good. Let’s head to your dorm.” He pauses. “It seems unfair to ask this, Wilson. But if I’m going to get rid of the, er, problem, no one can know about this incident. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I nod. I have no idea what Professor Feniks has in mind, but I’m not an idiot; he’s not going to solve the situation through any legitimate, school-sanctioned methods. “I won’t say a word,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry to ask that,” he replies. “I hope you know you can come to me if you need to talk about what you’ve gone through tonight?”
His thoughtfulness brings a rush of tears to my eyes. “Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything.”
“You can show your appreciation by improving your situational awareness,” he growls back, suddenly fierce. “Manu Hale should not have been able to get a jump on you.”
I just nod. He’s right, I need to be more alert to danger. When we get to Defectivum’s front door, I pause and turn to the professor. “Thanks, I can take it from here.”
“No, I’ll see you to your room,” he frowns.
That’s OK by me. Defectivum is always a little creepy at night. We cross the lobby, and I stop outside the basement door. “This is me,” I tell him, as I try to keep my voice from wobbling. “Thanks again, and I owe you.
Frowning, he takes hold of my hand. “You don’t owe me anything. I should never have teamed you up with him in gym class. I put you on Hale’s radar.”
“I was on his radar before that,” I mutter. “Please don’t think you have any responsibility for this.”
Professor Feniks gives me a long, hard look that I can’t decipher, and the static in his brain fuzzes wildly.
“This is your room?” Professor Feniks asks, after a beat. He takes a step back and looks at the narrow door.
“Yes,” I reply, giving him a weak smile. “And bed is calling my name.”
“Good, then get some sleep.” He turns abruptly, and I watch as he marches across the foyer. After the front door shuts behind him, my knees suddenly go weak.
Today was too much.
With a spinning head, I collapse onto the cold lobby floor.