Chapter 33
“Why?” I panicked in response to the tone of his voice, which was scaring me as it was an odd mix of restrained anger and shame. “What’s happened?”
“A grave matter that it’s inappropriate to speak to you about over the phone,” he replied sternly and without warmth.
“Dad, I’m unsure I can leave because there’s a police investigation going on.” I educated him, especially since I was on the carriage as the victim, which made the other students in Carriage D and me prime witnesses.
“I’m well aware, and I have organized for your release until Monday, when you must return to school. They’ve given you a special pass because I explained that it was a family emergency.” The fury in his tone dissipated the more he spoke, and I relaxed a little.
“And is it? Is it a family emergency?” I pushed, hoping he’d give me a clue as to what was so terrible.
He continued, “I have been informed that the train leaves at 3 PM, and if you go to campus administration and speak to Diane, then you’ll receive that special pass that she signed off for you. Someone will be there to pick you up at the Morrisville train station to drive you back home to Richmond.”
“Wow, you have really put the work in,” I said as echoes of laughter rang out, bouncing against building walls, so I couldn’t see where they were coming from.
“Well, no, Natalie organized it all,” he corrected me. Natalie was his PA. At one point, I thought they were having an affair while Mom was sick, but the only evidence I had was his absence.
As she lay dying, he’d stay late at work with Natalie to close a deal or whatever, spending my mom’s last days with his PA, and I kinda hated him for it. But my mom’s last words were for me not to take it personally, as Maxwell was never good at the emotional side of human nature.
And I promised myself that if I ever got married, my husband would be good with the emotional side of human nature and stand by me until the very end. Like I would stand by him through thick and thin.
“Naturally.” I was tempted to ask if Leslie, my stepmother, was jealous of much time he spent with Natalie, but it wasn’t a good appropriate timing.
He waivered a little, picking up on my tone when I uttered the word, “Naturally,” but didn’t say anything, even though I could tell he wanted to. “Oh, and I almost forgot, bring the pictures of Leslie for her cake, will you?”
“No, I haven’t been able to find anything yet. I need to keep looking,” I stated, clenching my jaw as I was about to look her up in the Heritage Library, when a sullen 6ft2 obstacle got in my way.
He heaved an exhausted sigh as if disappointed, but I ignored it. “I'd better go because I need to pack my bags and hand in a paper.”
I lied about the paper as nothing was due this soon in the term, but I needed to say something.
“Very well. I will see you tomorrow,” he said dryly.
“Tomorrow? I’ll be home tonight,” I reminded him. Jeez, short memory.
“I am aware, but you’ll be home late, and I’ll be staying in the apartment in the city,” he explained.
“Good,” I mumbled as I won’t have to see him straight away and had time to prepare myself for the worst. Although if it were an emergency, you’d think he’d want to see me ASAP.
Brushing the confusion behind me, I swiped off and peered around the corner, searching for the Warwicks, before jogging all the way back to Morgana. Then paused at the entrance to catch my breath and search my bag for my keycard before entering.
As I walked along the hallway toward the stairs, I heard rushed footsteps, and I pulled my knife from my bag. There was something in the panicked tone and tinkering sound as if they were in the middle of something in the kitchen, then fled when they heard the front door shut.
I crept to the kitchen and the microwave was in use, and peered into the glass door to find a TV dinner being heated up. Why can’t they eat down at the dining hall? It’s much better food than what’s sitting in that plastic container.
But more importantly, who the hell was this? Mila? Lev? The mystery person on the third floor who scraped furniture along the floor most nights, according to Mila?
Their rushed footsteps ran upstairs, so I precariously followed them up to my floor, but saw no one around. I mean…no one. But as I unlocked my door, I heard the click of Lev’s door open, checking on me.
“Adina?” he called out, but I was in no mood to speak to him, and once inside, I slammed the door shut, switched the deadlock on, and dragged out my bag from under the bed.
He banged on my door several times, first lightly, then aggressively, until finally he gave up.
I could still feel his arms wrapped tightly around my body as he lifted me easily up onto the vibrator that Ezrah Warwick held with his big hand.
His firm, lean body against mine was great, more than great, and I enjoyed them pleasuring me, until…
they fucked me over, and the whole thing was a ruse to punish me.
And what did I do to deserve this punishment?
Be the daughter of my father. That’s all.
I’d view it as a long weekend away, and maybe I won’t return at all. Maybe I could convince my father to go back to the college I spent my freshman year at and leave this place behind me.
I heard the distant sound of the train whistling as it pulled, carrying supplies and late students.
I had an hour to spare to grab food and see Diane down at admin to get my special pass.
Opening the door a crack to make sure the coast was clear, I then dragged my trolley bag out and quietly stepped down the stairs, lifting it off the floor so the banging couldn’t be heard with each step, along past the kitchen, cringing at the lingering food scent left by Lev or whoever was warming up their dinner.
Then once outside, I sensed freedom was only a stone’s throw away. But I had to walk down to Ashthorn Castle to get my pass, then down to Scholars to grab food and drink as I wasn’t sure the train’s eatery would be open, since I might be the only passenger heading back to Morrisville.
I walked along the road for about ten minutes until I arrived at the castle, pleased that there weren’t many students around because they were likely in class. I found Diane, who promptly supplied me with my pass that I had to provide ID and sign for.
My nerves started to play havoc on me as I walked through the castle to Dingle Street, where a lot of students hang out, but relieved to find that the street was fairly empty. I went straight up to the counter and bought several items, then left.
My heart was pounding brutally against my ribcage as I was scared that either the police or the Warwicks would stop me from leaving. The closer it got to 3 PM, when the train was due to leave again, the more frantic I became, thinking worse. Always thinking of the worst to prepare me for surprises.
I wheeled my trolley bag all the way back to the station and sat down on a bench, waiting for the conductor to signal when it was time to board.
I wasn’t out of the woods yet, and as the afternoon sun began to drop, shining brightly into my eyes, and when I held up my hand to block the glare, I saw a dark figure approaching me.
I froze and removed my knife from my bag, and held it so he could see it because running away from him was pointless. He’d outrun me easily, and besides, I wanted to board the train.
“Going somewhere?” Lev asked in that low, surly tone.
“Home,” I said honestly, and I saw no value in lying to him.
“For how long?” he pressed, sitting next to me.
I swallowed as his scent and body heat draped over me, and it was easier to look away because I realized Lev was an inadvertent weakness. “I don’t know.” That was a lie, as I was instructed to return by Monday, but I didn’t think I was able to.
“Strange coincidence,” he said, folding strong arms across his chest.
“What is?” Another girl hovered nearby, and I hoped she was going to board the train as well.
“Your interview with the police was earlier, and now you’re leaving college.” In my peripheral vision, he tilted his head to the side to scrutinize my knife. “It kinda looks like you’re leaving because of something that you said to the police.”
“Don’t worry, Lev, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t mention what I saw between Ezrah and the dead man,” I breathed as several guys in jock gear turned up to board the train, and again, I relaxed a little more.
So close. So close to escaping.
“The Warwicks won’t be happy,” he said quietly, carefully watching the jocks who were carrying hockey sticks, but not ice hockey, the other sort.
“Fuck the Warwicks. And who was that guy anyway?” For the first time since he appeared, I looked at his handsome face, and immediately my body quivered in desire, and I hated myself for it.
Lev shrugged as the sunlight lit up his eyelashes, and I didn’t realize they were so long. He was so pretty, and if he wasn’t so rude and antisocial toward students who got in his way, he’d have half of the girls on campus after him. “Dunno.”
“Dunno? Don’t you mean you do know, but you won’t tell me,” I hit, my tone full of anger, but I wasn’t angry at him. I was angry at my mother dying, my father remarrying so soon, the Warwicks…
“Why are you leaving, then?” his voice cracked as a flicker of pain on his face, and I wondered what haunted him so much. He composed himself quickly, adjusted his posture, and added, “If it’s not the police, then why?”
“Family emergency,” I told him, then found my father’s voicemails. “You can listen if you don’t believe me.”
He flicked his hand dismissively, “Nah. It’s okay. I believe you.”
“Really?” I asked to see if he was being truthful.
“Yeah, I’ll think of something to tell the boys.” He stood to leave, and I felt a tug on my heart that surprised me.
“Are you leaving?” The words dropped from my mouth without thinking. “I mean, you can stay and talk until…”
His finger pointed toward the carriages. “Time to board.”
I stood up and met his gaze as he grabbed my bag to carry it for me. “When you return,” he started as we walked toward the platform. “I wanna take you somewhere special I like to go.”
My breath hitched, and my heart raced, my head spun, conflicted that I was yearning for more of Lev Ashthorn, but I might never return. But he seemed sure that I would. “Okay.”
“If we had more time, I could show you…” He cupped my cheek with his hand and pressed his lips against mine as my heart exploded into a thousand pieces.
“I don’t hate you like I hate the Warwicks.” It was supposed to be a compliment, but he snorted in laughter.
“I’ll bear that in mind,” then smacked me lightly on my backside as the heat of desire cast across his eyes.
As I started to walk away from him, mixed emotions ran rampant, making my body quiver and writhe against the confusion.
“The world,” I heard his voice call after me.
I turned back. “Huh?” Under the sound of the conductor’s whistle and the jostling jocks.
“The world,” he said, slipping his hands into his black jeans’ pockets. “When you return.” His Adam’s apple bobbled when he swallowed. “I’ll show you the world.”
I smiled and waved goodbye as my heart was breaking in two, yet it seemed too soon to feel this way about anyone, particularly Lev Ashthorn, great-great-great-grandson of the recluse who built this weird place in the mountains. “Okay. That’s a deal.”
As I suspected, the passengers filled only one and a half carriages, so I sat in a carriage on my own by the window. It took me a few moments to find Lev as I thought he’d wait for me to board, but he was walking away as my heart sank.
What the hell was I doing lusting over a man like him? Imagine taking him home to meet Dad, who’d be most displeased. He was wrong in every way, but so right in an unexplainable way. But who would trust a broken heart to lead a girl to a good man?
As the train began to move, he was striding along, hands in his front pockets, hunched over, staring at the ground. He looked up as I passed, and I waved out, and he stopped, raised his hand discreetly.
Maybe I was mistaken, but I was sure I saw grief on his face.