Chapter 12. THE BREAK-IN
(Sienna)
As Reed dismissed the class, I began to gather my belongings. Maggie had left in a rush, already being late for her next class. Just as I was about to exit the classroom, Reed’s voice called out, catching my attention.
“Miss Moore. Can you stay for a minute? I’d like to have a word with you.”
“Sure,” I responded.
He knew my name. Was that a good or a bad thing?
“I was quite impressed with your answers to my assignment.”
“Good impressed or bad impressed?” I asked.
“Actually, in a good way. I’ve reviewed eighty percent of all assignments, and yours is the best so far.”
Despite being used to receiving compliments about my grades, I blushed. I had a GPA of 3.8, but it felt terrific coming from someone with his reputation. He was apparently a genius, having worked in the pharmaceutical industry since he was twenty-four and becoming the youngest lecturer ever at Columbia University at twenty-nine. It didn’t help the fact that he was hot.
“I’m looking for a couple of students who want to join my research team and earn extra credits. I thought it might interest you.”
“Why me? I’m just a freshman.”
He reclined his chair and put both hands behind his head, looking relaxed and casual.
“I saw an article about you the other day. I didn’t realize you were that Sienna Moore, so I thought my offer might interest you. Are you going to pursue a career at Cos Pharmaceuticals?”
“Well…yes. But I’m not sure clinical research is what I want. I’ve entertained the idea before, but things are now different.”
“You don’t need to decide anything today. Just think about my offer and let me know before the end of next week. You can give it a try to see if this is a path you’d like to pursue. You won’t know unless you try.”
Reed was right. I still didn’t know if I wanted to major in business or be more involved in the research side of things, so I guessed his offer could be an excellent opportunity to find out.
“Okay, I’ll think about it. Thanks for thinking of me. It’s an amazing opportunity. So really, thank you,” I said with a smile.
“Come to my office when you have an answer. I do hope you say yes.”
I walked to my apartment thinking about Reed’s offer and his reference to “ that Sienna Moore. ” Did he know my father? I assumed that if he moved in the same circles, there was a chance he had already met my father. The industry may seem like a big ocean full of fish, but in reality, it was more like a pond.
I put my key in and turned it, but the door was strangely opened. What the fuck. I was pretty sure I locked the door when I left this morning.
I shut the door behind me and looked around the living room.
“Hello?”
No answer.
I walked around the living room and the kitchen, but everything looked normal, and nothing was out of place. But when I reached my bedroom, the realization that someone had been in my room hit me. A black dahlia was on top of my bed with a small note beside it. I started to panic, looking around because someone could still be inside my apartment. I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife from the block on the counter, and scrolled through my recent calls. I pressed on the first familiar name that showed up on the screen. Maggie. One ring, two rings, three rings…she wasn’t fucking answering the phone. Maybe she was still in class, and her phone was on silent inside her purse. I was hyperventilating. Perhaps I should call the cops. Maybe it was Noah. Could it be Noah? I returned to my bedroom and checked the bathroom first, just in case. I picked up the note.
You can’t escape fate.
Fucking Noah.
The card was not signed, but I was pretty sure this was his doing. Noah must have paid someone at the reception to give him access to my room so he could leave the black dahlia and the note. Although I’d always felt comfortable around him, Noah had clearly shown a lack of boundaries so far: at the library, The Cave, and waiting for me outside Aster Hall once he felt ignored. He had a gentle and caring side but could also be quite possessive. While I enjoyed being dominated and controlled in the bedroom, I wasn’t keen on being told what to do outside of it. I needed to have a word with him. I almost had a heart attack. Shit, I might still be having one. My heart was pumping a thousand beats an hour.
Half an hour later, Maggie called me.
“Hey, sorry. I didn’t see your call. All good?” she asked.
“Not fucking close.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think Noah broke into my apartment and left me a black dahlia with a note. I almost shat my pants.”
“Do you want me to come over? You sound like you’re panicking.”
“No. I’m okay, just fucking furious. I’m having dinner with him tonight, so I’ll tell him that it might have looked romantic in his head, but he scared the shit out of me. Not cool.”
“Okay. Let me know if you want me to come over later tonight. I could stay with you if you don’t want to be alone in your apartment. And ask security to change your lock.”
“Yes, I will. Thanks, Maggie. Talk later.”
* * *
Noah picked me up in his car at seven o’clock. He owned a convertible Mercedes-Benz SL in dark gray with black leather seats. It was a beautiful car and very comfy. “Lo Vas A Olvidar” by Billie Eilish and Rosalía played in the background.
“I love this song. I’m a big Rosalía fan, and I love Billie Eilish,” I said, putting my seat belt on. “She makes me feel things that no other artist can.”
“I guess we have that in common. I love Billie Eilish too. “When the party’s over” is one of my favorite songs. Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I’m starving. How was your day?”
“Average. But now that you are here with me, my day’s starting to look better.” Noah placed a hand over my left thigh and squeezed. “How was yours? Did you have many classes today?”
“I did. My Biochemistry they were best friends. Something happened between them six years ago because William left the company, and my father bought his shares. My dad never told me what happened but forbade me from seeing Ander. We used to spend weekends and holidays together, but when my parents sent me to Switzerland, we lost contact.”
“Why does he hate you so much?” he probed.
“Honestly? I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Ander.”
“Well...he definitely crossed the line the other night. We briefly talked about what went down at my birthday party this morning, but he kept dodging the issue about why he’s acting like a jerk.”
“Now that you talk about crossing lines…Look. Maybe you thought it was a romantic gesture, but it wasn’t. So maybe we need to set some boundaries. If you want to buy me flowers, just do what every other guy does and get them delivered to my dorm. But please, don’t break in again because it almost gave me a heart attack. That shit is only romantic in books and movies.”
His brows drew together, his jaw tightened, and his mouth set in a hard line.
“What are you talking about?” he replied.
“You know, the black dahlia and the note you left on my bed,” I explained.
“That wasn’t me. I’ve never been inside your apartment. I don’t even know what a black dahlia looks like.”
A wave of terror overtook my body. If Noah didn’t break into my apartment… who the hell did? I was so sure it was him that I never called security. I couldn’t stop shaking. Someone touched my bed sheets, my things. Maybe they went through my drawers and touched my underwear.
Oh God.
Shaking my head, I exclaimed, “Noah, I’m dead serious. Promise me it wasn’t you.”
“I swear to God, Sienna, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he insisted.
“Someone was in my apartment today. When I got there, my door was unlocked. Shit, shit, shit.” A tingling sensation began in my shaking hands, followed by palpitations.
Sensing my unease, Noah stood, held out his hand, and said, “Okay. Let’s go. We’ll call security on our way to campus and get an emergency locksmith to change your door lock. I’ll stay over tonight.”
* * *
“I don’t want you to leave.” Ander looked frustrated.
“I don’t want to either, but my father won’t change his mind. He says I should stay away from you and your family.”
Ander and I had secretly met at Jay Estate Gardens. I was leaving in three days, and every time I had asked my father to drive me to the Scotts’ house to say goodbye to Ander, he refused.
He looked sad, but so did I. I didn’t want to move to Switzerland.
“This sucks.”
“Are you going to miss me?” I asked.
I wasn’t sure if he would miss me, but I was certain I would. He’d been a constant in my life since we were babies, and although we didn’t go to the same school, I saw him almost every week.
“You’ll probably forget about me. You’ll make new friends, and you won’t remember me.”
“How can you say that? You know how important you are to me,” I responded.
My feelings for Ander were strong, but they’d morphed from an innocent friendship into something different. His jokes were now more flirtatious, and I’d noticed how he looked at me when we were alone. How he was looking at me now.
“You’re important to me too, Sienna. I… I…”
“You what?”
“I’ll write to you. I promise.”
“I’d love that.”
The sun was setting, and I knew our goodbye was approaching.
Ander approached where I sat and held my hand with his, my cheeks turning pink.
“Ander…”
“Yeah?” He turned his face to look at me. Time stood still. He made me feel things. Things I didn’t want to say to him because I didn’t want to feel rejected. He was already popular with the girls in Rye, and I was just the twelve-year-old girl who once puked on his lap when he dared me to ride the roller coaster with him at a birthday party after eating a double cheeseburger and french fries. I didn’t know at what point he became more than a friend to me, but I wasn’t sure if he reciprocated my feelings.
He held my gaze for minutes, but I decided that if this was the last time I was going to see Ander, I would make it count. I closed the distance between us and kissed him. I wanted him to be my first kiss. To my surprise, he kissed me back.
We didn’t discuss that kiss on the way to the bus stop or what it meant. I just made him promise me again that he would write to me.
“You’ve promised,” I said as I stepped inside the bus. And the doors closed. That little girl didn’t know it was the last time she would see Ander’s smile.
I woke up drenched in sweat. It wasn’t the first time this had occurred. I’d experienced it before—a memory disguised as a bad dream. A memory of something that happened six years ago. The day Ander promised to write to me. But he never did.
I opened my eyes and saw Noah lying next to me on his side, a hand over my waist. He was still sleeping with a peaceful expression on his face. I stared at him for minutes, memorizing every freckle, the curve of his lips, his perfect nose, and eyelashes. He stayed with me last night, and we talked until 3 a.m. Noah was witty and sweet. He thought the flower and the note could be part of a hazing prank, which apparently is very common at Stanford, and I thought he might be right, but it scared me nonetheless. I hated pranks.
I turned around to pick up my phone from my bedside table to order breakfast, but Noah tightened his hold on my waist and drew me closer.
“Good morning, little princess. Where do you think you’re going?”
I giggled.
“I was going to order some breakfast, but we can go out if you prefer.”
“Nah, I’d rather have you for myself a bit longer before we go to class.” He was clearly a possessive guy, but I loved it. “You looked like you had a nightmare last night; you wouldn’t stop moving your legs.”
He’d noticed my distress.
“It wasn’t a nightmare, more like a memory replaying,” I clarified.
“What was it about?”
“It’s quite personal, and I don’t know you well enough to embarrass myself in front of you yet,” I responded, forcing a smile.
“I don’t care. You could wear the most ridiculous outfit or tell me the most absurd story, and I’d still think you are the most devastatingly beautiful and incredible girl on campus.”
“Only on campus? Rude,” I said mockingly.
We lingered in bed for another thirty minutes while waiting for Uber Eats to deliver our breakfast. We finished our almond croissants and coffee—an Americano for Noah and a pumpkin spice latte for me, of course—and headed out. He went to his side of campus, and I went to my Organic Chemistry I class. I slipped on my headphones and hit shuffle on my favorite playlist. “We Don’t Talk Anymore” came on, and the lyrics hit too close to home.
* * *
After carefully thinking and discussing it with Peter, I decided to take up Reed’s offer. Peter was right. This was an excellent opportunity to find out if I actually enjoyed research and also a great line in my curriculum.
I knocked on Reed’s door twice. Despite the office door being open, I didn’t cross the threshold until his voice from inside invited me to enter.
“Good morning, Miss Moore. I assume you’re here because you’ve reached a decision.”
“Yes,” I answered. “I’ve decided to accept your offer. It’s a great opportunity, and I’m honored that you’ve invited me to be part of your research team.”
“Great. You can meet the rest of the team this afternoon after your classes at 4 p.m. Ideally, I would like you to come every day for an hour, but I can be flexible if you have exams or other commitments. Just let me know in advance. I’ll tell you more this afternoon. The lab is in this building, room L-56,” he explained.
“I’ll see you later, then.”
Later that day, once all my classes were done, I headed toward the lab. I quickened my steps with anticipation, my heart pounding faster and faster with each stride.
One Christmas, my father bought me a microscope, some beakers, flasks, and a white lab coat. I loved playing the scientist with him. We would imagine that we were about to discover the cure for an extremely dangerous disease that was turning people into zombies. He would pretend to get infected and would chase me around the house, trying to bite me and infect me, too. Sometimes I played along and started chasing my mom around the kitchen. It was one of the best memories I had with him. He loved making me laugh, and as an only child, I really appreciated the time he gave me. My father was always extremely busy with work but always found time for me. Many of my friends at school had siblings, but I didn’t. The closest thing I had to a brother was Ander.
I entered lab L-56, and Reed greeted me.
“Welcome, Miss Moore. Please grab a seat over there. Your lab partner will arrive any second. In the meantime, please read the notes I left beside the Bunsen burner. I’ll walk by in a second to make sure you don’t have any questions.”
The notes included some background information on the project: cell and tissue engineering. Something about establishing new paradigms in stem cell aging and regulation; it sounded important. There were instructions on the different stages of the research, the materials we would need, and the scope of our research for this week and next.
“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked me.
Oh Lord.
I lifted my head, and there he was—Ander. Both hands were inside his jeans pockets, and his forehead was creased.
“Professor Reed has invited me to be part of his research team. And you?”
“You shouldn’t be here. You’re a freshman.”
His arrogance had no limits.
“Mr. Scott. Welcome back. Let me introduce you to your new partner, Miss Sienna Moore.”
“We already know each other,” I said.
“Oh great, that’s good. Have a seat.”
Reed didn’t know that pairing us together was a bad idea.
There was a high chance that Ander would sabotage my work to kick me out of the lab. That thought infuriated me because I knew that he was now capable of such things. The Ander from the past would have been thrilled to work with me.
We sat in silence for the entire hour, not a single word between us. When the hour passed, he grabbed his things and left the room. A few minutes later, I picked up my bag from the floor and left. I turned left at the end of the hallway and bumped into Ander. He was waiting for me.
“Listen to me. You’re going to tell Reed that you have changed your mind, and you’re gonna leave the research team,” he ordered me.
“I will do no such thing.” I snorted.
Ander approached me and cornered me against the wall. He was a good foot taller than me, with a broad back and muscled arms. His scent was making me lightheaded. He smelled of bergamot and pepper, earthy with mandarin notes. My heart started racing, but I wasn’t sure whether it was because I was now scared of him and what he could do to me or because of his proximity, his chest almost touching mine.
“I’m warning you, Sienna. I’m not the same boy you met years ago. I won’t hesitate to make your life a living hell.”
“Are you threatening me?” I spoke, lifting my chin in defiance.
“I’m just giving you a warning. Take it as you wish,” he said and walked away.
Ander clearly thought he could tell me what to do, but he was wrong. I’d never quit. If he thought for a second that I was scared of his threats, he was going to be shocked because I wouldn’t allow him, or anyone else for that matter, to bully me into submission. I’d never been a pushover and wouldn’t start now. I was genuinely excited about the opportunity Reed had given me.
I would make the best of the situation, even if it meant working alongside Ander.