Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Kara
There was no reason to worry—fear—being pulled into an empty classroom. But that’s exactly what reaction swamped me.
I gave myself a quick second to relax, even if that left me watching Ian’s face pull into a familiar sneer. It almost looked like he was having gas pains or something. Before I could ask him why he was manhandling me—yet again—he pulled me closer to him. His breath smelled of old cigarettes and whiskey. I wasn’t a big drinker, so alcohol all smelled the same to my nose. Gross all around.
“Get off me, Ian.”
I went slack in his grip. His fingers were pinching my biceps, and I knew from previous incidents, if I tensed up, I’d have bruises. Though, I’d probably have them anyway. Which meant no more tank tops for a week or so. Again. Last time I was able to cover them with light sweaters as it was mid-March and there was still snow on the ground. It’s currently summer here. Even in upstate New York, we can have some warm days. Long sleeves in this weather… Shit .
“You can’t keep denying me.” His grip tightened, his voice a low menacing growl. “Why? Why must you deny me the one thing I need most? You know you want me; you have since we kissed in my office. I’ve seen you watching me.”
Wait, say what now. Me watching him? Maybe he was truly drunk. Or just insane. At this point, I was calling that spade a spade.
“Ian, I’m not watching you.” I tried to pull free of his hold. His grip tightened, and he leaned into me more. The smell of cigarettes was cloying. Panic was roiling in my gut, threatening to explode at any second.
Three months of this was starting to seriously weigh on me. I wasn’t sure how to fix the situation without making it more awful. I didn’t want to do something that would get me hurt or worse. He was constantly up my butt. Following me around the school. Coming in to ‘check on me’ during classes. As one of the advisors, he could come in and watch classes without anyone being the wiser. Hell, I’d even seen his car out on my street after dark.
How he thought any of this was okay was beyond me.
I needed to go to the dean…maybe he could do something? No. That would be just as bad as involving another staff member. I had to handle this on my own.
“I can be no clearer than I have been. I do not now, nor have I at any given time, felt a need to prove myself to you, Ian. I do not wish to mingle, talk, or deal with you outside of what we must do at work. That’s it. Nothing more.”
“Lies. I see you. You walk by me to tease me. You want me, find me attractive, but are scared to admit it. Is it Dan who doesn’t like me? You can’t make a decision without your brother’s input? I can’t take—I won’t have you denying me like this.”
My heart was thumping out a war song right about then. This man—he was seriously delusional if he thought for one second that I wanted him in any way.
How did I say that…I really didn’t want to have to fight my way out of this room. Someone might notice an altercation, and then other faculty would get involved. I’d rather handle it myself. No one needed to know I’d let this happen. No, I was not blaming myself, I just…I didn’t know anything anymore.
There would still be classes for a few more weeks. Then we’d be on summer vacation—and I’d be free of this asshole for two and a half months—if I came back at all. This lack of boundaries and manhandling had gotten worse every time we’d come back from a break of any kind.
I really wish he could find a new hobby. I was exhausted playing this game of cat and mouse.
“Look, you’re a decently handsome man, but you’re not my type. I’m not interested in anything more than being a work colleague with you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be that’s not here.”
He didn’t want to let go, so having had enough, I made him. My knee came up to hit his groin, and he tipped over like a lead weight. I didn’t knee him as hard as I could have, just enough to make my words sink in.
His grunting and cursing had me grabbing the bag I’d dropped so I could get the hell out of there.
My stride was hurried, but not quite a full-out run by the time I got down the hall. Every day for the last few weeks had been the same. Everywhere I went, he was there. Or it sure as hell seemed to be that way. He’d be standing outside the lecture hall, the classroom, waiting at the end of the hall; watching like a dog after a bone.
Maybe I was just freaking out and overthinking everything. That’s my usual jam. Let’s face it; I have PTSD from a past relationship. Major trust issues which started after—well, that doesn’t matter how that got started, but it’s there.
If I thought it would do me any good, I’d report his actions to the advisors. Maybe there was a chance I wasn’t overthinking or overreacting. They’d be able to step in and make it all stop before someone—he—got hurt.
I stopped at the end of the next hall, took a deep breath, and let it back out. Taking that moment to collect myself was needed. Once I felt my heart rate slow, I headed up to the room I’d been using today. I gathered my things, making sure there was no sign of me left, then headed back across the building to my normal room. I had a lot to do, and now my nerves were frazzled.
When I got home, I was going to get a beer and eat my weight in cheesecake.
I had two early classes in the morning. This meant I needed to get things set up and ready now. I didn’t want to wait until my 7:00am class was seated to do it. That never ended well. And to be honest, until I was on my third cup of coffee, I didn’t always fire on all cylinders. Not getting here at 5:00am to do it would be nice as well. I liked my sleep.
The door to my room opened with the turn of my key, and I stepped inside. The air was cool, and a shiver rolled over me. Much better than that hot as hell classroom I’d been in earlier this afternoon.
“What will you wear to the fair?”
Yawning, I scratched my scalp with my nails and let the tension in my neck take a break. The voices filtering in from the hallway drew my attention from the papers before me. There was a big fair one town over from us this coming weekend. Everyone had been talking about it, making plans—and I was freaking out. Fairs meant clowns. Loud, obnoxious people, screaming kids—but that also meant corndogs, elephant ears, and my favorite, sausage dogs with peppers and onions.
Ugh. My stomach was ready; my nerves though, not so much.
I was not a fan of crowds or loud places. Or clowns. The mere thought made me want to hide under my bed. Every time I saw a clown I had a flashback to the movie Poltergeist . When it was storming and the creepy clown pulled Robbie off the bed and under it.
Nope. No thank you.
I swear, I’d die a thousand deaths.
Also…I had a creepy stalker. In retrospect, I knew it was Ian. Creepy notes in my mailbox. Dead flowers on my doorstep. Blocked numbers and unknown calls that ended in messages of someone breathing on my voicemail. I swear he was trying to make me a wreck so I’d lose my marbles. The slimy toad turd just couldn’t let me be. If I went to the admin, there was a chance I would just get booted out. He’s a figurehead here. I was still the ‘newbie,’ who after a few years still butted heads with the board members and upper staff—what a joke they were.
My door opened in a rush, and I was ashamed to say, I jerked back in my seat. My brother stood there, a smirk on his face.
“Did I scare you, brat?”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”
He hopped up on one of the tables in front of my desk. “It’s decision time. Are you in or out?”
“Not this again. I said I’d think about it. I’m only halfway there.”
“Oh, come on. We’ve not been to a fair since?—”
“Since you and the doofus squad left me in that mirrored fun house!” I huffed. That still gave me nightmares on bad nights. The image of myself and that stupid scary clown. It was a never-ending visual that spun and moved along with me.
“What was the big deal; you were fine.”
“I was—you just left me there!”
“Cal got you out. He threatened to kick our asses after.”
“He’s the only one of you guys who had half a brain cell.”
He chuckled. “Maybe, but that’s the things older brothers do to their younger sisters when they follow them to the fair. You kept bugging us.”
“It was rude, you jerk.”
“Yeah, I know. I never did it again.”
“I’d kick your butt if you tried.”
“Sorry, sis, you are not the one I’m worried about. Cal would rip my arms off.”
“He wouldn’t. Why would he care?”
Dan stared at me; the look on his face had me coming to alert.
“What? Why is that look on your face?”
“You’re being funny, right?”
“What?” I got up from my desk and went to lean against the front of it. Why was he making that face at me?
“Cal has always loved you,” he stated.
“No, if he did, he wouldn’t have left.”
“He went into the service; he didn’t just up and leave you .”
“Maybe, but he still left.”
There was way too much hurt in my voice. I loved Cal…I still loved the big jerk. It hurt so bad when he left.
His family life wasn’t always great, and he wanted to do something more in life than stay in town and have a menial job. From what Dan has told me over the years, he’s done good for himself.
“You know he’s close? He keeps tabs on us both.” Dan chuckled.
“Yeah, well…” I sighed, rubbing my hand across my face. My attention was drawn to the door as an envelope slid under it. I stood there, watching it. Was it going to be like the last one? Would it have a cryptic message in it? Was it something else? Would there be a dead…well, that wasn’t big enough for a dead rat. I shuddered at the thought.
“Are you expecting that to bite you or something?”
Dan moved past me and scooped up the envelope. I wouldn’t take it from him. He wasted no time opening it. The small piece of paper inside came out between his fingers. His brows grew into a tight line.
“What in the hell is this?”
I stepped back from him as he held out the paper. The words ‘I’m watching you!’ stared back at me. My gut churned. I knew who it was from, but I had no proof. I shook my head and turned back to my desk.
“Put it in the trash.” I scooped up my gradebooks and the rest of the papers I needed to grade. My cheeks heated with embarrassment. How did I tell my older, overprotective brother that one of his so-called friends/staff members was a demented person? He couldn’t take no for an answer. Or at least, not from me.
Why be obsessed with me? That made me sound conceited. Maybe he was doing this to others as well. A little seduction, get them in his grip, then squeeze until they choke.
Nope, I was not dealing with a man who didn’t understand or respect boundaries. Not happening. He might have had good intentions in the beginning, but now, he’d gone off the rocker. He was escalating.
It all came down to the fact that I didn’t have proof. Proof. That five-letter word was going to ruin my life. I just knew it.
“Kara? What is this?”
“Nothing. Just throw it away.”
“Who?”
“I need to go. I have things to do before I can get back to my papers.”
“Kara, this is not nothing. Is it a student? Another teacher? It’s a secluded campus, so it has to be someone close.” He curled his fingers around the note and stormed out of my class, looking up and down the empty hallway.
I pushed past him and called out, “Just don’t worry, okay? It’s fine.”
“This is far from fine, Kara!”
“I know…” The words left me in a whisper of breath. I had to get out of here before I completely melted down. Tears stung my eyes. I kept them at bay until I got to my car. In the silence, I let my tears fall, and a sob broke free. If this kept up, I’d have no choice but to leave the school. If I were out of his sight, he couldn’t make my life miserable. Right?
As with most things in life, this wasn’t fair to me, but I’d do what I could to keep myself safe even if that meant uprooting myself and moving on.
The grass had to be greener on the other side.
It just had to be.