First Semester (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 1)

by Sarah Fischer

  “Well, I probably would have kept going for the sex,” Jason teased, and smiled at me.

  “Ha-ha. What, Janice isn’t giving you enough?”

  Jason looked at me and smiled. “Actually, we’re both virgins.”

  “Oh, now I didn’t see that coming.”

  “Look, I have always thought that sex was supposed to be this special thing between people who love each other. I’m not ready until I know I love the person I’m with. Those are just my beliefs. I’m not judging you or anything,” he said as he reached out and touched my shoulder.

  “So, you don’t love Janice?” I was really confused. I thought that was why they were together.

  “I do love her but I’m not sure if she’s the one. But you already know that. Just like I already knew you were seeing someone. We know each other and I know you’re really hurting inside. Do you think he is as broken up?”

  “No. He called me a couple times after I left him without a word but it’s not like he’s banging down my door to make up,” I said with a heavy heart. Part of me did want him to fight for me. Maybe prove that those feelings existed. But apart from those few calls, it had been nothing but radio silence.

  “Then I think you have your answer. When a guy wants to be with a girl, he’s not going to just let her leave. If it makes you feel better, I’ll buy you ice cream again.”

  I giggled for a minute and gave him another hug. “I’ll be all right. If you keep buying me ice cream when I’m upset, you’ll be broke and I’ll be fat. I just need to move on and be single for a little while.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Now, show a little leg, we need to sell the rest of these tickets.” Jason opened the windows to the ticket booth and we got to business.

  ***

  I headed over to the green room with Jason so we could announce the good news about the tickets.

  “We have officially sold out,” Jason declared to the room.

  But my heart stopped when I saw him again. I couldn’t celebrate with everyone else because it took everything inside me to keep my heart from breaking into little pieces. I looked at the corner of the room where David was standing and swooned a little. He looked amazing. Instead of the slacks he always wore, he was wearing a pair of dark jeans. They were a little loose but I could still make out the amazing curve of his ass. He was wearing his EET Staff shirt under a dark blue vest that was unbuttoned. He looked up at me and our gaze held for a moment longer than was appropriate. I looked away and Annabelle gave me a sweet smile.

  “Great! Now let’s hope she shows up,” Nat said from the green room couch. Clarissa had spent the last half hour on the phone with the comedienne’s driver, who was lost. So at this point it was anyone’s guess as to when she would get here.

  I walked over to Jason and Annabelle and we sat around the table of amazing-looking food that we were not allowed to touch.

  “You look cute!” Annabelle nodded to my jean skirt.

  “Thanks, babe. I try just for you,” I flirted, and winked at her.

  “What? I thought it was for me!” Jason held his hand to his heart, pretending to be wounded.

  “You caught me. I am madly in love with you, Jason. I’ve been trying to keep it together but you are too much man for me.” I pretended to swoon.

  “It’s okay, Vi. I get this problem a lot. Through extreme therapy you just may be able to get by.” He patted me on the shoulder and winked.

  Annabelle kicked him under the table.

  “Everyone be quiet. Her manager is calling again,” Clarissa screamed. After a couple of nondescript comments, Clarissa said goodbye and hung up the phone. “Okay, they found us. They just pulled into the parking lot. Professor Berneli, Nat, and I are going to go greet her and bring her here.”

  Nat smiled at Berneli and stroked his shoulder. I locked my jaw to keep from running over there and punching her in the face.

  “Everyone else, make a single file line outside and we will do the meet and greet before the show starts. We have reserved seats in the orchestra pit of the auditorium so you don’t need to worry about finding seats,” she said, and the three of them headed out.

  We all got up and headed outside to get in line.

  “Jason, where’s Janice?” I asked, confused. I just realized she wasn’t here.

  “Oh, she wanted to sit with her friends so I already gave her the ticket,” he said, and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Is it me, or does she try to avoid us?” I looked at Annabelle and she nodded in agreement.

  “I don’t know anymore. She said she liked you guys, but I don’t know what’s up.” He shook his head and stared at the floor.

  Annabelle quickly changed the subject to the comedienne when David, Nat, and Clarissa walked into the hallway, escorting her. While Clarissa was mooning over the star, Nat had her hooks into David. She had her arm in his and was laughing hysterically at something he said. She must have been faking it. He really wasn’t that funny.

  I wanted to go over there and break her hand off but I couldn’t. This just seemed to solidify my decision. Why didn’t he brush her hand off? Was he seeing her too? Had he been seeing her this whole time?

  I pushed all of this from my mind and tried to be excited to meet a famous person for the first time.

  ***

  Once the meet and greet was over, we headed down to take our seats. We had two opening acts that would be performing for about seven minutes each and then the star attraction was coming.

  The opening acts were two students who had auditioned for the EET board before I was on it. They had been picked out of a group of about six. From what Annabelle said they were pretty funny. Turned out one of them, Greg, had really bad stage fright and managed to screw up most of his jokes. That was quite painful to watch. The student after him, though, Jeff, was a natural. He got everyone warmed up.

  The comedienne we picked was hysterical. She tailored her jokes to college campuses and seemed to relate really well to everyone. At one point I was crying from laughing so hard. It truly was a success. After the show was over, we took a large group photo of everyone in EET and all three comedians.

  Then the EET board headed to the green room to clean up after the comedienne and her people. It was a disaster so this was going to take a while. I needed to go to the bathroom so I headed around the corner. All of a sudden David cut me off.

  “What is going on? You don’t return any of my calls or text messages and then you avoid me all day?” he asked me. His glasses were in his pocket and nothing was blocking his devastated stare.

  “I just don’t want to do this. What am I risking my education for? Just sex?” I tried to walk around him but he quickly cut off my escape with his body.

  “I understand, we wouldn’t want you risking anything for just sex.” He glowered at me.

  “Right, so just let me be. I’m sure there are other club members eager to crawl on top of your desk.”

  “Is that what you think of me?”

  “I saw the way you were with Nat. She was all over you,” I said, and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. Part of me wanted him to pound on the door and beg me to open it. Of course he didn’t. The tears threatened to come and I pushed them away. I looked in the mirror and forced a smile on my face.

  “Listen,” I said, pointing at my reflection. “Just get through the rest of the night and then you can cry tonight. Do not let that man see how much he is affecting you. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than this.” I nodded at myself and opened the door.

  Luckily, David wasn’t there waiting for me. Maybe it would have made a small difference if he had tried a little harder. But then again, what would that matter? Then I would be back in the same position I was just in.

  ***

  As I was leaving to go to my room, I groaned. Leaning against the wall next to my dorm building was Officer Finn. I tried not to acknowledge him but he blocked my entrance.

  “So where were you tonight, Violet?
” He crossed his arms in front of him and looked like a dad ready to chastise his daughter for missing curfew.

  “I was at the show.”

  “You shouldn’t be walking alone this late. It’s not safe,” he said, and his voice sounded a little threatening.

  A shiver went down my spine but I stood tall. He was done scaring me. “I’m fine. I have tried to be nice but this is not okay anymore. I don’t need your protection, nor do I want it. Stop bringing me flowers, don’t leave them for me, and definitely don’t go to my room.”

  “Is that because you’re too busy with your literature professor? That’s right, I know about him.” He sounded angry and I could smell alcohol on his breath. I took a step back and looked around. The courtyard was completely empty.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m single.” I took a step to the side and leaned against the wall of the dorm, trying to be subtle. If I could get to the door, I could lock him out for a few minutes and call the police. He couldn’t be that fast with picking a lock.

  “If you’re single, then you should have no problem being with me.”

  “I’m not sure how many different ways I can say that I’m not interested in you. Now let me pass or—”

  Finn cut me off and leaned in close. “Or what?” he whispered. “Is that professor going to come and save you?” He winked at me and then grabbed me by the waist. I gasped and tried to fight his hold but he quickly put me over his shoulder. Finn was headed to the parking lot.

  “I wouldn’t be with you if you were the last man on the planet,” I shouted.

  “We’ll see about that.” Finn carried me behind the building and slammed me into the grass. Then he climbed on top of me and I panicked. I started kicking and screaming. Someone had to hear me. When he didn’t get off, I let out a loud shriek.

  Then Finn took out his cuffs and forcefully handcuffed me.

  “Listen, I’m not the enemy here. You had better behave or I’ll have to be the bad guy, and I don’t want to be the bad guy,” he warned, and held my hands above my head with one hand and covered my mouth with his other. We were behind the main dorm building so I kept hoping that someone would look out their window and see me struggling.

  “Now let me see. You have such a pretty figure under these clothes. That is one of the main reasons you’re unsafe. I have seen the way men look at you and it is disgusting. You need a man to protect you from all of that filth. Do you think your professor can do that? You need me!” He ripped my shirt open, leaving my bra on display.

  Sweat dripped down my face and I searched my mind for something to do. I noticed that while he was looking at my stomach, his hand on my mouth shifted a little and I bit down hard.

  “You bitch,” he shouted, and slapped me across the face. I let out a piercing scream as my vision came in and out. “Don’t you dare do that to me again! There will be consequences,” he warned, and repositioned his hand over my mouth. “Now, I am going to move my hand, but if you scream, I will hit you even harder. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. He moved his hand and shifted his position. He put his hand on the hem of my skirt and began to raise it a little higher. His fingers stroked my panties. Goose bumps spread out across my body as my adrenaline kicked into overdrive.

  I was not going to sit here and get raped. Finn was on my hips so I tried to shift and kick my legs so that I could break free. This didn’t work. But it did cause him to loosen his grip on my hands while he was trying to pin my legs down. I moved quickly and got them loose, so I slammed them hard onto his head, making sure the metal of the cuffs hit him first.

  He let out a loud curse and swung at me with his flashlight, but the force of the movement knocked him a little off balance. I capitalized on this and shoved him off me. Finn fell to the side and I got up and ran.

  The security office was only a few feet away, and if I could just get there, then they could help me. I could hear his ragged breathing behind me and I pushed my legs faster. The door was in my grasp when I heard his voice.

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Stay out of this, Professor, or I’ll show them all my evidence of your affair,” Finn said as I whipped around.

  “I don’t care what you do, just keep your hands off her,” David begged as he finally reached us.

  Finn grabbed his shoulders and tried to shove him away. David quickly overpowered him and wrestled him to the ground.

  David looked at me and I saw rage in his eyes. “Violet, go get someone from inside.”

  I pulled at the heavy doors and made it inside.

  “Help, I was just attacked by Officer Finn. One of the professors was passing by and he broke it up, but we need help,” I screamed, slamming my hands down on the desk.

  An officer didn’t hesitate and rushed outside while calling for back up on his walkie-talkie. He quickly took over for David and had Finn in cuffs almost instantly, and then quickly undid the cuffs scraping up my wrists.

  David rushed over to me. “What can I do?” he asked, holding my face in his hands.

  “Get Annabelle,” I begged, handing him my phone from my pocket.

  It felt like I was in a tunnel. I could hear him explaining what happened to Annabelle but he seemed really far away. He hung up the phone and I slipped it back in my pocket.

  “She will be right out. Love, are you okay?” He looked at the bruises I felt forming on my face and then noticed my ripped shirt. David slid out of his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

  “Everything hurts,” I managed to say. I was about to lean into him when I heard one of the officers call his name.

  “Professor, do you mind giving a statement?” He beckoned David to head over to him.

  I didn’t want him to leave me and he didn’t seem to want to go. What saved us was Annabelle. I smiled when I saw her. She was wearing leggings and a long t-shirt with a robe flying behind her. Her wet hair clung to her face and she nearly tripped in her shower flip-flops. David let go of my hand and backed up. It was good because she threw herself on me in a huge hug.

  “I got this, Professor,” she assured him, and he headed over to the officer. Annabelle was amazing. She didn’t ask any questions but held me and stroked my hair as I finally broke down in tears. I heard my name being called by an unfamiliar voice and looked up. He introduced himself as Chief Johnson, the head of the police force on campus. I instantly felt relieved to see him.

  “Miss Carrington, why don’t we go to my office and talk? It is a little chilly out here. Your friend can come.” He nodded at Annabelle and they both helped me up.

  “I’d like to come too. I’m her faculty advisor for EET. She was injured leaving my event so I believe I need to be present.” David spoke with an air of authority. I needed him there so I hoped the officers would listen.

  “Okay, Professor,” the chief said, and we all followed him to the campus security office.

  I was still shaking and I clung to David’s jacket. It smelled like him and provided some small level of comfort.

  When I was seated in the captain’s office, I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to ignore the panic that was quickly starting to take hold. The adrenaline was wearing off and the magnitude of what almost happened was sinking in.

  Chapter 16

  After I finished telling my story, Chief Johnson asked David to explain what he saw.

  “I was walking from my office to my car when I thought I heard someone scream. I headed toward where I thought I heard the sound coming from,” he explained, and balled his fists up. Even telling the story was clearly frustrating him.

  “I saw Officer Finn on top of a young woman. I didn’t know it was Miss Carrington at the time, but I rushed over to help her.” He looked at me for a split second and then continued. “I watched her fight him off but then he pursued her as she ran to this office for help. I told him to leave her alone but he came at me so I had to restrain him.” He ran his fingers through his hair and I not
iced they were shaking and that his knuckles had blood on them. I hoped it wasn’t his own.

  “Thank you, Professor,” the chief said as he finished making notes. “We are a full police force here and have arrested Andrew Finn for attempted rape and assault. He will be incarcerated until he is arraigned. In case he gets out on bail, a restraining order has been issued. He will not be allowed within one hundred feet of the campus or Miss Carrington,” he assured, and then looked at me.

  “Miss Carrington, I wanted to express my deepest apologies for what happened to you tonight. I just have one question. If you felt that this man was a danger to you, why didn’t you report him to us earlier?”

  There was a moment of silence as I pondered this. “I did. I spoke to the secretary and told her about Finn breaking into my room and stalking me. She insisted I was being overdramatic and talked me out of speaking to an officer.”

  “Miss Carrington, I can guarantee you that all of our staff are extensively trained to take these matters very seriously. It should have been escalated to either an officer or me so that we could determine if there was any danger. We will investigate your claim and work from there. But I urge you not to let someone like that talk you out of reporting a serious matter like someone breaking into your room. You were correct in thinking he was dangerous. I only wish we’d known,” the chief said with a deep sadness in his eyes and a splash of guilt in his voice as if he blamed himself for this incident.

  “Thank you, Chief,” I whispered quietly. I knew it wasn’t his fault and I didn’t blame him. The truth was that I never thought Finn would be violent. I just wanted him to leave me alone.

  “Can we take you back to your dorm?” Chief Johnson asked me.

  “No, that’s okay. I am going to take her to my house. I think staying here tonight will be too much,” Annabelle said, and helped me stand up.

  I nodded at the chief and headed out of the office.

  ***