Saxon’s Distortion by C.A. Rene

Saxon

“I graduate in a few weeks.” Gabe says as he sinks into the couch, his legs opening wide. “She’s on her own next year.”

“How bad is it?” He pauses at my question, his chocolate brown eyes drop from mine to look at his feet, and his dark blond hair falls over his forehead.

“It’s been quiet, but it might not be that way next year when I’m gone.” His fingers scratch at the light scruff on his chin, “they still laugh at her when they think no one is watching.”

“Fuck.” I fall back against the chair cushion at my back, “I’ll have to kill them all.”

“Or,” he chuckles, “you let Dahlia grow up and handle it herself. Her mother is Aunt Ember.”

“She’s not like our mom.” Dahlia is the furthest thing from Ember Greene.

“Maybe it just needs to be coaxed out of her,” he leans forward, his shoulder muscles bunching with the movement. “Give her the chance to work it out for herself, you might be surprised.”

“And if she ends up battered like I was?”

“I doubt it would ever get far, you were a fucking freak,” he laughs, “that’s why you had the attention. She’s just quiet and looks weak, it makes the bigger dogs want to assert dominance. When she lets loose her bark, they’ll back off.”

I understand what he’s trying to say and his lack of intelligence at forming suitable sentences doesn’t put me off. I just don’t want to take the chance Dahlia will become another bullied child who becomes depressed and isolated. Ivy went through some terrible shit and even though the experiences are mountains apart in differences, the outcome could be the same. There has to be at least one Greene child to turn out normal.

“She’ll be fine, Saxon.” Gabe reiterates. “You need to give her a bit more credit.”

“What’s your plan for next year?” I press him.

“Collegiate ball.” His answer is quick and thoughtless. Rehearsed to a T.

“Is that what you want?”

His brows crease in the center as he tries to figure out what I mean, “Obviously?” A question, not a statement.

“No one is forcing you to play baseball.”

“I’m good at it.” He gives me a look relaying how strange I’m sounding.

“So?” My brow pops up, “I’m good at scratching my balls and drinking beer, it’s not my profession though.”

“The fuck?” He laughs and shakes his head, “I like baseball, for now.”

“Have a backup.” He gives me a quick nod.

“How has your profession been?” He knows the family business as well as I do.

“Messy.”

“I don’t know how you do it and don’t want to know how you do it,” he shakes his head, “but I’m not judging you, someone has to do it.”

He looks off, lost in thought. Gabe is known as the playboy of Precious Blood, fucking all the girls, and dropping them soon after. But not one girl has held his attention for too long and he never brings them home. I worry about that because as much as he acts like he doesn’t care, he’s a bleeding fucking heart. He’s stock full of emotions, all brimming just under the surface and I’m aware there’s something he’s afraid of approaching.

“I’m here if you need to talk,” his eyes meet mine at the sound of my voice, “no judgments over here.”

“I know.”

He stands and stretches his arms over his head, he’s tall like the other Greene men in the family, but he’s leaner. He heads off to the front door and looks back, “I’ll be in touch.”

I give him a nod and watch as he leaves, the door closing behind him softly. He’s troubled over something but there’s not much I can do until he opens up to me. My phone pings from my pocket and I swipe it open to see Amelia’s name.

Melly: I think you might be right about Jack.

That has me sitting up straight and opening the reply box quickly.

Me: Spill.

Melly: He was at the library a few days ago and a total skeeve.

Me: And?

Melly: I followed him outside and weird shit happened. Are you busy today?

Me: I’m on my way.

After Amelia’s done telling me her story, I swing my eyes between her and her librarian friend with a smirk on my face, “you guys banged, huh?”

“Saxon!” Amelia’s eyes widen and they both blush from their necks to the tops of their heads. I chuckle and lean forward.

“Tell me more about the gloved hand,” I grin at their unease, “slender fingers? Fat ones? Long?”

“It happened so fast,” Amelia shakes her head, “I didn’t get a good look.”

“She won’t listen to me; she follows him outside and she disobeys and walks home on her own.” Cordelia huffs and blows a few strands of hair off her face.

“You need some self-defence training,” I say to Amelia. “Just enough to get you out of a bad situation and buy you some time to run.”

“We can do it here-” Cordelia begins but I cut her off.

“No, not with security sniffing around, I still haven’t ruled out their involvement. And no offense, Librarian, not you.”

“Saxon!” Amelia exclaims for the second time. “Of course, you can teach her too.”

“No.” I reiterate, “not right now. I’ll teach you because it’s imperative, she has a bit more protection at the moment. And she’s not a target, given the ages of the victims.”

“Oh my God,” Amelia huffs and Cordelia chuckles.

“He’s one-hundred percent right.” She puts her hand on Amelia’s shoulder, “I’m not offended by what he’s saying. Relax.”

“I’ll be here to pick you up in an hour,” I tell her, “I have a meeting and then we’ll hit up your mom’s gym after hours.”

“Fine.”

I head out of the library, my body thrumming with pent up activity, and begin the search for Jack. I’ve memorized his schedule and know exactly which one is his dorm. I check the time on my phone and about now would be his Ethics lecture, but he never seems to attend them. He’d rather get high in his room. I’m glad for his delinquent behaviour which allows for us to have a private conversation.

I walk up to his dorm and enter in the front, walking by the common area where a few students are hanging out. I head off to the third floor, room thirty-two. The stairs smell like stale vomit and what could only be described as piss, the combination making my stomach curdle. The meth house didn’t even smell this bad. Stopping at the third floor and pulling open the door, I exhale the breath I’m holding. Fucking nasty ass college students. They’re adults but still children.

Loud music is the first thing I notice as I step onto the floor. It has to be his and as I make my way to his room, the music level rises. This is the time of year when people are taking exams and this shithead doesn’t give a fuck about how hard most students here study. I stand in front of his door and decide to kick it in rather than knock, finding Jack Taylor lying on his bed with his little dick in one hand and a joint in the other. He screams, like a little girl, and drops the joint on his face, making him scream even more.

“Hey Jack.” I sing-song and kick the door shut behind me, the latch no longer catching. “Looks like you’re taking the little guy out for a walk? Sorry to interrupt but can we have a chat?”

He’s scrambling to get the burning joint off his face and putting away the Vienna sausage he calls a dick.

“What the fuck are you doing in my room, Greene?” he snarls when he finally gets his shit together.

“What happened at the library yesterday?”

“What?” He looks confused as he sits back on the bed.

“Why would you be at the library?” I reiterate and he rolls his eyes.

“I had an independent study due and needed to work on it.”

“Someone was chased yesterday, just after you left. Know anything about that?” I sit in the chair beside his desk and lean forward, “take a moment and contemplate your truthful answer or else you’ll get the same treatment Brian did, understand?”

He sits on his bed and looks to the ceiling, “the librarian is hot and I go there to check her out sometimes.”

“You like the librarian?” I chuckle, “she’s as old as your mother. Kinky. What happened when you left?”

“Came back here.” He shrugs. No change in inflection and his eyes remain steady. He’s telling the truth.

“Did you message anyone or call anyone?”

“Multiple,” he smirks, “I’m not a loser like you.”

I nod and take a quick look around his room while he chuckles, spotting his cell phone sitting on his desk.

“Let’s see how popular you are then,” I grab the phone as he jumps off the bed.

“Hey!” He leans forward to grab the phone, but I swipe my foot out and catch him on the knee, making the fucker fall to the ground. His head hits the bed frame with a loud crack.

“Drugs are bad my friend, you start to lose all major motor skills.”

“Give me my phone,” he groans as he rubs the back of his head, looking groggy.

“You should always have a password,” I advise and open his phone, then open his messages.

I scroll through it as he tries to get up and find a few things surprising. He messaged Brandon Cornell around the time he left the library and said: That Amelia bitch is here.

“Brandon Cornell has a problem with Amelia?”

He sits on the bed with a huff. “She curved him the first year.”

“You know she’s a lesbian, right? That’s why she’s curving all your little dicks.” I snap. There’s a message from Brian Cox and grin as I open it.

Brian: Don’t come back to my house.

Jack: Fuck you. I was trying to help you.

Brian: By making it worse.

Jack: Fine, fuck you. You’re on your own.

Brian: Cool. Have fun at school, I might see you around.

“Why would he see you around if he doesn’t go to this school?”

“Huh?” He’s fuming.

I screenshot the convo and send it to my phone, deleting the message soon after.

“Brian, why would he ever see you around?” I toss the phone to his bed.

“Because we live in the same town, same town as you, too.” He snatches up his phone.

“Uh huh.” I nod slowly, “looks like he was talking about here at school.” I lean forward, leaning my elbows on my knees, “is he the one raping girls? Or is it Brandon Cornell?”

“I don’t know shit, man,” he shakes his head, “you need to get the fuck out of my room.”

“You’re going to end up paying for protecting your friends.”

“What do you mean?” his bushy brows crash together.

“I’ll make this very simple so you can understand,” I stand from the chair, and he looks up at me, his throat working to swallow, “if I find out you were in any way keeping information to yourself or covering for your friends,” My face falls forward and his eyes widen, “or were helping them, I will kill you right along with them.”

“Kill me?” he stutters and looks around the room. “That’s a serious threat, Greene.”

“Threat?” I tip my head back with a laugh, “that’s a fucking promise, Jack. And can I tell you a secret?” He doesn’t bother to answer, “I’ve been waiting fucking patiently for your time to come and what better way to do it than with the friends you chose to help.”

“What?” his voice cracks. “Help do what?”

“Holding me down while that fucking coward messed me up.”

“You put Brian in the hospital for that.” He shakes his head, “it’s done.”

“It’ll never be done,” I stride to the door and open it, “not until you’re all dead, that’s what you get for fucking with a Greene.”

I leave behind his stuttering and let him stew in the potent fear he’s feeling. He’s the weakest link and Brian sees it, so I’ll use it to my benefit. He’ll want to stay alive, and the fucker will be spilling to me soon enough.

Amelia

I’m still fuming over the things Saxon said to Cory. He should be teaching her to protect herself, too; he didn’t see how those guys were looking at her.

“Amelia, I can hear how irritated you are with every breath you take. Get over it.”

“You were so mean to her!” I exclaim.

“No, I wasn’t.” His head shakes, and he turns into the parking lot of my mother’s gym. “Just being honest,” he puts the car in park and turns to me, “stop protecting her when she doesn’t need it. Listen to me, she has security there and she wouldn’t be a target.”

“Those guys were salivating over her.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Because she’s hot for an older lady.”

“Saxon! She’s not that old!” I open the door and storm out of the car.

The gym’s doors are locked and I grab the key to unlock it. I was given a spare key when I started working part-time for Mom while in high school and kept it for the times she needs me to open for her. I deactivate the alarm and turn to find Saxon right at my back. I open my mouth to scream but his hand clamps over it and he pushes me further inside.

The gym is dark, and my heart is pounding through my ribcage, but his hand stays firm over my mouth. I grip my fingers into his wrist to try and move it off, but he doesn’t budge. When did Saxon get this strong? My back hits a wall and his body presses into mine.

“Fight back,” his green eyes are glowing in the soft night-lights of the gym, “if you can.” His laugh is sinister and sends a chill down my spine.

Saxon Greene is my friend, he wouldn’t hurt me, this is just a test or he’s proving his point about my needing these lessons. But then, I think of the boy who watched a cat die, or the one who beat his bully’s head in, and my heart skips up again. Saxon isn’t normal and maybe he’s on the verge of snapping if he hasn’t already.

I buck my hips against his and my hand comes up to claw his face, but he grabs it quickly. Then I’m spun around, and my chest is shoved into the concrete wall, his chest landing on my back.

“Saxon,” I sound scared and uncertain, “what are you doing?”

“Saxon,” he mimics me, “shut the fuck up, Amelia. Try to get away from me.”

“I can’t,” a sob that escapes, “that’s why we’re here, so you can teach me.”

“You’re weak,” he snarls into my ear, “and I’m going to show you just how weak.”

His hand grips into the waistband of my leggings and he rips them down to my mid-thigh.

“What are you doing?” I scream and begin to really struggle. “Get the fuck off me!”

“That’s it,” he coos as his hand runs over my ass cheek, “this is what the rapist would do to you.”

“Saxon, this is enough, you’re scaring me!” I scream and the scorching heat of my tears slide down my cheeks. This is not the boy I grew up to love and respect. I continue to struggle but lock up when his fingers skim between my legs, “Saxon, you’re going too far.”

“Am I?”

His voice sounds like honey, deep and velvety, and it’s sending shards of fear through my chest, but there’s also something else. “Get off of me!” I scream at the top of my lungs and my elbow connects with his body causing him to step back with a grunt. My fist is next as it swings around and slams into his chest. Another grunt, and he steps back, but it’s too easy.

I’m turned around and slammed into the wall one more time, my back taking the impact. His hand grabs both of mine and slams them up above my head, then his other hand slaps over my mouth. I can’t move or speak, but I can see his face. He looks hauntingly beautiful, but he looks empty, no feeling in his green irises, and the right corner of his mouth ticks upward.

“Looking for sympathy?” His voice is low and mocking, “looking for pity? Poor helpless Amelia who couldn’t hurt a fucking fly. Weak little girl who thought she could follow a grown man into the woods, and nothing would happen to her, isn’t that right?”

I shake my head and try to tell him to stop, but his hand clenches tighter around my mouth. My pants are still down, and my hands are being held over my head, I want to believe this is a lesson he’s intent on teaching me but I’m so fucking scared. His actions are angry and yet his voice is calm, normal Saxon. His eyes are blank and refuse to give anything away as they rove over my face. I try to relay my fear, and beg him with my eyes to stop, only to watch a smile curl his lips.

His pelvis lands against mine and I choke on a gasp at how hard he is. His hand comes away from my mouth and I suck in air, “I know you’re mad,” I try to reason with him, but he begins to laugh.

“Do I feel mad?” He presses himself into me again and my throat closes with fear.

“Saxon, this isn’t you.” I resort to begging, “please, I’m sorry for what happened. I wasn’t thinking and you’re right, something bad could’ve happened.”

“Is this the bad thing that could’ve happened?” His hand grabs my breast through my sweater, and I whimper. It’s rough and painful. “Or this?” I buck when those fingers loop into the waistband of my underwear.

“Don’t Saxon,” I cry, “please.”

He doesn’t stop as his fingers dig deeper, brushing over my mound, “landing strip, interesting.”

I let my head hit the wall, defeat coursing through me, and release a chest wracking sob. I can’t believe this is happening and now we’ll never be the same. He’s taking advantage of me, and our relationship is destroyed. The thought is ripped from my mind when he suddenly releases me with a growl.

“Weak ass bitch.” He doesn’t sound angry; he sounds disappointed, and it angers me.

He turns his back on me, proving his point, and showing me he has no fear of what I can do. I’m weak, like he said.

Well, fuck him.

Anger, red and hot, plows through me and I push off the wall. I jump onto his back, my leggings still around my thighs, and begin to beat my fist into his head and shoulders. My knuckles crack off his skull, my screams of anger are loud in the empty room, and my thighs burn as the legging material digs in, but I’m unfazed. I want to make him hurt as much as he scared me. He lets me get in a few good hits, then his hands are grabbing the back of my sweater and I’m flung over his head to the floor. Thank God for the mats because I’m sure I would’ve broken my back.

“Not bad,” he says nonchalantly, like he didn’t just violate me. “You hit like a fucking girl, though.”

“Fuck you!” My voice echoes around the gym, the sound bouncing off the walls and echoing my anger. “How dare you touch me like that!”

“Like what?” he lands on top of me, his hand going around my throat. “Like this?”

I find his green eyes, so close to my face, and he has a shit-eating smirk on his mouth, obviously thinking I’m a weak little brat. So, I do the only thing I can think of to shock him and grab his face in both my hands, hauling him the rest of the way down. I crash my lips against his and his body stills as I kiss him. He’s stiff with shock and not kissing me back, but that doesn’t deter me.

My tongue swipes out along his lips and he tries to pull away, but I tighten my hold on his head. He tries to lift his body off me, but I wrap my legs around his waist, my leggings chafing against my skin. I bring him into me as close as I can with the leggings preventing him from touching my core. But still, my pussy clenches in anticipation and I’m shocked at the reaction. I don’t want Saxon sexually, do I?

I sense the moment he gives in, his body loosens, and a growl works up from his chest. His mouth opens and his tongue begins to tangle with mine. This was not what I was expecting. I try to pull away, but his fingers become ensnared in my hair, and he holds me in place. When he nips my bottom lip with his teeth, the sensation snakes all the way down between my legs and pulls a groan from me. He pulls away and I stare up into those light green eyes, there’s something more than just mild interest. He’s curious and a bit confused as he searches my eyes, too.

“Is this like the lesbian college experience?” his voice is a bit husky with lust, “experiment with a few dicks here and there? Just to tell your adopted children later on about your curiosities?”

I snort because I can’t help it and then lean up and brush my lips over his, “maybe. I’m not sure.” I answer truthfully, “but thanks for the experiment.”

His fingers skate down the back of my thigh and I shiver as the tickling sensation erupts in my core. Saxon has discovered something inside of me I was sure never existed. I have never been interested in men, and never had the need to find out what being with one would feel like. I love women and love relationships with them. But right now, hidden away inside a building with no one watching, I want him. It’s beyond curiosity and I’m not exactly sure what it means but I’m rolling with it.

He sees the look on my face, how fast my indecision morphs into acceptance, and his fingers brush along my panty-clad core.

“You’re wet,” he grins and pushes himself up to kneeling between my legs, “does Amelia, the confirmed lesbian, want my dick?” I’m about to kick him in the face when he grabs my foot with a chuckle and removes my shoe. Next, he’s pulling my legging down and off the one leg, freeing me to spread my thighs wider. This time, he groans and covers his mouth with his hand. “You’re soaked through your panties. Was it the bit against the wall? Do you have a rape kink?”

“Not that I know of,” but when I think about how he touched me as I struggled, my pussy floods and clenches around nothing, “oh God, maybe.” I bite into my lip and watch as he removes my other shoe, pulling my leggings completely off. Am I going to do this with Saxon?

My pants and shoes are thrown behind him and he stares down at the spot between my legs.

“Are we sure we want to do this?” I ask quietly, “we could ruin our friendship.”

“How?” he raises his perfectly arched brow, “it’s just sex.”

“But,” I begin, and he cuts me off.

“Amelia,” he falls back over me, settling between my legs and his mouth hovering near mine. “Is my dick,” he presses himself between my spread legs, “going to make you fall in love?” His taunting grin has me rolling my eyes. “Will you leave here tonight with an insatiable taste for cock?”

I reach between us and undo his belt, there’s something in his taunting that makes me want to prove to him I can indeed fuck dick without falling in love. I don’t want to be with a man, anyway. He pushes back up, giving me room to undo his belt and then his pants. Once they’re open, I drag them down his thighs, swallowing hard when I reach the large bulge in his boxers. He grabs both of my wrists in his hand, while the other pulls his belt out of his pant loops.

“Do you trust me, Melly?” He asks quietly.

“Yes,” the answer is immediate because this is the boy I’ve known since we were babies. There’s no way he would hurt me, even if he did scare me earlier.

He loops the belt around my wrists and tightens it, not to the point of pain, just so I would have to struggle to get out of it. He pulls me up to sit and then stands, letting his pants hit the floor. He kicks them aside and hauls me up with him, leading me to a weight bench. He guides my hands to the top of the sidebar and drops them over so the bar slides inside of the belt around my wrists. They fall down and hit a bar running horizontally to another on the other side of the bench. It’s not uncomfortable but it does make me lean over a bit, popping my ass in the air.

“Hold onto that bar.” He whispers into my ear from behind me.

I do as he asks and then his fingers hook into my panties as he slowly pulls them down. He taps my legs to step out of them and then his fingers are gliding back up along the backs of my legs. He reaches my ass, and gives it a firm squeeze, spreading me open at the same time.

“Fuck,” he whispers, and I look over my shoulder at him, watching as he stares at my pussy. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a little smirk, “she’s pretty.” Then his fingers are brushing against my folds and making me gasp. “So wet, Melly.”

I push back against his fingers, and he chuckles as he pinches my clit. “Fuck.” I say loudly and squeeze my eyes shut as my pussy begins to pulse. It feels so empty and I’ve never wanted anything to fill it up this badly before, never had anything fill it up before.

He kneels so his face is parallel to my pussy and forces my legs apart. Is this what I really want to do? With Saxon? My childhood friend, my closest friend for the past few years, and he’s a fucking guy. I bend to look at him and open my mouth to tell him my reservations, just as his tongue licks a straight line from my clit to my asshole. I jerk forward at the touch and all thoughts are wiped out, leaving my brain blank. His tongue flicks against my clit and I moan so loud, making him chuckle into my core. The vibrations sending my juices to slip down over my clit.

“Fuck, you’re so fucking wet.” He sounds like he’s praying to my pussy, his voice hushed and filled with reverence.

He pushes his tongue deep inside me and I clench around it, moaning as the sensations begin to gather in my lower belly. I’m going to come all over my best friend’s face and neither of us are questioning the insanity of what we’re doing. He begins to thrust his tongue in and out of me and when his fingers pinch my clit, fucking stars blare behind my eyelids. I clamp around his tongue and the noises I’m making would be embarrassing if I even cared.

He pulls out and I whimper from the loss, my core still pulsating with aftershocks. A few moments later, I feel something at my entrance that’s not his tongue, and turn to see what it is. He has his teeth sunken into his bottom lip and I whimper again as he pushes against my entrance.

“I don’t have a condom, Melly.” He’s looking right at me as his head breaches me, then stills. “Tell me it’s okay because the scene we had against the wall may just come true.”

Is he saying he’ll rape me?

“Hurry,” he growls and pushes in a little more.

“I’m on the pill,” I pant. “That’s not the problem-”

“Good,” he cuts me off and slams it home. The pain is fierce, and I thank God he had me ready before this, but it does little to ease what I’m feeling. I scream out and he stills, his cock jerking inside of me sends fire throughout my pussy. “Amelia Jones, are you?”

“I was.” I whimper and drop my head, the pain still hot as he pulls out slowly.

“Mm, my first virgin.” He moans and looks down at himself. “I wish you would’ve told me beforehand; I would’ve savoured this moment.”

“I tried,” I whine, and he thrusts back in.

“Nah, you didn’t.” He pulls out and the pain starts to lessen, “but thank you for making my cock red with your blood.” Then he slams back in, and I scramble to grab the pole before my head meets the metal. His hands dig into my ass cheeks as he spreads me open, “Fuck, you’re soaked.”

He begins to work me with his hands back and forth over his cock and the pain is nearly forgotten when the pleasure takes over. I clamp down around his cock a few times and moan as pleasure blooms with each thrust. He releases one ass cheek, and his hand comes around me, his fingers spreading my pussy open. My head drops as I begin to pant and when those fingers find my clit, I moan loudly as tingles spread.

“I’m going to…”

“I know.” He sounds smug, picking up the pace, and the sounds of our flesh smacking reverberates around the room. He rubs circles onto my clit as his cock rams into me, hitting so deep, I won’t last much longer.

“Saxon,” his name comes out like an extended whine, and he chuckles.

“Ready, Melly?” He’s taunting me, and yet I find it so fucking hot.

I don’t have time to answer as my pussy clenches around him and fireworks explode through my vision once more. He begins to plow into me, my hands grow slick with sweat, and I can barely hang on. Then he slams in and stops, his cock jerking deep inside me. Thank God I was put on birth control while in high school because his cock is literally playing peekaboo with my cervix.

Tears drip off my jaw, and Saxon pulls out of me, leaving me empty but sated. He reaches forward and undoes the belt, catching me before I fall to the floor. He pulls me up and I fix onto his green eyes as he searches mine. Then he leans forward and licks the tears off my jaw, moving up to my ear.

“Next time will be even better.” He whispers.

Cordelia

“I fucked Saxon.”

Amelia’s words are spoken into an empty library, and I stare at her in shock. Intense jealousy hits me in the gut, and I have to clench my jaw to stop from saying anything nasty. “Great self-defence class, I gather.” Not bad, sounded unaffected, and I congratulate myself for the successful farce.

“That part wasn’t planned,” she huffs, and I look up at her over my book.

“Then I’m guessing you failed at the defence portion of the lesson?”

“It was just sex,” she says as she looks up from her notebook, “nothing else.”

“I thought men weren’t your preference?”

“They aren’t my preference, it just happened.” She slams her pen on the notebook, clearly irritated. She’s irritated?

“Okay.” I shrug and swallow down bile. I don’t like the thought of her with anyone else.

She huffs again and the room falls silent, until the front doors open. In walks three final-year girls. They’re giggling between the three of them, and I roll my eyes because our conversation has to be put on hold.

“Cordelia?” One of the girls stops at my desk and I recognize her as Sonia. “Could you check and see if you have a copy of Pride and Prejudice available? I have a paper due on Wednesday and I’ve put it off for so long.”

“Sure,” I smile at her and search through the database. “I do.” I point her in the direction of the novel and settle back into reading.

“Sure, I do have that.” Amelia’s mocking tone hits my ears, shocking the hell out of me. Is she jealous? She’s glaring daggers at me, and I lift a brow at her petulant attitude. What a fucking child. Well, I guess she is a child, young enough to be my daughter.

The other two girls sit at a table across from Amelia, and I pray she keeps her immature attitude to herself until they leave. I can’t have anyone thinking she and I have something going on. Which we don’t, not anymore, and not since she’s had sex with someone else, a man. Thankfully, she stays quiet for all of twenty minutes before she gets up and comes to my desk.

“We need to talk,” she says quietly.

“About what?” I flutter my lashes.

“About us, Cory.” She sounds softer and her eyes are filled with worry.

“How much more is there to say? What’s done is done.”

“Are we done?” Her voice is small and cracks with emotion.

“Amelia, what happened with us was a mistake, you should pursue this thing with Saxon, you’re the same age.”

“Are you serious?” She exclaims, and the girls at the table lift their heads.

“Shh. Can we talk about this some other time?”

“You’re ashamed of me. Of course,” she turns her back on me and stomps back to her table, the petulant attitude firmly back in place. She begins to throw her books into her bag and catches the attention of the girls once more. Then she storms back to my desk and glares at me. “Fuck you.” She slaps the desk’s wooden top and strides out of the library.

I look over to the three girls and shrug my shoulders, maybe they’ll think she’s a random girl with Tourette’s. I try to place my attention back to the book in my hands, unable to read a single word, but don’t want the girls to think it’s more than what they saw.

Fifteen minutes later, Sonia’s two friends stand up and leave the library, and I’m surprised with everything going on they would just leave her behind.

“Sonia?” I call out and she lifts her head from her notebook, “we’re closing in about an hour. It’s become dangerous here after dark.”

She exhales and nods, “okay, it’s just harder to concentrate in the dorm I share with them.” She’s talking about the other two who were here earlier.

“Your safety is first priority.”

“Okay,” she nods and looks at the time, “I’ll leave in thirty minutes.”

I want to convince her to leave sooner but understand what she means by the need for a quiet atmosphere. My college dorm experience was similar, and I had a rowdy roommate. I get up from my seat and head to the washroom, my bladder has been screaming at me to go since Amelia stormed out of here. My anger has blown over and I’m left bereft. Maybe my disregard for what she was telling me is what made her blow up. I wish I’d gotten her cell phone number, just so I could send her an apology for my jealousy. I don’t know what’s happening between her and Saxon, but I shouldn’t have reacted that way. Maybe I should’ve helped her through her feelings, maybe she has no one else. Like me.

Now that I’ve made myself feel thoroughly worse, I finish in the washroom, and head back to my desk. With a quick gaze around the room, I find myself alone, relieved Sonia decided to head back to her dorm early. There hasn’t been another attack, but they also haven’t found the perpetrator and I would rather people be safe than sorry. I have forty minutes until closing but decide to shut the place down. I doubt anyone will be by this late on a Sunday anyway. I begin to close up and turn all the lights off. I get to the back door and see the sky is glowing red and orange with the sunset pulling closer. I don’t bother with security since it’s still light out, and open the door. I stand on the small cement landing, holding the door open, and listening for any noise, anything that’ll tell me to get back inside and call security. There’s nothing and I exhale, letting the door shut behind me.

With my keys in my hands, I quickly walk toward my car. It’s not dark, but I still get the feeling I’m being watched. I spin around and look back toward the library, waiting to see if anything stands out. The trees sway with a gentle breeze, there’s a few chirps of a bird, and yet in all the serenity, something ominous penetrates. Goosebumps break out over my skin and the fine hairs on my arms stick up, someone is out there. I make a dash for my car, locking the doors once I’m inside. I sit in the driver’s seat, without turning the car on, and try to collect my breathing. I should leave; the sun will be going down soon, and yet, I can’t seem to bring the key to the ignition.

My heart is skipping around inside my chest and my lungs won’t expand enough for air. I rest my head against the steering wheel and try to slow my rapid breathing, taking a deeper breath each time. I hear a muffled noise and my head pops up to the parking lot, it sounded far away. My breath gets lodged in my throat when another sound penetrates through the car, sort of like a howl or a long squawk of a bird. I open the car door and stand up, keeping it open to listen again.

Suddenly, birds fly up from the trees in a large group when a loud wail breaks the silence, and the bushes open. A female figure comes stumbling from the trees and trips over the bushes. I run across the parking lot, screaming for help as I do. It’s happened again, it’s all I can think about as I get closer.

There’s choked sobbing coming from her chest, huge heaving sounds as she struggles to breathe, and my heart sinks when I notice her bare from the waist down. “Hey,” I say, crouching down beside her, not missing the blood running from between her legs, “it’s okay. Come on.” I grab her up from under her arms and she looks up at me.

“Help me.” It’s Sonia and my chest nearly explodes with fear as twigs snap not too far away.

“I’m here,” I tell her, hoisting her up and dragging her to my car. “You gotta move faster.” I keep looking over my shoulder, “we need to get out of here.”

Seeing her in this state is forcing my own memories to bubble up to the top and as she continues to sob for help, I imagine a cold metal gurney under my bare back and ass. I get to the car and open the passenger side, helping her in. When I close the door, I look back to the treeline, and swear there’s a male figure standing in the shadows.

“All little girls have to stay pure; we have to check.”

“No.” I grit my teeth as his voice penetrates my reality. “You’re not here.” I run to the driver’s side and jump in.

I start the car over Sonia’s loud wails and pull out of the parking lot.

“Sonia, I’m taking you to the hospital.” I grab her hand, and she squeezes mine tight as her sobs become hiccups, “what happened?”

“My boyfriend texted me to come back to the dorm,” she stumbles over the words and moans with pain, “but when I got outside, someone grabbed me.”

I pull out my phone and call the police, turning the speaker on.

“911, what’s your emergency?” the robotic sounding operator says into the phone.

“I’m the librarian at the University of Toronto and we’ve had another attack. I am driving the victim to the hospital, but I believe the suspect might still be on the premises.”

“What’s your name and the name of the victim?”

“I’m Cordelia, and the victim is Sonia, we are on the way to the hospital now.” I say impatiently, my irritation evident, “are you sending someone to the library?”

“Yes ma’am, can you tell me-”

I hang up the phone and turn back to Sonia, if they want details, the cops can come to the hospital and get them from her. She reaches her hands between her legs and begins to wail again when her fingers come out coated in blood.

“When your bleeding starts, breeding starts.”