CHAPTER 34

MYRA

A hard epiphany

FRIDAY MORNING WENT by in a blur until it was time for my literature class. After what Kristin had told me about her conversation with Ron, I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the room. I waited until the last minute, entering just ahead of Mr. Edmonds and hurrying to my seat. Ron looked up when I sat down but didn't acknowledge my presence in any way. Maybe that was for the best. Kristin had said to be open to him, but I wasn't in the mood for any dramatics. I still liked Ron, but things with Julianus had progressed to such a point that I no longer felt he was in the picture.

Several times throughout the class I felt Ron's eyes on me, but he still didn't say anything. It wasn't until class was over and I stood up to leave that he finally spoke to me.

"Myra? "

I turned, waiting to see what he would say, but it wasn't the expected apology.

"I saw you with that guy last night."

Figuring he meant Julianus, I blew out a frustrated sigh. That's what he wanted to talk about?

"So? It's not like you were around." I know I sounded petty, but I wasn't interested in playing whatever game he had in mind.

"Look, I know you probably don't care what I have to say, but you need to listen to me."

I cocked a brow at him. "And why is that?"

"Stay away from him. He's bad news."

"You have no right to tell me who I can and can't see. You gave up that privilege when you kicked me out of your room. Remember?"

I turned and stormed out of the classroom before he had a chance to respond. I don't even remember leaving the building or crossing the campus, still wrapped up in my own fury for letting him get to me. Like he had any right to tell me who I could see.

Kristin and Lisa were eating lunch when I got to the cafeteria. I flopped down in a chair without getting anything to eat, crossing my arms and glaring at them.

"Okay, what's going on?" Kristin demanded.

"Men," I spat.

"Anyone in particular, or just the species in general?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ron. He had the nerve to try to tell me who I could see."

"You mean he knows about your new guy?"

"Apparently. He said he saw us together and warned me to stay away from him. "

"That doesn't sound like Ron. He's usually pretty easy-going."

"I guess this is part of his new persona." I reached over to Kristin's tray and snatched a fry, chomping down on it to channel my anger. She pushed the tray toward me and indicated for me to help myself.

"You have a new guy?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, and he's hot," Kristin replied before I had a chance.

"Good for you," Lisa said. "What are you going to do about Ron?"

I shrugged. "What do you mean? He made his choice at the hospital. It's none of his business who I see now."

"Toby said Ron finally talked to him last night. Told him he was sorry for being a jerk."

I snorted. "Apparently not sorry enough. I'd put the whole thing behind me, but I still have to sit next to him in my favorite class."

"Yeah, that sucks," she agreed. "Want me to have Toby talk to him?"

"No, that's okay. Hopefully he's said his piece and will leave me alone now." Though I didn't think that was likely. It seemed Ron and Julianus were destined to be jealous of each other, all because of me. Who would ever believe that?

? ? ?

I calmed down a little after my talk with Kristin and Lisa and managed to focus enough to get through my afternoon classes, but I was still angry whenever I thought about Ron. After my last class, I spent a couple of hours in the library killing time and researching some old reference papers for my psychology class project. By the time I was finished it was 4:30, enough time to get back to my room to change for my meet up with Julianus.

I didn't see Ron until I was halfway across the quad. He stepped out in front of me and closed his hands around my arms, forcing me to stop.

"What are you doing?" I snapped, jerking away from him. "You've said your piece, now leave me alone."

"Myra, listen to me. I'm telling you the truth. That guy is trouble."

"You're just jealous."

"It's not that, trust me." He swiped a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Okay, look, I'll admit I was jealous when I saw you kissing another guy, but that's my own fault and I'll own up to that. But then I saw who it was."

"And who was that?"

"I'll show you. Can I see your notebook?"

"What?"

"Your notebook. Can I see it? Please."

I stared at him for a minute like he was crazy, then set my backpack on the ground and pulled out my notebook, handing it to him. "What's this about?"

He flipped through the pages until he came to the one he wanted, holding it up for me to see. It was the drawing of Julianus.

"That's him, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"So, he's the guy."

"What guy? "

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "The guy who was in my room that night. The guy who attacked me." He swallowed, his eyes avoiding mine. "The guy who…raped me."

I didn't know what to say. My first reaction was to call him a liar, but then I saw the look in his eyes. They were haunted. I recognized that look. It's the same one I saw in the mirror every day for a year after Poe died.

"How…how can you be sure? It was dark, right? It could have been a dream."

"It could've been, but it wasn't. Yeah, I was asleep at first and it felt like a dream, but then I woke up, and…and he was there. His face was right in front of me, Myra. As close as I am to you. I'm not lying."

I felt like the ground was spinning under my feet. There had to be a mistake. Maybe Ron had seen his attacker and in his mind mixed him up with the drawing he'd seen in my notebook. That was the only logical explanation. Because the other one was too awful to contemplate.

"I have to go," I said, shoving the notebook back in my backpack and hefting it up on my shoulder. I turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. To my room. I have to…I have to think."

I shook away from him and ran the rest of the way across the quad and up the stairs to my room. Luckily Kristin wasn't there when I arrived. I tossed the backpack on my bed and started to pace, trying to stave off the panic that had gripped my heart.

This wasn't happening. There had to be some logical explanation. Maybe it was just somebody who looked like Julianus. Ron said it himself, it was dark, he was barely awake. It would be easy to mistake someone under those conditions.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that's what had happened.

But I had to be sure.

Julianus said he would meet me here tonight, but I couldn't wait until then.

I had to see him now.

? ? ?

I don't know how I became so turned around. I was sure this was the street Julianus had taken me down the night we went to his house, but everything looked different. It didn't help that it had gotten dark, causing panic to add to my confusion. I tried first one street, then another, but nothing looked familiar. At this point I was ready to call it a night and head back to campus, but I couldn't even find my way back out of the neighborhood.

"Need some help?"

I turned at the voice. The posh British accent didn't go with the man I faced. He was dressed all in leather, lounging against a black motorcycle, his blond curly hair framing eyes the color of glaciers. He looked like a bad boy rock star.

"I think I'm lost," I admitted cautiously. I didn't know this man, but he seemed to be at home in this neighborhood. I hadn't heard the motorcycle arrive, so maybe it had been parked at the house up the driveway.

"Who are you looking for?"

How could I answer that without sounding like a stalker? This was a nice neighborhood, and I clearly didn't belong here. I didn't even know Julianus's address. "I doubt you would know him. "

He stood up and made his way toward me, his movements slow and catlike, and something about him set alarm bells off in my head. "Try me," he purred, his voice seeming to surround me. "I know a lot of people around here."

I took a step back. "The house on the hill? Do you know it?"

He smirked. "Ah, I should have known. You're looking for Julianus."

What did he mean he should have known? He stood right in front of me now, radiating danger. I took another step backward.

"You know Julianus?"

He took another step closer. "He's an old friend of mine. I was just going to visit him."

That didn't sound right. "Julianus told me he didn't have any friends."

He shrugged. "What can I say? We haven't seen each other in a long time."

He reached out, stroking the back of his hand down my arm. "What's your name?"

"M-Myra."

He moved closer, inches away from me now. When I backed up a step, he followed. "Well, Myra, maybe we can go see him together. I just need to lock up my house."

"Okay. I'll wait here."

"Oh no. It's too dangerous out here for a woman alone. Haven't you heard? There's a killer on the loose."

His hand closed around my arm and pulled me along as he walked back up the driveway. I tried to free myself and his grip tightened. "Come on, Myra, don't be like that."

He opened the door to the house and flung me inside, then entered and slammed the door behind him .

"Shall we get acquainted, hmm?"

The blood was pounding in my ears so loud I could barely hear him and I suddenly couldn't get enough air in my lungs. He was the guy, I was sure of it. The killer. I had to get away from him. I had to find Julianus. I had to…

"Calm down, love. I haven't even done anything. Yet."

He advanced on me and I backed away from him, eying the door. Could I make it outside before he grabbed me? I could run to the next house. I could scream. Maybe someone would hear me.

"Go ahead, try it," he dared as if he could read my mind. The grin he flashed was chilling. "On second thought, come here." He snatched my arm and dragged me across the dark foyer toward the livingroom, reaching behind him to turn on a lamp. There was a vase on the table next to it filled with long stem roses, and something about that was significant, though I couldn't remember why.

Whatever he saw when he looked at me turned his smile positively feral.

"Well isn't that interesting. Now I see the attraction."

I tried again to pull away from him, but he yanked me closer, his eyes widening, his nostrils flaring as he bent his head close and sniffed. "You smell good enough to eat. I'm sure he won't mind if I take a taste."

His hand closed around my neck and squeezed until I was gasping for breath and black spots began to float in front of my eyes.

"Sorry about this, love, but I'm starving."

He released his grip and I managed to gulp down a breath of air before he attacked, sinking his teeth into my neck and ravaging my flesh. I screamed and tried to pull away, which only made him dig in deeper. That's when I realized he was actually sucking on the wound, drinking my blood.

I felt myself getting dizzy, the light in the room growing dim. When I was sure he was going to drain me completely, he pulled away, his mouth covered with my blood. He licked his lips clean and grinned.

"Not that you don't taste absolutely scrumptious, but we have the whole night ahead of us."

He pushed me backwards onto the couch and began to stalk around me, talking to himself.

"I could fuck you and drain you, leaving you for him to find, but where's the fun in that?"

I needed to get up, to get out of this house, but my body wouldn't move.

He leaned over me, his eyes undressing me, making me feel completely exposed. "How bloody unlikely is this?" he murmured, shaking his head. "Maybe I should just take you to him so we can finish this together."

Was he talking about Julianus? Was he going to take me to him? Did he really know him?

Why would Julianus know someone like him?

I thought back to what Ron had said. To what had happened to him. What had happened to Lisa. Her reaction when she saw that sketch of mine.

What I was thinking couldn't be possible. Julianus had never hurt me. If anything, he was protective of me, telling me to eat my meals and stay indoors at night.

And yet, this guy seemed to know him.

The guy who apparently had come to a decision about me. He reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. I wavered unsteadily, but his grip held me upright.

"Let's go, love. "

"Where?"

"We're going to take a ride."

Before we left the room, he reached for the vase on the table and grabbed all the roses out of it.

"Can't forget my calling card."

When we got outside, he walked me to the motorcycle and mounted it then made me straddle the back behind him. He thrust the roses into my hand. "Hold onto these. And don't think about jumping off. I'm being nice right now, but I can be a real wanker when I want to."

He started the bike and walked it down the driveway, then turned and gunned it up the street. I tried to pay attention to where we were going, but I had all I could do to stay upright. When we started to climb the hill, I recognized the street where Julianus lived.

The man guided the bike up the driveway and killed the engine.

"Off you go, love," he said, waiting for me to climb off so he could follow. I staggered and he grabbed me again and pulled me up the walkway to the steps. He pounded on the door and when no one answered, simply turned the knob until I heard something break inside it.

"Looks like no one's home," he grinned and shoved me inside. "All the better."

I couldn't hide my disappointment. Julianus was probably on his way over to the college to meet with me. If I had just stayed there instead of running off like a fool…

"Where's his bedroom?" When I didn't answer right away, he jerked my arm "Do you want me to get mean?"

"Upstairs," I replied dully .

He pushed me ahead of him up the stairs, catching me when I stumbled. I lead him down the hallway to the bedroom where Julianus had made love to me. He paused in the doorway, looking around, before shoving me toward the bed.

"Stay," he commanded, then crossed the room toward the tall armoire, yanking it open and rummaging around inside.

"Let's see what kind of toys you've got in here," he murmured to himself.

When I saw he was distracted, I slowly edged off the bed, figuring this was my best chance to get away. I glanced back at him, then stood up and made a break for the door.

I don't know how he got across the room so fast. One minute he was over there, and then he was grabbing a handful of my hair and slinging me toward the bed. I rolled across the floor and my head slammed against the wooden platform, causing me to literally see stars.

"Fucking cunt," he snapped, hauling me to my feet and throwing me onto the bed. My head was spinning and I felt like I might throw up at any moment, but I swallowed the impulse, afraid of what he might do.

He stalked closer until he loomed over me, his presence dominating the room, his lips curling up in a cruel sneer. "Let's have some fun, hmm?"