10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Laura

I wake up to... an empty bed. I'm the only one on it, and I'm naked.

My head hurts and my whole body is so sore that it feels like I'm loaded with iron.

Fuck...

Was last night real?

That stupid gargoyle should stay for a bit or at least say goodbye before he left.

Or was he ever here?

I grit my teeth as I gather the strength to push the blanket away. I am naked, so... I actually fucked a gargoyle last night and that's real, right?

Except it doesn't feel real enough.

A living gargoyle... and I somehow managed to take his massive cock... None of that makes sense.

The window is closed, almost as if nothing happened.

But...

It feels real.

The gargoyle, Gisett, right? He's not fake.

If I think about him hard enough...

"Do you miss me?"

I flinch and spin around to find the empty room staring back at me.

"Hehe... It's me. You wake up, huh?"

I take a breath, slowly letting it out. "So, it's real. You're real and the night was real."

"Yes. Looks like you've gotten the hack. Just think about me hard enough and project your thoughts my way."

Well... I suppose it means that I have to learn to keep some thoughts to myself then, otherwise, it's going to be weird. "Is this the way mythical beings, like, different species of them communicate?"

"I'm just a gargoyle, so I'm not sure. But between gargoyles, this is good."

"I can see that."

I stare at the window harder, narrowing my eyes to make out the statue, where Gisett is at. It is foggy out there, so my attempt is pretty futile. "How are you doing out there?"

"Wet and moist."

My cheeks grow hot at that. It sounds like something else...

He continues, "Not in a good way. Are you heading for the lesson soon? Maybe I should leave you to your day."

"Is there an effective distance for this talking?"

"No, it's wherever we want."

"I see. I have to get going before it is too late."

"I'll talk to you later."

There seems to be a buzz in my chest as if saying that this is the right thing to do.

I pick out my clothes and put them on, letting out a sigh as my sore limbs complain and moan. Maybe having sex that's too intense is not good for me.

But when he had his way with me, I didn't want him to stop.

It took a while for me to make myself presentable again. At least I woke up early enough for everything.

I pack my backpack and open the door, peeking at the corridor. I should get to know others and try to be friendly with everyone, but part of me just wants to make it through the corridor without running into anyone even though I'll be running into people sooner rather than later.

"Good morning!"

Holly fuck...

I force a smile when another student is going down the corridor. "Morning! Are you heading to lessons too?"

He is a pretty handsome man, who makes my heart skips a beat. He nods. "Yes, I believe we're in the same class."

Oh... Fuck... I must look dumb. "Maybe. Sorry about that. I'm not that good at recognizing people. Everyone's still new to me."

He keeps the smile going. "Understandable. I only remember you because you were the nicest one to the statue."

So, he was also there when everyone messed with the gargoyle.

Wait... If he remembers me from that, I swear he's not the only one. Now... Does the whole class of my year know my face?

Do I scream?

Do I shut the door and regret my existence?

Or do I act like a normal human, pick up my backpack and go down the corridor with him when we're in the same class and should be heading to the same place?

I take a breath, slowly letting it out. "The statue feels old, so it kind of worries me. What if I break it?"

He laughs. "You're nice, but I see your point. Let's go to the lesson together if you're ready."

"Sure." I pretend to be happy, or at least not upset about that.

In the corridor, I stare at the floor even though I probably should try to chat with him or at least make it less awkward.

He seems to see my thoughts. "I'm Ryan, don't think we introduced ourselves previously on various occasions."

I force a smile. "I'm Laura."

"Nice." He presses the button for the lift. "It is foggy outside. I've never liked this kind of weather."

Oh, it is the old and boring weather talk. "Same. Everything will be wet and gross."

An awkward silence lands its way between us. I've never liked that. I just know that's going to happen. Now he's going to tell everyone, and everyone will know that I'm such a weirdo to be around and no one will want to talk to me. This isn't even a month into my studies, yet—

"At least the lecture hall is going to be fine. I barely had time to finish all the reading material last night. It was quite a journey."

"Right! I've done going through those few chapters too. I like the architectural style and the ways they are preserved. Look, I've thought about that..." I keep going even though I probably shouldn't.

The lift arrives and we get in, but I'm still busy sharing my thoughts. He listens and nods along. I hope I'm not too weird for liking what we opt to study.

When I finally stop to take a breath, he says, "Interesting. I've thought about the same too. Have you checked the news about a similar case a while ago?" Now he gets going with related materials, so I suppose I passed the weirdo test.

Maybe he's a weirdo too, but regardless, I feel better about myself. At least I managed to study in the library before the sky fell on me, metaphorically. Now I have something to chat with him about.

I groan when we get out of the door of the building, into the nasty fog. Visibility is better than when I woke up, but not a ton better.

Ryan chuckles. "Are you from this city? The foggy season is going to last."

I sigh. "I checked the climate before coming here, so I kind of know. But it doesn't mean it's easier to stomach."

"That's not wrong either."

We both sigh as we head toward the gate. I wince when my body still aches. It can be because of my sex with Gisett last night, or... because I was attacked on the way home. I shiver at the thought. I hate that. Why am I such an unlucky person?

As we get closer and closer to the gate, the fog reveals from that there's a crowd at the statue.

I shiver at that. Nothing is going to be different on the statue, right? Gisett should be able to come and go as he wishes without getting spotted by the public, right? That's what he told me.

Ryan muses. "So, it looks like the statue is a popular gathering place."

I try to keep my voice natural. "Yeah, I wonder why. Hasn't the statue been the same for a long time already? Other than that time someone apparently cleaned it."

"That's what I think too. But apparently, people like to stare at it."

We arrive at the statue. A few who have been around it are leaving, but a few more joined, like us.

The statue looks fine. It is still the same color. The moss isn't back on it and there's no cream on its face either.

There's a warmth in my chest as I stare at the statue.

Gisett's voice comes. "Morning, my beautiful one. You're finally here. Well, with a friend."

I muse to him. "I ran into him in the corridor."

"Ah, a classmate, I see."

"Why's everyone staring at you?"

"I have no idea. Maybe they find me handsome."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Come on..."

"I mean it. I don't feel any different today, but they stare at me and murmur things too softly that I can't hear."

Ryan says, "Look at the notice."

Oh, is there one?

I pull my gaze from the statue to the base of the statue. Where there's a piece of paper stuck to it. It reads... Someone was found badly injured on the path last night. The police are calling for whoever witnessed it to help with the investigation.

My heartbeat spikes for a moment with my blood freezing, but I take a breath to remind myself that it's not my fault. If this notice is talking about the robber who Gisett smacked last night, the robber has himself to blame for what happened to him.

I bet my ass the robber knows what happened, but he pretended to have forgotten everything when he was rushed into the hospital, and therefore this notice ended up here.

Ryan rubs his chin. "I wonder. Maybe it was too dark at night that this person tripped and fell."

I'll play along and pretend to know nothing about that case. "It could be. I think we should install more, if not stronger, streetlamps. But, at the same time, if the lights are too strong, it will make falling asleep in the dorms harder."

"Valid. I hope it's not too bad."

Except I hope that guy suffers enough that he'd never think of doing that again. Someone else may not be as lucky as me. "Who knows what happened."

He shrugs and we continue to the lecture hall. There is barely enough time for us to get there at a decent pace so that we aren't soaking in sweat as we rush there.

Not sure if I'm excited for lessons, but I'm sure not excited about meeting a lot of people.