Chapter 37

“Hello, Cora.”

For the second time today, I scream, dropping my shower caddy and clutching my towel to my chest. As if I can somehow keep my thundering heart from breaking free of my rib cage as all the air is stolen from my lungs by terror.

Sean is sitting on my bed, looking way too comfortable and pleased with himself.

“I was starting to think you hadn’t slept here last night, with your bed being empty, and it being so early. But I can see my concerns were unfounded. Of course, a good girl like you is an early riser.”

“What do you want, Sean?” I ask, mustering up all the courage I can. I’m still in shock from my encounter with the masked man, and the things he’s shown me about myself.

Sean grins, a predatory smile that sends shivers down my spine. “I want you, Cora. I want everything you’ve been keeping from me.” His words make my heart stutter, and dread causes my stomach to bottom out.

“What do you mean?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

“I want your loyalty, your devotion, your obedience. I expect you to be completely honest with me and to not hold back or keep secrets from me.”

“Secrets?” I squeak.

Sean sighs. “I know about your little job, Cora, and I’m not impressed.”

It’s a struggle to keep the relief from showing on my face.

“How do you know about that?” I ask, trying to sound offended.

I don’t give a fuck if Sean knows I’m working part-time to try to get out from under his thumb, his unwelcome appearance here today in my bedroom before dawn is testament to how imperative it is that I escape him. He’s been playing the long game with me, but I can sense my time is running out.

And I don’t think Slater, or the masked man, can protect me from Sean when he decides he’s had enough of waiting for me.

“Don’t try to play innocent with me, Cora. I asked the right questions and finally got the information I needed,” Sean replies smugly. “But enough about that. I want you to be mine, completely and irrevocably. Submit to me, serve me, and you’ll find a place of safety and comfort.”

I almost throw up on the carpet right where I’m standing - which is still pressed against the door, trying to keep as much distance between me and Sean as possible. It’s not enough. It’ll never be enough.

I don’t even consider his offer for a moment, there is no weighing the pros and cons. The way he’s looking at me is making my skin crawl. No amount of bleach or scalding hot showers will ever make me feel clean again.

I shake my head. “Never,” I whisper vehemently.

Again, Sean sighs, shaking his head like a disappointed parent - which is what he was always supposed to be, not this…sick…thing…he’s suggesting.

“Never?” Sean’s cold, snake-like smile turns into a sneer. “You’ll learn to regret that, Cora. But for now, I’ll just make sure you remember who you belong to and what’s at stake.”

With that, he stands up and begins to cross the room toward me. I don’t know if he’s coming for me, or trying to leave, because I’m blocking the door. Before he can touch me, I lunge out of the way, toward my desk with the intention of grabbing for anything I can find. A lamp, a book, anything to defend myself. But Sean is too quick, too strong. He catches me and easily flings me down onto the bed, and my tears come completely unbidden.

This is it. He’s run out of patience with me.

“You think you can just reject me like that?” he growls, his breath hot against my face as he bends over me where I’m lying on the bed. “After everything I’ve done for you? You’re mine, Cora, and you’ll submit to me whether you like it or not.”

I struggle and kick, but he’s too powerful, easily pinning my shoulders down. I can’t win. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give in.

“Let me go!” I scream, my voice echoing in the room as he holds me down. I kick and yell, deliberately trying to wake the girls in the rooms on either side of me. People are up now. Someone must be able to hear me.

My heart is pounding, my mind racing, and I know I have to get out of here before it’s too late. I can’t let him break me.

Instead of responding, he simply leans down and covers my mouth with his hand. I suppose I should be grateful he’s not trying to kiss me instead to shut me up. But there’s no gratitude, only blind panic, as I do the only thing I can think of and bite down hard on his hand.

He hisses in pain, pulling his hand away to inspect the damage, and I feel his flesh tear as blood floods my mouth. I spit and struggle to sit up, but Sean backhands me across the face so hard I see stars.

“Fucking bitch! You’ll pay for that, Cora. Mark my words. Slater and your mother will suffer because of your poor choices,” he warns before storming from my room, the door banging shut behind him.

I take a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm myself. The taste of blood and the sting of his slap are still fresh on my lips. My whole face feels like it’s on fire from his hit actually, throbbing and swelling painfully, but concern for my mother and Slater override any thoughts of my own safety. My eyes land on my bedside table, where my phone lies, untouched. With trembling hands, I grab it and dial for my mom.

It goes straight to voicemail.

I hang up and shoot her a text asking if she’s at work, and to call me as soon as she can. And then I don’t know what to do. My stomach is in knots, my nerves are frayed, and I’m barely hanging on by a thread.

Sean’s attack has wrecked me.

My mind reels from the brutality of the encounter with him, a stark contrast to the one with the masked man, but I can’t allow myself too much time to process. I push off the bed, stumbling back to the bathroom to rinse the taste of blood from my mouth and tend to the swelling on my face. As I dab my teeth with a clean cloth, I can’t shake the feeling that this is only the beginning.

Sean’s not-so-veiled threat hangs heavy in the air, like a poisonous cloud, and I know I need to act swiftly if I’m to protect myself. But how?

Slater and the masked man, two enigmatic figures who have crossed my path in recent days, may be my only hope. I don’t know if they possess the strength and connections necessary to put an end to Sean’s reign of terror, nor am I sure I want to involve them in this mess. Slater would flip if I told him what Sean did. And the masked man…well, I don’t know what he’d do honestly, but I know he can be absolutely terrifying.

I’m reminded of Slater’s birthday, when he told me to leave and never come back. Did he know then what his father was capable of? He said he wouldn’t be able to protect me, but Sean didn’t hurt me that night. Didn’t hurt me in his own house. No, he chose to come to me, to enter my safe space and desecrate it, and now I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep here ever again.

A knock at my door rattles me from my thoughts, the sound like a gunshot in the silence of the dorm room. My heart leaps into my throat, the fear of what Sean might have done to me, the fear of what he might do next.

I doubt it’s him though. He wouldn’t knock. If he got in here once, he can do again. He obviously has a key.

That thought terrifies me, but I swallow the lump in my throat and steadily, cautiously, I open the door.

It’s not Sean. Instead, I find one of the girls from the dorm, a girl I’ve seen around for weeks but never spoken to even though she’s in a bunch of my classes. She looks up at me with wide eyes, her brows creased in concern as she takes in my face.

“Oh my god, Cora, are you okay?” I nod shakily, unable to speak.

“Can I do anything?” I shake my head. “Do you want me to call someone for you? Get help?”

“N-no. I’m fine,” I tell her, suddenly remembering her name. “Thanks, Betsy, it looks worse than it is.”

“Cora, I don’t know what happened, but I think you need to dump that guy. No guy who gets violent is worth putting up with.”

I nod, not bothering to correct her, and thank her again for checking up on me. Once she’s gone and the door is closed, I lock it, then slide down to the floor and fall apart.