Author's Note: Look at that two updates in the same month!

[Previously] Whatever was between us, it couldn't continue. He was powerful, wealthy; healthy and whole. I was tainted and broken. We were both dangerous to others. Even silence between us reeked with violent tension.

Chapter 25: Monsters Under Your Bed

[September's POV]

The decision to quit Spencer and leave was impulsive and juvenile. When I arrived to campus Monday morning I saw the magnificent architecture of the academic buildings, the elegant statues that lined the gardens scattered throughout the school grounds, and the crisp New England wind with its abundance of colorful leaves as students made their way into the buildings. It was simply a beautiful sight. I worked hard to get here, and I wasn't going to let one individual person have so much power over me that I would abandon this absolute palace of academia.

When I reached my locker, a note was stuck between the metal ridges. Pulling it out, I saw Charlene's curvy handwriting: "Have news. Meet me in the caf parking lot asap!" Always a flair for the dramatics. Who sends an actual handwritten note over a text message? But I smiled nonetheless. Charlene might be a bit of a gossip sometimes but she'd become a surprisingly good friend over the few months I'd been at Spencer. There was a certain charm about the way she did the simplest things, like leaving me a note or the way she would literally hop up and down in excitement whenever she had a secret to share.

I made my way to the cafeteria and saw the back exit propped open with a small rock. Charlene was waiting for me, rocking on her heels as she waited. She watched with wide, eager eyes as I descended the stairs. "Oh good you're here! You're never gonna believe what happened."

As Charlene started rattling off the details of the latest Spencer news, everything from who got a haircut to who made out with who at Friday night's football game, I let my mind drift to the brighter side of Spencer. These next few months certainly weren't going to be easy, but I could make it work, right? I could make the necessary arrangements to reach my appointments at the hospital and still make my classes. If I let the world end every time I hit a bump in the road, we'd be at least five apocalypses in already.

"Girl, you should've seen the look on his face. What'd you do to break that precious boy's heart?"

I blinked. "Wait what? Whose heart did I break?"

Charlene rolled her eyes. "Reid was asking about you this morning. Looked like a beat up puppy. Get your head in the game, Sep."

"Charlene! Knock it off." She was not grasping the just-friends concept so easily. "What did he want?"

"Like I said, he was asking about you. Wondering where you were, if I'd seen you on campus. You know, since you missed class this morning." She gave me the aren't you on scholarship? glare and put her hands on her hips. "Well? What's up?"

"I may have given him the impression I was dropping out." Her jaw dropped. Was it stupid to tell Charlene this? I mean, if Reid was asking around about me people were bound to come up with the rumor of my leaving anyway. "But I'm not. We got into a fight. I just wanted to freak him out, get him to leave me alone for a bit. The flat tire on my truck this morning was just lucky given the circumstances."

Her eyes narrowed but her shoulders relaxed. Charlene wouldn't press the issue.

"Did I miss anything important in English?" I asked, shoving my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

"We're starting the next book on the syllabus. Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. No weekly essays, just the midterm which is due before the holidays."

"That's 900 pages due in 3 weeks. How the hell do they expect us to do that?"

"Watch the movie." Charlene shrugged and threw her backpack on her shoulder. "But anywhooooo we can worry about that later. I gotta get to French or Mademoiselle Antoinette will have my head. À bientôt!"

I smiled and shook my head as I followed her up the stairs. Yeah, I could stick round a while. I'd deal with it all, one step at a time. I'm not going to let them tear me down, I told myself as I headed for my next class.