Chapter Thirteen – The Dark Night of the Soul

"Ulysses, is this really necessary?" Sarah asked tensely as they sat, waiting for Ulysses's old friend and the Chancellor, Fred, to come back into the office with Linda's school records. He shifted in his chair at her scalding look in his direction.

"I'm protecting her, Sarah," Ulysses said simply. "She's our only daughter, I have to do what I can to ensure she succeeds in life."

"But ripping her out of university just because she's been carrying on a secret relationship?" She threw up her hand in exasperation. "What about her schoolwork and her end of term exams? What about her friends?" Ulysses cleared his throat and continued to stare ahead. "My God, do you realize what you're doing? You're about to break Linda's trust in us, and it's all because you always have to be in control of what she's doing!" He held back his surprise at her fierce tone; Sarah was usually very quiet, and to hear her get legitimately angry with him wasn't something he was used to.

"It's not control, Sarah," he said patiently, as if talking to a small child. "It's guidance and protection. Linda is seventeen years old, she has no concept of what's good for her and what's not." Sarah scoffed.

"So you're saying you don't trust your own daughter." He fell silent.

"I don't trust her judgment," he finally answered. She opened her mouth to reply, but the door opened and Fred walked in, clearing his throat.

"All right, here we are, Ulysses." He sat down with Linda's records and got a pen. "I'll just need you to sign the release." Taking the pen, Ulysses signed on the dotted line. "I'm so sorry to be seeing Linda going. The mathematics department loves her. But I agree with you, Oxford would suit her academic goals better." Sarah's eyes slid over to Ulysses, who didn't reply but just smiled. A small, plump woman knocked softly on the door.

"Sir," she addressed Fred. "The Gregorys' daughter has asked to speak to her parents alone. She's next door in the conference room," she told Ulysses and Sarah. They looked at each other and stood to their feet, Ulysses gripping Linda's records in his hand as the woman led down the hall and into the open conference room. Linda was sitting on the table and Chris was leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as though he was in deep thought.

The woman shut the door behind them and everyone stared at each other in awkward silence. Linda slowly got to her feet and walked to Chris's side.

"Mother, Father," she said as she took his hand in hers. "This is Chris…my boyfriend," he clarified. Chris smiled cautiously.

"It's nice to meet you," he said politely with a nod. Sarah looked as though she wanted to say something, but she decided against it as Ulysses stood taller and cleared his throat.

"Linda, what is this about?" He asked shortly. "Did you bring Chris here thinking I would instantly change my mind if I met him?" Linda took a shaky breath.

"Father, please-"

"I already have your records." He held up the file to show them. "And I expect you to start packing as soon as this discussion is over." Sarah moved toward Linda, but Ulysses raised his hand to stop her. "Do you understand?" The tension was so thick, Chris swore a chainsaw couldn't cut through it. Linda let go of his hand and took a protective stance in front of him, her expression likened to a tiger ready to pounce.

"Why do you insist on treating me like a child?" Ulysses frowned.

"I only want what's best for you-" he started.

"Oh my God-" Linda cut herself off and laughed bitterly. "God, I am so sick of hearing that excuse," she growled. Chris tensed, bracing himself internally for the argument about to ensue. "All of my life," Linda shouted, which made both of her parents' eyes widen. "It seems like everyone always knows what's good for me and I'm just some bump on a log!" Ulysses opened his mouth, but Linda's voice rose. "Why do you call me a genius, yet treat like I'm a bloody idiot?!" Chris saw the shadow of anger settle onto Ulysses's face.

"Now, you listen to me, Linda!" He said, getting close to her face, despite Sarah's lunge to grab his arm. "I'm your father and though it may not seem like it right at this moment, I only want what's best for you," he stressed his repeated statement. "And he," he said with a dark glare toward Chris. "Is not it." Chris clenched his jaw and returned Ulysses's hostile glare with one of his own.

"What would you know about what's best for me?!" Linda spat. "You wouldn't know what was best for me if it got up and smacked you in the face!" Ulysses balked. "You can't see an inch outside of your reputation to even give an ounce of thought about what's best for me!"

"Excuse me?!" He yelled, pulling his arm out of Sarah's grip to point in Linda's face. "It's because of my success that I can offer you and your mother the best of life! What does he have to offer you?!" He pointed to Chris. "He looks like he can barely afford fish and chips, much less give you a life that you deserve!" The words cut across the room and punched Chris in the stomach. His knuckles turned white as he painfully clenched his fists, trying his damnedest to keep himself calm.

"You arrogant-" Linda started, taking a step forward.

"Linda, don't." He reached out and grabbed her arm to pull her back.

"Get your hand off of my daughter!" Ulysses suddenly yelled, pinning Chris with a stare that could've ripped him to shreds. He froze and reluctantly released his grip.

Sarah whimpered and ran up to Linda's side. "Ulysses, stop!" She roughly pushed him back. "Stop this, just stop this!" Her voice broke with grief as she held Linda close to her side. "Leave her alone! My God, she's your child, not your enemy!" Sarah's eyes glistened with tears and her bottom lip quivered. "You're breaking my heart! Just! Stop!" The room fell silent at her plea. Everyone seemed to be emotionally ready to fall apart; it was just a matter of who would be the first to fall.

Ulysses cleared his throat, clearly disturbed by his wife's strong reaction to what was happening.

"This discussion is over," he said tightly, trying his best to sound calm. "Sarah, go help Linda pack her bags-"

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"

"YES! YOU! ARE!" Ulysses roared each word, his eyes wild with anger. "I've had ENOUGH of your games, Linda! You and Chris are finished," Chris closed his eyes at his words. "And you will never see him again!" Linda lunged at him with a strangled yell, but Sarah quickly held her waist, her pleading drowned by the grunts and screams of struggle.

"I hate you!" Linda screamed, fighting with every ounce of strength she could. "You selfish bastard-!" Her cheek stung as his hand reached out and struck her with a harsh slap. Chris growled and against his better judgment, he started to move, but Sarah let out a strangled sob and held him back with one arm as she held Linda close to her chest with her other arm.

"One more word, and I swear to God, you'll be sorry!" Before anyone could say anything else, Ulysses ripped open the door and stormed out of the room and past the shocked office staff, who were all watching them with wide eyes.

"Oh, Linda," Sarah cradled her to her chest. "Linda, he didn't mean it, he didn't-" Linda forced herself out of her mother's embrace and whimpered as she stumbled into Chris's arms, holding her burning cheek. She clung to him, trembling and crying into his chest. He stroked her head numbly, feeling as though he had the life sucked out of him.

"Linda..." He brushed his lips in her hair. "...we...we tried." He fought to keep his voice steady. "You…" He closed his eyes. "You should do what your father says," he finally said after a couple of tense seconds. Linda stared at him, the cheek where she was slapped burning an angry red.

"No," she said quickly, panting to keep herself under control. "We can run away together, Chris." Her words slurred together. "Chris, we can just disappear. We can get married." She gripped his shirt. "Don't you want to marry me?" she asked desperately. He cupped her face.

"Not like this, Linda," he said sadly as he stroked her slapped cheek with his thumb. And besides, even if they wanted to, they couldn't run off; legally, Linda wasn't an adult and her parents could just as easily drag her back.

"You…you're taking his side," she whimpered.

"No, I'm not taking his side. But before we make things worse…just…" Chris stopped, taking a deep breath. "Do as he asks." He let suddenly let Linda go and walked out of the room. She stared, panting softly in disbelief and tripped over herself as she started to go after him.

"I thought you wanted me to fight back!" She screamed across the office, stopping all of the activity around them. "That's what you wanted me to do, wasn't it, Chris?!"

"Yes, that's what I wanted!" he yelled as he spun around to face her. "But I didn't want you to get hurt!" He looked to her red cheek and felt his heart lurch. It was because of him that she had that mark on her face. It was because of him that Sarah was trying her best to hold her broken heart together. It was because of him that Ulysses was on the rampage, like a hurricane that had raged out of control.

It was all because of him.

"Your father's right, Linda." He looked away with a sigh. "I'm not good enough for you." Linda felt her knees give out and she gripped the door frame.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" She raged. "Since when did that matter to you?!"

"Since now," he answered before turning away to leave. He ignored her bark of his name as he opened the door to the outside corridor and bumped into Fran. She looked at him and her face fell with concern.

"Chris, what happened?" He swallowed.

"Linda's leaving." The words came out strangled and quiet.

"What?!" Her jaw dropped open as he started to walk, his mind racing a million miles an hour, barely comprehending everything that was happening. "Why is she leaving?" Fran ran after him.

"Because her parents can take her and I told her to."

"You TOLD her to leave?!" Fran repeated, not bothering to hide her shock. "Why did you do that?"

"Because." Chris stopped and turned around to face her. "You should've seen what happened in there, Fran." The memory of Ulysses slapping her made him cringe. "I don't want to cause any more pain and heartache for Linda…I've already caused enough," he finished sadly. Fran opened her mouth to reply, but the office door opened again and Linda walked out supported by Sarah, who was holding her close and petting her hair as she talked softly to her. They started to walk across the grounds and toward the girls' dorm.

"I…." Fran looked at Chris one last time and ran off after them, leaving him to stand alone in the corridor, looking on as the roar of his own guilt drowned him in sorrow...

Fran watched in silence as the driver loaded Linda's bags into the trunk of the limousine. He closed it with a slam that cut across the tense air.

"All ready to go, Dr. Gregory."

"Thank you, Timothy." Ulysses opened the back seat door, gesturing to the inside. "Ladies first." Sarah started to walk toward the car, but Linda lingered behind.

"Can I say goodbye...one last time?" Ulysses started to open his mouth, but Sarah gave him a scathing look that told him to let her. He closed his mouth, curtly nodded and let Sarah into the back seat before following her. The door shut and Linda turned around to walk up to Fran, sniffling.

"Oh, Linda..." Fran reached out and hugged her. Linda buried her face in her coarse, bushy red hair.

"I'll miss you, Fran," she choked. For awhile, they held each other tightly in silence. Finally, when she felt she was strong enough, Linda slowly pulled away and sniffled, the question of where Chris was getting stuck in her throat. But she didn't have to wonder long; she looked up and saw that Chris was strolling down the hill toward the car, his hands in his pockets. He stopped beside Fran and they stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Linda moved to pull him into her arms, hugging his neck tightly.

"I'll never regret what we had," she said in his ear as she felt his arms encircle her waist.

"What we HAVE," he correctly, tightening his grip. She rested her head on his shoulder and sniffled as his hand caressed her back gently. Reluctantly, she pulled back and kissed his cheek gently, turning to walk down to the limousine.

But as she got to the door, she suddenly stopped, looked over her shoulder and turned back around, sprinting up the hill to Chris and practically jumping in his arms with a whimper, desperately kissing wherever her lips could touch: his eyelids, his forehead, his cheeks, his chin. He held her head as he took her lips and she caressed his face, his shoulders and his chest, trying her best to hang onto every memory, every last moment in his arms...

They slowly parted, touching foreheads to catch their breath. With one last gentle kiss, Linda turned around and walked back down to the car numbly, opening the door to plop herself inside on the seat across from her parents. The limousine drove off silently, and Fran and Chris watched it with heavy hearts. Slowly, Fran looped her arm into his and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing.

"You know," she said softly. "You may say that you're not good enough for her," She looked up to his sad profile. "But you, Chris Holmes, were the best thing that ever happened to her." With a sad smile, she squeezed his arm tenderly and walked off, leaving him to stare off down the road, his heart sinking with each inch the car traveled..

As the university disappeared into the background, Linda felt herself go into a state of numbness, the wave of grief and rage engulfing her in a tomb of her own self induced misery. Blankly, she stared out the window and retreated into herself, delving into a place within her mind where there was nothing but darkness, nothing but silence. She held her chest and closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against the cool glass. Ulysses watched her, a hand over his mouth in thought.

"This is for the best," he said softly, more to himself than to Sarah. She scoffed.

"Keep telling yourself that, Ulysses," she said bitterly, scooting away from him to put as much space between them as possible as she looked out the window to watch the landscape pass by in a blur.