The ride to class in the morning was completely snag-free. He was on time, I was appropriately grateful, he paid for my coffee, I told him not to and he did that bossy thing before paying anyway. It was all fine, until the moment we both walked into the large lecture hall together.
The east-facing room had large windows that complimented the mid-morning light. It bathed the room in a warm glow with just enough light that I absolutely couldn't mistake the looks of loathing and contempt on most of the women's faces when Lex and I strolled through the doors together. And a couple of the men, if I'm not mistaken. I hadn't banked on this.
In high school, I was popular enough, for a while at least. I went to school a couple of zip codes over because I thought it would be good for me to have "real-world friends." The older I got the more grateful I was for that. It wasn't exactly on the bad side of town but it did give me some unfair advantages over some of my classmates. Namely - that my parents were super-rich. Still, I never felt the unease that bubbled up from my stomach at the looks of envy on my peers' faces. This was new territory for me. Thankfully I'm pretty good at handling people that don't like me.
Spotting two seats near the back I start walking for them when Lex grabs my elbow. I turn to see his gentle smile laced with apprehension. "So, I didn't want to weird you out before, but I'm actually Professor West's TA, so I'm going to be up here. I'm a senior."
The gape in my mouth could have caught flies. What was I saying about adjusting quickly? I snapped my mouth closed and offered a quick smile. "No worries. I'm just going to be back there." I thumbed over my shoulder before backing towards the empty seats.
Quickly getting comfortable and opening my MacBook I took a moment to realize that there were a lot of firsts happening all at once. Although it's not my first time having a first day at a new school - it is my first day at a new school that was already in session. Most kids get this once or twice in their lifetime well before graduation and here I was a stone's throw into my junior year of college and I'm just now having the pleasure. I've also never faked a major and did some creative fudging of my actual identity before either.
Going undercover is part of investigative journalism. It's not something entirely outside of my wheelhouse but I've never done it to such an immersive degree and certainly never for a reason so completely personal to me before. I swallowed past the dryness of my throat and tossed the idea aside quickly. Surely they wouldn't take it personally if they understood why right? Right.
The rest of the day passed quickly and easily - dirty looks notwithstanding. I caught lunch in one of the campus cafes with Daria and lucked into two communications classes to round out the maiden voyage into the world of all things Windsor. I texted Jade to see if she wanted to hit the library with me but she had a date, so I decided to make it on my own.
The library is a separate building at the far end of campus and is entirely reminiscent of the buildings back east in its architecture. It seems like it's from an earlier time than when the west was settled and is completely out of tune with the rest of the architecture on campus.
I followed the stone pathways beneath a canopy of towering California Ash trees, which in most parts of the country, would have already shed their leaves by now. The soft yellow of these leaves is finally giving way to more of a late fall brown - crisping them at their tips. They'll eventually fall just like all the rest. They all have to let go sooner or later.
The library itself is three stories tall and made of crumbling orange brick that was probably more of a burnt red when the bricks first kissed the mortar here. Something about the familiarity of the building set me at ease despite the fact that a large bronze plaque was inlaid in the cement steps memorializing two of the victims of The Windsor Stangler whose bodies were found here one morning when the librarian came to open the building for the day.
With everything that happened with my sister, I felt sorrow for these women in the marrow of my bones. I wanted to stop and run my finger along with the letters in the best condolence I could offer two dead women but thought better of drawing attention. Their killer was never found. A ghost in the wind.
Tons of theories have come and gone over the years. There are podcasts and forums dedicated to The Windsor Strangler, including my own. Even that douchebag from the stupid ghost hunting show on television came here with his crew spinning their own theories about it as though they were fact. Still to this day, no one has identified the killer and the trail has gone dead long ago. Will the same thing happen to Renee's case? Will she be one among a string of unfortunate women who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Relegated to a podcast topic? A forgotten name on a forgotten plaque that hundreds of people step over every day?
Swallowing a lump in my throat I wandered the library to get a sense of it. The second floor had several study rooms that could be reserved on either side of the floor with the stacks making a maze to open seating at the center. I imagine that this is probably unsettling when darkness falls and most of the students have made their way back to the dorms or out to the bars or the latest kegger.
I wouldn't want to be caught here late at night, but I'm glad to see that there are some rooms here I can use. While I don't anticipate needing too much space for studying, I know it's going to be challenging to have time to do rundowns with Lenore or even go over private things regarding the investigation. I'll have to make a mental note to get a metal lockbox or something for tangible items. Thus far I've been able to keep files on my computer but I know from experience that not everything can be contained to a combination of ones and zeroes.
Turning off the light and closing the door to one of the unoccupied study rooms, I felt something brush my shoulder. My lungs spasmed and every cell of my body reacted as though they were in a microwave causing me to loudly drop my books and turn to the face of…. Bradley?
"Oh my god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said, not at all sorry that he scared me. I took a moment to glance around, hand on my chest. A few heads poked around the stacks at the echo of fallen books but luckily all the paper and bindings helped muffle the sound.
I've never realized how creepy libraries are.
"Um," I clear my throat and try to shake the blood back to my fingertips while he bends to pick up the books I dropped, "Bradley, right?"
A smile lights his eyes before his lips quirk at one side, "Yeah, I'm so glad that you remembered."
Bradley stood handing me my books which I accepted with gratitude I'm not sure he deserves after nearly scaring me to death.
"How are you getting along? How's your first day? You're friends with Jade, right?"
Yeah, and she told me to stay the hell away from your creepy sexy ass. "Yeah, she's my roommate actually. She told me all about you. Good things, I promise," the lie rolls off my tongue like a knotted cherry stem at my eighth-grade slumber party. To good ol' Brad's credit, if he's surprised, he hides it well.
"Good, good. Hey, listen, my frat is doing a casino night. The twenties, kinda Great Gatsby theme. It's a fundraiser for some of the No Shave November Charities," Bradley says confidently before handing me a fluorescent blue flier with the details of the party and a graphic more suited to 2012. I'm unable to suppress a snort at the gesture, and I hurry to apply some ice to the wound.
"One of the richest schools in one of the richest areas with the best cell phones and computers, but we still gotta have multi-colored flyers for our college parties," I say, tossing my head to the side and giving an honest grin accompanied by a far less honest giggle.
"There's a reason the classics are a classic. We'll have jello shots for the same reason."
"Can I bring some friends?"
"As long as those friends like to drink and have checkbooks, by all means." He grabs a few flyers off the top of the stack in an assortment of colors and presses them into my hands.
"Are checkbooks one of those classics, then?" I quirk a flirty eyebrow. I don't want to alienate this guy but if you leave a door like that open I can't stop myself from busting through it like the kool-aid man.
"Figure of speech," he laughs, nodding playfully, "We take cash app, Venmo, all those. We'll also accept checks - but cash would be the classic in this scenario. Cash is still king."
"I don't think any of us are strangers to worshiping at the altar of the almighty dollar."
"Alright," Brad says as his gaze flits to my lips so briefly I almost missed it. Almost. "I'm going to try to catch the people coming in to catch some night classes. See ya, Ellie."
Brad gives my shoulder a playful tap with the stack of flyers and takes a couple of steps back before turning to walk the other way. I watch him - and his sinfully hot ass - as they walk across the floor to the stairs.
I can't help but wonder what exactly Jade meant when she said he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. What kind of wolf is he, exactly? If I'm being honest with myself I wouldn't be at all sad if that wolf wanted to gobble me right up, here and now. It's been too long.
I spent the summer semester catching up on a few things I missed in the spring semester. I had just started the fall semester before Renee's accident, so if I add the two, and carry the one…maybe a year ago? Eight-month dry spell? If I'm being generous with myself. I'll have to find a way to take the edge off so I can keep my mind in the game here. If I go much longer I'm going to become one of those cartoon characters that see people as walking food when they're too hungry. Except with sex. Maybe it's already happening and I'm just seeing Bradley with fuck-hunger eyes.
I find myself taking out my phone and snapping a photo of his ass as he walks away so I have it to compare to once I'm no longer starved of affection. The last thing I want to be sex-snacking on is the big bad wolf.