Stalked by my Professor Novel

Chapter 66 Bastian follows Deputy Thatcher into the hall, but not before throwing me a meaningful look as he turns to shut the door. Whatever happens, keep your damn mouth shut. I drag my hands down my face, trying to collect myself. Jesus...what the hell just happened? There's no time to figure it out. I need to get all the way across town before my shift starts. I send Melissa a mental thank you as I pop one of her pills. And again when I raid her closet for something to wear, grabbing designer denim overalls with paint-fleck distressing, and a white ribbed tank top.

The overalls are probably super baggy on her, but they fit me fine. The tank top is a little tight, but that just means I don't have to find a bra. A messy ponytail and my only pair of grubby sneakers complete the look...whatever the hell look this is supposed to be. Thankfully, Kai didn't destroy all my underwear since mine is...soaked. I glance at my reflection in the mirror, twisting this way and that, weight predominantly on my uninjured foot. I saw a bandana in Melissa's closet. Maybe I could wear it in my hair? Or a touch of lip gloss⁠- What the hell am I doing?

I don't have time to check if my outfit is cute enough for a taco stand. I need to get the fuck out of here before Deputy Thatcher finishes with Bastian and starts questioning me. Speaking of...what the fuck just happened? Never mind Bastian whispering filthy things in my ear...I accept he's a degenerate who feasts on depravity and sin. And apparently, I can't get enough of his dirty mouth, or his wandering hands-despite what I promised Kai. I should never have gotten into Bastian's car that day. Never have gone home with him. Should never have trusted him. But it all seemed so⁠- Ha ha.

Innocent? Now I'm trying to gaslight myself. No, what I can't wrap my head around is what Bastian said about Kai. I know he's just trying to mess with me, but why wouldn't Kai have reported Bastian if he had actual footage of our professor forcing himself on me? Good question, Haven. Follow up-why the hell haven't you reported Bastian? "Focus," I whisper, pointing at myself in the mirror. I hesitate, then dab some of her lipstick onto my mouth, shove another few of her pills into my pocket, and hobble over to the door. This close, I can hear murmured voices coming from outside.

But it's impossible to figure out what they're saying. I'm not sure if it was just my paranoia cranking up to an eleven when Thatcher stepped into the room and nearly caught Professor Rooke trying to get me off, but I swear I felt tension between them. I wish I could hear whether Bastian is easing the deputy's suspicions, or making them worse. The last thing I need is Thatcher looking at me with those sharp eyes, adding more questions to his list. I don't dare risk sticking around just so he can give me enough rope to hang myself with.

Especially not with all that alpha-male crap going on between him and my professor. I saw that flicker of surprise on Professor Rooke's face when Thatcher said he went to some college I've never even heard of. It doesn't matter who's got the bigger dick, Bastian. What matters is that Thatcher doesn't decide to look closer at any of us. Bastian doesn't want him to find out about us. Especially the hotly debated topic of Tuesday's festivities. I sure as fuck don't want him digging through my past. And I'm pretty sure Kai doesn't need more heat on him for what happened with his brother.

So why the hell am I standing here, trying to eavesdrop? This is the perfect opportunity for me to escape before Thatcher can interrogate me. With Bastian distracting Thatcher, I can make like a banana and fucking split. But first... I limp back to my bed and shove my hand under the corner of the mattress. My heart nose drives straight for the ground floor when I come up empty. Where the fuck⁠- No. Did Kai seriously steal the phone and credit card Bastian gave me?

I rip up the corner of the mattress, blowing out a sigh of relief I'm sure they heard all the way into the hall when I see the bubble-wrapped bundle. Guess it was deeper in than I thought. I shove the phone and credit card into the overalls' pocket, tossing the bubble wrap into the waste paper basket. My hand trembles as I grab the door handle, and despite feeling every precious second slipping away, I have to pause and take a few breaths before I can will myself to open the door and step out. Coward.

Bastian has his back to me, but as soon as Deputy Thatcher glances in my direction, Professor Rooke turns to look at me over his shoulder. He barely widens his eyes, but the message is clear. Where the fuck do you think you're going? Then his eyes drop to my mouth, and he looks even madder, eyes hooding. I wasn't done with you, girl. My chest closes up as if someone put their foot on it. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ Find_Novel(.)net I'm guessing it's you, Professor Rooke. "Leaving already?" Thatcher asks. "I, uh-" My gaze cuts to Bastian.

He's the last person I wanted to tell about my new job, but I guess I don't have a choice. I can't seem to come up with anything plausible that would require skiping out on a police interrogation. "I'm starting a new job," I tell Thatcher. "First day. So, uh, yeah, I need to go." It's a task keeping my eyes on the cop when I notice Bastian tilting his head from the corner of my eye. Thatcher looks at my ponytail. My sneakers. My mouth. There's a slight frown on his face when he makes eye contact again. "If you could give me your number, Miss Lee," Thatcher licks the tip of his pencil.

"It'll make scheduling a chat much easier." "No phone, remember?" I practically yell. There's so much adrenaline pumping through me, I could jump out a window and just bob away over the treetops. Thatcher shrugs, giving Bastian a 'whatcha-gonna-do' look as he pulls a card out of his pocket and hands it to me. I throw the deputy a quick wave, ignoring Bastian's tilted head and narrowed eyes, and limp away down the hall as fast as I can. "Better not leave the state, Miss Lee," Thatcher calls after me. I swing my head back to look at him.

Is that hard stare meant to give me the fucking heebie-jeebies, or is that just a happy coincidence for him? Then he gives me the briefest flash of a smile, and I realize he's joking. Or attempting to joke, anyway. I don't think it comes naturally to him. He reaches down and strokes the clasp on his holster, as if to check if his gun is still there. An innocent gesture, probably just a habit. But it feels intentional, like the threat he tried to pass off as a joke is, in fact, a threat. That can't be good.

I make the mistake of glancing over at Bastian for some kind of confirmation that I'm imagining this shit, but he treats me to a billion megawatt glare instead. Oh boy. Professor Rooke didn't rescue me out of the goodness of his heart. He's going to expect some kind of compensation. Not just for saving me, but for abandoning him. For threatening him. Even through all this, the thought makes my insides clench. "Mind out of the gutter, you freak," I mutter to myself as I stagger down the stairs. My heart's clanging in my throat by the time I reach the bottom of the staircase.

I kept expecting one of them to come after me, to demand I stay. Not sure which scares me more. The thought of being confronted by the cop...or my professor.