Through Her Shattered Eyes ✔

Chapter 25

I pull Mom's car into a parking space next to someone's old beat-up Ford truck and turn off the ignition. Instead of parking where I parked the past couple times, I decided to park by the campus library. There aren't any lots in Arlington Hall, so I'm still going to have to walk a little bit to get there. I bring my knees up to my chest and sigh, looking at the clock on the dashboard. Six ten. Lectures should be completely done for today. Adrian should be finished with his history class as well, which means he's in his office now, probably going over some things before leaving.

Which also means there's time for me to still go talk to him. Part of me feels a little nervous going back to see him, however.

It's not so much going into his office and confronting him that makes me feel anxious. It's seeing Adrian again. Don't get me wrong, he's a very handsome teacher but I don't feel that sort of affection for him. I honestly think Erika is to blame for this.

Six fifteen. My heart hammers in my chest from the anxiety slowly building up. I'm sort of expecting him to still be pigheaded about everything but I need to know. And sitting here, procrastinating big time, isn't going to move things along. Taking a deep breath, I finally open the car door and step out, going toward Arlington Hall. This is like a goal, a personal mission—which it indeed is—to merely enter through those large doors, continue down the hall, go up to the second floor, and keep straight until Adrian's office door is seen. I walk with confidence as I pass by several people, doing just this exactly.

When I'm at the end of the hall on the second floor and by Adrian's door, I notice that it's wide open. I knock lightly on the door frame first.

"Professor Kelly?" I utter, peeking into his office.

There seems to be no sign of him here yet, or anyone for that matter. His chair is empty and pushed into the desk. The other two chairs across from his are bare as well. The corners of my mouth turn down. Bummer, I thought he'd be done teaching by now.

Maybe I can wait here until he shows up, I think.

Yeah, that's what I can do. I'll sit in one of the chairs and wait for him. That way it doesn't seem like I'm loitering here. Since the hallway is just as empty and lonely as his office, I seize the moment and duck into the room, quickly sliding myself in the chair with ease. I set my purse beside me and cross my leg over the other, waiting patiently.

The office is filled with a slight eerie silence. It's so silent I can hear his small clock tick; the sound echoes across the room. I watch the hands move at an incredibly slow pace. For some reason, it makes me fidgety. I cast my eyes down to my hands, staring at them.

How long has it been? Five minutes? Ten? Fifteen? I'm not quite sure. But it feels like an eternity and I start to wonder if Adrian will show up at all. Maybe he isn't coming. Maybe he's already been here, did what needed to be done, and went home. Or he could possibly be caught up in a meeting. Either of the two options is a possibility. Then, a sudden thought pops into my mind.

I wonder if maybe Adrian has something from Erika in here.

I shake my head. I don't think so. If he has anything from her, he'd know better than to keep them in his office at a university. It'd be too risky, wouldn't it?

Not unless he has them hidden somewhere.

That's true. Erika received love letters from him and she hid them very well in her room where nobody would even think of looking in. So, if she sent Adrian things while he was here, could he have a place where he'd hide them, too? Well, one way to know for sure.