Unhealthy Attraction

Chapter 7 Professor Peter James

Hey there everybody! :)

It took a little longer to write this chapter. But here it is now,

So, enjoy.

Laura

--> Picture of Chris Pine as Sam Hope

Professor Peter James

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I feel is someone shaking my shoulder. I try to open my eyes which are swollen because of the extensive crying but I can make out Dani in front of me, “Rae, are you okay? What's wrong? Have you been crying?” I look at her and can feel the tears falling again. That's when Dani takes of her shoes and jacket and crawls into bed next to me. She makes herself comfortable behind me and takes hold of my shoulder. Her hand caresses my arm comfortingly, “Why are you crying? Did something happen?” I don't know why I tell her I miss my parents and brothers instead of the truth. Dani has spilled her heart to me, too. But I' just not comfortable to tell her that my Professor tried to seduce me and quite frankly succeeded.

“It's okay, Raelyn. Just let it all out. The longer you're away from home, the easier it will get and I speak from experience. And if you need a shoulder to cry on own, I happily lend you mine.”, says Dani caring. Feeling even worse for lying after her kind words I barely nod and look away from her sympathetic face. Under her tender-hearted caresses I fall into an exhausted sleep again.

He stands in front of me with a predatory glance in his eyes. I try to take a step back but stumble into a barrier, not being able to move away I begin to panic. He seems to enjoy my panic for his mouth lifts into a dangerous smirk. “There is nowhere you can go, little one. You trapped here with me.” I try to move but I can't move my legs. Frantically I look around for anything or someone to help me. But I am truly alone with him. His quiet chuckling brings my attention back to him. He now stands in front of me. He lifts his arms and secures them around my waist. “Surrender to me, love. There so many things we could do.” I am neither able to move away nor to speak. I can see him draw in nearer, his lips caressing the sensitive skin behind my ear. He moves over my outer ear to whisper one word, “Raelyn.”

I wake up in a jolt. Gasping for air I look around to scan my surroundings. Identifying the familiar furniture of my dorm room, I relax a little. Feeling someone watching, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I look around to see Dani looking at me from her bed with her headphones on and her laptop in her lap, “Bad dream?”, she asks. I nod and ask, “What time is it?” - “Just after 10.” I stand up, put on my sweatpants and a thick pullover, turn to her and say, “I'm going outside, to clear my head. I'll be right back.”

I jog to the old tree on campus and sit down under it. The crisp air burns in my lungs. It is maybe a ten minutes run from my dorm to the tree but I am exhausted. Deciding to pick up exercise again I put my knees to my chest and try to slow down my pulse. It is dead silent except for the occasional whispers of the winds blowing through the leaves. I always liked the night. It is a spectacle of eerie beauty when the moon shines through the clouds casting shadows on the ground. When I was younger, my brother Sam and I would sneak out in our garden to watch the stars. Sometimes our father would join and bring us blankets so we wouldn't catch a cold. He would sit in between us, an arm around each of us and telling a story about other worlds. I often fell asleep to his soothing voice.

I come back to reality suddenly feeling homesick. I lay down on my back and looke up into the sky, watching the stars twinkle and remembering the stories my father used to tell me. It must have been a few minutes where I just lay there staring into the sky, when I hear someone approaching. I immediately get up and look the origin of the noise. Because of the street lamps I recognize Professor James. He seems to recognize me as well because in the same moment he asks, “Miss Hope, is that you? What are still doing here? Did you have a late class?” I shake my head when he was in sight, “No. Ehm... I am just out for a late night walk.” Silently laughing he sits down next to me, not caring if his suit gets dirty on the damp ground. He places his suitcase next to him and leans against the tree while I am sitting crossed legged in front of him. “Oh yeah, I know those late night walks. Bad dream or loud neighbours?”, he asks winking. I giggle a little and answer, “The former. I'm feeling a bit homesick, too, I'm afraid.” He nods his head understanding. “Understandable. It took me weeks to stop missing home when I first moved out. It'll go away, I promise.” I smile at him thankfully. Like in the first lecture I immediately feel comfortable in his presence. He just has that safety vibe surrounding him like my dad has. Suddenly remembering something I speak, “Oh, I forgot to hand in my assignment.” He gives a dismissive hand move, “Just drop it off tomorrow at my office.” I thank him and gaze into the stars again. “When I was younger my father told adventure stories about distant planets and fantastic creatures. And I would gaze into sky trying to imagine what it would be like out there.” I look at Professor James and he had a nostalgic expression on his face as if he remembered them, too. “Yeah, my girls listened to them, too. I guess that's a dad thing, huh?”