One Night

Chapter 35

Audrey

It was nearly midnight by the time I stumbled down the hallway toward my room; the other dorms were raucous and lively, music thumping through the walls. A typical noisy Friday night, meaning that sleep would elude me.

Although, if I was being honest, I didn’t think that sleep would have come easily even if the dorms had been utterly silent. I kept replaying the incident in Edwin’s office over and over again in my mind, going over every little thing he had said and done.

The pizza. The whiskey. Two truths. My virginity. Sexual pointers. An engagement. And a lie.

The thought of it all made me shudder, and in that moment, I made a pact with myself: I would not put myself in a position with him like that again. We were professor and student, nothing more, and it was inappropriate. I should have just refused the day off and taken a stack of papers back to my dorm to grade over the weekend.

It would have been better for both of us that way.

When I finally reached my door, I fumbled with my keys for a moment before managing to unlock it. As I swung it open, however, something large and hairy suddenly dropped from the top of the doorframe. I looked up just in time to see a massive tarantula hanging right in front of my face.

“Oh my god!” I shrieked, stumbling backwards. The spider landed on my shoulder, its spindly legs scratching at my skin, and I frantically brushed it away. “Get off me, get off!”

Tears were already streaming down my cheeks as I staggered into the hallway, swatting at my hair and clothes. I was in such a frenzy that I fell straight to my butt on the floor, still shrieking and batting at myself.

My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else. I could feel spiders everywhere now, all over me, and I

couldn’t breathe-

“Oh. My. God!”

The sound of laughter made me whip my head up. Through my panic, I could make out the blurry forms of two all- too–familiar girls: Linda’s new friends, both of them holding up their phones as they cackled at my agony.

“Are you getting this?” one of the girls snickered. “She’s totally freaking out!”

“Calm down, human girl,” the other girl cooed at me, clicking her tongue. “It’s just a tarantula. They’re harmless.”

Harmless? Harmless?

Gasping, I squeezed my eyes shut and shot to my feet. I dashed into my room without a word, slamming the door behind me, but I could still hear their laughter echoing in the hallway–taunting, snickering, cruel.

“Come on out, Audrey!” I heard one of their muffled voices through the wood. “Show everyone how tough you are!” I swallowed hard, my back pressed against the door. Even with my light off, I felt utterly exposed and naked—the video they took would likely circulate all around campus within an hour at the most.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the laughter faded. Only once I was certain that they were gone did I dare to move away from the door and turn on the overhead light.

Instantly, I rushed over to the mirror and checked myself–thoroughly–for spiders. I checked my entire room with a flashlight, too. Of course there had only been the one, and it was long gone by now, but I had to make sure.

Once I was done checking, I stumbled over to my bed, collapsed onto it, and buried my face in my pillow. There was no holding back the sobs that now wracked my body.

I hated them. I hated Linda and her stupid friends for doing that to me. How did they even find out how deathly afraid I was of spiders? It was a secret that I kept close to my chest; even Tina didn’t know how terrified I was, how

Chapter 35

frequently I used to jump out of bed in the middle of the night as a kid and run screaming to my mom’s room, crying that there were spiders all over me.

Surely they didn’t know how bad it would be; surely they just thought it would be a funny prank, something to record and plaster on social media to torment me.

They had no idea how it would keep me up for nights to come.

As I lay there, my heart still racing, I tried to push the memory of the tarantula from my mind, along with Linda’s friends‘ jeering laughter. Instead, I focused on something else… anything else.

Suddenly, a face floated through my mind: Edwin’s face.

I couldn’t help it. Before I knew it, I was picturing his stormy eyes and the way his lips curved up when he smirked. I pictured his long, black hair and aquiline nose, the stubble on his chin….

My eyelids grew heavy as I imagined what might have happened if he hadn’t sent me away. I could practically feel his arms wrapping around me, his breath fanning across my ear as he murmured instructions on how to be a better lover. I needed hands–on practice, of course…

Shivering, I pulled my blanket up to my chin and let myself drift off into a deep, drunken sleep.

In my dreams, I found myself back in Edwin’s dimly lit office. I was sitting at his desk, but as I looked down, I saw spiders scurrying across the wooden surface toward me. I gasped and tried to pull away, but they were already crawling up my arms, their prickly legs skittering all over my skin.

“Help!” I cried out in a panic. “Help me, somebody!”

Then, he was there, stepping out from the darkness and into the dim glow of his desk lamp. He didn’t even flinch at the sight of all the spiders that were now covering me from head to toe.

Taking my face in his hands, he leaned down until our foreheads were touching. “Don’t be afraid,” he murmured. “I’m here.”

One by one, he began gently brushing the spiders off my body and onto the floor. I shuddered at his touch, his fingers leaving a blazing trail everywhere they moved across my skin. When the last spider had been swept away, I was fully nude in front of him. But oddly enough, it didn’t perturb me.

Gently, he pulled me into his arms, holding me flush against his chest. I could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, and it calmed me.

Letting out a shaky sigh, I pressed my face into the crook between his neck and shoulder, breathing in his intoxicating scent. His hand slid up into my hair, his lips finding my throat.

“Edwin…” I breathed and began to rise up on my tiptoes, seeking his mouth with mine. Just as our lips were about to

meet-

I jolted awake with a gasp. Blinking dazedly, I looked around at the sunlight streaming through my dorm window, my sheets tangled around my legs. I was still dressed in my jeans and sweater, my makeup having stained my pillowcase.

It had just been another dream. Swallowing hard, I ran a hand through my disheveled hair, my cheeks burning at the thought of Edwin holding my nude form against his chest.

Just a dream…

My stinging eyes then wandered over to my phone. Picking it up, I saw a text from Tina illuminating the screen. “Party tonight! Let’s get ready at eight.”