CHAPTER 14: Unspoken Secrets

Steam fogged the edges of the mirror as Alicia pushed open the bathroom door, her auburn hair damp and curling rebelliously around her shoulders. She tugged her crop top into place, the hem brushing just above the waistline of her baggy jeans. It wasn’t the most practical outfit to be worn in the bathroom, but she wasn’t about to risk parading into the room half-naked again not with Raymond lurking around.

Except… the room was empty.

Her eyes darted to the bed they shared, neat as always, his jacket slung over the chair. He was gone. A strange tug pulled in her chest, relief, maybe, but threaded with something she couldn’t name. She shook it off, briskly moving to her side of the room.

Her comb snagged through her damp strands, pulling stubbornly at the tangles. “Seriously?” she muttered, yanking harder until her scalp tingled. Time ticked away, merciless and loud in her head. She stuffed books into her bag, tugged on her sneakers, and bolted for the door.

The dormitory hallway stretched long and empty, her hurried footsteps echoing against the tiled floor. She barely noticed the other students drifting past, laughing in groups, their voices bouncing off the walls. Her focus was singular: don’t be late. Again.

By the time she pushed open the glass doors of the Creative Writing department, her phone buzzed. She glanced down—11:45. Her stomach flipped. Fifteen minutes left before her next class started.

The building towered above her, gothic in its angles, the windows catching the sun like watchful eyes. Alicia ignored the heavy press of its presence and hurried inside, weaving past students until she found the lecture room.

It was nearly empty. Relief washed over her as she slipped into a seat near the back wall, hoping the lecturer wouldn’t notice her if she needed to breathe. Pulling out her phone, she thumbed instinctively to I*******m. Bright images of her friends’ lives flashed across the screen, smiling faces, night outings, little captions she hadn’t had time for since arriving at Moonlined College. The familiar scroll felt like a tiny anchor to the normal world she used to know.

The door creaked open again, and students trickled in until the room buzzed with soft chatter. At exactly noon, the lecturer strode in, his heavy footsteps silencing the room. Alicia slipped her phone back into her pocket and glanced sideways.

And froze.

Kevin sat beside her.

Her lips curved before she could stop them, warmth flickering through her chest. “Hey, Kevin,” she whispered.

His gaze locked on hers, steady, the faintest smile tugging at his mouth. For a moment, his heart thudded so hard he swore she’d hear it. “Didn’t want to disturb you. You seemed pretty invested in your phone.”

Alicia’s cheeks heated. She chuckled lightly. “Guess I was. Sorry about… last night.” She lowered her voice, eyes flicking down. “Falling asleep in your room, I mean.”

Kevin leaned slightly closer, enough that his shoulder almost brushed hers. “I didn’t mind,” he said simply, voice threaded with quiet sincerity.

Something electric shifted in the air. Alicia swallowed, tearing her eyes away, only to find herself staring at the floor to keep from drowning in the weight of his gaze. She needed to break the moment.

“So… the assignment,” she blurted. “We should start. Presentations are next week.”

Kevin’s lips curved into that faint smile again, calm and controlled. “Library after lunch?”

She nodded, a little too quickly. “Deal.”

The lecturer’s voice droned from the front, but Alicia barely heard a word. She and Kevin leaned closer, trading whispers, their voices so low they were nearly indistinguishable from the rustle of pages and the scrape of pens on paper. To anyone else, it might look like concentration.

The forty-five minutes blurred. When the lecture ended, students rushed for the exit, but Kevin and Alicia left together, an unspoken rhythm syncing their steps.

The cafeteria was already alive when they stepped in, a chorus of clattering trays, bursts of laughter, and the faint hum of conversations blending into a messy rhythm. The air was thick with the scent of spices, baked bread, and something fried that made Alicia’s stomach twist with longing.

She hadn’t eaten all day.

Kevin carried a sandwich on his tray, simple and neat, like him. Alicia, on the other hand, went straight for rice and pudding with a chunk of beef, her tray heavier, her hunger louder.

They searched the crowded room for a spot, weaving between tables stacked with bags and elbows and half-finished meals. Kevin tilted his head toward a corner table, tucked away from the busiest noise. She followed, grateful, her eyes darting to the food on her plate like a child ready to dive in.

The first bite hit her tongue and her whole body sighed. Warmth spread through her chest, filling the hollow ache of an empty stomach. She smiled without realizing it, spooning more rice eagerly.

Kevin watched her with quiet amusement. “You look like you just discovered heaven.”

She paused mid-bite, cheeks coloring. “Well, maybe I did. This is the first actual food I’ve had today. Forgive me for being dramatic.”

His faint smile deepened, though he didn’t tease further. Instead, he unwrapped his sandwich, movements unhurried, deliberate.

For a while, silence stretched between them, not heavy, but companionable. The kind of silence where words weren’t necessary. Alicia’s mind, however, wasn’t silent.

This morning replayed in flashes. The glowing markings in the earth. The guttural howls that vibrated through her bones. Raymond’s hand on her wrist, unyielding. His cryptic words, the way he looked at her like she was both fragile glass and dangerous fire.

Her appetite should have vanished with the weight of those thoughts, but Kevin’s presence anchored her. Sitting across from him, she almost convinced herself to forget. Almost.

She pushed her spoon into the pudding, stirring absently. “It’s weird,” she said suddenly, surprising even herself. “Sometimes I feel like this place hides more than it shows. Like the walls… know things.”

Kevin’s eyes flicked to hers. A pause. He took a sip of water before answering, voice calm. “That’s the thing about stories. Every place has secrets. It’s just about whether you’re curious enough to look for them.”

Her heart skipped at his choice of words. He wasn’t wrong. And yet… something in his tone felt layered, like he wasn’t talking about stories at all.

“Curious,” Alicia repeated under her breath, her lips quirking. She was curious, painfully so. Maybe that was the problem.

They finished their food with quiet efficiency, both aware of the clock ticking toward their library meeting. Kevin stacked their trays, leaving her to gather her bag, and together they slipped out of the cafeteria.

The sunlight outside the windows cast warm streaks across the hallways as they walked, side by side, neither rushing, neither slowing. The silence now was different, charged, filled with things unsaid.

The department library was quieter than the main one, tucked between lecture halls like an afterthought. Its shelves weren’t endless, but the air carried that same musty perfume of old pages and ink, the kind of scent that seeped into your bones if you lingered too long. There was this unspoken understanding that they won't use the school library so as not to witness another escapade.

Alicia trailed behind Kevin as they slipped inside, her footsteps soft on the marbled floor. A handful of students dotted the tables, their heads bent over notebooks, the atmosphere hushed and fragile as if even breathing too loudly might shatter it.

They settled into a corner table near the back, close enough to the shelves to pull what they needed without walking across the room. Kevin dropped a thick text onto the table, the kind of book with yellowed edges and a title embossed in faded gold.

“Ready?” he asked, pulling out a notebook.

“As I’ll ever be,” Alicia muttered, flipping the book open.

They decided to take turns, each reading a chapter aloud in a low voice. Kevin’s tone was steady, smooth, the kind that could make even dry text sound alive. When it was her turn, Alicia’s voice carried softer, sometimes tripping over archaic words, but he never laughed. He listened, his focus on the book like he was tuned into every syllable.

An hour passed in the rhythm of their voices and the scratch of Kevin’s pen taking notes. Alicia’s eyelids grew heavy, her concentration waning, until one line snapped her fully awake.

“Where the moon chooses a vessel, the beast and the spell become one, neither wolf nor witch, but both.”

The words hit her like a spark. Her pulse leaped, breath catching. She leaned closer to the page, rereading. Beast and spell. Wolf and witch. It was absurd, ridiculous, even…. but her mind jumped straight to the glowing circle in the forest.

“What does that even mean?” she asked, her tone light but edged with real curiosity.

Kevin glanced over, his eyes flicking to the line she pointed at. For the briefest second, something shifted in his expression. Not confusion. Recognition.

“It’s just old folklore,” he said smoothly, too smoothly. “People used to weave stories about wolves and magic. It’s symbolic. Don’t read too much into it.”

Alicia narrowed her eyes, watching him. The way he looked away, the way his shoulders stiffened ever so slightly. He was hiding something.

She twirled her pen between her fingers, feigning nonchalance. “Mhm. Sure. Just stories.” She let the pause hang before adding casually, “Ever heard of glowing markings before? Like, symbols that light up on the ground?”

Kevin’s head turned sharply toward her. Too sharp. He caught himself almost instantly, masking it with a shrug.

“Can’t say I have,” he replied, his tone clipped. Then he tapped the open page. “Focus, Alicia. We don’t have forever to finish this assignment.”

Her lips pressed into a thin smile. He was lying. She could feel it in her gut. He knew something, and he was deliberately shutting her out.

Everyone here keeps secrets, she thought bitterly. Raymond, Kevin… maybe even the school itself.

Still, she let it drop, not wanting to spook him further. She bent back over the book, though her mind wasn’t on the words anymore.

They read for another hour before Kevin finally leaned back, stretching his arms. “We’ve made progress, but we’ll need more sessions. I’ll give you the book for tonight.”

He slid the heavy text toward her. “I’ve gone ahead of you already. Hold onto it, catch up. I’ll get it back tomorrow.”

She accepted without argument, hugging the book against her chest. He was right. They were running out of time.

Together, they packed up and headed toward the exit. Alicia walked slightly ahead, adjusting her grip on the book, when she collided with someone rounding the corner.

The impact jolted her, the book slipping from her arms and thudding onto the floor. “Oh, shit!” she hissed, crouching instantly to grab it.

When she straightened, her breath caught.

“Tracy,” she said, recognition flashed through her face.

Tracy stood there, her an apologetic smile on her lips.

“So sorry” she said to Alicia who was looking directly at her.

‘It’s like we are destined to bump into each other's Alicia thought to herself while giving her a small smile.