Chapter 2 - Birthday Trap

Williams and I hadn't made it far across campus when I spotted Dickson near the parking lot.

He noticed us at the same time. His gaze moved from his brother to me, and his face tightened.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

Williams answered before I could. “I'm taking Anna for coffee.”

Dickson looked at me. “You're going with him?”

After everything he'd done that morning, the question irritated me. “Why do you care?”

“I don't,” was his simple response.

“Then stop asking.”

Williams laughed beside me. “Come on, Anna.”

I started walking again, but Dickson called my name.

“Anna.”

I looked back.

He stared at me for a moment, then glanced at Williams. Whatever he'd been about to say, he seemed to change his mind.

“Nothing.”

I rolled my eyes and followed Williams.

He took me to a small café three blocks from Galeforge. It was quiet, with only a few people scattered around the tables. He ordered coffee for himself and waited while I chose hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant.

Once we sat down, Williams apologized for never stopping Dickson.

“You're always there,” I said. “Why didn't you ever say anything?”

He looked down at his coffee. “I should have. I'm sorry.”

I hadn't expected an apology from anyone in Dickson's circle, much less his brother.

After that, talking to him became surprisingly easy. He asked about my classes, made me laugh and listened without once making me feel like I was the joke. By the time we finished, I'd almost forgotten how horrible the morning had been.

On our way back, Williams slowed as we reached campus. “I forgot something in my locker. Two minutes?”

I followed him inside. Most of the students had already left, and after opening his locker, he turned to me.

“I have one more surprise for you.”

I frowned. “What surprise?”

“You've had a horrible birthday. Let me give you one good memory from it.”

An hour ago, I wouldn't have trusted him. Now, after coffee, an apology and more laughter than I'd expected, I hesitated before placing my hand in his.

Williams led me farther into the building. We passed one hallway and then another until the noise from the rest of campus faded and the classrooms around us were empty.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Almost there.”

The farther we walked, the more uneasy I became. “Williams, I think I should go home.”

“We're here.”

Williams stopped outside a janitor's closet and opened the door.

I frowned. “The surprise is in there?”

“Trust me.”

I eyed the closet, my uneasiness returning, but I had already followed him this far. After a moment, I stepped inside. 

The door clicked shut behind me.

I turned at the sound and found Williams blocking the exit. Cleaning supplies crowded the shelves beneath a bare bulb, but there was no surprise waiting for me.

My stomach tightened. “Williams, what is this?”

Williams stepped toward me, and I backed away. “Williams?”

Before I could move farther, his hands closed around my waist. I shoved against his chest, but he only tightened his grip.

“Don't. Stop!” Panic rushed through me as I pushed harder, and Williams laughed.

It sounded nothing like the laugh I'd heard at the café.

“Just stay put, Fatso.”

The word hit harder coming from him. Every kind thing he'd said that afternoon had been a lie.

Williams leaned closer. “So I can give you a proper birthday present.”

He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head against the wall with one hand. The other yanked at my clothes. His strength was sudden and too much for me.

“Did you really think a Vanderbilt would actually want you?” He laughed quietly. “All I had to do was tell you I didn't think you were some fat ugly bitch.”

My stomach dropped.

“You really believed all of it? The coffee? The apology?” His grip tightened. “You were so desperate for someone to want you that you made it easy.”

I struggled, begged and told him to stop until the words broke apart.

He did not stop.

Somewhere in the middle of it, while my body no longer felt like mine and the bare bulb swung gently above us, Williams laughed under his breath.

“You still don't get it, do you?” he murmured. “Dickson sent me. He wanted to make sure you got the birthday present you were begging him for this morning.” 

My blood went cold.

Dickson.

But the birthday girl deserves a present.

He had said those exact words that morning.

When it was over, Williams fixed his clothes and opened the door. “Happy birthday, Anna.”

Then he left.

I don't know how long I stayed in that closet after he was gone.

My glasses lay beneath one of the shelves, one lens cracked. I reached for them, but my fingers shook so badly that I dropped them the first time. Somewhere outside the closet, someone laughed, and I flinched.

I pulled my clothes back into place, picked up my bag and forced myself into the hallway.

Galeforge looked exactly the same outside. Students crossed the courtyard, cars moved along the road, and somewhere in the distance, someone was playing music.

I hated them for being normal.

I walked home.

By the time I reached the front door, I had wiped my face and fixed my clothes as best I could. Mom was in the living room when I stepped inside.

“How was your birthday?”

For one second, I wanted to tell her.

Then I thought about Dad.

I tightened my fingers around my bag. “Fine.”

Mom nodded and looked away.

I went upstairs, locked my bedroom door and sat on the floor beside my bed. Only then, with no one there to see me, did I let myself cry.