Free Web NovelChapter 42: Aria And The Professor
The living carry burdens the dead no longer have to bear.
~ Rebel Beast
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Whoever said the eyes were the mirror to the soul must have been standing exactly where Aria was when they made that observation.
Maverick Nightshade had the most unsettling eyes she had ever seen. Up close, they were impossible to ignore. His irises weren’t simply gray, there were flecks of violet buried within them, surrounding those rare vertical pupils. The more she stared, the more alive they seemed, as though every emotion passed through them before he could hide it.
Right now, they looked relieved.
Aria’s breath caught. Relieved? Was he worried about them?
The thought sent an unexpected thrill through her. Maverick Nightshade did not strike her as the kind of man who worried about anyone. Yet here he was staring at her as though checking she was still standing, still breathing, and definitely still alive.
Something strange twisted low in her stomach. The realization should have annoyed her. Instead, it did the exact opposite.
The both of them were still holding the baseball bat and Aria suddenly became painfully aware of it. More specifically, she became painfully aware of him. Of how close he was standing. Of the heat radiating from his body. Of the fact that if she stretched her fingers just a little further, she would touch his hand.
He wore no gloves today, just his bare skin. There was no barrier. Nothing.
Yesterday, he had made it very clear that he disliked physical contact. Yet during the attack, he had touched her more than once. His hand had wrapped around her wrist. His fingers had brushed against her skin. The memories arrived uninvited and far more vividly than they had any right to.
Aria gulped. What would happen if she touched him first?
Would he recoil?
Would he glare at her with those unnerving eyes?
Or would those large hands wrap around her throat and toss her across the room for daring to try?
The image appeared in her mind so intensely that her pulse skipped. Unfortunately, the thought did absolutely nothing to discourage her curiosity.
Good God. What was wrong with her?
The worst part was that Maverick wasn’t looking away either. His gaze remained locked on hers, steady, intent, and unwavering.
For a strange moment, it felt as though he too had forgotten about the destroyed dormitory around them. Even the terrified girls standing behind her. Everything seemed to fade until there was only the two of them standing there with a baseball bat caught between them.
Aria’s grip tightened, then loosened. Slowly, almost against her own will, one finger began sliding toward his hand. The movement was small and barely noticeable, yet, it felt louder than every sound in the room.
His gaze immediately dropped to it. He noticed. Of course he noticed. Maverick Nightshade noticed everything.
Aria froze, but he didn’t move or try to stop her. He didn’t pull away either. For one reckless second, it almost felt like he was giving her permission. Then his eyes lifted back to hers and held. The challenge in them stole the air from her lungs.
It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff. One step. That was all. One step and there would be no pretending this was nothing. One step and neither of them could take it back.
Still neither moved or looked away. Aria’s fingertip drifted closer, close enough that she could almost feel the warmth coming from his skin. Then—
"Professor?"
And just like that, the spell shattered.
Maverick jerked away as though suddenly remembering where he was, taking the bat with him. For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
His gaze swept over Aria once more, taking in her flushed face and the way her chest rose and fell. Not that his own condition seemed much better.
His breathing appeared slightly uneven, his jaw tighter than usual. If Aria didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was trying to regain control of himself. The realization sent another strange thrill through her.
"Watch where you swing that thing next time," Maverick said, his voice rougher than usual.
Then he placed the bat back into her hands.
It lasted only a second but there was a brush of fingers. Nothing more.
Yet the moment their skin touched, the air seemed to vanish from Aria’s lungs. She sucked in a sharp breath while her eyes widened slightly.
What the hell did he do to her?
Heat immediately rushed to her cheeks and her heart began pounding all over again.
Unfortunately, Maverick chose that exact moment to turn away as though nothing had happened.
Or perhaps fortunately.
Because otherwise Aria had no idea how she was supposed to explain whatever nonsense was currently happening inside her head.
"Professor!"
Charlotte called again, her voice cutting through the room.
Her hair was disheveled with tears streaming down her face, clearly shaken by the attack. Unfortunately, Charlotte appeared to have forgotten one very important warning.
She rushed toward Maverick with her arms spread, intending to throw herself into a comforting embrace. Except she never made it.
A translucent barrier flashed into existence between them and Charlotte slammed face-first into it.
The impact was loud enough that several students winced. She bounced backwards and landed hard on the floor. For a second, she simply stared ahead in shock before blood began pouring from her nose.
"Mummy!" Charlotte cried.
Her eyes widened in horror when she lifted a trembling hand and found it covered in blood.
"I told you, didn’t I?" Maverick said, his expression completely unmoved. "No one touches me without permission."
His voice carried across the room, loud enough for the students who were cautiously emerging from their bedrooms to hear.
Except that sounded like complete nonsense to Aria. Just moments ago, she had been close enough to touch him and he had done absolutely nothing.
Actually, scratch that. He had touched her.
Unless she had imagined the entire thing, there had definitely been finger contact involved.
Which meant one of two things.
Either Maverick Nightshade had very selective standards. Or he simply preferred being the one in control.
"I understand you all just went through a traumatic experience," Maverick continued, addressing the students. "But I think it would be best if you remained in your rooms while we clear out the bodies."
"Bodies?" Aria echoed. The word lodged itself somewhere in her throat.
"Bodies". Plural. Not "body". Bodies. freewebnoveℓ.com
A chill ran down her spine as the implication settled over all of them. They had lost more people.
The realization had barely settled in when movement from the kitchen caught everyone’s attention.
Mike stepped out first with Dimitri following behind him. The two shifters carried a body between them, Mike holding the arms while Dimitri carried the legs.
For a moment, Aria’s mind refused to register what she was seeing. Then she recognized the clothes. It was Abigail.
Their chaperone was dead.
Except it wasn’t Abigail’s death that shocked the students into silence. It was the state she was in.
Both of Abigail’s eyes had been plucked out.
The empty sockets stared at nothing while dried blood coated most of her face. The sight was so grotesque that Aria felt her stomach twist violently.
A wet retching sound suddenly broke the silence as Shannon doubled over and vomited onto the floor. The sound seemed to trigger everyone else because Liv was next and was swiftly followed by Charlotte.
One after another, the girls bent over, emptying the contents of their stomachs onto the floor while the smell saturated the area almost immediately.
Several students screamed and scrambled away from them, terrified the vomit would splash onto them. Others covered their mouths and turned pale while a few looked moments away from joining them. It was complete chaos all over again.
"Get inside. Now!" Maverick’s voice thundered through the residence.
The students scattered at once. Bedroom doors flew open and slammed shut one after another as everyone hurried back into whatever room they had emerged from.
Within seconds, the common room was nearly empty again.
Maverick groaned and rubbed a hand across his forehead. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this situation?
Back inside the room, silence settled over the girls. Aria sat on the edge of her bed staring at nothing.
Usually she would have demanded to see the other bodies. But after seeing Abigail, she had no desire whatsoever to find out what the others looked like.
That image alone was enough nightmare fuel for a lifetime. She would hear about the deaths anyway. There was no need to increase her chances of insomnia.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Alek, Brittney, and Trisha came to stand in front of her.
Aria lifted her gaze to stare at them, her brows furrowing in confusion.
"What is it?"
The three girls exchanged looks. Apparently, they had already decided who would be speaking on behalf of the group.
"So..." Trisha started.
Aria didn’t like where this was going.
"Care to tell us what exactly is going on between you and the professor?"
Aria swallowed. Hard.
