The Ink That Brands Us ✔️

Chapter Thirty-Four

Silence is golden but it sets my teeth on edge.

    Things had been quiet and I hadn't heard nor seen Alex since the note incident. When I talked to campus security, they assured me that they would talk to him and his advisor. I should have been reassured but I had a bad feeling about the whole situation. It had me on edge.

    For Jensen's sake, I acted like everything was fine and tried to move past the whole thing. I wanted more than anything to get back to my old routine and live my life without looking over my shoulder every time I found myself alone.

    After a few weeks without incident, Jensen agreed to let me drive myself to and from school again. It had taken a lot of convincing but I was tired of being chauffeured around like Miss Daisy. Besides, no matter how on edge I was, I wasn't about to live my life in fear. That wasn't living at all.

Easter was coming up and to my immense happiness, Jensen was coming home with me. I had been planning to drive and had asked Saw if she wanted to come and we could make a road trip out of it but she declined. Something about not being a road trip kind of person.

Jensen had overheard our conversation and asked if he could accompany me. He had taken me by surprise and I was thrilled for him to come home with me. My parents were eager to meet him. I knew they would love him.

"You going straight to work?" Saw asked, cutting into my thoughts.

"No, I want to go change. I had to rush out this morning and didn't have time to make the effort." Which is how I ended up in leggings, a hoodie, and my combat boots. We won't even discuss the mess that was my hair.

"Mack won't care, you know that," she said.

"I know, but I think it's good for business if the receptionist doesn't look like a homeless person." Saw rolled her eyes.

"Whatevs. Jensen's not gonna be happy though." It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"He'll live," I said, waving her off. "I'll see you at the shop."

She waved as she climbed into her car, then headed out of the parking lot.

I climbed into my Tahoe and headed for the apartment. Saw was right, Jensen would not be pleased about my pit stop. It was one of the conditions he had set when I started driving myself again. He didn't want me going to the apartment alone between class and work.

But, until I got my life together and started getting up early enough to dress for work before school I would be making pit stops to change. And I didn't see that happening anytime soon. I really just wasn't a morning person.

Once inside the apartment, I rushed around like a madwoman. Jensen was going to be less than pleased once I finally arrived at work. If I hadn't left my phone locked inside my car while ran inside, I might have sent him a quick message. Hopefully hearing it from Saw would suffice.

I was rummaging through my dresser looking for my pair of tights to go with the dress that I had pulled on when I heard the front door open then close. My eyes went to the alarm clock beside my bed and I rolled my eyes. I've only been here ten minutes.

"You are so impatient!" I called as I headed into the hallway.

I sucked in a sharp breath and staggered back a step.

Alex stood in front of my door. The look on his face would haunt me for the rest of my life. His eyes were crazy as he looked at me like a predator looking at its prey. Terror seized me when I remembered I didn't have my phone and he blocked the only exit.

Alex took a step towards me and I tracked the movement, taking a step back.

"What are you doing here, Alex?" My voice wavered and I hated that it showed how scared I was.