Deviation

He smiles, slyly. “Well, lucky me. Edith Willows. I was just on my way to speak with the prosecutor.” Daniel’s slick lawyer, Richard Gunds, oozes his contempt as he straightens his expensive pinstriped suit. The only thing slicker are his beady eyes, and shiny head.

“I’m sorry. I need to go.” I say the words automatically as I try to shrink in on myself, wiping loose tendrils of hair from my face. Nervous, I feel sweat trickling down my back. I back away, but Mr. Gunds grabs my wrist and holds me as I try to wiggle out of his grasp. The grip is bruising, but who would believe me? I don’t see a security guard, and I’m not in the hallway with the video cameras.

“A word of advice, Ms. Willows. If the prosecutor hasn’t dropped the case before the trial begins, I’ll have to invite your scholarly boyfriend to testify.”

“Oh what grounds?” I yank my hand back roughly and cradle my wrist to my chest, rubbing the tenderness. My finger nervously slides over the screen of my phone.

“Improper relations between a student and a teacher, of course. I’d hate to see Jack Hamilton, a respected businessman in the community, have his reputation tarnished because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and your legs closed, Ms. Willows.” He’s sadistic in his mocking. He’s probably the perfect lawyer for Daniel Munson. “Think about it. I’m sure the prosecutor will let me know.” Richard Gunds walks away, his body owning the space he occupies with an entitlement born of an asshole-ish arrogance. When I see Shelby, I’ll be sure to ask if I can borrow her voodoo doll and stick a pin in the jerk.

I wait until he turns a corner, then take a deep breath before I jog out to the parking lot and get in my car. It’s a cold day so I start up my Prius and get the heat going. However, the chill in my hands and body are more than just a reflection of the outdoor temperatures. Looking down at my phone, I see the screen has a crack across the face of it.

Fucking marble hallways.

“Shit. Can I just get a break here, universe?” Muttering into the empty car, I contemplate who to call. The car’s dashboard glows blue and says it’s only 11:15am. Shelby is substitute teaching at a middle school art program, and Jack has a meeting until 1:30. Luckily, my phone still works, so I decide to call Aiden, who is on campus in a winter session study group. Damn nerdy doctors. He hates groups of people, so he’ll probably thank me for the interruption.

Aiden answers right away. “How’d it go, karate kid?”

“Hey, that’s what Jack calls me.”

“I know. The math nerd stole it from me.” Fondly, I remember meeting Aiden in our Freshman Seminar course and him calling me that. It feels good to have these connections, instead of the shit ones swirling in my head. “And you’re deflecting, Willows. How did it go?” Aiden is logical and to the point, and I feel like I need a voice of reason to help me through this.

“Not great. Listen, can I come by campus? I need to talk.” I feel the panic rising. I know I need to get the car moving before I’m overcome with some ridiculous paralyzing fear.

“Of course. I’m in the science building.”

Hanging up, I sit in the car, letting it warm up, methodically wrapping my scarf around my wrist tightly in order to feel something, even if it’s the bite of fabric on skin. Making an impulsive decision, I call Sam, who picks up right away. “Sam Autumns.

“I can’t do this, Sam. I just can’t. You’ll have to proceed without me.”

“Edith, you know I can’t do that. The state would have to drop the charges.”

Shaking uncontrollably, I squeeze my eyes shut to fight the blackness. “Then do it.”

“This is a mistake. If you want to fight this, I’ll fight for you, but I need you on board one hundred percent.”

“No, Sam.”

“Do you want me to call Jack? I can explain it to him.”

“No. I’ve got this. I’ll tell him when I get home. Thank you for everything.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I let the tears fall. I don’t know how I will tell anyone about this. I’m hoping I can postpone everything until after Miami.

“Just…think things through. I won’t do anything until after the Christmas holiday.”

“All right. I’ll think about it.”

But my mind is already firmly and irrevocably made up as I drive towards the science hall to dump all this on Aiden.

Jack

I’ve been waiting for Edie to call me and let me know how her meeting with the a

ssistant prosecutor went this morning. I had tried to get out of my meeting so I could go with her to talk to Sam myself about other protective measures we might be able to take, but she asked me not to cancel it. She said she was working on moving forward and she needed to go alone, but now I’m kicking myself. I can’t concentrate when I’m worried about her. Checking my phone, the blank screen registers nothing. I try to tell myself that no news is good news, but I hope she calls me soon.

The phone buzzes in my hand, startling me, but it’s not Edith. “Hello. Jack Hamilton.”

“Jack, its Sam Autumns. Listen, we need to talk about the case.” Sam doesn’t sound like he’s in a good mood and dread fills me.

“I was hoping to come with Edith today, but she asked me not to. I wanted her to feel like she could do this on her own.”