#Chapter 44: Under the Staircase

Rowena When I finally found refuge beneath the stairs, there were tears in my eyes for reasons I couldn’t quite understand. I huffed to myself as I sat down, dropping my leather satchel onto the tile floor. “Dammit,” I muttered as I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I couldn’t believe I was skipping class for the first time in my entire life, and that I was likely going to fail this assignment, all because of Eric. Because of his manipulation. Because of his… Was it really all his fault, though? Drawing my knees up to my chest, I thought back to what had happened back there; something strange had occurred. I couldn’t explain it, but I had just felt so drawn to him at that moment, like I couldn’t even control myself. It had to be the seven minutes we shared in the closet at the party—of course that was it. Because of his stupid, sick prank, he had manipulated my mind into something it wasn’t. And the thought of it almost made me want to vomit. “Rowena…” I jerked my h