Fall

Happy Monday!  Wishing you all a lovely start to the week.

Enjoy!

❉      ❉      ❉

A massive smile stretched across her face as she hurried down the brick pathway.

Halloween was a week away and the campus was covered in decorations for the holiday.

Pumpkins lined the pathways, skeletons dressed in costumes sat on benches and hung from poles.

Sponsored scarecrows from every school club stood along the large field at the center of the university, like a cheerful army.

Enid loved holidays and all the festivities that came along with them.

Passing a scarecrow dressed scantily in lacy undergarments, she couldn't stop the blush that rose to her cheeks.

Her mind flashed back to the night she had spent with Theodore earlier in the week.

The way she had slept better in his arms than she ever had in her entire life.

She had woken to an empty bed the next morning, the sound of the shower from the bathroom calming her nerves as she sat up.

Retrieving her pajamas, she had slipped back across the landing to her own room.

When he came down to breakfast that morning, he hadn't mentioned the night before.

He had simply sent her a grin and pressed his foot against her own under the table.

Now, it was already Thursday.

The week had flown between working on a new cello piece with Alexander and studying for the history test she had taken this morning.

They had spent much of her cello lesson this morning discussing the first time Alexander had ever picked up a violin.

The pair often found themselves distracted during that period, chatting and sneaking kisses.

Hence why they often had to play catch-up after school at the estate.

Hopping over a puddle, she neared the coffee shop.

The smell of cinnamon wafted through the air toward her and she opened the door with excitement.

After ordering a warm drink, she headed to the booth in the back corner where Emilia was sitting.

Secluded and cozy, it was perfect for when their giggles sometimes got out of hand.

It had become their unofficial official spot.

Enid peeled off her coat as she slid into the booth, grinning at her friend's excited greeting.

"I am so excited to finally see what is on this thing! It's been taunting me all week. Open me, Emilia. C'mon. Imagine what I might hold." Emilia said in a fake, deep voice as she held up the flash drive.

Giggling at her antics, Enid pulled out her laptop and set it on the table so they could both see the screen.

She angled it so that the screen was hidden from the other patrons of the café.

Emilia pulled out headphones and handed one to her before she plugged in the flash drive.

"Well, let's end your nosy suffering, then." Enid teased as she clicked on the file labeled "ΚΣ".

She rubbed at her chest as the screen went dark, nerves suddenly scratching at her ribs.

The footage began with a shot of an ornamental rug, boyish laughter assaulting her ears as the camera shakily rose to show a room of what looked like about twenty boys.

Sat in a half-hazard circle, bottles of alcohol passing from one to the next as they took large swings.

"James-James, say your idea again. I want your genius recorded for eternity." A slurred voice came from the person hold the camera.

Enid's breathing stuttered as she noticed Patrick sitting on the far-right side of the frame, his cheeks rosy with intoxication.

A boy with red, straight hair that fell into his eyes grinned from across the room.

"I propose we have a contest. Whoever sleeps with the most girls by December is crowned President for next year." He brought the dark bottle in his hand up and took a long sip.

"How will we know they actually slept with the girls they claim to?" One of the guys sitting next to him asked.

It was quieter for a moment as the first boy rubbed his chin.

"Video footage. You must submit proof. And by sleeping with girls, I mean it. All in." He smirked at his answer.

"But what if the girl doesn't want to go that far?" One of the younger boys in the crowd asked, probably a new pledge.

"Live and die by our motto, boys. By whatever means necessary." His expression nearly demonic as he raised his bottle into the air.

The other boys followed suit and the footage cut to another scene.

This time they were outside, the casual clothes of the previous clip replaced with button-down shirts and ties.

The inky night sky made it hard for her to make out who was being recorded, but she recognized the voice of the red-haired boy and Patrick.

"I see you haven't submitted any videos, Pat. I'm surprised, I thought you'd be the most excited for my idea out of anyone." The boy's dark tone was a contrast to his teasing lilt.

"Been a little busy. The old man has really been breathing down my neck about getting into law school." Patrick responded as he stepped further into view, his face less shadowed.

The camera shuffled downward slightly, as if whoever was filming was trying to hide it.

"I'll take care of it this weekend at the bonfire, though. Mike gave me some of that powder he's been working on. Should loosen a girl right up." He continued, his mouth twisting into an ugly smirk.

"That's what I like to hear." The other boy chuckled, slapping his hand against his shoulder.

The footage shifted again, a few seconds of one-second clips flashing by.

She caught the face of a boy grinning eagerly in a dorm room, the bed behind him occupied.

A flash of a classroom, a boy pressing something up against a wall.

Each gone before she could blink.

It was as though some of the clips had been removed.

A few seconds later, the skipping stopped.

The footage was dark, as though it were late evening.

Enid and Emilia leaned in, trying to decipher what was going on.

There was something orange and red flickering in the distance.

A bonfire.

Her fingers clenched onto the tabletop, her mind racing as she listened to the crickets and the breathing of the person holding the camera.

He slipped the camera into his coat pocket, the lens left out.

The footage was slightly tilted, but she could still make out the back of her head as he stepped out from the tree line.

The bonfire crackled before her, lighting her silhouette in fiery shades.

"Excuse me..." The audio was muffled, but Enid didn't need to listen to know what was being said.

She had heard it in her nightmares more times than she could count.

And then she was watching, heart in her throat, as she turned to face him.

Her face so open, so unaware.

And then she was stepping toward him, so eager to help.

Handing him her water bottle, turning to search.

And then drinking.

Drinking the water like a fool.

The footage going dark as he pushed her against the tree, the lens of the camera pressing against her sweater.

The copper taste of blood filled her mouth and she realized she had been harshly biting her lip.

"Enid? Are you okay? Enid?" Emilia's voice sounded like it was underwater, but it pulled Enid out of the reverie she had fallen into.

"There you are. Just breathe, just breathe. Everything is okay." Emilia had somehow teleported to beside her, her hand rubbing soothing circles on her shaking back.

Enid choked as she gasped, noticing that she had been hyperventilating.

"It's okay. You're not there. You're right here. It's over. I'm so sorry. God, I'm so sorry." Emilia rambled as she wrapped her friend up in a tight hug.

The video was paused before them, the stitching of her pink sweater barely visible.

Inhaling deeply, Enid pulled away from the embrace with a shaky smile.

"I'm sorry about that. I think I need to go, if that's okay." Enid's voice didn't sound like her own as she shoved the laptop into her bag.

"Of course, are you okay? I'm so sorry, Enid. If I had known-" Emilia rose from the booth to let her out.

"Not your fault. I'll text you this weekend, okay?" She managed to respond; her feet already headed toward the door.

As soon as the chilly October air hit her lungs, she began to run.

She noticed nothing around her as she flew down the pathway.

Not the banging of her bag against her hip or the fact she had forgotten her coat.

All she could feel was the roughness of bark against her back.

The smell of smoke in the air and fingers tightening, tightening, tightening on her sides.

Enid didn't stop until she was at his office, not even knocking as she entered.

Dante glanced up from the papers on his desk with wide eyes.

He stood quickly as he took in her tear-stained face.

"What happened-" He was cut off as she flew into his arms, her small body shaking with earthquakes of pain.

"Oh, little bird." He whispered into her curls, pulling her closer against him.

Closer and closer until the world could never hurt her again.

❉     ❉     ❉

Our poor Enid can't seem to catch a break.

Comments fill my heart with joy.

All my love, Sappho ❉