Chapter 29: End of the Day

~~~

Selina’s weight continued to bore down on me. My back ached from the impact, but that was the least of my concerns. I twisted my head away, struggling against her hold, but she was relentless.

Her lips crashed against mine, again. This time I thrashed under her with all the strength I could muster, but she only pressed in harder, a low sound escaping her throat as she pushed me further against the floor.

My stomach twisted, my skin crawling as I felt her warmth against me, her breath shuddering like she was holding back something deeper. All I could taste was my tongue drenched in her saliva, as she coiled and coiled in further.

And then I felt it, her clawed hand slid down, brushing my chest before snaking to my groin. My breath hitched, as my body was betraying me under her grip.

I froze, my hands fumbling to push her off, but she wouldn’t let up. She pulled back slightly and gave a smirk, her slit-pupil emerald eyes glinting with that cruel, smug glee. “Why’re you so hard right now?” she purred, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

I tried to twist away, humiliation burning through me, but she tightened her hold, leaning in so close I could feel her breath. “Only a complete slut like you would get hard like this,” she taunted, right before she tried lazily to force another kiss.

“Let him go, you psycho!” Kael’s voice sliced through the haze. She jolted forward, hands clamped onto Selina’s arm, yanking hard. “Let go of him!”

Selina seemed unfazed by her attempts. With a flick of her shoulder, her arm she shoved Kael back, sending her stumbling into a desk with a clatter. The move was effortless, almost casual, like shooing a small animal.

“You think you can just-” I started, trying to gain a footing, but she cut me off by pushing further, her knee nudging mine apart as she pressed it up between my thighs.

“Shh,” she hushed. “You’re only making this more fu-” but before she could even finish, a firm hand clamped down on Selina’s shoulders again. "-fucking rat, I swear I will..." She snarled, ready to push it off again, but it didn’t budge.

Stiffening slightly, her head turned to see who had stopped her.

Odhran stood there, her expression unreadable, but there was a sharpness in her eyes. Her grip on Selina’s shoulder tightened as she spoke in a low, firm voice.

“That’s enough,” Odhran said. “You’re making too much of a scene.”

The tension in the air thickened. The murmurs around the room died down as students watched, eyes darting between Selina and Odhran, waiting to see what would happen next.

For a moment, Selina didn’t move, her lips still parted as if she was considering ignoring the orc’s warning. Then, slowly, her fingers loosened from my wrists. Her expression shifted, amused, but with something else lurking beneath it.

Then, she sighed. “Tch. Fine.”

Just before Selina turned to leave, she leaned down slightly, her fingers ghosting over the edge of my desk as her voice dropped low enough for only me to hear.

"This isn't over, Marky boy."

Her tone carried an almost crazed sweetness to it. Before I could react, her thumb brushed against my lower lip, pressing into it.

I jolted, instinct taking over as I slapped her hand away.

Selina barely reacted, if anything, the attempt at resistance only seemed to amuse her. Her smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with something mischievous.

I barely noticed Kael tense beside me. The classroom still felt suffocating, thick with the weight of unspoken things.

And then the door slid open.

The teacher stepped in.

And everything went silent.

~~~

"We can’t help you."

The words fell from the dean’s lips like a gavel striking down.

"Why?!" Kael’s voice cracked, her ears pinned back, eyes glassy with frustration.

We had spent the last half hour explaining what happened, how Selina had forced herself on me, how she’d pinned me down and kissed me against my will. And yet, here we were, sitting in the dean’s office, being told there was nothing they could do.

The dean exhaled through her nose, folding her hands over the polished wooden desk. “Because the witness reports tell a different story.”

I tensed. “What?”

She adjusted her glasses. “According to the statements we received, you were the one who confronted and harassed Kelvin. Selina merely stepped in to de-escalate the situation.”

A scoff of disbelief left my throat. “De-escalate?” I echoed bitterly. “She threw herself on me!”

The dean’s expression remained unreadable, but her voice took on a clipped, rehearsed tone. “That’s not what the accounts say.”

I clenched my fists. “Then how do you explain my lip?” I gestured to the faint sting still lingering there, a reminder of Selina’s forceful kiss. “If she was protecting Kelvin, why the hell is my lip busted?”

The dean didn’t even blink. “There are many ways that could have happened. A struggle, perhaps. Or maybe it wasn’t related to the incident at all.”

I felt my pulse spike. “That’s bullshit.”

Kael looked at me, her ears twitching down, fists clenched in her lap. She opened her mouth, then shut it again, biting her lip so hard I thought she might draw blood.

The dean sighed as if we were wasting her time. “At the end of the day, Mr. Markus, there is no solid proof to support your version of events. The reports overwhelmingly suggest a different reality. We will not be taking disciplinary action against Selina.”

I opened my mouth to argue, to say something, but the dean barely gave me the chance.

Her owl-like feathers flickered slightly as she leaned forward, her gaze sharp behind her glasses. “It’s not just one or two individuals, Mr. Markus,” she said, her voice steady, almost patronizing. “Nearly everyone who was present reported the same version of events. Are you suggesting the entire class is lying?”

I clenched my teeth, my nails pressing into my palms.

She sighed, shaking her head. “Think about it rationally. Selina has a bright future ahead of her strong academics, a respected family name, numerous accomplishments. Why would someone like her resort to such reckless behavior? Behavior that could easily ruin her reputation, her prospects?”

My jaw tightened, each syllable she spoke felt like a stone being pelted at me. My fingers twitched at my sides, itching to grab something, anything, to crush with my fingers. A slow, burning frustration coiled in my gut, not the sharp sting of anger, but something colder, something more suffocating.

It wasn’t fair. It never was.

But I already knew it, it didn’t even matter.

The dean exhaled through her nose, brushing off imaginary dust from her desk. “Now, if that’s all, I’d ask that you not waste any more of my time. You’re dismissed.”

Kael stormed out, her tail flicking furiously as she stomped down the hall.

I followed behind soon, silent, my thoughts a tangled mess before giving one last look at the dean who was already busy burying her head in some other document.

“The fuck was that?!” she snapped, spinning around to face me the moment we were out of earshot. Her ears were flattened against her head, violet eyes burning with frustration.

“Do you even believe that bitch? Like seriously, what the fuck was that excuse?! ‘Oh, she has a bright future, so she wouldn’t do something that could ruin it!’ The hell kind of logic is that?!”

I exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Does it matter?”

Kael’s expression twisted, incredulous. “Of course it fucking matters! They just threw you under the bus, Markus! Like it was nothing!”

My fingers curled into fists at my sides as my mind replayed everything. The same result... The way the teacher and even the program coordinator barely batted an eye when we tried to tell them the truth.

It was the same. Every fucking time.

A cold chilling pain seeped into my chest, spreading like rot. My eyes lowered to the floor, my breathing slow and measured, but I could feel it, my past clawing its way back up, trying to drag me under. The inevitable nature of it, that this was just a reoccurrence.

Why did I even bother?

Kael’s pacing stopped. There was a brief hesitation before she spoke, quieter this time. “…Hey.”

I barely reacted.

She sighed, and then I felt a light smack against my arm. Not hard, just adequate to get my attention. “Don’t do that.”

I blinked, glancing up. “Do what?”

“That thing where you shut down and get all doom and gloom. I see it. I can literally see that in your head you’re already planning on giving up.” She frowned, arms crossed. “I’m not gonna tell you everything’s okay, because it’s obviously not. But this? This isn’t the end of it.”

I huffed a dry, humorless breath. “Yeah? And what makes you so sure?”

She hesitated, ears twitching, but then forced out a grin. “Because I said so. And because I’m not letting you go through this alone.”

Something about the way she said it, the stubborn fire behind her words, made it a little easier to breathe. Just a little.

I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight on my chest ease just a little. Then, before I could second-guess myself, I stepped forward and pulled Kael into a hug.

She stiffened instantly. “Woah-”

For a second, I thought she might push me off, but then her arms awkwardly settled against my back, nervous and shaky, like she wasn’t sure what to do.  Then she drew in a deep, shaky breath, like she was trying to steady herself. And then she drew in closer.

“Thanks,” I murmured. “I… needed that.”

I pulled back slightly, enough to face her properly. The wind picked up pace, blowing strands of my hair across my face, and then my eyes met hers.

A flush had already begun creeping onto her face as she watched, tinting her cheeks pink, frozen like a sculpture.

I could only smile back at her.

~~~

beep beep beep—

The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the room, the quiet hum of the machines blending with the faint rustle of the curtain swaying from the air vent.

I lay beside Cassandra in the hospital bed, the same as always, the rhythmic beeping of the monitor the only sign of life from her unmoving form. It was just the usual daily visit, something I had become accustomed to.

My hand hovered for a moment before I let it rest against her arm, lightly, hesitantly, as if pressing too hard might somehow harm something fragile.

“Nora’s gonna be late again,” I murmured, forcing a small chuckle. “Guess those special classes are always keeping her busy though.” My thumb idly traced along the fabric of her hospital gown, the warmth of her skin just barely seeping through.

I exhaled, staring up at the ceiling. “Today was... great,” I lied, the words slipping out too easily, too practiced. “Everyone’s really nice. I fit right in, like I’ve always been there.”

A shaky breath. I swallowed, forcing a grin she’d never see.

I forced out a laugh, one that barely sounded like me. "You were worried whether I’d do just fine on my own, right? That how I’d manage to get by?" My voice wavered, the words catching in my throat.

I shifted closer, just enough to feel the faintest warmth from her unmoving body. "Turns out you didn’t have to worry," I continued, softer now. "I handled everything. Didn’t even need Nora’s help." A shaky breath. "Didn’t need any help."

The fluorescent light above hummed, buzzing in the heavy silence.

My fingers curled against the thin fabric of her sleeve. "Still… I wouldn’t have minded if you were there anyway."

My grip tightened.

“I wish you could’ve been there, Mom. You would’ve been proud.” I continued.

The room felt colder than before. The dim hospital light flickered faintly, casting soft shadows against the wall. I let out another breath, quieter this time, barely more than a whisper.

The monitor beeped in the silence. My hand curled slightly against her arm, a dull tremor running through my fingers.

“I wish, you were here.”

I quickly wiped my face against the pillow.