Chapter Twenty

The hot water pelted on her skin, sliding down her curves and pattering noisily onto the ceramic tiles. Her eyes were closed and water was running over her face, her lips. Her mouth opened wide to take a deep breath in, and some water escaped inside. She spit it back out before she closed her mouth and lifted her face upwards at the pouring, scalding water, her eyes still closed.

They did not have sex. She had straightened her back in a split second and turned around, pushing him aside and escaping out the classroom door. Why she did that, she had no idea.

She backed away from the pouring water, picking up a bar of soap from the ledge. She rubbed it up and down her arms, around her elbows, and all over her stomach. She covered the same area repeatedly before she ran the soap over her legs, up and down, back and front. Her body was covered thickly in soap until the foam had turned opaque.

Sitting on the floor, she lifted her feet up and rubbed the bar of soap on the soles of her feet repeatedly. She scratched the bottom of her feet, trying to get it as clean as possible. She collected some soap onto her fingers, running them over the holes between her toes. Then, she scrubbed the dirt out of her knees over and over again.

Getting back on her two feet, they slid precariously across the smooth floor for a while before she regained her footing with one hand on the wall. The water washed the soap away from her soles and she touched the bar of soap onto her collarbones roughly, dragging it up and down.

Exhaling, she dug the soap into her chest in swiping movements until they reached down to the space between her breasts, and her hand slowed down.

Classes would resume tomorrow. Maybe she shouldn't attend first period.

Her hands moved to scrub herself again, but the bar of soap slipped through her fingers and clapped to the floor. She stood under the running water until she was free of any soap. Turning off the water, she patted herself dry before dressing herself for sleep.

She climbed onto bed, and brought the sheets close around her body. She rested her back on the bed, her eyes closing. She breathed gently, and sleep began to overtake her.

She dreamt of Gabriel. His gentle eyes were staring at her with fond kindness. His eyelashes were so long that it made him look like he was crying all the time. Was he sad? His jaw was almost feminine, and the scruff on it felt good to her touch.

But as she continued to dream, she could feel his hands on her. They had grown claws and were wrapped around her neck in a vice like grip, choking the life from her body.

When her eyes opened again, it wasn't to the breakfast bell. She clicked her phone on and discovered, to her horror, that it was past breakfast and she had overslept. In panic, she washed up, dressed quickly and put her bag on her shoulders.

But she halted before her room door. Maybe she should skip after all. She wasn't sure what to do. She paused, thinking hard. She had just gotten her menstrual period not too long ago, and she didn't want to put herself through a hard time when she needed rest.

Shaking her head, she left her room and tower, heading for Gabriel's classroom. By the time she had reached, she was one of many students there. She took a seat at the back row, looking at him, but he did not return her gaze.

The class started and students discussed Lord Malice deeply, exchanging thoughts and bouncing ideas off of one another. While Lucianne normally loved to join in, this time she did not just because.

Fifteen minutes in, she left her seat to leave the classroom temporarily to clean up in the restroom and exchange her sanitary pad for a fresh new one. She returned to class after she was done. She continued to listen, not asking any questions.

Neither did Gabriel ask her any questions when he usually asked her. She didn't think much of it, and was daydreaming when he continued with the lecture and read a section of the book to the class.

The bell for next period sounded.

All the students packed up and she put her books back into her bag one by one. She was at the bottom of the stack when she realised that one of her textbooks was missing. And it was an expensive textbook too. Worried, she looked at every area near her table, checked under her desk and then got up to check under her chair too.

"Lucianne."

She got up from squatting, turning around to face Gabriel, who had spoken to her. Her eyes scanned the room in one look. Every student had already left the classroom. She was alone with him. He was at the only door out.

Then he turned the lever over to lock the door.