《You Scare Me Dr. Archibald》


 Prelude

    Have you ever had that feeling? You know the one. That primal warning to stay away from something, some place or someone? It causes your muscles to tense, your senses to heighten and the pupils in your eyes to swell as if to gain access to every minute detail in sight.


    That''s the feeling that crept into the pit of my stomach when I first met Dr. Archibald. Call it crazy, paranoia or some other adjective that might compete with that natural instinct; but that hair-raising reaction activated every nerve sensor in my body the first time I was left alone with him.


    His dark eyes stared blankly just a little too long. His fists were clenched just a little too tight and a twitch occurred in the most subtle of ways along the corner of his lips beneath his facial hair. It was as if he was a lion hiding in the tall grass as it stared mercilessly at a gazelle - hungry, silently fierce and most of all predatory.


    Most people wouldn''t have picked up on it. I, myself, knew I had a habit of letting my active imagination run just a little too wild and free. It was fun to allow for that type of mental freedom - most of the time. This felt different. I knew, to some degree, I wasn''t wrong to feel the way I did - to feel afraid.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The paradox. There is always a paradox when you allow your mind to drift in ways that others, at least in my experience, perceive as dramatic or over-romancing. Regardless, there was a deeply conflicting and concerning paradox when it came to Dr. Archibald.


    Despite my own body''s biological warnings to stay away, there was one problem. I was intrigued. That''s where it began. Intrigued gradually turned into charmed. Charmed more rapidly turned into attraction. And that is when I was the most frightened. Frightened of Dr. Archibald. Frightened of myself. Frightened of what I might do. Frightened of what he might do to me; or what he had done to someone else.


    The unjust part of this was that I had branded him something long before I had an ounce of proof that my perceptions were correct - my baseless, emotion-driven, quiet perceptions. But was it really unjust when your perceptions turned out to be correct; to be right on target?


    I was in danger. I knew that. But still¡­ I couldn''t stay away.

 Week One Spring Semester

    Abnormal Psychology. It was among the final requirements to successfully complete the Master''s Degree I had been working on for nearly two-and-half years.


    Slow and steady wins the race. It was a common mantra that I continually used to motivate and justify the turtle-like pace of my educational progress. Working full time and refusing to take online courses were the two main factors contributing to the prolonged nature of my tenure at Woodbridge University. I had nothing against online learning. It just simply wasn''t for me. Call me a geek but I genuinely enjoyed the classic classroom setting.


    It was mid January. The younger generation of college students were loathing their frigid trek to whatever night classes they had been forced into signing up for the semester before. It was an assumption; though I had been there, done that. I knew what they were feeling on that first night of spring semester classes. As an adult, my feelings had transformed. I was eager.


    The seventy-thirty class began right on time and I could still taste the dinner on my breath that I had hurried to inhale in the car on my ride in. The thought exited my mind as quickly as it had entered when the professor walked in, promptly shutting the oversized mahogany door behind him and locking it.


    The click echoed off the walls of the stadium-style auditorium and everyone appeared to freeze where they sat. No professor in all of my graduate or undergraduate studies had ever locked the door.


    What if there''s a fire? That was my first, anxious thought. Again, it swiftly floated away when the finely-dressed stranger before us began to speak. His voice was deep; a bit scratchy. It felt like his vocal chords were made to narrate one of those Planet Earth shows.


    "I''m sure you all know by now my name is Dr. Archibald. If you didn''t know at least that much by now.."  He paused as he sat down on the edge of an oversized, wooden desk centered perfectly at the head of the room and removed a pair of glasses. ".. I''d have to wonder how the fuck you made it this far in your education."


    My eyebrows lifted at his casual use of profanity in the first introductory sentence. I looked to my left and right, as most of the others in the class did, and amongst the silence there were a few stray chuckles that tested out the room''s acoustics.


    When I looked back, Dr. Archibald was smirking. "Well that woke you up, didn''t it?" He rose to his feet again and put his hands out to the sides. "Look.. I know you''re all working. Maybe some of you have families. Maybe not. It''s seven-thirty at night and you''d probably rather be getting ready to watch The Bachelor with a glass of wine."


    There was more collective laughter now and his eyes scanned the room, both amused and almost as if they were searching to see who was smiling and who was still cautious. There was a genuine, curious nature to the way his eyes danced over the crowd.


    "This class will be worth your while," he went on. "You''re here for a reason and I intend to pump those big brains of yours with all the information I can." Dr. Archibald smiled wider now, highlighting a pair of boyish dimples beneath a trim, salt and pepper beard, "Welcome to Abnormal Psychology."


    He sure knew how to captivate an audience. The delivery of the first bout of information had me laughing, pondering answers to questions I never would have thought of and desperately scribbling notes down in my yellow, ninety-eight cent notebook.


    I was so interested and so intrigued that I hadn''t realized that class was on the verge of concluding until Dr. Archibald uttered his words of departure. "I''ll see you next class."


    And just like that, the first Abnormal Psychology class had ended. I sat there for several seconds before rising to my feet, slinging my backpack over one shoulder and then gave a generous stretch toward the ceiling before beginning my slow climb down the elongated steps.


    Half of the class had piled out by the time I reached the ground level. I passed by Dr. Archibald and, for some reason, didn''t have the confidence to look in his direction.


    "So, what''d you think? Hooked yet?" His voice cut through the air and more or less grabbed me and spun me around in his direction. I didn''t even know if he was speaking to me until our eyes locked.


    "Me?" I glanced over my shoulder - another habit that highlighted my inner insecurities. When I saw his smirk, an expression that I knew held all kinds of unspoken wit behind it, I decided to respond. "Yeah."


    Say something else. I couldn''t think. I never did well with being put on the spot. Still, I was eager to maintain a conversation.


    "I''m really interested in Abnormal Psych. I''ve been looking forward to this class since I started my Master''s."


    "The delivery.." he went on, "What did you think? Too much?"


    "Just right," I responded too coolly. I almost impressed myself. A red blush filtered into my cheeks and the nervous laugh I let out killed any type of confidence I appeared to have going for me.


    Dr. Archibald smiled and right then I decided that I thought he was handsome. Crimson filled my cheeks a little deeper and I glanced up toward the few stragglers who were still getting their things together halfway up into the seating area. It was my only means of a quick distraction before I turned back to face my new, slightly unorthodox professor.


    He hadn''t looked away, and I swallowed hard. "Thanks.." It was all I could manage and I gave a fleeting wave before heading out into the hallway.


    It was as if I was reentering the world after being put in a trance for two hours.


    On the drive home I wondered if anyone else had felt the same effects that I had. Were the other students in my class still thinking about the class like I was? Did they find Dr. Archibald to be the perfect combination of intelligent and.. cool? Was cool even the right word?


    Smooth, I corrected the description in my mind and then immediately shook my head. What was I even thinking about? I had known the man for two hours.. two.. and here I was passing judgment as if he we had been in each other''s company for an appropriate amount of time to match my opinion.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    In my final conscious, cognitive thoughts of the night I, again, reflected back on the fascinating opener of Abnormal Psychology and the riveting professor that taught it. No class I had ever taken was ever interesting enough to consume my final thoughts of the day.


    Even less, they never made it into my nightly dreamscapes or nightmares. That night, the images that danced their way into the multiple cortexes of my brain where dreams were concocted were a troubling combination of both.


    I heard Dr. Archibald''s indistinguishable voice narrating the ordeal as I was lost in a forest. A sea of fog swallowed me whole though somehow I knew I was visible to something that was out there. It was haunting. I could not pinpoint what my professor¡¯s role actually entailed. Was he trying to guide me? Hurt me? Lead me away from whatever dangers lurked?


    It felt all-too-real when his hands clamped down on my shoulders, finally revealing his presence. I couldn''t see his face, though I knew the pair of hands belonged to Dr. Archibald.


    My overemphasized gasp bridged the realms of dream and reality, and I sat up in bed, a cold sweat coating my body as my mind struggled to recognize my immediate surroundings.


    ¡°What the fuck..¡± I whispered to myself, eyeing the red numbers on the digital clock on my nightstand.


    3:37. I sighed and laid back down eying the ceiling fan that swirled in circles around me. Yes, I was one of those people who still needed a fan to sleep in the middle of winter.


    I closed my eyes again and it was like coming down off a high. Adrenaline made the thud of my pulse pound in my ears, as if actual quarter-sized drums had been implanted there. In that early morning hour my heart palpitated. Half of it was what I could only interpret as misplaced desire. The other half was outright fear. I never fell back asleep.


    In jest, I quietly blamed Dr. Archibald for wanting to fall asleep in the second course I was taking at the University the following evening. Dr. Stevenson did not have the immediate, gripping hold on me the way Dr. Archibald did. Not only was I exhausted by the time the five o''clock class rolled around, but I was constantly comparing this stodgy, mundane individual to all of the lively traits his coworker possessed. It was unfair really.


    I had made it, however. I managed to get through to seven o''clock without rudely letting my head fall flat on the desk in the stuffy, thermogenic confinement in the University''s basement.


    ¡°Get me out of here,¡± I whispered to myself as I crossed into the hallway. My eyes sought out the stairwell at the far end of the corridor, though when the elevator doors swung open as I passed by, I couldn''t resist the free ride.


    A small group of students piled out, each on their own individual device and not seeming to care if they were in each other¡¯s company or not. I felt for my own phone in my jacket as I entered and turned to hit the ¡°1¡± button that glowed a pale yellow.


    ¡°Hold on..¡± A hand snuck its way in through the large, steel doors that threatened to close, and I stepped farther to the side to allow the stranger to enter. Only it wasn''t a stranger - not really.


    ¡°Oh..¡± The one syllable left my mouth when I recognized it was Dr. Archibald who was now standing beside me as the doors closed. The word was entirely misplaced and I knew I wouldn''t have said that if any other human being had accompanied me on the elevator right then. Except maybe John Stamos.


    ¡°Alexandria right?¡± His voice was made for phone sex.


    The fact that I had that thought even remotely in the most hidden depths of my brain made me blush. I even contemplated what was wrong with me.


    ¡°Right.¡± I gave a small, closed-mouth smile and attempted to mind my own business.


    ¡°Who''s class did you just come from?¡±


    ¡°Umm..¡± I drew a blank. Again, his voice took me completely off-guard.  ¡°Uhhh..¡± When my eyes lifted to hit his, I could tell there was amusement that lingered behind the surface. ¡°Dr. Stevenson.¡±


    ¡°Mmm..¡± It was an obvious mutter of disapproval, though he didn''t dare elaborate as he subtly rolled his eyes along with the brief, fleeting response.


    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± I gave a laugh and looked up at him again, shoving my hands into the pockets of my black, L.L. Bean winter coat. I hoped by agreeing to his subtle denunciation I didn''t come across as the prissy, know-it-all type that undermined authority figures.


    When the little bell chimed, indicating we had reached the first level, I wanted to make some excuse to stay there. There was nothing logical. Once the doors opened I would have to get out. Still, I wanted so badly to carry on a conversation with Dr. Archibald. At the same time there wasn''t one worthwhile conversation starter I could think of.


    I opened my mouth to speak again but then quickly went with the generic, ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow in class.¡±


    Dr. Archibald gave a nod and I crept out of the elevator with a deliberate reluctance that I couldn''t prevent. A look over my shoulder showed the elevator doors closing again and Dr. Archibald¡¯s figure was slowly stripped from my view like an actor on a stage at the final curtain.


    I could breathe again. For a second. It suddenly dawned on me that I had never revealed to him my name.


    Alexandria right? I relived the simple, half-a-second question over and over again in my mind until it transformed from a quintessential expression to a resounding shout.


    He has a class list, I reminded myself. With at least forty-something students, I added.


    There was no way he could have known who I was without a little investigation. The thought flattered me. Surely, others might''ve been a bit uneasy over the revelation but not me. Not right then.


    There was an unwilling pull at the corner of my mouth that I tried to fight off, though soon a wider grin made home on my face. I still stood there staring at the elevator for a moment and realized the down arrow was glowing.


    Down. I stood there for a moment. Dr. Archibald had gone back down where he had just come from. Had he simply taken the elevator ride to¡­


    I couldn''t even finish the thought with any sort of realistic element to it.


    Cocky, aren''t we? I knew there wasn''t a chance he had taken the elevator up one level and back down simply because I was on it. He most likely forgot something and went back down.


    Big metal butterflies had suddenly made home in my stomach. I was so modest that I yielded any possibility that this could be true. Through my own eyes I was so incredibly customary that someone couldn''t possibly want to go out their way to find out more about me.


    I wouldn''t mind him stalking me. The fact that this was my first naturally-occurring thought had to say something. The palpitations knocked at my chest cavity again and I swallowed hard as the down arrow suddenly stopped glowing.


    Of course this was the thing, in all of my exhausted glory, that kept me awake again that night.

 Campus Murder

    It was official. I was crushing on my professor. It made the seven-thirty class on Tuesdays and Thursdays all the more enjoyable - icing on an already delicious cake, if you will.


    Partway into the second class I had with him I realized that I hadn''t been taking notes. My mind had been so in tune with what he had been saying, or more of how he was saying it, that I had simply forgotten to write down all the main points. Still, I was engaged. I was listening.


    Dr. Archibald stopped me again on my walk out. With each interaction I managed to keep my cool a little more; I was able to engage in conversation and harness the beast of lust that had suddenly taken over my inner psyche. I wasn''t used to it - the the erratic and irrational thoughts; the desire to throw any self-control I possessed out the window. It gave my rather boring life a little spark that I welcomed more with each passing day.


    ¡°Alexandria.¡± He smiled and I pondered if he was at all aware of how much I enjoyed the way my name rolled off his tongue. ¡°What are the five major perspectives in psychology?¡±


    I smiled. I knew this one. ¡°Biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic.¡± No stuttering, no ¡®uhh¡¯ or ¡®umm¡¯. I looked up into his hazel eyes with just the smallest bout of confidence.


    With a nod and an accompanied smile Dr. Archibald responded. ¡°So you were paying attention.¡± He subtly winked now and I felt as if I was thirteen again with my first crush.


    ¡°Always.¡±


    ¡°You, uh..¡± He nodded toward the pen I had been subconsciously twirling between my fingers. ¡°You weren''t taking notes.¡±


    Shit. I saw his eyes fall toward my throat as I swallowed hard. They immediately elevated to challenge mine again. ¡°I was just.. I was listening. I-¡±


    ¡°I know you were.¡± His lips curled up into a half-smirk; he cracked his knuckles and I felt the need to continue explaining. There was no way I could leave with the idea that Dr. Archibald thought I didn''t care about the material he was teaching.


    ¡°Honestly, I-¡±


    ¡°No need to explain Ms. Winter.¡±


    Check mate. There it was. My name sounded like dirty words coming out of his mouth like that.


    Stop it! I scolded myself.


    ¡°Dr. Archibald,¡± another student penetrated our interaction as he made his way down with an IPad set perfectly in his palms.


    ¡°I''ll see you soon.¡± Dr. Archibald didn''t immediately turn to the young man beside us. His eyes held me firmly in place like a vice and I managed a breath when he finally acknowledged the unnamed classmate of mine.


    ¡°See ya.¡± I turned, tucking the pen into the pocket of my jeans and then ran my thumbs beneath each of the straps on my backpack as I exited the classroom again.


    Was Dr. Archibald into me? I was always terrible at reading things like this; but a part of me felt like something was there. He had made it a point to talk to me after each class. The odd elevator ride that one night.. the fact that he knew my name..


    All have logical explanations, I reminded myself. He has only been professional. I sound like a man at a strip club who thinks the stripper actually likes him.


    When I reached the parking lot a crowd had gathered near the far end by the campus green. From a distance I could see the familiar flicker of blue and red lights swirling about in even patterns amongst a collection of spotlights.


    Curiosity got the better of me, as it had apparently done to a number of others on campus. What was going on?


    I fiddled with my phone in my pocket and on the short walk I impatiently searched the local news for stories that might explain what had drawn half of the university¡¯s population to the edge of campus in such a frigid evening. There was nothing but updates on a tractor-trailer crash on the highway from earlier in the day, local sports scores and other miscellaneous, newsworthy titles that did nothing to solve the mystery that lingered beyond where my eyes could see.


    ¡°Alex,¡± a soft male voice caught my attention and I turned.


    ¡°James.¡± A close friend from my graduate years had recently been hired as part of the team of campus police. He paced toward me with open arms and I was pleased to see a familiar face.


    ¡°I''m glad you''re okay,¡± he muttered, pulling me in for a friendly hug. Concern lingered in his voice and I knew he knew more than I did regarding the matter at hand; not only because of his profession but because of the concerning way he greeted me.


    ¡°What happened?¡± I took in his attire. From the casual sweatshirt and jeans it didn''t take a genius to pinpoint that he wasn''t currently on duty.


    ¡°You don''t want to know.¡±


    ¡°James..¡± My eyes pleaded, ¡°If you tell me I''ll turn around so I don''t have to jump in there and find out for myself.¡± I motioned to the growing crowd some fifty yards from where we stood. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    His eyes shifted and then he gave a nod. ¡°Let me walk you to your car.¡±


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I begged again like some child asking what she had gotten for her birthday.


    ¡°They just found a woman''s body.¡±


    My eyes must''ve enlarged by ten sizes. I felt my stomach knot up and I stopped walking. ¡°What?¡± This wasn''t at all what I had expected him to say. I didn''t know what I expected but it wasn''t.. this.


    ¡°It''s bad Al..¡± He shook his head, ¡°She was stabbed. The state police took it over. They think it happened late last night.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God.¡± I put a hand over my mouth and glanced back to where the crowd was still gathered.


    ¡°You shouldn''t be alone on campus. I know you''re taking a few night classes but call security when you leave the building. Or call me. Walk with other people from class.¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± I assured him right away as he began to rattle off the best possible ways to stay safe, shy of a bullet proof vest or body armor.


    ¡°They''re going to shut down classes for a while, I''m sure. All of next week, at least.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.. yeah that makes sense.¡± I nodded. ¡°Do they know who did it?¡±


    ¡°Looking into it.¡±


    A puff of smoke filtered more prominently into the air when I let out a deep exhale.


    ¡°Just.. don''t walk alone.. please.¡± James encouraged me.


    I nodded and we walked the rest of the way in silence. He made sure my car was started before backing away and I rolled down my window.


    ¡°You be careful, too,¡± I told him, adding with a little smile. ¡°Please.¡±


    James smiled back and nodded. ¡°Always.¡± He sighed and tapped the car. ¡°Look into getting some pepper spray.. or your pistol permit.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Yes, Dad.¡±


    James gave a small smile with an accompanied wave. ¡°Bye Alex.¡±


    I waved back and secured the window in the up position before blasting the heat in my little, white Mazda.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said to myself as I took a moment to process the information. Someone had been killed on campus. The person responsible had not been caught or identified. I found myself loosely pondering scenarios.


    Was it a random murder? A crime of passion? A prostitute? A drug deal gone wrong?


    I ruled out the latter. The other scenarios felt palpable, the first one being the most eerie. To think of a man watching, waiting, preying on whatever young woman happened to be crossing his path right at that moment. It was almost like a..


    Lion and a gazelle.


    I physically shivered and allowed my imagination to wander so deep into the pits of darkness that I was truly shaken; frightened. There was a killer who, at the very least, passed through campus. The fact that he could still be lurking forced me to do a quick look into the back seat.


    When I turned back around I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. I locked the four doors of the vehicle with one movement of my left index finger and then gazed out through the windshield.


    A black Mercedes sat facing my white Mazda. The shiny logo shimmered in the darkness and above it was a dark figure sitting there quietly. It was just a ghostly silhouette but with the murder it felt more than a bit ominous.


    When the headlights suddenly highlighted the immediate surroundings, I jumped. A set of lights, ordinary lights, made my body tense and jolt with fear.


    I gotta go home, I thought. With a deep breath I put the car into drive and slowly crept away from the parking space. The Mercedes shadowed my movements, trailing my car out of the lot and onto the main road. I took two lefts and rounded a corner on a back road between the school¡¯s campus and my quiet, little street. The Black Mercedes followed.


    I tried to get a glimpse of the driver, though every attempt was unsuccessful. Was the person following me or was it my wolf imagination? If the person was following me they either thought I was mindless or they were terrible at hiding their intentions.


    Left turn. Right turn. Straight for a mile. The Mercedes seemed to be on a clear path to my doorstep. When the street sign that led to my street came into view I stayed on the main drag that was lined with restaurants, little shops and bars. I didn''t dare turn down onto the road where I resided; where I slept at night.


    No sooner than a second or two after my street sign came and went, the Mercedes cruised by me in the left lane.


    I did a quick head turn though tinted windows on the flashy automobile made me curse. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Another mystery unsolved. But the obvious question remained, were they even following me? The logical answer was, probably not. It was all of the hoopla with the body on campus and my own taboo feelings for Dr. Archibald that had me on edge.


    At the next red light I panned the area. There were people out and about on the sidewalks in pairs or small groups. Cars were sparingly parked along the sides of the road. Most importantly, the black Mercedes was nowhere in sight.


    With that, I put on my right blinker and made a lap around the block before finally turning onto the street where my little rented house sat near the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.


    As silly as it felt, when I pulled into the driveway I put the car in park in front of the detached garage and ran to the front door. Rapid lub-dubs echoed in my suddenly tight chest as if I was actually running away from someone chasing me.


    ¡°Shit!¡± When I dropped my keys onto the walkway I shouted the word aloud and struggled to grab them, breaking off the top half of a nail in the process. I ignored the sudden ache in my middle finger and rushed to get to the door.


    I was acting ridiculous. No, ¡®crazy¡¯ was a better word. Maybe I did need that pepper spray that James had been talking about.


    Relief flooded my body when I finally burst in through the front door. If a neighbor had seen my frantic behavior they would surely have their eyebrows raised. I didn''t care.


    A thud came from somewhere down the hall and I froze again. Would this night ever end or was I stuck in some haunted house, escape room type of purgatory?


    Tori¡¯s in the city for work. My roommate was constantly in and out. I suddenly wished she was there. It would have at least brought some type of safety in numbers comfort to the current situation.


    I tip-toed now through the living room and peeked into the kitchen where only the light over the sink was on. I tried to steady my breathing but it was a challenge. The creak of a door was the next thing that alerted my senses and I didn''t hesitate to double back and grab the fire stoker from the living room.


    Who is in my house? I continued the silent expedition down the short hallway, raising the metal object like a baseball bat. The noise was coming from my bedroom.


    A faint glow shined from beneath the closed bathroom door across the hall. I didn''t know which room to enter first.


    Should I just bail right now and call the cops?


    The door to my room suddenly creaked, edging open and I stepped back further into the darkness of the hallway to separate myself from whoever had made home to my living space while I was out.


    This was it. I was panicking. I was chickening out. My body froze and rather than defend myself or take a swing or even run, I just screamed as a figure emerged into the hallway.

 Cat and Mouse

    There was a chorus of screams and I realized I wasn''t the only one who was terrified. By now I had backpedaled about ten steps with the makeshift weapon still raised. It was only then that I recognized who was, now, with me in the hallway.


    ¡°Tori!?¡±


    ¡°Alex..¡± She rested her back against the wall and flipped on the switch. When the light illuminated the space between us Tori had a hand on her chest.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing home? You scared me to death.¡± I relaxed my arms and let the fire stoker hang loosely by my side. ¡°I could have hit you with this thing.¡±


    Tori dangled a pair of stilettos. ¡°My conference ended early and I didn''t feel like paying for another night in a hotel.¡± She turned to me, ¡°I just wanted to borrow these for a night out with a guy I met at the gym.. but I''m not willing to get hit with what that is for them.¡± She motioned to the fire poker.


    I managed a laugh now and shook my head. ¡°I''m sorry I just.. they just found a girl¡¯s body on campus. I''m just a little shook.¡±


    Tori snapped her head in my direction now. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Yeah..¡± I took a breath and nodded. ¡°It''s just spooking me that''s all.¡±


    ¡°I probably should have called to tell you I was coming home early. I just knew you were in class.¡± Tori immediately referred back to the more intense issue at hand. ¡°A body?¡±


    ¡°James told me they think she was killed last night.¡±


    ¡°Shit..¡± Tori shook her head and headed toward the kitchen, flipping on the main light to accompany the one above the sink. She immediately popped open the freezer and located a bottle of vodka that had been vacationing there. ¡°Do they know who did it?¡± Her voice trailed off and I shook my head.


    ¡°Not yet. He thinks they''ll cancel classes for the week.¡±


    ¡°Well that''s one perk.¡± Tori removed some cranberry juice from the refrigerator next and mixed the two of us a pair of drinks. Despite the fact that I wasn''t in the mood to get saucy, I didn''t deny the beverage. I figured one might be enough to calm the nerves.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I accepted the drink and sighed as the first sip of alcohol slid down my throat. ¡°So, who''s this guy?¡±


    ¡°His name is Ben.¡± She grinned. ¡°He''s a trainer. Want me to see if he has a friend?¡± Her eyebrows wiggled and I couldn''t help but laugh.


    ¡°No.. no that''s okay.¡± I swigged my drink again. My response prompted questions from my roommate.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Dr. Archibald popped into my mind. His voice. His smirk. The dimples on his cheeks. Before I could even say anything Tori¡¯s eyes bugged.


    ¡°Wait. You''re seeing someone.¡± It was a statement with the ring of a question at the tail end of the sentence.


    ¡°No.¡± I laughed and felt my face grow hot. ¡°No. Not exactly.¡±


    ¡°So.. what exactly is stopping you? Or should I say who? Is it James because I always thought you two-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I cut her off. ¡°No, it''s definitely not James.¡±


    ¡°So it''s someone.. hmm..¡± Tori smirked behind her glass and had amusement swirling in her pupils. ¡°Do I know him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really not seeing anyone.¡±


    ¡°What is it like.. a casual thing? Is that where you''ve been going during these ¡°night classes¡± at Woodbridge?¡± She used her fingers to make the quotations and I let out a sigh.


    I wish, I thought to myself.


    ¡°There''s no one,¡± I insisted.


    ¡°So, why won''t you double date with me then?¡±


    What answer could I give? I''m enamored by a man who I will never, ever be with. He''s also my professor.. who is at least fifteen years older than me.


    ¡°Maybe I will.¡± I said it mostly to satisfy her and to prevent any more questions. I didn''t feel like getting into it.


    We both stood there in the kitchen for a moment in silence before Tori excused herself to finish getting ready for her last minute date with ¡°Ben the Trainer¡±. Meanwhile here I was in a mental relationship with Dr. Archibald denying dates with guys my own age that might actually lead somewhere.


    Maybe I''m secretly scared of commitment, I thought, and that''s why I''m interested in an untouchable man.


    The brief talk with Tori, and her company, alone, got my mind out of the warped dark fantasyland it had been in minutes before. I felt grounded again. My nerves had steadied and by the time she left for her night on the town I felt like my batteries had been recharged. I was back to neutral.


    ¡­


    James had been right. Classes were put on hold with the ongoing investigation and for students who required grief counseling. While there were no formal assignments, both of my professors sent home optional reading material and questions to think about during the spontaneous break during our second week of classes.


    Optional. That gave me the right to focus on Dr. Archibald''s topic.


    As I sat on the computer in my bedroom that Tuesday night during the time slot my psychology class typically took place, I imagined what my professor might be doing right then. Like a series of movie previews my mind created images of everything from writing lesson plans, to going on a date to sitting at home in a pair of sweatpants.


    A date.. I suddenly wondered, oddly for the first time, if Dr. Archibald was married. How hadn''t the thought crossed my mind sooner? For five or six seconds I let the big, green monster chase me into a childish pool of jealousy before I forced myself to snap out of it.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Focus on the reading. The fact that I was actively playing a game of tug-of-war with myself made me worry - just a bit; but soon I was engaged in the topic of: Antisocial Personality Disorder.


    I knew the basics about the topic but nothing in depth. My first correlation was to that of members of the mafia. Lack of empathy. Lying. Criminal behavior. Violent. All were traits I knew were associated with the disorder . As I continued to read, however, I knew the population possessing such qualities was far more broad.


    There were chameleons in the world of all shapes in sizes. The older I got the more I realized that people were superior in their abilities to keep things hidden about themselves that they didn''t want being put on display. Occasionally, hints of the truth would emerge, and if you were in someone''s company for long enough I was sure their true colors would be impossible to mask forever.


    Still, the scary part remained in that there was a planet full of people that were outsiders; that didn''t infiltrate the inner circle or any of its neighboring layers. To think I had probably been in close quarters with a psychopath at some point in my life made me visibly shudder. It was easy for my mind to wander down the rabbit hole and snowball on until I was biting my fingernails down to the nub.


    I wondered, for a moment, if the person responsible for the woman''s death suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder. It was a valid question, or so I thought.


    Maybe I''ll bring it up in class, I thought to myself, and then immediately decided against it. What if someone in class knew the girl and was offended by my question? And then another thought, I could always approach Dr. Archibald after class..


    That was another rabbit hole I didn''t mind indulging in - and one I should have been ignoring, I admit. It had just been so long since someone possessed the ability to make my stomach tingle just by entering a room. The feeling was intoxicating and I didn''t even attempt to fight off the impulse to indulge in it like some type of addict. I don''t care what anyone says, the greatest high in the world was the natural release of dopamine in the brain.


    I tapped a pen against the desk where I sat and then rose to my feet. It was boredom. It was curiosity. It was lust. It was the craving for just a little bit of adventures. Before I had time to try talking myself out of anything I pulled on a snug, blue beanie hat, had my keys in my hand and headed out to the car.


    I was beginning to feel a bit desperate when I began the trek across town to Woodbridge¡¯s campus. What I would do when I got there, I had no idea. A part of me just wanted to know if Dr. Archibald was on campus. Another part of me was intrigued a bit by the murder. No one had been found guilty, thus far, and as sheltered as I sounded I felt like it could be a bit audacious to poke around.


    Beats being in the house all night.


    The ride took about two-and-a-half songs to cross the threshold onto school grounds. I barely listened to what played on Pandora for those nine minutes or so. I had created a mountain in my mind for the trip to Woodbridge and I was certain I would end up with nothing but a molehill.


    How will I even know if Dr. Archildbald is here? That was a question I didn''t think of until I cruised into the parking lot by the building where my two classes typically took place. Students were not permitted in the academic buildings until Monday and there was a strict curfew being enforced with students living in the dormitories.


    A handful of cars were in the lot and a few yellow squares on the adjacent outer wall of the building  showed signs of life from inside. I circled slowly, rubbernecking to try to see down the green as I got near the end of the lot - as if any of the excitement from late last week was still occurring in the area.


    When I doubled back around I felt the tingles. Only they didn''t settle in my stomach. They traveled the length of my legs and penetrated my heels before making a leap straight for my throat.


    Dr. Archibald walked across the nearly vacant lot. I watched as tension gnawed and pulled at my insides while, all the same, praying he didn''t see me there down the lot.


    I could breathe. Barely. I was much too old to be having feelings like this. Intense, yet baseless, feelings for a man I hardly knew. It truly wasn''t far off from that first big middle school crush; an adolescent sexual awakening. No, I really shouldn''t have been feeling like this at twenty-eight years old over a random man - or any man for that matter. On that notion alone I should have been running in the other direction.. but I didn''t. Not even close.


    You''re no better than a drug addict, I tried to shame myself. It''s the dopamine, it''s not real feelings. It can''t be!


    I wasn''t sure if it was the devil or angel on my shoulder that was ¡®speaking¡¯ to me. Maybe it was a combination of both. Regardless, I watched.. waited. Maybe I was the predator and he was the prey.


    There was no music playing now, though my fingers fiddled with the knobs to assure I had all my senses loaned to the operation at hand. That operation was witnessing what vehicle belonged to Dr. Archibald.


    I could hardly say I was shocked when he swiftly entered the black Mercedes. I suddenly felt like the creep. I was lurking around watching; waiting. My professor was completely unsuspecting and oblivious. And here I had erratically and incorrectly cast him in, what I had just discovered, was my role.


    Did he have a thing for me? No, I had a thing for him. Was he following me around? No, I was the one chasing him. It was me. Dr. Archibald was nothing but a courteous, witty professional. I was desperate, enticed and bored.. with an active, and hopeful, imagination.


    The purr of the Mercedes¡¯s engine caused my moment of self-loathing and recognition to pause, like some intermission to my dark epiphany. Despite the conscious realization that what I was doing was wrong, I trailed him out of the lot like some game of cat and mouse.


    The tables had turned, though I reminded myself again that he most likely wasn''t following me last Thursday night. It was, indeed, a coincidence. He was leaving, I was leaving. Tonight I had sought him out. I acknowledged that I had somehow felt cheated that I didn''t get to see him that night in our ¡®regularly scheduled program¡¯.


    It was selfish, I knew that. Someone had died and somehow I felt cheated. Despite it all, I followed him for close to fifteen minutes before I was forced to back off when the Mercedes parallel-parked into an empty space outside a lounge called ¡®The Library¡¯ that I had passed by on occasion, though never went into.


    Okay, I was done. I had crossed a line. Following Dr. Archibald was a new low. I breathed as the cars in front of me came to a halt at a red light at the end of the quaint city street.


    My eyes took in the white lights and wreaths that were still strung about, the aftermath of the Christmas season that refused to be put to bed. It added some extra life to the cold, dark month of January.


    A knock on the window made me physically jump. Being on edge suddenly felt like my body''s default setting. I looked over and wanted to melt in my chair; or die right where I sat. I didn''t know if my face was as white as ghost or red like a lobster who had been guzzling hot sauce. I wanted to fade away; disappear.


    A pane of glass separated me from Dr. Archibald, who smirked at me in the way he had on the few occasions we had spoken. I didn''t know whether to floor it when the light changed and drop my Abnormal Psychology class so I never had to see him again or..


    I rolled down my window and his eyes forced mine to meet his. ¡°I hope you''re a better student than you are a stalker.¡± Before I could attempt any justification for my actions he motioned with his arm. ¡°Park up there by the church in the open space.¡±


    When he backed away I turned to see that the light had turned green. A horn from behind was like a defibrillator to my Mazda¡¯s engine. I hit the gas just a little too hard and glanced in the passenger side view mirror. Dr. Archibald stood there with his hands in the pockets of a long, black jacket and as I approached the parking space by the church I couldn''t help but obey his benign demand.


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!¡± The word peppered out of my mouth like a culpable chorus that translated to, ¡®I just got caught¡¯.


    I still had time to make an escape. There was no force willing me to stay there and face Dr. Archbald. I could always put the car in reverse and disappear into the night.


    That''s not an option. I knew that. I had to face the embarrassing consequences of my actions.


    When I exited the vehicle I had that genuine feeling of wanting to disappear again. What was I going to say? What was he going to say?