“I don’t.”
“You won’t get in trouble if you admit it, especially under these circumstances. I think you’ve already gone through enough tonight,” Sanders said.
I raised my voice. “I’m not lying! I didn’t drink anything at the party.”
The security officer spoke up again. “Look, Laney, none of us here were born yesterday, and we know perfectly well that teenagers like to experiment with alcohol at parties,” he said. “We aren’t judging you, and like Headmaster Sanders said, you won’t get in any trouble for admitting it.”
I could feel a vein pulsing in my temple. “Other people my age might drink, but I don’t,” I said through gritted teeth. “My dad used to drink a lot, and it made him… sick. So I have no interest in it. I never even want to try it.”
Sanders sighed. “All right. I believe you,” he said. “But you have to understand our point of view. There’s no evidence that someone actually broke into your room tonight. The best explanation we have is that it was a terrible nightmare. One that seemed so real you genuinely believed it was happening.”
“I didn’t dream it. It was real,” I said. I was starting to sound like a broken record.
“You said the man you saw was wearing a hockey mask. I’m sure there were lots of boys dressed as Jason Voorhees at the Friday the 13th party,” the security guy said. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“So your nightmare could have been inspired by that. It makes sense.”
I slowly shook my head. He was talking like they’d already established beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a dream.
“What if the guy who broke in was at the party earlier, and he had one of those masks on because of that?” I said, eyes narrowing. “There were a lot of guys there who would love to scare me.”
“My team didn’t find any male students who fit the description wandering around the campus when we did our sweep,” he replied. “The party is still going down by the lake, though, so we questioned a few of the students there. None of them saw a boy in a hockey mask leave around the time you were attacked. They didn’t see anyone return to the party, either, and that spot by the lake is the only place where any students are awake and active right now. Everyone else is either asleep in their dorms or back at their homes in town.”
I snorted. “Of course the kids at the party would lie,” I said. “Why wouldn’t they? You let them get away with everything, including drinking and partying on campus.”
Sanders sighed. “I don’t think they’re lying,” he said. “I know it’s hard to believe, but there’s no way anyone could’ve broken into your room tonight. It had to be a dream.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, mulling over his words.
Could it really be true? Was everything that happened tonight just part of my earlier dream? A nightmare within a nightmare?
It didn’t seem possible, because it was all so real, but at the same time, Sanders was right. There was no sign of a break-in. My bathroom was spotless. No one had been spotted running away or lurking around the general area.
“I… I can’t believe it,” I murmured, rubbing my eyes. “It seemed so real.”
Sanders offered me a sympathetic smile. “You’ve only been here for two weeks, and I can only imagine how stressful it’s been for you to be uprooted from your usual life and thrust into a whole new world. I think that stress could’ve contributed to the nightmare tonight.”
“I suppose so,” I whispered, still reeling with confusion.
“I want you to make an appointment with your guidance counselor, Ms. Flores. She can give you stress management tips. I think you’re due to see her soon anyway, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Make sure you do that, then,” he said. He rose to his feet, indicating that our discussion was over. “I’d like you to return to your dorm now. Just to make you feel extra safe, I’ve arranged for a security guard to escort you and then stand outside your door for the rest of tonight. Is that satisfactory?”
“I guess so,” I mumbled. “Thanks.”
“I’m very sorry this happened, Laney,” he said, brows pulling down. “And I understand that it’s not your fault. You’re under a lot of stress.”
I swallowed hard and bowed my head, cheeks burning up. The way he said he understood it wasn’t my fault made me feel like he and everyone else in the room definitely thought it was my fault. They were just too polite to say it.
Ten minutes later, I arrived back in my dorm. I took another shower to wash the dirt off my feet, and then I got back into bed.
As soon as my head hit the pillow, I froze. There was something lingering in the air here. A smell. It was subtle and woodsy with a hint of spice.
Cologne. And not just any cologne.
Hunter’scologne.
I recognized the scent from earlier this evening, when he pushed me up against the abandoned building in the clearing. I must’ve been too scared to register it in my mind while I was being attacked on my bed, but now it instantly triggered the memories, hitting so hard they seemed physical. I could practically feel Hunter’s hands on my neck and his breath on my face, as if he were still with me, holding me in his dangerous grip.
“You fucking bastard,” I whispered, heartbeat hammering in my ears.
I really thought I was losing my mind a few minutes ago. I really thought there was a chance Headmaster Sanders was right and everything that happened tonight was just a nightmare.
Now I knew better. I had no idea how Hunter pulled it off, or how he got away from my room without anyone seeing him, but I did know one thing for sure.
He did this.