Page 88 of Under His Protection
“Yes!” I’m dreading going to class because of Mark. I have no idea how he’ll react when he finds out we’re switching lab partners. “I would love a walk.”
* * *
Philip walks beside me as I enter the chemistry lab. Mark is already seated at our table. He’s facing forward, so he hasn’t seen me yet. When I take a step forward, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Wait here,” Philip says.
Philip walks up to the instructor’s desk to speak with her. Supposedly, Detective Bauer has already notified her aboutwhat’s going on and asked her to move me to a different lab table.
Ms. Davis glances at me where I’m standing near the door ready to make my escape. It’s unnerving to think there might be someone in this room who wishes me harm.
As Philip speaks to the instructor, she nods periodically to indicate she’s following the conversation. But her gaze bounces back and forth between me and Mark at first, and then over at Andrea and Christian’s table.
Eventually, she walks over to Andrea’s table and has a quiet conversation with her and with Christian. Andrea and Christian look at each other a moment, speaking quietly, and then Christian nods.
As Christian starts to gather his things, my pulse starts racing.
Philip returns to my side. “You and Christian are exchanging lab partners for the rest of the term. Andrea is your new lab partner, so you can go sit with her.”
As I head to Andrea’s table, I pass by Christian, who nods at me.
“Hi,” I say to Andrea as I take my new seat.
She smiles. “Welcome, new lab partner.”
The instructor begins to go over our lab assignment for today.
“I’m sorry about the change,” I whisper to Andrea.
She shrugs, still smiling. “It’s no problem. We don’t mind.”
I glance back at Philip, who’s standing near the door, leaning against the wall. He nods to me, as if to say,You’re good. You’ve got this.
For the rest of the class, I focus on the day’s assignment. Andrea and I go over the steps for the experiment we’re going to perform. When we’re ready to get to work, we both pull on labcoats and protective goggles because we’re working with some caustic materials today.
I notice both Mark and Christian looking this way. Mark looks angry. Christian looks amused. Christian chuckles as he says something to Mark, and Mark jabs him hard in the side with his elbow.
“Ignore him,” Andrea says to me, bringing my attention back to our experiment. “Don’t let him rile you up.”
“That guy creeps me out.”
“Who? Mark?”
“Yes.”
“He’s weird. Just ignore him.”
Throughout the class period, I catch Mark staring at me. I don’t understand his fixation. I’m a nobody. I’m not somefemme fatalewhom men can’t resist.
Andrea and I complete our assignment, and the instructor comes around each table to observe the results.
“Great job, ladies,” she says to us. “You’re one of only three teams who got it right.”
As we’re cleaning up our station, Andrea leans close and asks me, “Why is your boyfriend here?”
“It’s complicated.”
She looks perplexed, and I hate keeping her in the dark. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t explain.”
