His office, my rules

Eli

I hung around for a few minutes after class and just when I was about to leave the school, someone came up to tap my shoulder from behind.

The boy whispered into my ear “Dean Holloway asked for you?”

“Me?” I turned to the boy who had delivered this message.

He nodded.

“I’ll be there” and he hurried off.

“What? What did he say?” Maya who was next to me questioned.

“Dean Holloway asks for me”

“Yikes. What did you do” she said, earning her a death stare from me.

“I don't know. You tell me”

“Well… you have to go. What if it's urgent”

“Yeah. I will”

“Hurry. I’ll wait here”

“You're sure? You don't have to”

“Whatever” she muttered and I went my way.

On getting to the Dean’s office, I saw him on his way out. He was locking the door with one hand and holding a briefcase in the other.

“Dean Holloway” I called his attention “You asked to see me”

“Ah yes. Uh Eli” he said, his huge frame turning towards me. “I wanted us to have a discussion. Come on”

I followed him out of the school building into the parking lot.

“How is the student support treating you?” he asked. He was the dean so of course he would know about me getting student support.

“It's good so far sir” I asked.

“I see. And you're sure you've been of good behavior?” I gulped at this statement.

Was there anything I could have done? The last thing I wanted was for me to get stripped of student support.

“Yes sir” I answered.

“You’ve got a girlfriend?” he asked

“No”

“Do you take part in any of the sports activities”

“No”

“Why?”

“I don't have interest in any yet” I was sweating at this point and I started to feel threatened.

“Don’t be frightened. You were spotted at the bleachers some time ago. That's only why I asked.”

There was a bit of silence before he went on, “You know, students like you are on the edge. You have to be extremely careful about your behavior in school premises.Any wrong move and it's over” he snapped his fingers as he moved closer to me.

“Yes I understand” my knees started to feel weak under his stern gaze.

“How about your buddy Liam?”

“We uh… er… we..” I wasn't sure exactly what to say to him.

“You what? Young boy” he moved even closer, looking like he would break me into two if I made any attempt to move.

“We…”

“What's going on here” a stone cold familiar voice cut me off, scaring both Dean Holloway and I.

I turned to look at the one who he somewhat rescued me and it was Carter.

“Professor.” The Dean quickly spoke and broke into a fake smile.

“Dean” Carter gave a small nod.

“I was just asking Eli here about how school life is going”

I could tell Carter didn't buy his excuse.

“Eli” he turned to me.

“Yes. Ca… professor Vale. We were just discussing about my student support” I mumbled.

Carter looked a bit surprised. “That's alright. I thought it was something else. Have a wonderful night Dean” Carter waved us off

“A.. And you too Professor” Dean Holloway said. He then turned to me, “You can go. Now”

I noticed Carter seemed to have a higher influence on Dean Holloway, despite the fact that he was a dean.

I walked through the parking lot and getting to the school gate l, I saw Carter black sleek SUV, coming nlto a halt next to me. He rolled the window down. “Do you want a ride?” he asked.

“Sure”

“Get in” he said and I rounded the car to get in from the passengers side.

“Shoot. I forgot” I uttered as soon as I got in. “Maya”

I quickly pulled out my phone and texted Maya to ask if she had waited for me.

A minute later she responded and said that she was waiting for me at another end of school.

“Can we turn around to pick Maya up. Please” I pleaded with Carter.

“Sure. He said unphased, like he didn't care at all.

We turned around and in no time we got to pick up Maya.

“She seemed hesitant at first but when Carter roller down the window tonrefeal my smiling face, she hopped in instantly.

“Where do you live Miss Adeniran?” Carter asked, a few minutes into the ride, breaking the silence.

“A few streets away from Eli’s” she seemed timid.

Within a few minutes. We were in front of Maya’s home.

“What was that about?” Carter faced me when we dropped Maya off.

“What was what?”

“You know what I'm talking about Rivera”

“It was nothing. Really. I'm on student support and..” I trailed off when I saw his expression.

“Continue” he spoke

“I just have to be of best behavior. That's all”

“You got any bad records?”

“No”

He gave me a side eye, “Then why on earth did he need to pull you aside for that. This is college, there's very little you can do to be considered a bad student”

I gently agreed.

“Well, get out” he tilted his head towards the window and that was when I realized he had gotten to my apartment building.

That was fast.

“Goodnight Mr carter” I waved him off but he didn't say it back. He only nodded and drove off.

A part of my heart was hurt a bit by his action.

I only wanted to know why Dean Holloway seemed to fear him even though he was literally the Dean.

ELI

“Let’s break up.”

I stared at him like I didn’t hear right. The café was loud. There were students behind me laughing, someone playing music too loud through their AirPods, the clink of cutlery and cups, but all I heard were those three words. I blinked once. Twice. My fingers tightened around the paper cup in front of me.

“What?” I said. My voice barely came out.

Liam didn’t even look up. He kept stirring his drink slowly like it didn’t matter. Like I wasn’t falling apart right in front of him.

“I’m done, Eli,” he said. “It’s not working anymore. We’re just… not right for each other.”

My chest started hurting. I sat up straighter, feeling that panic crawl up my throat. “Liam, please. Can we just talk? Whatever it is, I can fix it.”

He sighed, finally looking at me. His face was calm. Too calm. “You can’t fix this, Eli. You’ve been… heavy. For a while now.”

“Heavy?” I repeated, not understanding.

“Yeah. Everything with your past, your mom, the scars.” he shrugged. “It’s just too much. I don’t want to deal with all of that anymore.”

I swallowed hard. It felt like my tongue had turned to stone. “You knew what I’d been through when we started dating,” I whispered. “You said you didn’t care.”

“Well, I do now.”

It felt like he punched me in the stomach. I leaned back slowly, not even knowing what to say. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding too fast. “Is there someone else?” I asked quietly.

Liam didn’t answer at first. Then he smiled — small, guilty, careless. “Sort of.”

The words knocked the breath out of me. I opened my mouth, but before I could even speak, a girl walked up to our table. She had curly hair, a tight black skirt, and red lipstick. She smiled at Liam, leaned down, and kissed him.

On the mouth.

Right in front of me.

I froze.

Liam stood up like it was nothing. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, gave me one last look, and said, “It’s better this way. Don’t make it worse by begging.”

And then he walked away with her.

Just like that.

I sat there, staring at the spot where he used to be. My ears were ringing. My vision blurred. My throat closed up. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t believe what just happened. The café kept going like nothing had happened, like my entire world didn’t just crash and burn in public.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Maybe five minutes. Maybe thirty. Eventually I stood up, legs weak, and stumbled out of the café into the cold air. My chest was tight. I felt like I was choking. I didn’t cry. Not yet. I just kept walking. My body moved on its own. Everything felt far away. The trees. The sidewalk. The people passing me. None of it was real.

When I got back to my apartment, I locked the door behind me and leaned against it. My backpack slid off my shoulder and hit the floor with a soft thud. The silence inside the room was too loud. I didn’t turn on the light. I just walked straight to my bed and dropped down face-first.

That’s when the tears came.

I didn’t even feel them at first. They just slipped down my cheeks, soaking into the pillow. My chest started to heave. I tried to stay quiet. Tried to bite down on the sobs so no one would hear through the thin walls. But the pain didn’t care about being quiet.

My whole body shook. I turned on my side and curled up tight, hugging my knees to my chest like I used to do as a kid. Like I did after my dad’s fists. After my mom’s screams. After nights when my sister would rock me back and forth and promise we’d escape one day.

Liam knew all of that. He knew what I came from. He saw the scars. I let him see them. Even when it hurt. Even when I hated how ugly they made me feel. I trusted him. I let him touch me. I let him in.

And he left. Just like everyone else.

He kissed another person right in front of me and told me I was too much to love.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe I was too broken.

Too heavy.

Too hard to hold.

The room stayed dark, and the tears kept falling. I buried my face in the pillow and cried harder. I tried to stop, but I couldn’t. My chest hurt so much I thought it might split open. I kept whispering, “Why?” like it would change something.

But no one answered.

Eventually, my body gave up. The crying turned into little hiccups, then silence. My eyes were swollen. My pillow was soaked. My heart was numb.

I lay there in the same clothes I left the house in, the cold wrapping around my arms like a blanket I didn’t ask for. I stared at the wall for a long time. No thoughts. No plans. Just that empty ache that fills you when you’ve been left behind.

And that’s how I fell asleep.

CARTER

I knocked on the door lightly and waited until I heard a soft “come in” before gently pushing the door open.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw me, almost as if she had never expected me to walk into her office. Well of course I wouldn’t have.

“Professor Vale” she said immediately she recovered from her shock.

I nodded. “Miss Cross”

“What a pleasant surprise!” she beamed.

“I should be asking you that”

“Please have a seat” she gestured to one of the chairs in front of her small desk.

I shook my head. I wasn’t here to chit-chat.

“Can I know why you were at CarTer Law firm the other day?” I asked blankly.

She blinked. I wasn’t expecting to catch her off guard. In fact, I was expecting a carefully orchestrated excuse.

“I was there for research”

“With no authorization?”

She hesitated, “I did talk to you before hand”

“No you didn’t”

“Yes I did”

“How did you find out I work there anyway?”

“I …uh … It’s not a secret you know”

I knew that, but it wasn’t common information either. This woman before me was starting to irritate me. I knew she had motives. But I couldn’t figure out what exactly they were yet.

“Miss Cross. Just to be clear, don’t go snooping around my company again” My voice was stern and she knew I was serious.

She didn’t say anything, so I stormed out of her little cubicle she had for an office.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Dante’s line.

“Carter?” His voice came through the speakers.

“I met her. It was the same Vanessa I work with, "I said to him. I had walked into Vanessa's office without full proof that she had been the one who was at my office. But I didn't need proof, she had just ratted herself out.

“I thought so because what are the odds?”

“Exactly. Has Mr Pierce gotten his copy of the agreement?” I asked.

“Yes. Everything is settled now”

“Good” I ended the call. It took a while before we could get Mr Pierce to an agreement because he was causing a scene. I was relieved we had sorted everything out now.

“Professor Vale” I turned and spotted Dean Holloway. Great, another person I didn't want to interact with.

“Dean Holloway” I didn't bother to fake a smile.

“I see you have met Miss Cross” he said and I realized I was still a few steps away from her office.

“Yes and..?”

“No issue. She was on sabbatical for a while and now she's back”

“I heard”

“I’m sure she's looking up to professors like you”

“That's good”

“How about she learns a thing or two from you?”

“Why me?”

“She has great potential and you two seem to have a few things in common”

I turned to face Holloway squarely. “Here’s how she can learn, Tell her to stay far away from my company”

I could see the lump form in his throat as he swallowed. “I’ll be sure to let her know”

He had better. He knew CarTer had been a great help to the university and wouldn't do anything to change that.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have actual people to teach” I said and brushed past him.

I walked into the classroom, already exhausted mentally. I knew I didn't have the strength to teach much so I gave a test.

I picked up the chalk and scribbled the word ‘TEST’ on the board. This action caused murmuring to erupt amongst my students.

“No murmuring. And you have to provide your own paper sheets for this test. It’s a surprise for me too” I said and they all giggled.

Facing the class, I could see Miss Adeniran whisper something to Eli, making him laugh more. I couldn’t help but notice how his cheeks become more visible and pinkish when he laughs and the way he squints his eyes shut.

Put yourself together Carter. I listened to the voice in my head and quickly skimmed through my notes to find a suitable question.

“Five minutes more” I yelled a few minutes after I had given them the question. For a moment I thought about the amount of time I would spend grading papers but decided I would worry about that later.

“Time up. Come up individually to have your papers’ submitted”

Students started getting up from their seats to hand in their test papers. I watched them one by one as they placed their papers along with the rest of the pile in my hand.

Eli was next to submit his. When he dropped his paper, his fingers brushed mine a bit and sent a mini shiver down my spine.

I pretended to look over his paper, “Not bad” I muttered

“Not bad?”

“Yes. You could do better. Now move, you're in the way of others” I said and it may have come out a little harsher than I intended because I saw his face change a bit. Like a mixture of sadness and disbelief, before he walked out.

I was so close to calling him back but u decided against that.