The Red String of Fate Read online

“Club isn’t until the late afternoon, though. If we’re going to campus anyway, I should just go to class.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” Landon said. “School is important, and you don’t want to fall behind.”

  “Tell me about it,” Vee said while rolling her eyes. “School is hard enough as it is.”

  They finished up and Vee at her breakfast. She offered to make some for Landon, but he declined, saying he had eaten beforehand. After some time of cleaning up and Landon scolding Vee for having a terribly empty fridge, Landon drove her to campus. He had an incredibly nice car, she noticed, and wondered how much it cost him. It seemed no wonder he could afford her hospital bill. How much money did PIs get, anyhow?

  On their way to the science building, Landon got a text.

  “Who was that?” Vee asked.

  “Lyndzi, actually. She was following up.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her everything was fine, but I didn’t have the equipment with me.” Landon covered his mouth while looking at the phone. Vee had seen him make that motion several times now. It must’ve been habit, like the way Sherlock put his fingertips together.

  “What are you thinking about now?”

  He looked her way. “I’m deciding on whether or not I want to tell her I’ll be coming to the club today. It would probably be rude for me to impose if she already had things set up.”

  Vee nodded. “That’s true,” she said, “but you could probably just ask her not to tell anyone you’re coming. As for today’s activities, Mondays are work days, so you shouldn’t be intruding on another guest or anything.”

  Landon suddenly appeared tired and vexed all at once. “It’s not that,” he said, “I’m sure she’d comply if I asked. I’m more worried about the time and effort it will take to explain the situation because of her incessant nosiness.”

  Vee could see that. Landon decided to put his phone back in his pocket, but pulled it out a moment later.

  “She says you’re not picking up your phone. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “No thanks,” Vee said, “Maybe just tell her I lost it or something. I’ll get a new one once I have the money. That’s not too far from the truth anyway.”

  Landon nodded and sent the reply.

  Before long they had arrived at Vee’s classroom. The auditorium-style seating allowed for Landon to join Vee without anyone so much as passing him a glance. When they sat down, Vee looked over to him. It felt awkward deliberately sitting next to someone so handsome; and even though nobody seemed to care, since Vee knew he was a professional and not a student, she felt even more out of place.

  “Um,” she said, “you know you don’t have to join me. It’s probably going to be pretty boring for you.”

  “Learning isn’t boring,” he said. “And besides, this is kinda nostalgic.”

  Vee considered his words. “It couldn’t have been so long ago to be considered nostalgic, don’t you think? Just how old are you?”

  Landon glanced at her. “I’m 25, but I graduated early. I got an early start in high school and took more credit hours every semester than any sane person would consider possible.”

  “What did you graduate in? Did you ever even take a break for summer?”

  “Not enough time to take a semester off. I graduated in Business with a double minor in Psychology and Forensic Investigation.”

  Vee found herself nearly choking on her own saliva. What kind of monster was this guy? It frustrated her to know he was handsome, rich, and smart. “Was being an investigator something you always wanted to do, then? It sounds like you took the right kinds of classes for it.”

  “Yeah,” Landon said without explanation. Vee wondered if she should ask, but she noticed him close off a bit, so she decided not to pursue that line of conversation here.

  “Class is about to start,” Vee said, noting her watch. She was impressed that it still read the time, despite drowning with her in a frigid winter.

  The other students quieted down some as they waited for their professor to enter. When she didn’t show up right away, a few groups broke into whispers, and when several more minutes passed without an instructor walking in, the chatter got louder. Vee watched as Landon assumed a casual pose and tapped at his arm. Vee frowned. Fifteen minutes passed, and a handful of students walked out.

  Landon rolled his eyes. “There’s no rule that says you’re allowed to go if the teacher doesn’t show up after 15 minutes. But I suppose this is college. Most students don’t even show up for the majority of the lectures.”

  Landon’s remark was funny, but Vee had a nagging concern. “This is strange,” she said. “Professor Wellington is never late. I have a hard time imagining her neglecting to get a substitute, either.”

  Landon raised an eyebrow and covered his mouth. He took a moment before responding. “Maybe the sub is just late, then? Or maybe they forgot?”

  Vee shook her head. “Well, that’s a little strange, too. I mean, we had a sub all last week because she was at a conference in California, and they were on time. If she had trouble getting home, she probably could’ve asked the same TA to cover for her.”

  “This is the professor that introduced you to the Journalism club, right?”

  “Well, not introduce, exactly, but she was the one that suggested I join a club.”

  “Right,” he said. “If you’re worried about it, we can probably ask the department secretary.”

  “Do you mind?” Vee said, “I know it’s silly, but I’d feel better knowing she’s alright.”

  Landon nodded. “That’s fine by me. We might as well go now, since it appears nobody is going to show up.”

  Vee chuckled. “Weren’t you the one who said—”

  “Don’t worry about it, let’s just go.”

  Vee stifled a laugh as they left the auditorium.

  The department wasn’t too far from the classroom—just upstairs and down some halls. They had to check the map posted by the stairs and elevator to find where exactly it was, but it was hardly a detour.

  At the desk was a portly middle-aged woman with glasses and more makeup than she probably realized was in fashion. A student worker sat off to the side, and Vee could see what appeared to be a professor in the back using a copier. The woman smiled when they entered. “Hi,” she said, “can I help you?”

  “Yeah,” Vee said, “my professor didn’t show up to class just now, and I don’t think she arranged for a sub? I thought I should probably check with the department before walking completely out of class, though.”

  Landon and Vee both looked over when they heard the student worker cough from stifling a laugh. The secretary seemed to ignore it, but she definitely heard. “That’s very noble of you,” she said, almost as a jab, “not many students would consider doing such a thing. Let me check for you. Who is your professor?”

  “Professor Wellington.”

  Once again, Vee noticed Landon delve into thought, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, the cheerful secretary clicked around in her computer.

  “Hmmm,” she said, continuing to click around. “Professor Wellington was scheduled to be back from her conference today, and we haven’t received any emails saying otherwise. I don’t have any records of her arranging for someone to take over class, either. It had been one of the biology TAs last week, correct?”

  Vee nodded.

  “Then their schedule should be open this hour. One moment, I’ll give them a call and see if they know anything.”

  Vee and Landon waited as she dialed an extension on the desk phone. She put it on speaker to leave her hands free as she continued to click around, probably checking if she had missed any memos. The call went through right away, and the woman asked for the name of the TA that had given the lectures the previous week. After a moment, the TA in question took over the call, and the two conversed back and forth about whether Professor Wellington had mentioned anything about extending the visit. It was clear tha
t he hadn’t been told anything, and that he expected the professor to be back that day the same as everyone else. The woman thanked him and hung up, giving Vee a curious look.

  “Well,” she said, “I can try calling her office. If that doesn’t work, I’ll give her cell a try.”

  “Sure,” Vee said.

  So the woman typed in another extension. She didn’t have it on speaker phone that time, but it was clear the call rang through. She didn’t even bother to leave a voicemail and immediately put in a longer number. Once again no answer.

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” the woman said, looking a bit concerned. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, though.”

  Vee smiled in response. “No, thank you for trying to find out.”

  “I’ll have someone tell the rest of the students to take the class off. If there are any left, anyway.”

  Vee laughed, and Landon smiled as they left the office.

  “I’m sure she’s alright,” Landon said, “things happen.”

  Vee sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just know things have been a little rough for her lately. I hope it hadn’t turned into anything ugly.”

  “You were pretty close with her, weren’t you? What was going on?”

  “Oh, you know, the usual things. She’s going through a divorce, and apparently it hasn’t been very pretty.”

  “Right,” Landon said, voice trailing off.

  Despite the hiccup of her biology class that morning, the rest of Vee’s lectures that day went smoothly. She nearly fell asleep during her political science course, but Landon nudged her often enough to keep her somewhat alert.

  “I promise I don’t normally fall asleep during class,” Vee said, “there’s just a lot on my mind. You know.”

  “I’m inclined to believe you,” Landon said, a bit of scolding in his tone, “but you shouldn’t make up excuses. Before long, you’ll get into habit and the next thing you know, you’ll skip entire classes.”

  “I forgot what it was like to have parents monitor my schooling,” Vee said a bit incredulously.

  Landon looked unimpressed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Right, right,” Vee said. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  A slight smile caught Landon’s lips. “Thanks.”

  The two paused outside of the clubroom door. Vee took a deep breath. She felt much calmer than she did this morning. Going to classes helped her avert her thoughts from the inevitable, and simply getting outside and walking around reminded her that life was more than just her perception of things. Other people lived, breathed, and moved on, the same way she did. The same way she would, but some crazy miracle. Whatever happened, she could move on.

  “Ready?” Landon asked.

  Vee nodded.

  She opened the door. They had arrived early hoping to talk to people as they walked in, but they weren’t the first ones there. Lyndzi was standing at a computer desk, bending over and navigating the operating system to find whatever program she intended to use. Once she heard people walking in, she flipped around.

  Her face lifted when she noticed who it was, then she gave them a skeptical look. “You should’ve told me you were coming! What’s going on here?”

  Landon sported a smug grin as he replied. “Consider it payback for your little errand.”

  Vee chuckled as Lyndzi pouted. The blonde beaute simply changed her focus to Vee. “And how are you, Vee? I guess you decided to stay out after everyone came home?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Vee said, a little unsure how to respond.

  “I’m glad you’re safe. Sorry you lost your phone, though.”

  “Yeah,” Vee said, “I’ll have to save up to get a new one.”

  “Y’know, if you’re looking for work, I bet Landon could hire you,” Lyndzi said pointedly, “He’s always got things to do. Or so he says.”

  Landon glared at her. She playfully glared back, but after a moment, turned her attention back to Vee.

  “Were you able to bring the equipment back?”

  Vee opened her mouth, but as she did, the door opened again and a group of students walked in.

  “Nevermind, you can tell me later,” Lyndzi said, then hurried to the door to greet them.

  Landon and Vee took seats at some desks that had already been pushed together for collaboration. They remained mostly quiet as a few more students trickled through the door. The first of the group to walk in was Nick. He immediately perked up upon seeing Vee and headed straight for her.

  “Vee!” He said, “Good to see you! I was a little worried when you weren’t responding to our texts.”

  “Hey Nick,” Vee smiled back, “Yeah, I lost my phone. Sorry if I worried you.”

  “I mean, the last thing we got from you was how you decided to run off on your own. I mean, I can’t blame you, considering what happened, but then you didn’t respond to any of us that afternoon.”

  Vee straightened in her seat. “What do you mean, ‘considering what happened’? What happened?”

  Nick stared at her blankly for a moment. Then said, “No way. You don’t remember what happened? I mean, you were pretty sloshed, but you seriously don’t remember?”

  Vee suddenly felt extremely self conscious. “No, I seriously don’t remember. What happened?”

  “Daaaaaamn,” Nick said, grasping his forehead. “Here I thought you were trying to avoid getting more embarrassed by staying behind. I half expected you to not show up today, either, but here you are. You seriously don’t remember?”

  Vee already felt hot in her face. She was embarrassed over something she couldn’t even remember, but whatever it was, apparently it wasn’t good. “No, Nick, I don’t! So tell me already, what happened?”

  Nick sat down beside her and cautiously looked around before edging in closer. He motioned to pull out his phone, but as he did, Jon walked through the door.

  His eyes grew wide, and Vee thought she saw sweat beginning to form on his brow. Vee couldn’t help but clam up a bit at the reaction. “Uh, Vee,” he said, breaking eye contact, “I, uh, didn’t expect to see you today.”

  Vee held her arms to help calm the shaking that threatened to overtake her. “Uh, yeah!” She responded, as cheerily as she could.

  Right behind Jon, Cassie waltzed in. Noticing Vee and Nick, she smiled and headed to the table. “Vee!” She said. If not for the fear that welled up in her chest, Vee would’ve thought to laugh at all the people calling her name in the past fifteen minutes. Cassie sat at the table. “Oh my gosh, you’ve got a lot of guts, girl!”

  Vee forced a smile. “Yeah, uh, about that,”

  Nick whispered into Cassie’s ear. “She doesn’t remember, Cass!”

  Cassie’s eyes nearly tripled in size. “You’re kidding!”

  Vee shrunk in her chair, keeping an eye on Jon. “Can somebody please explain what’s going on?”

  Suddenly, Cassie’s eyes were on Landon who had assumed his relaxed pose for the entirety of the conversation. He had been quietly watching as the others conversed. “Uh,” she said, “not before you explain who this guy is.”

  “Ah, don’t mind me,” Landon said with the most charming smile Vee had ever seen. “I’m just visiting.”

  Out of nowhere, Lyndzi appeared behind Landon, sporting the most devilish smile Vee had ever seen. “Oh, you didn’t know?” She said, “This is Vee’s old boyfriend from back home.”

  Vee’s face exploded with color, and the others looked just as shocked. Cassie even stood up.

  “Oh my God,” she said.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding,” Nick said at the same time.

  Vee overheard Lyndzi whisper to a flustered Landon as she strutted away, “How’s that for payback?”

  Jon, who had stayed near the door must have heard as well, and his look of frustration seemed to bore into Vee. It was enough to immediately tear her away from the moment and freeze her in place. To Vee, it seemed as if all forms of sound had completely
drowned out, leaving her completely alone with Jon’s intense glare. Vee was only brought out when she felt Landon gently grab her arm.

  “Uh, I think I’m going to go after all,” Vee said, suddenly standing up. “Tell the Prez I’m sorry.”

  “Hey, I can tell Kayne, right?” Nick said.

  “Sure, whatever,” Vee replied.

  “Where is he, anyway?” Cassie said.

  “I took him to his parents’ place in Cardonk yesterday. He’ll be gone for a few days.”

  Vee glanced at Landon, who stood up behind her. He smiled at the people at the table. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

  Cassie gave him an enthusiastic wave, and Nick nodded politely. Vee hurried out the door, shivering under Jon’s glare as she walked toward him. Once she got within reach, he reached out and caught her wrist. His grip was strong. “Vee,” he said, voice low. “I’d like to talk with you.”

  Vee shuddered. Jon glanced at Landon, who had stopped a few feet behind her. Landon smiled and looked directly at him. “You’re Jon, right?”

  Jon’s grip tightened on Vee’s wrist, and Vee recoiled a bit. She didn’t look as he replied. “That’s right.”

  “Thanks for looking out for Vee. I appreciate it.”

  Vee found the strength to pull her hand away, and sped out the door while she had the chance.

  - 12 -

  The walk to Landon’s car was long as silent. Neither Landon nor Vee opted to say anything until they were safely within its confines and out of human earshot. Landon leaned back before starting the engine, and finally addressed Vee, who had lost nearly all color in her face when they left.

  “What are you thinking?”

  Vee swallowed loud enough for Landon to hear and waited to reply. “It was Jon,” she said. There was a slight waver in her voice, but the words came out loud and clear. “It has to be him. There’s no other explaining the way he reacted.”

  Landon tilted his head back and interlaced his fingers.

  “I can see why you would think that,” he said, then turned his eyes her way, “but you’re wrong.”

  Vee met his gaze and gaped. “Are you kidding? You heard what he said! ‘I didn’t expect to see you here.’ And the way he said it—there’s no way it wasn’t him! Not to mention the way he looked at me...”