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.

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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.