When they hear Cyrus yelling, Eric and Jerome shuffle down the stairs. Judith sits on the sofa with her eyes fixed on the coffee table and her dry lips apart. Her arms are wrapped around her torso, keeping her warm.

"Dude, take a chill pill," Zeke says, then folds his arms, and Cyrus raises his brows. Jerome and Eric stand under the arch. "He didn't do anything to her."

"Get the fuck to your rooms," Cyrus yells while pointing to the stairs and he watches them pass by him. Jerome looks at Cyrus as he sits next to Judith, and Eric moves to the side to make room. "Are you okay?"

She doesn't respond. Eric turns to face the two on the couch after watching them ascend the stairs.

"Judy?" When Jerome calls her name, she turns her head to look at him. When she sees him, her eyes well up, and her face scrunches up before she breaks down in tears.

Cyrus and Eric stand there watching Jerome rush to her aid. He takes the seat to her right, and he wraps his girthy arms around her as she leans into the chest of his black flannel sweater.

"I hate this fucking campus," she wails, and he gently strokes her hair with his left hand.

"What happened, Judy? What's wrong," he questions her. Cyrus gets up.

"I'll be in my room," he mutters to Jerome, and he nods. Cyrus exits the living room and climbs the stairs while Eric remains where he is.

"You're right. I can't protect myself." She pulls away from his embrace, her face flushed with heartbreak. "It doesn't matter where I am or what I do or who I'm with or who I tell, I'll always have a target on my back. I leave you in the student lounge, and someone grabs me from behind. I come here after leaving the sorority, and those two guys try to –"

She stops herself from saying anything else, shakes her head, and looks down at her lap. Jerome searches for her gaze through the tears that have settled on her lashes.

"Can you give us a minute? I'll meet you in your room after this if I have time." Eric nods and walks up the stairs, leaving them alone. Jerome takes a breath and turns to face her. "Did Zeke and Wesley do something to you?"

"They tried – but Cyrus made them stop," she whines to him. She notices his jaw clenching as he grits his teeth, his eyes briefly narrowing. "I'm gonna drop out. I can't keep feeling like everyone is out to get me."

"I'm not out to get you," She frowns and lowers her brows, breaking his heart. He pulls his lips in to lick them, then cups her face in his hands. He sighs as he wipes away her tears with his thumbs. "If you leave because of them, they win."

"Then what should I do, Jerome," she asks, her voice shrill, and he removes his hands to sit them on hers.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm walking you to the campus police booth, and we're reporting everything that's happened," he says calmly, and her face sinks. "You're not dropping out; at least, not for them. Okay?"

"Why're you being nice to me?" He doesn't respond right away, so they stare into each other's dark brown irises.

"I care about you, Judy, and you crying upsets me." Judith sniffles again as she leans into his arms. She listens to the thumping of his heart against her right ear, and it soothes her. Jerome rests his chin on her head and exhales deeply.

"Can I sleep with you tonight," she asks, and he furrows his brows. "Kacey's housemother is up-tight, and I don't have anywhere else to go."

"That's fine. Do you need to shower?" She nods and looks around, expecting to see a downstairs bathroom. "Follow me to my room. My roommate is asleep, so you can use the shower for as long as you need to."

She creases the skin above her nose bridge and stands with him, following him out of the living room. She doesn't give much thought to what he says until they pass the public restroom across from the main entrance.

"Are we going to your room to get a change of clothes?" He gives her a look of confusion. Noticing his expression,  she elaborates, "We passed the bathroom. Why're we going this way?"

"Oh, that bathroom's reserved for our housefather and any students that swing by." They make their way to his door and he pushes it open.

They cross the border, and he closes the door behind them as she takes a look around. Posters of Astro Boy and Space Jungle characters hang on the left wall above an empty twin bed with dark blue covers, and poorly drawn women with exaggerated full figures are suspended above the sleeping man on the opposite bed.

"I'll get you something to change into," he says quietly. She begins to remind him of her previous assumption that he's providing her dry clothes but Judith looks to her left and notices a dark brown door. "That's the bathroom. Take your time; no rush. I'll be out here the whole time."

***

Judith's confronted with a whitewashed door and the hum of angelic music, both of which are beckoning her closer. She places her right hand on the knob, her gaze drawn to the silver ring on her middle finger. She's wearing a grey shirt and denim jeans before twisting the door open, but her clothes change as she steps through the black void pulling at her.

She looks down at the white toga that clings to her petite frame and the mahogany sandals that stretch up to her calves. She slowly raises her head and realizes she's at a community pool.

A tall man with a dark complexion is lounging in a seafoam green chair by the side of the fully occupied water. He's wearing a toga just like her, but despite the shades hiding his face, she's drawn to him.

Judith walks up to him and sits by his feet, staring at his greying beard. He sits up and faces her with his lips parted to welcome a breath of the chlorine-tainted air. She watches him lower his black sunglasses with both hands, and when their dark brown irises meet, her stomach twists, her heart skips a beat, and her jaw drops.

"Dad?"  When he grins, his face brightens. He looks like he did when he was alive, but his demeanor is different. He's happier now. "Are you – really –?"

"Yes," he responds. Judy lets out a low sigh, and her solemn gaze falls on his chest. She wants to cry, but her tears won't come out. "What'd you want to tell me?"

She looks at him again, with her brows together this time. He asked the question as if he knew what she was thinking, as if he knew she had millions of questions she felt she didn't have time to ask when he was alive. Judith takes a deep, trembling breath.

"When you – you know – died, did it hurt," she asks, and he shakes his head. "What'd you see? What happened?"

"First it was dark, then there was a light,"  he responds, his smile widening. Judith examines him as if it's the last time, and as she opens her mouth to speak, a child splashes water on her back.

She lets out a gasp and spins around to face them. David replaces the child, lingering at the pool's edge with his arms on the outside and his chin propped on them.

"Um, Dad," she calls for her father when she notices the sinister look in her ex's eyes. She averts her head to where he was sitting and notices that he's gone, so she scans the community pool, but he's nowhere in sight.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Judy," David says. Her gaze darts to the door from which she entered, and he follows her gaze before they look at each other again. He narrows his eyes at her, warning her not to leave. She rushes for the door anyway.

She starts to breathe heavier, thinking he's behind her, and the closer she gets to the door, the dizzier she feels. When she feels someone's hand on her shoulders, she drops her hands onto the knob and freezes in place. She doesn't have to turn around to know who it is.

***

Judith's drenched in sweat, Jerome's black shirt clinging to her bare chest. She's on her left side, moaning and groaning and unknowingly receiving glances from his roommate Khalíd. He's standing at his dresser with a towel wrapped around his waist, stroking lotion on his arms.

Judy buries her face in his pillow and lets out a quick scream that widens Khalíd's eyes. He flinches and rushes to her, but before he can shake her awake, she opens her eyes and slowly raises them to look at him.

"What the hell are you doing," she calmly asks despite her pounding heart of fear and adrenaline wanting her to scream.

"I was about to see if you were okay," he tells her, but before he can elaborate, Jerome walks into the room and his eyes dart between the two of them.

"What're you doing? Step away from her," he orders him, and Khalíd looks around in disbelief, his lips agape. He thunders towards them, his hands curled into fists, and Judith pulls herself upright. They look at each other, and he asks, "Did he do anything to you?"

"What the fuck are you saying right now, 'Rome," he asks loudly before she can respond, and Jerome shoots him a dark look. "I was getting dressed, and she started wailing like someone was trying to kill her, and it definitely wasn't me, man!"

"He's telling the truth," she rushes the words from her mouth, and they glance at her, then look at each other again.

Khalíd looks him up and down, then steps past him and mumbles, "Jive-ass-turkey."

"Don't fight!" Judith takes Jerome's hand in hers. Jerome glares at his friend, who's sharing the same look on his way to the bathroom. "Jerome?"

"Yeah?" He slowly brings his attention to her, and she releases him.

"Where'd you go," she asks, and he briefly narrows his eyes confusedly. "I was – I was having a nightmare, and you weren't here. Where were you?"

"I stepped out to talk to someone," he tells her, and when she makes a head gesture for him to elaborate, he rolls his eyes and says, "A girl named Alyssa Martin came by, so me and the fellas shot downstairs to talk to her. I'm sorry you had a nightmare, Judy."

"That's what you're sorry for?" He wrinkles the skin between his eyebrows at her question.

"What exactly do you want me to say? It's not like I could have done anything to stop it," he informs her, and she raises her hands in disbelief before rising to her feet in front of him. Her shirt reaches her knees like a loose dress, and her right shoulder hangs out of the neck.

"You're fucking unbelievable. I know you couldn't have stopped it, but you could've at least been here for me." She slams her hands into his chest and shoves him, but he doesn't budge.

"Jesus H, Judith, you're acting like a little dream'll be the death of you or something! You're fine, so stop being dramatic!" Judith's gaze softens at his stern tone. She knows that he can't protect her as much as she believes that she's unable to protect herself, but with everything traumatic she's yet to resolve, she feels as if at any moment she may snap.

"I should go to the bus stop and wait for my ride," she mumbles as she makes her way toward his dresser. He takes a hesitant step behind her.

"Hey, I'm sorry for what I said." As she opens his top drawer, Jerome rests his hand on her right shoulder. His arm falls to his side as she jerks her shoulder forward to get him off of her. "Okay, be upset. We're still going to the campus police, right?"

She raises her chin and looks at him from behind her. She'd completely forgotten about their plan.