December 16 2023

Scarlett was seen in her office as she was checking on the exams paper for every student, She was grading the papers and felt a little upset that some students had low scores, She sighed to herself, hoping her students would focus on class.

Scarlett: These students. . .

She continued looking through the papers until she found Alex's paper, A small smile creeped on her lips as Scarlett was reading the answers, He answered all the questions correctly except for two.

Scarlett: At least he's quite smart.

She graded his paper and continued smiling to herself, It's been a while since she spoke or hung out with him since their talk at the cafe, She was planning on speaking to him later on.

Suddenly, the door opened as Scarlett looked in confusion, A man entered the office who seemed to be a janitor.

Scarlett: Excuse me? What are you doing here?

The janitor looked at her and didn't give a response, Scarlett had a strange feeling about this as she got up from her chair.

Scarlett: Sir, I didn't ask you to clean my office.

???: You still look beautiful as always, Scarlett.

Her eyes widen, recognising the man's voice. Shivers ran down her spine as she spoke to him.

Scarlett: T-Tyler?

He removed his cap and stared at Scarlett, She looked at him in shock and anger, It was her ex-husband, Tyler Hoechlin.

He was her first husband, and Scarlett really loved him. However, He was very toxic, Tyler once cheated on her, but she forgave him, He always gaslights her and secretly disrespects her, without her knowing. Tyler took things even further by beating up a student who tried to speak to her when she worked as a teacher in high school.

That was the main reason, She broke up with him, Tyler didn't care about the breakup and left her as well, However. . . He was back for some reason.

Tyler: No, long time no see, Congratulations on working in Hemsworth University, One of the biggest-

Scarlett: Shut up! What are you doing here? And why are you a janitor?

Tyler: I beat up that old man and stole his outfit, figured they wouldn't allow me in.

Scarlett's eyes were widen, He really beat an innocent janitor up for no reason, Anger coursed through her veins as she spoke to him.

Scarlett: That man was innocent! Why would you do that!?

Tyler: Leave him aside, We need to talk.

Scarlett: What? You want me back? No chance!

Tyler: Not only that, sweetheart.

He touched her face as Scarlett felt shivers running down her spine.

Tyler: I need some money, About. . . . A hundred thousand.

Scarlett: Hundred thousand? You're insane! You always have been!

She pushed him away as Tyler got angry and grabbed both of her wrists as Scarlett gasped in pain.

Tyler: Listen here, sweetheart. I'm asking you nicely this time, Give me that money, Let's get married again and then we'll be happy *Caresses her cheek* I promise I'll be better.

Scarlett tried to get off of his grip as Tyler stared in anger.

Tyler: And if you don't do that. . . I'll make sure to find a way to get you off this job.

Scarlett: *Grits her teeth* You can't do that.

Tyler: *Chuckles* Let's see. . . Maybe I'll frame you for having an affair with a student.

Her eyes widened in shock, Tyler probably didn't know the truth, but Scarlett was scared knowing that was the truth.

Tyler: Or. . . . *Smiles* I have some of. . . "Those" pictures of you

Scarlett: Tyler, No!!!

She was shocked as her heart was beating rapidly, Tyler stared at her as he said something.

Tyler: You have only a week to send the money.

Scarlett: You maniac!

She bit his hand as Tyler screamed and pushed her away, Scarlett tried to scream for security, but Tyler covered her mouth. Suddenly, someone opened the door, and it was revealed to be Alex

Tyler stared in anger as Scarlett was shocked, Alex looked shocked until he got angry and tackled Tyler to the ground, Ambrose began aggressively punching him as Scarlett stared in shock.

However, Tyler managed to kick Alex away as Scarlett ran to the door and shouted for security, Alex was holding his gut before he began stomping on Tyler. He managed to push him away and grabbed Alex by the throat.

Tyler: Listen here, kid.You made a big mistake trying to play hero. You thought you could come out of nowhere and save the day, didn't you? Well, you messed with the wrong guy. I'll make you regret getting in my way!

He tightened his grip as Alex glared at him. Suddenly, Scarlett attacked Tyler with a book as he grunted until the security ran inside and grabbed Tyler, dragging him out of the office as he was yelling in anger.

Scarlett was breathing heavily as Alex was still angry about what happened, He looked at Scarlett and noticed her wrists were red, and that made him angrier.

Alex: Scarlett, Are you okay?

She looked at him as Ambrose walked close to her. Suddenly, she hugged him as Alex was taken back from the sudden hug, but he hugged her back.

Scarlett: No. . . I'm not okay. . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason was seen looking at his phone, He was sitting on the couch, eating some food. Jessica and Cassie were talking in the other room as Jason opened his phone and sighed, He looked at his mother's contact before he dialled the number.

The phone was ringing until his mother answered the phone, Jason felt nervous when she answered the call.

Evelyn Shadow: Hello, Jason?

Jason was silent and felt worried to speak, It was a moment of silence as his mother spoke again.

Evelyn: Jason, Hello? Are you there, honey?

Jason swallowed and stayed quiet before he finally spoke a word.

Jason: Mom.

Evelyn: Hey Honey, How are you?

It was another moment of silence as Evelyn spoke with concern.

Evelyn: Jason?

Jason: I'm sorry. . . There is something I have to tell you.

Jason explained that he had a concussion from his football game a few weeks ago, Evelyn was shocked when she heard this, She couldn't believe that Jason had never told her about this for so long.

Jason: I'm sorry, Mom. . .

The call was disconnected as Jason looked confused before he frowned and looked at the ground, He knew his mother was upset. And he blamed himself for it.

He finished his meal and sat in silence, Jason could hear Jessica and Cassie laughing about something, Jessica's laughter warmed his heart for a moment.

Until he heard his phone ringing and noticed it was his mother, He immediately answered the call and spoke to her.

Jason: Hello, Mom?

He heard her sobbing through the phone as Jason felt hurt, Maybe that was the reason why she disconnected the call. she was crying.

Jason: Please stop crying. . . .

Evelyn: . . W-Why didn't you tell us?. . .

Jason: I. . . Didn't want to worry anyone.

Evelyn: . . . . No, is it because we're not your real family?

His heart shattered as Jason felt a heavy feeling in his chest.

Jason: No, no. . . Of course not. . .

Evelyn: We found you at the side of the road. . . It's only those heartless people left you there, And that includes your real parents. . .

Jason was silent as Evelyn continued crying as she tried to calm herself down.

Jason: Mom. . . I didn't mean to. . . And believe me, that's not the reason. . . Everyone feels like my blood.

He took a deep breath as his head was hurting a little.

Jason: I felt like everyone was already stressed out because of dad. . . .

Evelyn was silent as she took a deep breath.

Evelyn: Every day his health is declining. . . . I'm scared. . . Everyone is scared.

Jason felt sad when he heard this, Even he was scared as well.

Jason: I know. . . I'm trying to work. . . I want to finish college as fast as I can, just for Dad.

Evelyn: Honey. . . You should take care of yourself.

Jason: I-I can't. . I have more important things to deal with than myself.

Evelyn: I can't see you like this, Jason. When you were going to college, I wanted you to be happy, make some friends, achieve your dreams and goals. . . I even wanted you to find a girlfriend. . . We didn't send you here just to be stressed out and hurt.

Jason was silent as Evelyn continued speaking to him.

Evelyn: Please come visit us, Jason.

Jason: I don't know. . . .

Evelyn: Please, I want to see you. . .

Jason was silent and could hear the concern in her voice, He really felt sad and knew he shouldn't have kept his concussion a secret.

Jason: I'll try. . . Maybe this weekend. . .

Evelyn was silent as Jason said something to her.

Jason: Mom. . . I'm sorry for hiding this. . . I really am.

Evelyn: It's okay, honey. . . . Please don't ever hide from us again. We care about you so much. . . Always remember that.

Jason felt his heart warming up as he nodded.

Jason: I will. . . . And I love you, Mom.

Evelyn: I love you too, Honey. . . Please take care, stay safe, and call me again.

Jason nodded as the call was disconnected, He began staring at the ground and thought about what had happened. He felt guilty about this, and now Jason really wanted to see his family again.

Soon, Cassie left the dorm as Jessica fixed her hair and smiled at him.

Jessica: So, how was the food I cooked?

Jason: *Smiles a little* Delicious.

Jessica: Really?

Jason: You're a great cook, Jess.

She giggled and smiled while sitting next to him, Jason continued smiling at her, Her comfort was peace to him.

Jason: I spoke to my mother.

Jessica looked shocked as she fixed her hair.

Jessica: And. . . How did it go?

Jason: *Smiles a little* It was not bad. . . I plan on visiting them this weekend.

Jessica had a huge smile on her face, She was really happy that it went well.

Jason: Uhh. . . Thanks for encouraging me to tell her. . .

She giggled and nodded as Jessica rested her head on his shoulder.

Jessica: It's fine, honestly.

Jason continued smiling at her as his heart was beating faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhea: Dom is really nice, Believe me.

Damian stared at her with a blank look on his face, Rhea just wanted to let him know that Dominik was good person, However Damian seemed to have strange vibes about him, He also didn't like him in general. But he kept that secret to himself.

Damian: If he's good, Then that's fine.

Rhea: But. . . Why were you so upset that day?

Damian: I was upset, But not about him. . . Just something clicked in my head.

She wondered what he meant by that, Damian kept his menacing gaze on her. However, it softened as he began admiring her, Rhea continued looking at him as she gave a small smile.

Rhea: Finn and Luis assumed that you were jealous.

Damian raised an eyebrow before he spoke.

Damian: They're idiots.

Rhea laughed a little and fixed her hair, Damian had a small smile on his face as Ripley knew she could believe me, He definitely didn't look like the jealous type.

Rhea: I agree, I'm surprised we're still friends with them.

He let out a chuckle as Rhea continued looking at him.

Rhea: Anyways, How are the exams going so far?

Damian: It's fine, honestly.

Rhea: Same here, It's a bit tough though.

Damian: Don't let those idiots distract you.

She laughed a little as Damian smiled again, For some reason, he wanted to see her laugh, and he was doing whatever it took to make her happy.

They continued speaking to each other as Rhea was talking about her family life, As she was revealing some information, Damian had this feeling to let her know a few things about his life as well.

Rhea: I guess a lot of things run in our family, Can I know something from your family?

Damian: Wanna know what runs in our family?

Rhea looked at him with curiosity as Damian leaned closer and spoke to her.

Damian: When the is full of weak and naive people, just waiting to be played and manipulated. In my family, we learned to take advantage of that. We don't let feelings or empathy get in the way.

Rhea was shocked by his response, It was also the first time he opened up to her.

Rhea: Is that true?. . .

Damian nodded and stared at her, Rhea took a moment to process his words as she muttered to herself.

"No wonder he doesn't show any emotion. . ."

Damian: I heard you, And you're correct about that.

Rhea looked at him in silence as Damian continued staring at her.

Rhea: That's surprising. . . . Can you tell me more?

Damian: You really want to know more?

Rhea: You always avoided this question. Now, it seems like a good time.

Damian stared at her, having an intention to scare her for some reason, but he also made sure not to take it too far.

Damian: I've killed five people in my life.

Rhea gasped in shock, He spoke very calmly to her. Rhea was hoping he was just joking with her, but he seemed very serious about this.

Rhea: Funny, now tell me the truth.

Damian: That is the truth.

Rhea looked at him as Damian spoke to her.

Damian: It's for good reasons, though. Don't worry.

Rhea: But. . . . Why?

She was questioning, "Why did he do in the first place?" He seemed scary and brooding, but Rhea never knew he was the kind of person to murder. . . She was a little scared but curious.

Damian was about to speak until Rhea had a phone call as she looked at her phone.

Rhea: It's my friend, Tatum. But it's okay, We need to talk.

Damian: It's fine, Rhea. . . You should speak to her.

Rhea: We're not done talking-

Damian: It's fine, I'll tell you more later. Besides, I have to work on something.

She stared at him as Damian told her to go again, Rhea shook her head and got up until Damian said something.

Damian: You seem cold, Rhea. . . You can take my coat.

Rhea looked at him, surprised that he figured out she was cold. She looked over to his coat and thought about it before she wore it, Damian continued watching her and smiled a little.

She looked at Damian again before leaving the dorm, Calaway got up and went to his bedroom as he picked up a paper that was on the bedside table as he smirked.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and stay strong!!! :)