After (The After Series)

Is he trying to threaten to tell his friends about all the things we did together?
The thought makes my bile rise.
I turn away from him and focus my attention to the professor, who clears his
throat and says, “Okay, everyone, let’s start where we left off yesterday
discussing Wuthering Heights.”
My stomach drops. We aren’t supposed to be discussing Wuthering Heights
until next week—this is what I get for missing class. I feel Hardin’s eyes on me.
Perhaps, like me, he is thinking about the first time I was in his bedroom and he
caught me reading his copy of the novel.
Our teacher paces before us, his hands clasped behind his back. “So, as we
know, Catherine and Heathcliff had a very passionate relationship, their passion
being such a force in the novel that it ruined essentially every other character’s
life in its wake. Some argue that they were terrible for each other, and some
argue that they should have married one another instead of fighting their love
from the beginning.” He pauses, looking out at all of us. “So, what do you
think?” he asks.
Usually, I would raise my hand immediately, proud to show off my expert
knowledge on classic novels, but this one hits too close to home.
A voice from the back of the room answers, “I think they were terrible for one
another; they fought constantly and Catherine refused to admit her love for
Heathcliff. She married Edgar, even though she knew she was in love with
Heathcliff the entire time. If they would have just been together in the beginning,
everyone would have been a lot less miserable.”
Hardin looks at me, and I feel my cheeks heat up. “I think Catherine was a
selfish, pompous bitch,” he lets out. Gasps fill the room and the professor
glowers at Hardin, but he continues. “Sorry, but she thought she was too good
for Heathcliff—and maybe she was, but she knew Edgar could never compare to
Heathcliff and yet she married him anyway. Catherine and Heathcliff were just
so similar that it was hard for them to get along, but if Catherine wasn’t so
stubborn they could have lived a long and happy life together.”

---

I feel foolish as I, too, begin to compare Hardin and myself to the characters
in the novel. The difference is that Heathcliff loved Catherine tremendously, so
much so that he sat by idly as she married another man before he finally married
someone else. Hardin does not love me that way—or at all—so he has no right to
compare himself to Heathcliff.
The entire class seems to be looking at me, waiting for my reply. They are
probably hoping for an argument like last time, but I stay quiet. I know Hardin is
trying to bait me, and I will not fall for it.

---

chapter sixty-four
A
fter class I say goodbye to Landon and walk straight to the professor to
explain my absences. He congratulates me on my internship and explains that he
rearranged the syllabus a little. I keep our conversation going until Hardin exits
the room.
I make my way back to my room, where I lay out all my notes and textbooks
on my bed. I try to study but feel on edge waiting for Steph, Hardin, or one of
the many other people who are always in and out of my room, to show up. I pack
my study materials into my bag and head to my car. I will find a place to study
off campus, maybe a coffee shop.
Driving toward town, I spy a small library on the corner of a busy street. Only
a few cars are in the lot, so I pull in. I walk all the way to the back of the library
and sit next to the window, pulling all of my books and notes out so I can get to
work. For the first time, I can study in peace, no distractions. This will be my
new sanctuary, the perfect place to study.
“MISS, WE ARE CLOSING
in five minutes,” an elderly librarian comes over to
inform me.