8

Katie sat in her favorite hidden spot in the library with her ear buds in and her lap top out. It was what she did between classes. She had eight on campus classes and four online classes each semester. Her on campus classes included six day and two night. She did the work for her four online classes in the afternoons. She was on campus four days a week from seven-thirty in the morning to ten at night. All of her day classes were in the morning—three on Tuesdays and Thursdays, three on Mondays and Wednesdays. Her advisor had not batted an eyelash at approving the unheard of amount of classes each semester. She never even checked the class forms. She just signed off on them and hurried her out of her office. None of the administrative staff wanted her lingering around their offices for long. Everyone knew who she was and why she was being allowed to attend school there even though university policy was that ex-convicts not be allowed to attend the school. She took full advantage. She double majored in Human Services and Organizational Leadership and was twelve credits away from her Associates in either degrees or a bachelor's in one and a certification in the other. She had to be there for the next five years so she opted for two Associates degrees by summer's end.

One of her parole stipulations was that she attend on campus classes her first four years. She had a feeling that that was Chad trying to make up for her not having the college experiences that she had been looking forward to as a kid. She was still pretty sure he believed her to be guilty but, it somehow didn't surpass his desire to be her friend again. She had relented after his breakup with Amanda, because he had seemed so devastated that night but, she suspected he would take her back once things settled down a little bit and they would be back to square one.

She had finished up all she could do for her classes for the time being and was putting in some of her work hours when a dark shadow cast itself over her table. She glanced up and saw four very, tall, handsome and well-built young men standing over her. She recognized them as Aiden Lawrence's brothers and cousin and sighed as she leaned back in her chair and stared up at them waiting patiently for them to speak. She never spoke to the students there unless they spoke to her first.

"Uh, can we talk to you for a second?" The oldest of the four, Collin, asked.

She motioned for them to sit and popped an earbud out of her ears to listen to them.

"Uh, this is completely personal and inappropriate but, we just have to ask." He continued, a slow blush creeping up his handsomely tanned neck. He looked over at his brother, Ryan who couldn't look her in the face.

She arched a brow, stopped the processing on her laptop and took the other earbud out. "I'm listening."

"Do you like guys?" He asked, quickly. "I mean, we know this guy that's been trying to get your attention for the last year with no success and it's making him a complete and total ass because he's so frustrated that he hasn't been able to catch your eye no matter what he does."

She snapped back surprised. How had she missed a guy trying to get her attention for a year? It had to be a joke or a prank. She blinked and took a deep breath. "Yeah, sure." She said, cautiously, "That it?"

Eddie, the cousin grinned. "So, you wouldn't be opposed to a date if he asked you out then?"

It had to be a prank. No self-respecting man sent other men to feel a woman out and set up a date for him. She calmly and quietly asked, "Is this some kind of joke? I have twelve classes a semester and a full time job. I also happen to be a parolee on house arrest except for school and have to be escorted and chaperoned by my parole officer anytime I need to go somewhere other than school. On school nights I have an eleven o'clock curfew every other night I have to be in when the sun goes down. I can't leave the city let alone the state for another four years or so, and I'm sure everybody at this school knows that already so, who would ever want to go out with me?"

All of their faces had gone red, their mouths dropped open and their eyes had enlarged to the size of golf balls.

"Uh, yeah..." Ryan chuckled embarrassed. "Uh, we thought all that was a bull shit rumor that K'ressa and her family was spreading."

She huffed and arched another brow. "No, it's not." She began to put her ear buds back in and resume her work but, a hand reached out and touched hers. She looked up frowning at the young man that had touched her.

"Sorry," Ethan, Aiden's other brother stated, a little nervously. "I just have one more question."

She waited patiently.

"Uh, did you do it?" He asked and the others glared at him. "I mean, I know what the Dean family says and what people around town say. I even know what the internet and newspapers all say but...you just don't seem like a killer to me. Distant and aloof, maybe but, not violent. Besides, if you were violent in anyway, I imagine you would have retaliated against Aiden for some of the crap he's said to you over the last few weeks."

Aiden. Sadness swept over her briefly and she quickly got it in check. She couldn't afford to feel those kinds of emotions right now. "No. I didn't. I'm not and I wouldn't. Mr. Lawrence is entitled to his opinions and there isn't really anything I can say or do about his behavior or his view of me. Reacting negatively and retaliating would serve no purpose. I would only reinforce his opinion of me."

Eddie studied her for a moment and then began to smile. "It bothers you." He said, with a knowing grin.

"Eddie." Collin warned but, his cousin continued to grin at her.

"It's fine." She sighed, resigned to the fact that they were not going to leave her alone. "Yes. It bothers me. Nothing for me to do about it though. You can't make people like you. Either they do or they don't...and pretty much everyone around here hates me and thinks I'm some kind of horrible monster."

"What about the guy that picks you up at night?" Ethan pointed out. "He doesn't hate you."

"No, he doesn't hate me but, he doesn't believe me either. Chad Morgan and I have known each other since were in day care together." She couldn't help the sad smile that came out. "He was my best friend up until I was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He and Mrs. Kingston over there were the only two people in this whole town that believed I was telling the truth. After I was sentenced...somewhere between that and my release...Chad decided I was a liar. He arranged for me to have five years parole in addition to the fifteen years in isolation that I had endured for my so-called crimes. Fifteen years is the maximum sentence for what I was charged with. I should have been released with no parole, spent ninety days in a half-way house in another town and never been seen back here again but, he said he wanted me to have an easier transition so, I didn't end up back in prison within six months like most ex-cons that served out their time. So, I bypassed the half-way house in favor of a year living in my mother's basement while I readjusted to society, with him as my parole officer. It would have been easier for me to just go to school online but, it is in my stipulations that I have to be in a classroom and on campus most of the day for most of the week. Part of that was my mother's doing. She doesn't really want me in her house. She's constantly badgering Chad about when the parole board is going to move me. Especially since he's been lingering in the basement with me more after his breakup with his girlfriend."

Katie watched the varied expressions on the young men's faces. They were more than a little curious about her and it wasn't because of some phantom admirer that she knew couldn't possibly exist. She knew they wanted to ask more questions but, Aiden chose that moment to walk into the library with a frown and a scowl on his face as he scanned the area for someone and she highly suspected it was the four young men sitting around the table with her. When his gaze landed on them he went from an irritated frown and scowl to surprise to angry.

"You guys should probably go. Mr. Lawrence doesn't look pleased to see you talking to me." She breathed out, bracing herself for the scolding she was about to get for speaking to his brothers and cousins. "I have to get back to work anyway." She put her ear buds back in and turned back to her computer. She expected the boys to get up and leave but, instead, they opened their own books and began to work on an assignment they had in a common class and to her surprise, Aiden didn't approach them. He just sat off in a private study cubicle watching them...and her for the next couple of hours until it was time for their night classes together.

As she was packing up the boys grinned and said their goodbyes but, Collin slipped her a piece of paper just before he walked off. She opened it frowning to find a message, four cell phone numbers and four names.

"We believe you too. We don't hate you either. Give any of us a call if you need a friend or for whatever."

She smiled, thinking to herself how nice they seemed to be compared to their older sibling and cousin, and tucked it into her back pack just in time to come face to face with Aiden. Her smile vanished immediately at the accusatory look on his face. He was so obviously angry with her for some reason but, this time she wasn't sure what.

"Now, who's cradle robbing and not just one but four." He gritted as he loomed over her menacingly." Your kind don't have boundaries, do they? Stay away from them." The last statement was said with a low warning growl that terrified her. "You can screw with me all you want but, you won't screw with my family. If you do anything to hurt them it will be the end of you. I will make sure of it."

She had frozen where she was out of fear that he would harm her if she moved. She had shrunk back as close to the wall as she could when he had moved further into her space until his form loomed over her and his face was a breath away from her own. She flinched and cringed as he spoke again.

"It's good that you're afraid of me, Princess. You should be." He said, only loud enough for her to hear and then, he stalked away.

She shakily gathered the rest of her belongings and went to the rest room to calm herself down before class could get underway. After splashing water on her face and making sure she hadn't had an 'accident', she dried off and went to class. She immediately noticed that Aiden was in his usual seat and the stupid girls that were constantly goading him were already there as well in full form. She set her camera up on the instructor's desk as normal, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room. She could feel Aiden's eyes on her as well as the tension in the room from the goading. She would surely be blamed for that too. She found a seat at the back of the class—not her usual spot dead center—and prepared to record.

After class she hurriedly packed up her things and headed back to the library for editing and review. She didn't want another run in with Aiden Lawrence or his family.