When Night Breaks

The thought of going back to class after the weekend I had honestly repulsed me. However tempting the thought of skipping was, I knew it wasn’t a real option. I hadn’t spoken to Jay nor Lacey since Saturday night on the roof. My Sunday had been spent staying in my pajamas watching Netflix.

I got to school a little early, and to my surprise Lacey was already parked. I got out, my bag over my shoulder, and walked over to her black Explorer. I tapped on the window of the drivers side and she opened the door to step out. I was hoping things wouldn’t be awkward between us after what had happened.

“Hey,” I said.

“Good morning.”

“So? Are we cool?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she punched my arm, “we’re cool.” We both laughed and started walking towards the science building. I kept glancing over to the parking lot.

“He isn’t here, yet,” Lacey assured me. She was speaking about Ian. I had hoped he wouldn’t show, and in all honesty I had expected him to skip at least a couple days. But I was still hesitant to let my guard down. I knew that I should have probably called the police on Ian. My own father was a detective, so I knew I would have been safe. I didn’t though, because of Jay. I knew that Ian would tell the cops everything, and that would create more problems than it would have solved.

I went into chemistry class and took my seat next to Shane. He smiled politely at me, but I didn’t feel much like talking. So, I smiled back and pulled out my notebook. I began to scribble in it, pretending I was doing homework or making notes. The lecture began, and after the professor was done, he allowed us 5 minutes of free time before dismissing us.

“So, who is he?” Shane asked.

“Who is who?” I was puzzled.

“Who is the guy you’re in love with?” What an absurd question, especially coming from Shane Jaffe.

“Uhm, I don’t have a boyfriend,” I stated. I supposed that wasn’t a lie; Jay and I had never officially confirmed a boyfriend/girlfriend status.

“No, that’s not what I asked. I asked who you were in love with.”

“Shane, what are you talking about? I’m not in love with anyone.” There was no way that he knew about Jay, there just couldn’t be any possible way.

“If you don’t want to tell me his name, that’s cool. But I’m a psychology major, remember? I can just tell with you.” This dorky, quiet kid had a new air of confidence about him; he spoke with more conviction.

“What do you mean you can tell?”

“I noticed how you’ve been acting. We’ve had this class together for a few months now, and I noticed a change with you. And even at Rush, I could tell that something else was always on your mind. I assume there is no other explanation: you’re in love.”

“Look, Shane. You’re a cool guy, but I don’t know you all that well. Why are you bringing all this up? Why does it matter?”

“I thought about asking to hang out with you again. But, if you’re already committed to someone, I
don’t want to waste either of our time.” Apparently, hanging out in public for one night gave him a new self-assurance.

“Okay. You’re right,” I nodded in agreement.

“I thought I was.”

“Class dismissed,” The professor called out as everyone began shuffling about to leave. As I put my bag over my shoulder, Shane stood up and looked at me.

“He’s lucky, whoever he is.” With that, he exited the room, as I myself walked out to my next class.



It was Tuesday night, as I sat at home studying for a history test, that my dad called me. I tried to keep in close contact with my parents since I moved out, but over the years the calls began to slow down. My mom and I had lost a closeness when my brother died. It was neither her fault nor mine. She changed a lot when Sawyer was killed, and rightfully so. I lost a brother, and I couldn’t imagine losing a child. It began to engross her, and she fell into a depression. I always knew she loved me, but there was a hole in her that no body could fill. When college came, I had the option of staying at home, moving on campus, or getting an apartment. I wanted a change, and so I went with getting my own place. I answered the phone call from my father, and soon after I felt chills go down my body.

“Hey Sam, how are you sweetie?”

“I’m good. How are you and mom?”

“Oh, same as always. School going good?”

“Yes, it’s good. How’s work?” We always went through the same round of basic questions, always getting the same answers. But this night was different. Because it was my dad’s work that would be the topic of discussion.

“That’s actually why I was calling. Do you happen to know a guy named Ian that goes to school with you?” I felt my mouth go dry.

“Ian Westbrook?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Do you know him?” I debated whether to lie and say no.

“Uh, yeah. I know him. Why?” I decided to go with the truth.

“Well, his sister came in today and filed a missing persons report on him. I was just wondering if knew anything that might be helpful.”

“No, I haven’t seen him lately. We don’t have any classes together so I don’t know when the last time he was at school.” Which was not a lie, at all.

“Alright, I just wanted to check and see if maybe you had seen or talked to him.”

“No sorry. Uh, when did he go missing?”

“His sister said the last time she saw him was Thursday night.” Ian had broken in to my house Friday night after Rush. He wasn’t at school Friday morning, or that I had noticed. I had never asked what Jay had done with him, because in all honesty, I didn’t care at the time. As long as he wasn’t hurting me anymore, it wasn’t a major concern. But now I was beginning to be worried. I had to talk to Jay.

“If you find out anything, give me a call okay?” Dad asked.

“Yeah I will. Will you keep me updated too? I mean, as much as you can with it being an open investigation?” I knew he couldn’t disclose details of the case, but I wanted to know when and if they found Ian.

“Yeah I will. I better go, your mom just finished dinner. I’ll talk to later. Love you.”

“Love you too, bye.” We hung up, and I closed my books. I didn’t feel like studying anymore that evening.

The first time Ian had attacked me, Jay fought him off. Obviously he had done some damage, due to the bruises he showed me in the Wal-Mart parking lot. But he let him go. Had he let him go this time? He was probably just hiding somewhere, licking his wounds. Or was he hiding somewhere planning his next attack? He had attacked me twice, despite Jay’s warnings. What was stopping him from doing it again? Or had Jay permanently stopped him?