Chapter 7
1184 Words
EVIE'S POV
By the time I reached the dorms, the campus had grown quiet.
The evening air was colder than it had been that afternoon, carrying the scent of damp leaves and distant rain.
I climbed the stairs to the third floor, but my legs felt strangely heavy.
It wasn't because I’d spent all day walking across campus.
I just couldn’t stop replaying everything that had happened.
Guilt twisted in my stomach every time I thought about stealing Professor Morgan’s pen.
Especially because I’d done it for a complete stranger.
Come to think of it... I still didn’t even know his name.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Lena barely looked up from the mountain of textbooks spread across her desk.
“There you are,” she said, highlighting something with a pink marker. “How’d it go?”
“Hm?”
“Whatever you disappeared to after class.”
“Oh.” I shrugged as I slipped my backpack onto the floor. “Nothing interesting.”
It wasn’t even close to the truth.
I kept telling myself it was just a pen.
But if it had been just a pen...
Why did it feel like I'd crossed a line I could never uncross?
I had stolen from a professor.
Handed the stolen pen to a man who claimed he was the Devil.
None of it made sense.
“You’ve been weird all day,” Lena said, a hint of concern creeping into her voice.
“I’ve always been weird.” I tried to brush it off.
“You know what I mean.”
I forced a smile.
“I’m just tired.”
She studied me for another second before finally returning to her notes.
Lucky for me, she let it go.
I disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
For a long moment, I simply stood there, staring at my reflection.
The clearer skin was still there.
The dark circles beneath my eyes hadn’t returned.
I leaned closer.
My fingertips brushed my cheek.
Then my gaze drifted lower.
Was...
...my face thinner?
I turned my head from one side to the other.
No.
That was impossible.
A quiet laugh escaped me.
“You’re officially losing your mind, Evelyn.”
The sound echoed strangely in the small bathroom.
I washed my face, then changed into my pajamas, and crawled into bed.
I should’ve fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
But every time I closed my eyes, I saw the stranger’s devilish smile.
I pulled the blanket higher over my shoulders.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
But my dreams were filled with black ink spreading across empty pages...
...
Morning came with the sound of Lena’s alarm.
I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head.
“Evie.” A pillow hit me square in the back.
“We’re going to be late.”
“I’ve heard that’s bad for attendance,” I muttered into the mattress.
“And for passing classes.”
I sighed dramatically before dragging myself out of bed and straight to the bathroom.
The bathroom mirror caught my attention the second I stepped inside.
For a moment, I simply stared.
It definitely wasn’t my imagination.
The changes were still subtle.
Subtle enough that nobody passing me on campus would stop and stare.
But I noticed them.
My cheeks looked slightly less full.
The soft curve beneath my chin had become a little more defined.
Even my waist...
I turned sideways.
My oversized sweatshirt didn’t cling to my body the way it usually did.
I frowned.
How?
I’d only been asleep for eight hours.
It’s not like I’d magically lost weight in my sleep before.
I stepped onto the old bathroom scale.
The numbers blinked for a second before settling.
I'd lost five pounds.
Overnight?
I stared at the display.
“What...”
The word came out as little more than a whisper.
I stepped off and then back on.
The same number.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Evie?” Lena called. “Seriously, what are you doing in there?”
I tore my eyes away from the scale.
“Coming.”
I opened the door.
Lena glanced up from zipping her backpack.
Her eyes widened just slightly.
“Did you do something different?” She looked me up and down again. “You look really good today.”
“Thank you.” Heat rushed to my cheeks.
Nobody had ever said that to me before.
"Anyway, we have to go before we're both the disappointments of our families." She joked as she rushed through the door.
I grabbed my backpack and followed her out.
...
The campus looked exactly the same as always.
I didn’t.
At least not entirely.
I caught myself glancing at my reflection in the dark windows we passed.
Each time I immediately forced myself to look away.
“You know,” Lena said, nudging my shoulder, “if you keep staring at yourself like that, people are going to think you’re in love with yourself.”
“I’ve spent twenty-one years trying not to look at myself.”
“You know... I think you should start being nicer to yourself.” she scrunched her nose.
I laughed quietly.
That was impossible.
By the time we reached the lecture hall, students were already filing inside.
I headed toward my usual seat near the back.
Some things hadn’t changed overnight.
At least my instinct to hide hadn’t.
Not yet.
I had just taken my notebook out when Professor Bennett walked into the room.
“Good morning, everyone.”
The conversations around me faded as the lecture began.
Thankfully, I managed to focus throughout the lecture.
No mysterious writings in my notebook.
No new task.
No Devils.
Everything was normal.
The lecture came and went without incident.
“That’ll be all for today.”
The sound of chairs scraping across the floor echoed through the lecture hall as everyone began packing their things.
Relief settled in my chest.
Maybe today really was going to be normal.
“Miss Carter?”
My hand froze halfway to my backpack.
Slowly, I looked up.
Professor Bennett was gathering her papers at the front of the room.
“Would you stay for a moment, please?”
Every ounce of relief disappeared.
My stomach dropped.
No, no, no.
This has to be about Professor Morgan's pen...
I'm screwed.
I thought nobody had noticed.
Maybe I was wrong.
Students continued filing past me while I remained frozen in my seat.
Then Professor Bennett looked toward the center of the lecture hall.
“Mr. Hayes.”
Logan looked up from stuffing a notebook into his backpack.
“Yes?”
“I’d like a word with you as well.”
For a second, I simply stared.
Logan?
He looked just as confused as I was.
“Sure.”
We exchanged a brief glance before making our way down the steps toward the front of the lecture hall.
I had no idea why Professor Bennett wanted to see Logan.
But I was terrified I already knew why she wanted to see me.
- Writer
