Free The Light in the Wound by Christine Brae Page A

I walked through the enclosed walkway, I could see tons of freshmen students sitting on the side benches, people watching, jeering at the girls, making conversation. I recognized a few familiar faces from our respective schools but didn’t stop to speak to anyone. It was a bit of a hike over to the Liberal Arts building and I was going to be in a block class for the first year. I liked the idea of making friends and moving from class to class with a set group of people, kind of like a homeroom type of deal. This was the university’s way of helping new students to transition into a larger environment. Most of the high schools in the country were private schools with a limited number of enrollees. Sure, the private school kids would always gravitate toward each other, but being in these surroundings would expose us to students from all walks of life.
    Room LA432 was where I was to spend my first year of college. I walked in to find that most of the seats had already been taken. As I stood by the doorway, I heard someone say, “Miss, excuse me, miss, you can take this seat beside me.” Hmm . Cute guy. Tall and skinny, blond hair.
    “No, miss, sit here.” Another guy pulled out the chair next to him and gestured for me to come and sit down. Oh gosh. Everyone was looking at me now, those steely dagger eyes from the girls in the room.
    “I’ll sit here, thank you,” I declared rather uncomfortably, as I found the desk closest to the door.
    “Oh, hey. You’re Jesse Cain’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” A girl with fiery red hair turned around to face me.
    “Um yes, I’m Isabel Amarra. Nice to meet you. You are?”
    “I’m Terry. I was on the Student Council of my school. Worked with Jesse a lot last year. He’s something else. You are so lucky.”
    “Yes, I am. Thank you.”
    The homeroom teacher walked in, introduced himself and had everyone else introduce themselves as well. It was a fun day as we received our various syllabi and got to do some group work together. I made some new friends, some really sweet guys who remain my closest friends to this day. The girls weren’t too friendly toward me at first, but I was sure they would warm up to me in time.
    After our classes were over, I was supposed to meet Jesse by one of the stone benches underneath a row of trees by the gym. I pretended to read my notes over and over again because he was thirty minutes late. Bernard, our family’s chauffeur was waiting outside to take me home. My irritation quickly dissipated as soon as I saw my Prince Charming strutting toward me. Oh, with an entire entourage of people. Girls and guys.
    “Hi Issy. Sorry, I got stuck in a Student Council orientation.” He took my hand and all was right with the world. He had this scorching look on his face, as he eyed me from head to toe, and his eyes rested on the top that I was wearing. It was a fitted top with buttons down the front cinched with a wide belt, a mini skirt and finished off with a pair of Chanel ballet slippers. “Guys, this is my girlfriend, Isabel.”
    “Isabel, these are the members of our school party — Ryan, Karen, Ray, Marnie and Bob.”
    “Hi everyone, so nice to meet you all.”
    Jesse gently pulled me up and led me in front of them. “We’re gonna run. See you tomorrow.”
    We walked arm in arm toward Bernard, who was waiting right outside the school gate for me. Jesse held me a little bit too tightly, but I liked it. I wasn’t going to complain.
    Jesse’s house was about 20 minutes away from our school, while mine was farther into the center of the city, about 45 minutes away. I asked Bernard to swing by his house so I could drop him off.
    As soon as we were settled in the backseat, Jesse was all over me, nuzzling my neck, stroking my hair, pulling at my earlobes with his lips.
    “Issy, you look so good. So pretty. You wore this for me, right?” He grabbed my breast and fondled it through my blouse. I nodded my head absentmindedly, warmth radiating