Chapter 17 Asher's Doubts
Roy jogged toward them, hair damp, hoodie half-zipped, a student ID card swinging from his neck. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, slightly out of breath. “You shouldn’t be walking alone. Especially not today.”
Lila blinked in surprise. “Roy? I thought you had class.”
“Canceled,” he said quickly. “Everyone’s canceling everything. The police were here again this morning.” He glanced at Mercer briefly, tension flashing in his eyes. “They said they’re bringing Beckett in for questioning.”
Mercer crossed his arms. “Then they’ll clear him. If he’s innocent.”
Roy’s gaze sharpened. “If.”
The two men stood there, silent for a moment, the air between them charged with something unspoken. Lila felt trapped between them Mercer calm and composed, Roy restless and brimming with energy. Both trying to protect her, both watching each other.
Finally, Mercer broke the silence. “Miss Rowan, I’ll walk you to your dorm. You shouldn’t stay out here.”
Roy stepped forward. “I’ll take her.”
Mercer smiled, polite but cool. “Of course.”
“Prof. I'll take care of her,” Roy said flatly. “Serena was a good friend of mine.”
Something flickered in Mercer’s eyes at the mention of Serena’s name, surprise, maybe even discomfort. “Ah,” he said quietly. “Then I suppose you’ve earned the right.”
Lila looked between them, uneasy. “It’s fine. Roy can walk me.”
Mercer’s hand brushed lightly against her arm, not restraining, but enough to make her look at him. “Be careful, Lila,” he said, his tone suddenly low, almost intimate. “Sometimes the people shouting for justice are the ones hiding the truth.”
Before she could answer, he turned and walked back toward the faculty wing, coat fluttering in the wind.
Roy led her through the back path toward the dorms, avoiding the crowds and camera crews. The air smelled like wet paper and roses, someone had thrown bouquets against the locked doors of Beckett’s lecture hall, and petals clung to the sidewalk.
“Are you okay?” Roy asked quietly once they were out of sight.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Everything feels like it’s spinning. I keep thinking about Serena, about Amber it’s like the whole campus is losing its mind.”
Roy nodded grimly. “People are scared. And when people are scared, they stop thinking straight.” He looked at her sideways. “You’re not thinking of getting involved again, are you?”
Lila hesitated. “I can’t just sit back.”
He sighed. “I know. But don’t go near Beckett. Promise me.”
She didn’t answer.
“Lila,” he pressed, voice firmer this time. “Promise.”
“I’ll try,” she whispered, because it was the only truth she could offer.
When they reached the dorm entrance, Roy lingered by the door. “Lock your window tonight,” he said. “And if you see anything, anything weird, call me, okay?”
Lila nodded, exhaustion dragging down her body. “Thank you, Roy.”
He gave her a small smile. “For Serena,” he said softly. “Always.”
She watched him leave, disappearing down the walkway until he was swallowed by the crowd of protest signs and rain-soaked students. The shouts echoed after him like distant thunder.
When she turned back to the dorm, the hall lights flickered.
Inside her room, Lila closed the blinds and collapsed onto her bed. Her mind replayed everything, the chants, the roses, Mercer’s voice, Beckett’s empty stare.
She told herself it was over, that she was safe for the night. That maybe, just maybe Beckett really was the man responsible, and the nightmare was finally close to ending.
Suddenly, something brushed against the windowpane.
She froze.
It came again, this time a faint tap, like fingernails on glass.
Her chest tightened. Slowly, she stood up and crossed the room. The blinds swayed slightly, as though someone had passed by outside.
Her hands shook as she reached for the cord and pulled the blinds open.
She saw nothing, just the courtyard, empty and wet under the yellow streetlight.
She exhaled shakily. “Get it together, Lila”
Then she noticed it, the thing resting against the windowsill.
A single red rose.
It looked fresh with beads of rain still clinging to the petals.
Her breath hitched as her phone buzzed on the table behind her.A new message from another unknown number.
“You shouldn’t have left the crowd. You looked beautiful in the rain.”
Lila held her breath, she thought it was over. Who was actually behind this?
The rain hadn’t stopped since the previous morning. It came down in thin, restless sheets that blurred the campus lights into trembling halos. The campus was almost empty now, except for the stray umbrellas scuttling between buildings. Lila sat by the window in the café across from the philosophy hall, tracing raindrops down the glass as she waited.
Asher slid into the seat across from her, hair damp, jacket dripping. He looked tired like he hadn’t slept much either.
“You picked the worst day and time for coffee,” he said with a half-smile.
“I needed to get out of the dorm,” Lila said. “It’s too quiet in there.”
Asher nodded, rubbing his hands together for warmth. “I get it. Everyone’s acting weird. Half the classes are canceled. The whole campus feels like a crime scene.”
She didn’t answer. Her gaze lingered on a police cruiser parked outside the administration building, its lights blinking red-blue against the wet pavement. Everything about Halden felt like it was unraveling, one thread at a time.
After a long pause, Asher leaned forward.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said carefully. “About Beckett.”
Lila tensed. “What about him?”
“I don’t think he did it,” he said simply.
Her fingers stopped tracing the window. “You can’t be serious.”
He met her eyes, calm but insistent. “Lila, listen. My brother worked with Beckett for five years. Five whole years. He said Beckett’s difficult, sure. Arrogant, maybe but he’s not dangerous. He’s the kind of guy who lives for books and debates, not murder.”
Lila shook her head slowly. “You don’t know him like Serena did. Or like I’ve seen him. The way he looks at people. The way he..” She stopped herself, realizing how paranoid she sounded.
Asher frowned. “You’re basing that on looks? On campus gossip?”
“I’m basing it on what I’ve seen,” she said sharply. “And what I’ve felt since I came here.”
He leaned back, exhaling hard. “You mean what Mercer’s told you.”
That stung. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, Lila,” he said. “He’s been in your ear since day one. Inviting you to lunch, giving you gifts, walking you home. He’s too” Asher struggled for the right word. “involved.”
“He’s kind,” she snapped. “He actually cares.”
Asher scoffed. “That’s what everyone says about people like him.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do people like him?”
“Teachers who act like saviors,” Asher said. “The ones who make you feel special. Like you’re the only student who understands them. And then they use that to control you.”
Lila’s chest tightened. “You think he’s manipulating me?”
“I think,” Asher said slowly, “he’s manipulating everyone, including you.”
She looked away, staring at the rain sliding down the café window. The sound of it filled the silence between them with a steady, whispering rush.
“I trusted you,” she said finally, her voice barely audible.
He leaned forward again, desperate. “I’m trying to protect you. You don’t see what’s happening..”
“No,” she interrupted, standing abruptly. “You’re trying to protect Beckett.”
Asher’s expression flickered, frustration, disbelief, something close to hurt. “That’s not fair.”
“You work for him, Asher. You admire him. You’d defend him even if you saw him digging a grave.”
Her voice was rising now, and a few nearby students turned to look. The air felt heavier, as if the rain outside had crept into the café.
Asher’s jaw clenched. “You really think I’d cover for a murderer?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The rain pounded harder, drumming against the glass like fingers.
Finally, Asher said quietly, “I thought we were in this together.”
Lila grabbed her bag. “Maybe we shouldn’t be.”
She walked out before he could answer.