4

The officer in charge eyed me, searching for a hint of what I might decide. They knew that I was about the only thing here that could calm him down.

They didn't know that was the last person I wanted to be right now. 

After a brief pause, which caused Kha to start bucking and screaming, I finally nodded, consenting to his desperate pleas. 

They allowed me to step closer to where he was restrained, and he calmed down instantly.

Kha leaned in close, his breath a hot whisper against my ear. "Get me out tonight, and I'll tell you everything. Everything, Eve. One way or another. Please," he implored in desperation.

I pulled away to look at him and had to stop myself from gasping.

 His eyes, which had glowed a haunting red just moments before, were now their usual brown. As I watched in total disbelief, they flickered again.

 The startling, unnatural oscillation between red and brown continued briefly before it stopped abruptly. He murmured a desperate "Please" again and kissed my cheek swiftly like he was afraid he'd never get another chance.

He pulled further away from my face and whispered, "Everything," as his brown eyes slowly turned back to red as he held eye contact. 

Oh shit... he was controlling that. 

He was trying to show me he was controlling that somehow. 

Before I could fully process the bizarre spectacle, the officers were escorting him away, his pleas for understanding and desperate declarations of love trailing off into the night. 

Left stunned, I whispered, "Um... what the hell?" 

Was I starting to see things? It was no secret that studying psychology could sometimes bring one's own dormant issues to the surface. 

Retreating into the dorm once the cops cleared enough of the glass, I found the room unnervingly quiet. 

Rissa was still absent, likely enjoying the remnants of the night's earlier revelry. 

I changed into jeans and one of Kha's old fraternity shirts in a daze. The familiar smell was still oddly comforting despite the chaos he was causing at the moment.

No matter how many times I washed Kha's clothes, they always smelled like him after he wore them one time. 

I looked at my sundress before tossing it in the hamper. 

Maybe I needed to burn it. I seemed to make curious choices each time I wore it. 

My stepmom had refused to buy me that very dress, saying it was too provocative and would 'draw unwanted attention.' 

So, I saved up my money, bought it online, and had it shipped here. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right? It felt like my first adult decision. 

I was more than a little excited when the package was already waiting for me at the student center the day I arrived. 

I'd walked into orientation wearing the dress, feeling like I was in control of my life for the first time.

Hell, as much as I hated her, I was starting to think she may have been right. 

Armed with Kha's credit card, I made my way to the security station. 

This wasn't my first time navigating the steps to get him released. I was one of the few people they would allow to take him out, even if he had yet to be before the judge. Everyone recognized that the best place for him was beside me, so the judge never even batted an eye when I walked him into a couple of the hearings. 

The officers at the station recognized me instantly. "I need to speak with him before you release him," I stated firmly, not just as a request but as a necessity. 

The cop just nodded as he opened the door for me to come back.

Walking toward the holding area, the sound of Kha's muffled shouts and the bangs of his fists and boots against the cell door filled the corridor. His anger was pronounced but evaporated almost instantly as I entered his field of vision. 

He calmed down instantly. He leaned back against the cell wall, exhaling deeply. "I was starting to think you weren't coming," he whispered. 

I snorted. "Yeah, well... I barely did. I'm getting you out because I care about your well-being, Kha. I know how much you struggle when confined, and that's all," I whispered. "What you did, Kha... it's irreparable. We can't go back from that."

He nodded. "I know," he responded quietly.

As the officer unlocked the cell and released him, he remarked to me, "Miss, I don't know how or why, but he's a different person around you. It's remarkable. I dread the day you two might part ways."

Kha's reaction was a dismissive snort. I just smiled and thanked the officer for allowing him out early as I eyed Kha.

Kha just looked down at his feet, catching my subtle scold. 

Yeah, that proved he was sober now. 

Well... mostly sober, anyway.

 I smelled multiple things on him earlier, so there was no telling how long those things would bounce around in his system.

We walked back to campus in total silence, Kha's usual fiery presence strangely muted. 

He didn't even try to reach for my hand or wrap an arm around me. 

He was scared to touch me.

He was scared shitless, actually. I could feel it radiating off him. 

As we neared the campus, I whispered, "I'm not sure if I can sneak you in tonight." 

"I doubt it. Let's just get a hotel," he responded quietly.

"Fine, whatever," I agreed. I was too tired to argue otherwise. 

We headed to a nearby hotel.

Once inside the hotel room, the door barely closed behind us before I attacked him. 

I needed the answers he'd promised all night. "Spill it, Kha. What the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. I felt the sincerity, but it did little to stem my mounting frustration.

"Kha, I will walk out of this room right now if you don't start talking," I stated firmly.

I was done with the evasions and half-truths.

Defeated, he slumped onto the bed. "It's like... I'm constantly fighting with these voices in my head," he confessed, his words coming out in halting, choppy bursts as if each sentence was a battle. "And they're starting to win." He paused, his gaze locking onto mine, filled with a silent plea for understanding. "I know how it sounds, Eve. Like I'm mentally ill. But I promise you, that's not it. There's something I can't tell you, literally can't, and it's killing me."

His words were raw and loaded with emotions, a flood of confession and fragmented thoughts. "I love you, Eve," he continued, the desperation evident in his eyes. "But you do not know everything... it's eating me up. I'm falling deeper into this hole and don't know how to escape it without you. In fact, I don't want to escape it without you."

Listening to him, my mind instinctively raced through possible clinical diagnoses. Schizophrenia? Multiple Personality Disorder? My novice-at-best psychology training kicked in, trying to categorize and diagnose his symptoms. 

Then, as if he could see the gears turning in my head, he added, "You're doing it again, trying to piece this puzzle together. But, Eve, medical training won't explain what's happening to me. Please, just listen to me."

"Okay, then why can't you tell me what... you can't tell me? This all seems absurd, Kha. Why be so mysterious? Just tell me," I urged.

Kha exhaled deeply. "I literally can't tell you, Eve. Like, I'm physically unable to. I was... commanded not to," he revealed with a loud, frustrated growl. 

This was difficult for him. I could clearly see that much. 

"Commanded? What the hell, Kha, this sounds ridiculous." I snapped, my confusion quickly morphing into anger when he didn't immediately continue.

"No, calm down and listen, please. I'm not trying to upset you more. Yes, my father... He controls me. He dictates what I do daily, down to what I can and can't say to you. It scares me that he didn't foresee this conversation, or else he would have forbidden it as well. Thankfully, he didn't," Kha explained, his voice gaining strength as he shared almost everything but the secret itself.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. There was so much to unravel, and I didn't even know where to begin.

"There's something inside me... something big, but I can't tell you what it is unless you say it first. Just pay attention," he urged.

As he reached for the remote and started flipping through the on-demand movies, a frantic knock at the door made us both jump.

 Kha seemed to close up immediately. "Dad is already here?"

I stood, heart hammering, and opened the door. There stood Franklin, Kha's father.

He was about an inch shorter than Kha but just as imposing. His blonde hair was slicked back and wet. I wasn't sure if it was gel or sweat. 

Besides their hair, they were spitting images of one another. Even with the 25-year-old age difference, it would be hard to tell them apart if they shaved their heads. 

His expression softened momentarily upon seeing me. "Eve dear, thank you for bailing him out and taking responsibility for him until I can talk to the Judge. I don't know where that boy would be without you," he said as he shook his head. 

I thought bitterly, 'I do, sleeping with a random girl in his truck... and he's already lost me.' But outwardly, I managed a polite smile and stepped aside to let Franklin in.

Without wasting a second, Franklin grabbed Kha by his shirt, pulling him towards the door. Kha tensed, ready to resist. 

Impulsively, I reached out, touching his arm. "It's okay," I whispered.

Kha's eyes met mine, then he deflated. He nodded slightly, surrendering as his father pulled him out the door, leaving me alone with a chaotic mess of thoughts and unanswered questions.

As I turned away from the closed door, I noticed the TV screen where a movie about werewolves had started playing. 

When his dad pounded on the door, Kha must have accidentally clicked it. After turning the TV off and moving to the window, I saw Franklin roughly shoving Kha into the truck.

 With a heavy sigh, I grabbed my phone and texted Kha's number. "Heading back to my dorm. I'm sure Franklin won't bring you back before morning."

The response was immediate, just one word.

"Go."

That single word, terse and final, echoed in my mind. I stood there momentarily, lost in thought, staring at the truck's headlights as they faded into the night.