Rose Hips

Fynn Blanchard walked to her first class briskly, she was ten minutes late already because of her stalker. She had finally been accepted into John Hopkins medical school for psychology. She had been a star psych student at university, but they didn’t offer all the classes she needed to become a forensic psychologist. This first class was on the brain and its physical structures. She knew the basics but the physical side of it didn’t interest her as much as the behavioral. She walked into the room and saw there weren’t many students but there were still almost no places to sit. The Professor stopped talking and looked at her.

“You are late,” he said.

“I had sort of an emergency; you see this guy has been stalking me…” she started.

The professor raised his hand and interrupted, “I’ve heard it all before, please take a seat.”

She looked around and finally spotted an empty seat in the back next to a guy in the corner who seemed to be immersed in work already. She made her way back and sat down next to him and saw he was drawing a brain; it was a perfect likeness. As she sat he jumped and looked at her surprised.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” she whispered.

“Not frightened, surprised,” he said in a distinguished accent she couldn’t quite place, she smiled at him and he leaned over a little and continued, “most people don’t like to sit near me.”

“Well don’t worry I don’t bite,” she whispered.

“Ah, but I do,” he said with a smirk. He was quite attractive with dark fierce eyes and smooth skin. His hair was dark and soft, wavy and cut just above his shoulder. It was wild but in a purposeful way. He watched her blush at his statement but didn’t show any mutual embarrassment. He kept staring waiting for a response, she fumbled with her bag and brought out a notebook and pen.

“I’m Fynn,” she whispered.

“Samael,” he stuck his hand to her under the table they shared, and she shook it. His grip was gentle but firm. She felt a tingle go up her arm at his touch and she swallowed hard. He watched her and she could tell he knew the effect he was having on her, and he seemed to be amused by it. She tried to concentrate on the professor and Samael went back to drawing. She had to chastise herself several times for staring at him or watching his hands move elegantly on the page. When class was basically over, he leaned over again and whispered directly in her ear, “I don’t expect you’ll sit here again knowing I’m a…” he paused looking around like he was sharing a secret, “a biter… though I quite enjoy your company.”

She worked up her own nerve and whispered, “some people enjoy being bitten.” He looked a little surprised at her forwardness and she winked playfully before she stood and walked toward the door. She turned to smile at him and saw that he was staring at her. She grinned and he licked his lips before grinning back. She left the class in a daze thinking about his charm and striking appearance. She sat through another class and then during her lunch break she wondered aimlessly around the campus. All at once she saw him, her stalker. She saw his blonde hair and polo shirt and instantly felt her stomach lurch. She turned on her heel and walked briskly to the entrance of the nearest building which happened to be a lab of some sort. Inside she ran directly into a Professor leaving a class covered in a bloody apron.

“Oh, excuse me,” she waved her hands in front of her clumsily and looked behind her to see if she’d been followed.

“Are you okay?” the professor asked. Behind him a familiar face appeared coming out of the room. It was Samael.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she mumbled and started walking away. Halfway down the hall she felt a hand grab her elbow and spun around, half expecting her stalker to have gained on her. But to her pleasant surprise it was Samael. “Oh hi,” she said.

“You don’t seem fine my dear,” he said.

She let out a small laugh at his manner, “no it’s just my stalker,” she waved a hand as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“You mentioned that in class this morning, he made you late, please explain this stalker to me,” he said.

“Oh no, I don’t want to keep you, you probably have class or something,” she stammered.

“This is actually my lunch hour,” he grinned.

She smiled, “mine too, I was just looking around, that’s when I saw him and ran in here to hide so…”

“You aren’t going to eat?” he asked, almost suggestively.

She giggled nervously, “I was thinking of grabbing something from a vending machine.”

“Oh no,” he said, “that garbage is not fit for a mouth like yours.”

She had never heard anyone speak this way, it wasn’t vulgar in the way he said it, he spoke like someone from the fourteen-hundreds, poetic and gentlemanly. She blushed terribly and put some of her dark auburn hair behind her ear. He looked down and then back up at her through his eyebrows and grinned waiting on her response.

“Well… what are the alternatives?” she asked.

“There is a nice restaurant within walking distance from here, I was on my way there, if you care to join me?” he held out his arm for her to take, the gesture of royalty. She blushed again and put her hand on the inside of his elbow and let him guide her outside. She felt eyes on them as they walked. He in black dress pants, nice shoes, a black turtleneck and trench coat. She wore sweatpants and a hoodie and felt like a disgusting mess beside him.

“Tell me about this stalker,” he said as they walked down the sidewalk. It was a nice fall day, with a mild chill in the air that made it smell nice and crisp.

“Well, I got to the campus in the middle of the summer,” she began, “why I did that is a long story, so I’ll just skip that.”

“We’ll save it for another time,” he smiled as he said it, because they both knew what it implied.

She smiled back and continued, “so, I was here almost alone for a month and a half, just getting used to everything, but during the first week I met this guy,” she paused to look for signs of jealousy.

He stared ahead, “many sad stories start with ‘I met a guy’.”

She smiled at his observation and started again, “well yes, so anyway he was nice, he helped me move a couch. Then I offered to pay him, and he refused, so I just thought he was a nice guy. Then he kept coming over, at first, I let him come into my dorm because I didn’t know anyone else and he seemed harmless. He came over daily and I didn’t want to be rude so I was friendly but one night he tried to make a move on me…” she felt Samael ’s arm tense as she said it so she decided to spare him the details, “anyway after I rejected him, he became irate, he yelled at me and called me names I won’t repeat. And since then he follows me and calls me names when he sees me and just is generally a pest. This morning he was waiting outside the front doors of my dorm building and I had to find another way out which is why I was late to class.”

“What are you going to do about him?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet, I told campus security, but they don’t seem to care.”

Samael didn’t respond and continued leading her until they came to a very nice restaurant in the park called ‘Cypriana’. She had heard of it, it was a fancy Mediterranean place, not a place you’d usually find college students having lunch. They were seated quickly because it wasn’t busy this time of day. He told the hostess they would prefer to dine outside because the weather was nice.

As they sipped coffee after their lunch they talked more about her stalker.

“I guess I have to plan to leave for class super early to avoid him,” she sighed.

“I can walk you if you like?” he said.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she said.

“It would give me pleasure,” he said, paying the check as discretely as possible. She didn’t try and pay half because she somehow knew he would be offended. Finally, she relented and said, “okay you can walk me to our first class as long as it isn’t too far out of your way.”

“Not at all,” he said, standing and taking her hand to walk her back to campus.

“Thank you for joining me for lunch,” he said as he bent down and kissed her hand.

She smiled, “thank you for taking me.” He smiled and sauntered away, she turned quickly and ran into the building to catch her breath. She leaned on the wall for a second to regain her composure. She needed to concentrate on school, but it was almost impossible when all her thoughts drifted back to him. The twinkle in his dark maroon eyes, his playful grin, the way he watched her every movement like a prowling panther. She shuddered and walked to class trying to shake off the high of being with him.

They continued walking to class together all week, and he insisted on walking her to all of her classes and walking her home. He also took her to lunch every day, each time at a new place. They talked and got to know each other pretty well but he said nothing about his past, his family or any friends. She didn’t push it because it seemed to be a touchy subject for him. As he walked her home on Friday he paused before leaving.

“Tomorrow is Saturday,” he said.

“It is,” she replied.

For the first time since they’d met he almost seemed nervous, “I would like to call on you tomorrow for a date.”

She smiled, “I would like that a lot.”

“I will send over details with a package later this evening,” he said like it was some sort of business transaction. She wasn’t used to someone talking the way he did, even after a week but it was amusing and interesting, so she didn't complain. She nodded at his instructions and let him kiss her hand before he left.

The next day she waited at the door, when she saw him walk up to the door she unlocked it and let him come inside.

“Good evening,” he said putting his hand under her chin and kissing her cheek.

“Hello,” she said, smiling as he backed away.

“You look stunning,” he said.

“Thank you,” she blushed.

She stared up at him and watched his lips as he looked her over, inspecting her closely. He was so close to her that she could feel his warm minty breath on her face. His breathing was a little more shallow than usual, and she could hear her own heart beating in her ears.

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

Without a word, he cupped her chin and lightly grazed her lips with his, she felt ravenous, but let him take control. She could feel his self-restraint as he backed away after a small kiss and could see in his eyes that he wanted more just as badly as she did. She knew in that moment that he had a lot more self-control than her when he wanted to, and he would playfully torture her for his own amusement. The thought made her shiver again and she looked up at him pleadingly. He grinned and shook his head ‘no’. She gave him a little pout and he chuckled lightly.

He walked her to a car parked in a parking garage near the campus. Most people in school didn’t have a car, they walked or took the bus. They got to a black Bentley and he opened the passenger side door for her. She couldn’t believe a college student owned a car like this, but she was getting used to unusual when it came to him. He drove swiftly and smoothly like he was an expert and she smiled at his seemingly endless list of skills.

“You know Nathan hasn’t bothered me since you started walking me to class,” she said as he drove.

He stared at the traffic in front of him, “That’s good.”

“So, thank you,” she said, putting her hand on his on the gear shift. She looked over at him and he smiled a little.

He drove her to a theatre, the box seats only held three people at most but he had bought all three seats so they could be alone.

“Have you seen this show before?” he asked her when he noticed her looking at the playbill.

“Just the cartoon,” she laughed.

“What do you think… of the story?” he asked.

“I think it can be taken a lot of ways depending on how you look at it, but the intended message is obviously that you shouldn’t judge people too quickly and with the right kind of care, people can change.”

“That’s the message but do you believe this?” he asked.

“That people can change? Of course, to an extent. I don’t believe that women should go around hoping to change a man, people have to want to change on their own, for themselves. But the beast didn’t need to change necessarily, he was always good deep down, his anger was from his hurt and trauma,” she said.

“Always the psychologist,” he teased.

“Aren’t we all?” she said, he raised an eyebrow meaning he wanted her to explain, so she did, “I mean we all walk around trying to figure each other and ourselves out, why did that person do this? Why is that bus driver staring at me? It’s human nature to want to know why people do what they do, most people just do it without being educated… and that is what I think is the downfall of humanity.”

“And what of the characters? Why did Belle love the beast?” he asked.

“Because he saw her and listened to her… and he let her go, he put her needs and wants before trying to control her, the real monster was Gaston, he didn’t hear one single word she said, not one, yet expected her to marry him, it was all about him, it’s very realistic,” she said.

“Do you think the Beast has ever killed anyone?” Samael asked.

Fynn laughed but Samael didn’t, so she stopped, “I mean, who would he kill?”

“Hunters, or people wondering through the forest,” he said.

“That’s not part of the story,” she said.

“But if it were, do you think that would be forgivable?” he asked.

“This is very specific,” she said with a giggle.

“I’m a psychiatry student as well, humor me,” he said.

“Well I guess it would depend on why he did it,” she said.

“You’re so interested in the ‘whys’,” he said.

“There is always a why,” she answered.

“There is where we disagree,” he said but he grinned as he said it. The play started and they watched it and held hands.

“Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?” he asked.

“A few times,” she smiled. The show started and they watched it in silence until Samael leaned over like he wanted to whisper to her. She leaned toward him and he got close and kissed her ear. She giggled and he continued kissing and nibbling her neck and ear.

“I thought you were going to tell me something,” she said.

“I can tell you many things,” he said between kisses, “would you like me to?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Your skin is the finest silk brushing my lips and I could kiss you a thousand years and not tire of it,” he said. She moaned her approval and he continued, “you’re a queen and I would love to kneel before you in adoration and taste your royal sweetness, giving you the greatest pleasure with my tongue…” he paused to watch her reaction. She let out a pained sigh and bit her lip, he watched her, amused.

“You wouldn’t do that here,” she said.

“No one would see,” he grinned.

She giggled a little but shook her head, “you wouldn’t do it because it’s not appropriate.”

“Do you think I always behave?” he asked.

She studied his face, trying to see him, deep down, she spoke hesitantly, “no… no not always, there’s something about you that is definitely naughty,” she paused and giggled a little, “but you’d never do anything tacky or impolite.”

He stared at her for a long time without speaking so she said, “am I right?”

“Darling, you are going to be one of the best psychologists in the field,” he said.

“So, will you show me your naughty side?” she teased.

He cleared his throat and shifted, pulling away from her, “not all of it, not ever.”

She started to giggle but saw that he was serious, so she just let the subject die. After the show he didn’t talk much but was a perfect gentleman as usual. When he walked her to her building, her neighbor Kalisi was coming out the door.

“Hey, I thought you were home,” Kalisi said, looking confused.

“I’ve been gone all day and evening,” Fynn said looking at Samael.

“What did you hear?” he asked Kalisi.

“Just normal sounds like you were home, but…” Kalisi started.

“Someone’s in there,” Fynn started to panic.

“Calm down, I will go up with you,” he said.

The three of them went into her dorm and she looked around. Nothing seemed to be missing but a few things were out of place.

“Who do you think it was?” Kalisi asked.

“Nathan,” Samael and Fynn said at the same time.

“That makes the most sense,” Fynn continued.

“That guy is such a creep,” Kalisi said.

“He won’t be for long, if I find out this was him,” Samael said.

“Don’t talk like that, we should call the police,” Fynn said.

“Call them, you have no evidence,” he said. Fynn sighed and looked around her room some more. She saw nothing until suddenly she saw a piece of paper sticking out of one of her textbooks she hadn’t seen before. She quickly ran over and pulled it out.

“What is it?” Kalisi asked.

“It’s a letter,” Fynn said.

“From who?” Samael asked.

“It doesn’t say but it’s obviously Nathan… or whoever was in here last night,” Fynn said.

“What does it say?” he asked.

Fynn shook her head, she didn’t want to read it to him for some reason. Something inside her felt his rage and it frightened her, even though he was just looking out for her.

“Read it,” he said again, sternly this time.

Fynn fumbled with it, her hands shaking, she started to read aloud, “Dearest Fynn, I have watched you since you turned me down, I know you feel the same as me, I can’t be seen with you because of that…” she paused, “I can’t,” she said.

“Give it to me,” Samael said, she handed it to him and he started reading it, “because of that weirdo who threatened me,” Samael grinned as he read this, he continued, “please meet me Sunday night behind the Basilica 409 Cathedral, at midnight.”

“You have to go,” Kalisi said.

“What?!” Fynn shouted.

“To get proof it’s him,” she said.

“You are not to do that under any circumstances,” Samael said, “I will go.”

“No!” Fynn said. He looked at her curiously waiting for an explanation, she shook her head frantically, “n-no, he could be dangerous.” Samael just smiled. She walked over to him and tried to take the note, he crumbled it up and put it in his pocket.

“Don’t do this,” she said. He sighed and she started biting her thumbnail, “Samael, please, promise me you won’t go there,” she pleaded.

“I will promise, if you promise the same thing,” he said.

“I promise, but I don’t know what else to do,” she sobbed.

He took her hand and kissed it, “we will figure it out.”

“Say I promise I won’t go,” she said.

“I said I would promise if you did,” he said.

“Okay,” she said, she started biting her thumbnail again and he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

Once she got to the diner across from the church, she got out of the cab and looked around. She didn’t see Samael’s car, so she made her way across the street quickly. It was eleven thirty and she wanted to get there in time to hide somewhere. She was dressed in all black and had her hair back and under the hood of her black hoodie. The backyard of the church had lots of pillars and statues. It was dark and shadows danced and played on the ground like ghosts and she shivered. There was a graveyard on the other side of the fence, and she wanted to be anywhere else in the world. She spotted the perfect place to hide between a pillar and mausoleum. She knelt down behind a bush that was place perfectly in front of her when she wedged herself between them. Anyone even a little wider than her wouldn’t be able to get in this spot, she barely fit herself. It was a little scary that she couldn’t get out quickly, but it gave her comfort that someone larger would have trouble getting to her. She hoped to see Nathan quickly come and go, but she knew he would probably wait all night unless someone showed up. But she still hoped Samael wouldn’t come, something about the way he looked at the letter made her uneasy.

Not long after she had hidden, she saw a large shadow coming across the back of the building. She searched for a face or indication of who it was. The moon came out from behind a cloud and she saw his face, her heart dropped, it was Samael. He quickly found his own hiding place and waited. She wondered if he was doing the same as her and would just watch to find out for sure it was Nathan. She hoped. She breathed as slowly as she could and her legs started to ache, she had to be quiet. After what seemed like hours, someone else entered the yard. It was Nathan. She looked over to Samael ’s hiding spot, where she hadn’t been able to see him since he had hidden. Nothing moved for a moment, she wondered if he was still there. She started to think he had left when suddenly she gasped as he jumped out and ran towards Nathan. He grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and threw him against a pillar. Nathan was larger than him and played sports. Samael still held his own as Nathan swung his arms uselessly, missing every time as Samael bobbed and weaved and then roundhouse kicked him in the face. Nathan went down. Fynn didn’t know what to do, she couldn't get between them and she wasn’t even sure which one was more frightening at the moment.

Samael picked Nathan up and threw him up against the pillar again, this time he was talking. Nathan was sobbing and begging him to let him go, the moon came out again and Fynn saw that Samael had a knife. She slid out from her spot and crept closer so she could hear them better. She saw Samael pause and she lowered herself slowly behind another bush. From here she could hear.

“Please don’t kill me,” Nathan was saying, he had also wet himself and Fynn put her hand over her mouth to keep from making any noises.

“I told you what would happen if you didn’t leave her alone, I’m going to cut out your heart and eat it,” Samael said, he didn’t even sound mad. Fynn had to bite her fist to keep from sobbing.

“Please, I will leave her alone, I swear, ouch you’re poking me,” Nathan said.

“Oh, poor athlete, I gave you a chance, you didn’t listen, you went into her private space, you waited on her, what were you going to do? Kidnap her? Rape her?” Samael asked him.

“No, no I wouldn’t do that, I just wanted to talk to her,” Nathan said.

“Don’t lie to me,” Samael said, “it won’t help you, nothing will help you now.” He started to shove the knife against Nathan’s throat, and he began to gag and squirm.

“STOP!” Fynn shouted, running toward them. Samael let him go and backed up slowly, lowering the knife. Nathan grabbed his throat as he fell, coughing and crying. He started to stumble toward Fynn, but Samael grabbed the arm of his coat and spun him around.

“Don’t,” Fynn said before she even knew what she was telling him not to do, Samael lowered the knife again as he was about to slit Nathan’s throat open. Samael let him go and Fynn shoved Nathan, “run!” she shouted, and he did. She fell down to her knees, unsure if she was fainting or just overwhelmed. Samael caught her before she fell face first to the ground. She shoved him away and threw up. He held her hair back as she knelt on her hands and knees getting all her sick out. Once she finished, he helped her to her feet. She looked down at the knife he still held in one hand.

“You wouldn’t,” she said.

He looked stunned, “hurt you? Of course not,” he said as he put the knife into his trench coat, an inside pocket that was completely hidden.

“You promised,” she said.

“So, did you,” he said.

“I only came to make sure you didn’t, I wasn’t going to let him see me,” she said.

“I’m surprised to see you myself, I guess that means I trust you more than you trust me,” he said.

“I guess so,” she said.

“But I was wrong about you, and unfortunately you were right about me,” he said.

“If it’s unfortunate, why did you come?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

“You know you’ve known all along, you felt it, you have this ability to know people as soon as you meet them,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You might not be aware of it, but it’s deep down, an inkling, you are attracted to danger, it’s why you kept that,” he gestured at where Nathan had fled, “around, but that was just your typical college boy douchebag wasn’t it, when you met me…” he sucked in air through his teeth. She shook uncontrollably as he spoke.

“What does it feel like, this desire? Is it hunger? Lust? This need to feel the rush of danger. When I touched you, the first time, in class when I shook your hand, you shivered, your eyes lit up, you felt it,” he said.

“You’re crazy,” she said.

“Yes Doctor,” he said. She didn’t know what else to do so she turned around and started walking away. He called after her, “I’ll be here waiting if you want to inform the police.”

She stopped in her tracks, she spun around and marched back to him, “no, no, you don’t get to do this, you don’t get to be in love with me and then push me away, what are you going to do? Hide in jail? Abandon me?”

“Abandon you? You surely don’t plan on being with me after what you saw,” he said.

She wiped a tear from her cheek, “you didn’t do anything he left, he’s fine.”

“I was going to kill him, I have done it before several times,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

He laughed, “of course, the constant question.”

“The one you always avoid,” she growled back through clenched teeth.

“You want to know why?” he asked, “I. am. A. killer.”

“Fuck you,” she said and turned to walk away.

He laughed, “that’s it?”

She stopped but didn’t turn back to him. She knew turning her back to someone who just told her he’d killed people and who had a knife was stupid but somehow, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She stood there for a while before she heard footsteps toward her, she felt a hand go around her neck and grip. It wasn’t tight enough to cut off her air but it was tight.

He pulled her back and whispered in her ear, “are you scared of me?”

She swallowed, “no,” she whispered, barely audible.

He let her go and she turned to look at him, he had tears running down his cheeks. She put her hands on his face. He grabbed her hands and started kissing them.

“You should run, you should run from me and never look back,” he said. She couldn’t say anything because he was probably right but instead, she kissed him. She ran her hands through his hair and kissed him, then kissed his face, kissed his tears. He grabbed her chin and made her kiss him deep.