Chapter Fifty Two: Feelings Unraveled.

“Where is she?” Lorraine asked Aiden as she strode behind him in the hallway. He hadn’t told her anything, or where he found Judy.

“She’s in room 404 with Bates.” Aiden informed her, and they arrived at the class. He opened the door without looking, and they saw Bates leaning on his desk with Judy sitting right in front of him. She looked slightly unnerved.

“Look I don’t know what you want, but I’m sure of this.” She gestured to both of them, “Isn’t legal.” Her eyes turned at the sound of the door opening and once she saw Lorraine and Aiden she said, “Thank God you’re here. I think Mr. Bright has lost his mind.”

Lorraine stepped forward, “That’s an interesting scarf you have here.” She started with a tender voice, her eyes fixed on the pink chiffon tied around Judy’s neck. The other girl seemed visibly startled at the mention of it and fumbled with its end. “Are you using it to hide something?”

When Lorraine advanced towards her, Judy took a step back only to hit the desk behind her, “What do you want, Lorraine?”

Lorraine smiled at her sweetly, “I only want to help you. You probably don’t understand what’s happening, doing things you might not even want to do, but you find yourself doing them anyway.” She wrapped her arms around Judy, who stood frozen in place, “Because I know my friend wouldn’t go through my stuff, she wouldn’t steal anything from my house, and she wouldn’t try to harm me or my mother.” She pulled away from the hug, her hands remained on the other girl’s shoulder, “I know you Judith, I know your heart, and I know you’re not a bad person.”

Judy broke down and began sobbing. The reaction was so sudden, and it took everyone in the room by surprise. Lorraine hugged her tighter, rubbing her back in a comforting way, until Judy’s cries died down. When Lorraine pulled away from the hug again, she helped Judy into the chair. It was Bates who started talked, “Ms. McMillian, believe me we only wish to help you.” She looked at him with eyes filled with tears, and she opened her mouth trying to say something, but only a choking sound came out.

Lorraine was watching her with worried eyes, then she turned to Aiden and Bates. “What’s happening to her?” She tried rubbing her back, but Judy held her neck, and was gasping for breath. “What the hell is going on?”

“Someone messed up with her mind.” Aiden stated tightly.

Bates moved forward, and held Judy’s eyes, “You don’t have to say anything. Don’t talk and you will be okay.” She was hyperventilating, but she seemed to calm down slowly at his words. “Just like that, breath in.” He instructed her, taking a deep breath. “Then out.” Judy nodded her head and followed his instruction.

“I don’t understand, he’s making her choke on her own breath when she tries to talk? That’s fucked up.” Lorraine said angrily.

“If Mark did this, then Bates could reinstruct her to do what he asks. It should work since he’s older.” Aiden explained and the two watched Bates sitting down in front of Judy and talking to her in a soft tone.

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Cedric was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in Bates’ house. He didn’t know what to do to fix the mess he had caused. He felt like he was fighting the entire world, but that was the easy part, because his fight with himself was the one he couldn’t get over. Had he been able to go back in time, he would take back everything he said to her. However, just Aiden’s name coming out of her mouth seemed to aggravate him. He threw the glass of whiskey he held onto the fireplace and let out a growl. There had been one thought on his mind, which he didn’t like. *“I might be in love with her.”* The thought was more frightening that facing a monster from the pits of hell.

Cedric knew love. He had been in love before. It was full of longing, ache, pain, and the blissful moments in it were short-lived and temporary. He knew there would be no happily-ever-after for him. He didn’t think he could go through everything once more, love again the same way he did with Darla. One time was more than enough, or at least that was what he had been telling himself.

However, Lorraine was hard to ignore and his feelings for her were even harder to let go. It wasn’t how she looked that pulled at him, although he could see her beauty more clearly than ever now. Her pale skin, her plump rosy lips that she always tried to cover with a red lipstick, her long dark hair, and her eyes. The green eyes that were wide and big as they stared at him; they reflected the innocence that he liked so much, but were equally fiery. It was a peculiar mixture, which he didn’t remember coming across before. Even her small body brought thoughts to his mind that were nothing close to innocent. Cedric knew he shouldn’t, but he did all the same.

He heard the engines of two cars outside of the house, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was a bit early for their return, so he guessed something must have happened. He managed to distinguish the scent of Bates, Aiden, and Lorraine. But there was another one, familiar as it was, he couldn’t really place it.

“It’s good that you’re here.” Bates started as he walked inside with the other three. Seeing the blonde girl jogged his memory. She was the same girl he saved from that vampire at the party. He assumed she was a random victim of the vampire.

He tilted his head to the side and gestured towards her, “What’s she doing here?” His eyes fell on Lorraine, but she looked away in a defiant gesture. *“It was just like her.”* He said to himself and felt his heart beating in his chest, a strong beat, unlike the slow rhythm it held.

Bates furrowed his eyebrows at hearing the sound, but decided to ignore it. “This is Judith McMillian and someone is in her head.” Bates then told him everything concerning Judy and what happened to her, “I tried to get into her mind, but I couldn’t. I can make her do anything, but nothing that would contradict the orders given to her.”

“And you brought her to me to help her.” He hummed and advanced towards the girl, who looked out of sorts and slightly dazed. He leaned down to look into her eyes, “Why does she look like she belongs in a loony house?”

Bates looked at him with an apologetic look, “That could be because I tried to enter her mind several times.”