Page 19 of Run For Me
Chapter Fourteen
Him
I slip into the tall-back leather chair and open the laptop in front of me, sighing when I’m prompted to put in a passcode.
Of course there’s a passcode, idiot. Why wouldn’t there be?
I drum my fingers on the desk as I try to figure out what it could be. I glance around the office, browsing the books lining the shelves, the awards hanging on the wall, and the gaudy thick red velvet curtains. He couldn’t have chosen a better color? Christ.
The cursor blinks, waiting for text. A smalliicon to the right flashes yellow, and I hover over it. A small bubble pops up.
Hint: High school
“Hmmm…” I think out loud, looking around the office again for something to jog my memory, and when I see the diploma hanging on the wall, I got it.
I type in the high school name and year of graduation.
I’m elated when the loading symbol pops up, swirling for a few seconds before the home screen shows.
“What an idiot,” I mutter.
I navigate to the student directory. There are way too many students to go through, but I’m hoping there’s a filter to narrow it down.
Glancing at my watch, I note it’s already 4:50. I have ten minutes until the meeting ends, so maybe fifteen total to get out of here without getting caught. Breaking into the Dean’s office is enough to get myself expelled, never mind hacking into his laptop.
The program loads up, and I click the icon labeled students. The list loads in alphabetical order, and when I see a “filter” option, I click on it.
“Fucking jackpot,” I mumble to myself with a smirk.
There is a list of filters, but gender and enrollment year are what I’m after. That should narrow it down enough where I may be able to get through the entire list. Though I still have no idea if it’ll be any good, considering that profile picture on Surge could be a fantasy and not what she really looks like, but something tells me it’s accurate.
Something tells me she hides behind her phone or a computer, but deep down, she wants to be seen for who she truly is. She wants someone to find her. No one likes hiding in the dark. Everyone wants to be seen, wants to be wanted.
I squint and lean in close, trying to see the small photos of the women enrolled here for this semester. I breeze by all the dark-haired girls, paying special attention to anyone who is blonde, but looking more specifically for someone with blonde and pink hair—since that’s what is on her profile.
I get only a third of the way before the office door opens. I freeze for a split second before snapping the laptop shut.
The Dean walks in, freezing with his hand on the knob as his eyes settle on me.
He sighs and shakes his head, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind him.
“Damnit, what have I told you about doing this shit?” he growls as he moves closer, placing his briefcase beside the desk. “Are you trying to get us both killed?”
“Hello to you too, Father.”
“Don’t be smart with me, son. Get up.” He jerks his hand at me, and I spin in the chair before getting up and moving around the desk to sit in the plush chair. “Do I even want to know what you were doing this time?” he asks as he sits in the seat I just vacated.
“Probably not,” I admit.
He shakes his head again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If I had known how much trouble you’d be here, I never would have talked you out of going to California.”
Guess my presence isn’t worth his need for company then.
“Well, Mom wanted me close, so…”
He pins me with a glare before deflating and nodding. That’s not even remotely close to why I stayed. In fact, it’s the reason I wanted to go in the first place.
“That she did.”
