Tyler glanced around the room warily before forcing himself to walk to the door. When he reached the doorway, he paused and looked back at her.

“You need to look out for yourself, Melina. Things aren’t what they seem,” he warned her before turning and leaving her room.

Melina stood there with her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed. She was so upset about the situation, but she was also so confused about Tyler’s words. What did he mean?

She needed to look out for herself around him! She still didn’t even know why he was in her dorm room in the first place.

Was he looking for something, or was he just being gross and weird by going through her things? She wished that she had some clarity, but she didn’t trust him to tell her the truth.

She locked her door and looked around her room, checking her drawers and closet to make sure that he hadn’t stolen anything

. It didn’t look like he had anything hiding in his pockets when he was there, and nothing was missing. So, he didn’t come in here to steal anything. For some reason, that made her feel even more uneasy. Wanting to steal things was so straightforward. If he was up to something else, then there was something more devious at play.

Melina almost considered calling her dad and telling him what was going on, but she held herself back. She didn’t have any other explanation to give him, and it would just worry him even more.

What if he tried to pull her out of school? She had come too far to stop now. She had to reach graduation, no matter what.

She had to take matters into her own hands. She could report Tyler to the President of the school, but there was so much going on around the school.

She doubted that they would pay much attention to her. She didn’t know what to do, but there wasn’t any action that she could take right now. She was too tired anyway.

Warily, Melina changed her clothes for bed, pitching a look over her shoulder every other minute to make sure no one was standing in her room.

She knew that she couldn’t live her life like this forever, but she needed to look out for herself. She had been told to do so quite a few times lately. Maybe she needed to heed their advice a little more seriously.

Melina placed her hand on the light switch of her room, taking one more look around to make sure that she was alone.

She also made sure that her door was locked. For extra measure, she grabbed the wooden chair from her desk and wedged it under the doorknob. That way, no one could break into her room.

Feeling a little safer, Melina finally switched the light off and crawled into bed. She breathed through her anxiety, telling herself that she was safe for right now.

But what about tomorrow or the next day? What if she ran into Tyler in the hallway? She decided the safest bet for her was to avoid him at all costs. Maybe he would leave her alone.

She hated how many “maybe’s” kept being faced with, but it wasn’t like anyone was telling her any answers.

She had to figure them out as she went along, but she was going to sleep for now. There was nothing else that she could do. After calming herself as much as possible, she let her eyes flutter shut, letting the darkness take her over.

That night, she slipped into a deep dream, one of terror. She was tied up to a post, a pile of wood beneath her feet.

Darkness surrounded her on all sides. She couldn’t see anyone through the darkness, but she could feel eyes on her. She wasn’t alone.

Melina struggled against the ropes keeping her captive, trying to break free. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that she had to get out of here. Danger loomed nearby, and the ending of this didn’t look pretty.

“There’s no point in fighting. If you run, I’ll find you. If you hide, I’ll find you,” a deep voice sounded from the darkness. It chilled Melina down to her very core.

Panic struck her as she fought even harder, wanting to get as far away from the source of the voice as possible. She didn’t know who did this to her, but she knew that they wanted to hurt her. Why else would they tie her up?

“But it’s already too late for you,” the voice said, and Melina swore she could hear an evil smile in his voice.

Suddenly, fire erupted from the wood beneath her feet, the flames licking at her from below. Melina gasped and tried to avoid the flames, but there was no use. No matter what she did, she was going to burn. She begged. She cried. Smoke filled her nose and burned her eyes. This was the end.

Then, Melina woke up with a start. She shot up in bed, sweat sliding down her face. For some reason, she could still smell smoke.

She turned her head and could see the glow of a fire in the corner of her room. Dread filled Melina when she realized that her dream was only partially fake. The fire was real, and it was steadily taking over her room, coming closer and closer to her.

****

Melina could only stare at the fire in shock at first, wondering how in the world it started. She hadn’t left any candles burning before she went to sleep. She hadn’t even lit any. Something else must’ve happened, but she didn’t have time to sit there and brainstorm what that was. She had to get out of here before she burned to death.

She sprung out of bed and rushed to her door, fumbling around with the chair to wedge it out from under the doorknob. She tossed it behind her and unlocked the door before turning the doorknob.. Well, she tried to turn it. It wouldn’t budge!