Chapter 21

"You want to go WHERE?!?" It came out as a rough shout, something Ben hadn't totally anticipated.

Ally was startled by the sudden shift in his mood as she buckled her seatbelt. "To Professor Salinger's house," she repeated, trying to stay calm.

Ben took a deep breath, trying to recover from the sheer disappointment of it all. Just when he thought he had exorcized her preoccupation with the professor, it came bounding back stronger than ever. But in many ways, it was that overwhelming concern for others that made Ally so lovable beyond her gorgeous exterior. What kind of jerk would discourage a person's concern over someone else's welfare? Not this jerk, he thought to himself with a wry grin. And with that, he started the car and drove in the direction of Professor Salinger's house.

Ally was disheartened the instant they pulled up. There were no signs of the professor's car, and the lawn had taken on that straggly should-have-been-mowed-yesterday look.

"I'm sorry," Ben whispered, touching her arm gently. He didn't want the speculations to be true either, but it was sadly looking more and more like they were.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears she felt were on the verge of falling. "'S'okay," she said halfheartedly. After all, there was nothing Ben could have done to change things. "We might as well head back to campus." As she said it, her emotions got the best of her and she started to cry. Not quiet lady-like tears punctuated by a few soft sniffles, but something better referred to as weeping, sobbing, or bawling.

Ben couldn't help but reach out and take her in his arms. It was a bit awkward with the stick shift between them, but he managed. "There's more going on here than you're telling me," he said, wiping a strand of hair out of the way of oncoming tears. "What's the matter, Ally?"

How could she say it without feeling like a totally shallow sorry excuse for a human being? Yeah, she was upset about Professor Salinger's sudden death, but she had to admit that she was also saddened by the evaporation of her dreams. Her chance at being published went away with the professor, and how could she even think of taking another writing class? She was ashamed to admit those feelings existed, but there they were. Allison took comfort in the fact that while those selfish feelings did exist, they came in a far second to the sorrow she felt for Colin Salinger the person. "I'm not really sure how to explain it without sounding insensitive or selfish," Ally started.

"I can't imagine you being either of those things," he soothed, looking at her tenderly.

Her lower lip quivered as she contemplated what, or how much, to say to Ben. She didn't want to divulge the secret project she and the professor had agreed to collaborate on, yet if he were in fact dead, there was really no point in keeping the secret. And Ally really did feel like she needed to talk with someone about everything that was going through her head...

"You might change your mind if you hear what I have to say."

"I doubt it," Ben said, shaking his head.

"Oh, you might be surprised," she sighed. "See, Professor Salinger and I had something going on that I was supposed to keep secret..."

Ben pulled back. "Did he come on to you?" he asked, wide eyed.

"No!" Ally clarified almost the instant the last syllable of the question escaped from his lips. "I, well... he and I... uh..."

Ben smiled knowingly. "I understand completely. You have a crush on the good professor. It's okay, nearly every woman on campus does!"

Her mouth fell open as she blushed slightly. That wasn't what she planned to say, however she couldn't totally deny his statement either. "It's not that," she offered finally. "We were working on a project together. Or at least were going to start working on a project together. This is going to sound really bad, but I feel like he took my future as a writer along with him, so in a way I've lost two things that are important to me."

Seeing the sadness in her eyes, he enveloped her in another tight hug. "What was the project, if I may ask?" he probed.

"Professor Salinger asked me if I would-"

The driver side door opened and Ben flew out, nearly pulling Ally with him. "What are you doing to her?!" a rough voice shouted through gritted teeth.

Allison crawled to Ben's side of the car to get a better view. It was Barclay, and he seemed to be having a little too much fun roughing Ben up. "Stop it!" she cried out, just as Barclay's fist made contact with Ben's nose. A stream of blood trickled down Ben's lip and then onto his chin. Ben looked pale as Barclay continued beating on him. Both guys were unaware of Ally's pleas to break it up. Knowing it had to stop, and soon, Ally decided to do something radical. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and at the top of her lungs shouted, "What the fuck are you doing?!?"

It worked like a charm. Both men were so shocked that Ally had said the 'fuck', they literally stopped in their tracks. Barclay stood there speechless, his hand still clenched in a fist, while Ben held his bleeding nose. Ally slid out of the car and approached them purposefully.

"What was that about?" she asked, glaring into Barclay's eyes. Ally glanced at Ben's bleeding nose, and then turned back to Barclay with a look of disgust. "I had no idea you were that violent!"

Barc stuck his chin up belligerently. "I am NOT going to apologize for trying to save you from this twit's grubby little paws!" He folded his arms across his chest for emphasis.

Ally snorted. What I do with my time is none of your damn business!"

"Christ, Ally, the little shit is practically stalking you!"

"I repeat, it's none of your damn business!" Now she was folding her arms across her chest. "Violence repulses me, Barclay. I don't think kicking the crap out of someone half your size is cool, either." He looked down at his feet, apparently at least somewhat ashamed by his behavior. "Worst of all, Ben did nothing wrong, yet you felt you needed to attack him." Ally was letting everything fly with her verbal assault. Ben almost felt sorry for Barclay being at the receiving end of her wrath!

"I'm taking you back to campus," Barclay insisted, grabbing her arm. "Any guy who would tempt Allison Delaney to skip class is no good, and I'm sure your parents would agree."

She yanked her arm from his grasp and gritted her teeth. "Since when did you become so high and mighty about academics?" she seethed.

He held up his hands in resignation. "Look, I'm sorry if I upset you..."

"IF?!?" She raised her eyebrows with the question.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Ally," Barclay said a bit more calmly. "Let's go back to campus," he said, holding his hand out to her.

"You go right ahead. Somebody needs to take care of Ben, and it sure won't be you!" Ally couldn't figure out why Barclay was so angry with Ben, and at that point she really didn't care. All she wanted to do was get Ben to a doctor to have his nose examined.

"I don't know what kind of bullshit this little shit-head's been feeding you, but you'll regret listening to him, Ally. If you're gonna start skipping classes because of him, you should know that you're basically throwing your life away. And that's a shame. A damn shame."

Without another word, Barclay sulked off down the long winding driveway, his feet crunching on the gravel with each step.

Ally rushed over to Ben, pulling a tissue from a little packet in her purse. "God, I'm so sorry!" She tried to dab at the blood with the tissue, but he pushed her hand away knowing the tissue would leave bits of white fuzz all over his face.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Ben said, telling only a tiny white lie. He cocked his head and looked at her, a serious expression on his face. "Tell me something," he began. "Do you always take responsibility for problems you have no control over?"

It seemed like an odd question, but he had a valid point. She wasn't accountable for Barclay's actions. Thank God, she added silently. She smiled sheepishly. "Sometimes," she conceded. "But in this case, you wouldn't have gotten hurt if you weren't hanging out with me, sooo..."