It was too bright inside
Holmes Hall
. As soon as they entered the lobby Blayne felt an urge to head back into the darkness. They needed to get to their room as quick as possible. Once inside they could lock the door and pretend to be asleep. There was no way the police could find their way to Holmes. And if they did, no way they could figure out which of these rooms they were in.
The only cameras they could've been on were the ones outside of
McDonalds
. They had enterd Holmes through the backdoor. This was before they had cameras everywhere. A different time. A safer time. Or at least a seemingly safer time. An assault would happen and nobody would hear about it. So everybody would go on thinking everything was ok.
Things changed with the
internet
. The incidents became too loud to ignore. The university had to install more security. Everything was monitored. But back when Blayne was a freshman, the campus still felt relatively unmonitored.
Danny washed up in the bathroom. Blayne kept the room dark, just one reading lamp on in the corner. His roommate was out of town for the weekend. The other kid who had followed Danny and Blayne to McDonalds sat on a sofa cushion on the ground not talking. Just staring at the floor. Anytime steps passed by in the hall Blayne's heart jumped. He wished he could just fast forward time into the morning. But in his chest he could feel it was going to be a long night.
When Danny came out of the bathroom Blayne gave him a bottle of blue Powerade.