Virtue (Briarcliff Secret Society Series Book 2)
Page 24
Chase levels me with a look. “There’s a confession tape, too. Now go. Before Sabine Harrington loses her shit on you and your secret’s out.”
My secret. Right. I’m a possible Harrington heir.
Ugh, the thought disgusts me.
Yet, I can’t leave. “Confession tape?”
Chase gives me a sidelong glance. “Think about it, sweet possum.”
And I do. Addisyn said a lot of culpable shit to me when we were in her room … and Emma and Eden were standing right outside.
“One of them recorded it,” I murmur.
Perhaps, they aren’t the savage and heartless lizards I thought they were. But they sure are experts at mind-fuckery.
“Since when was I put on a need-to-know basis?” I demand.
Chase’s features go tight, as if he’s stopping himself from saying something he’ll regret.
I force my thoughts inward rather than argue with him, aware of my penchant for saying and doing things I’m later ashamed to admit.
What Emma and Eden did to me might’ve been fake, but the words I’d spewed at Chase afterward? Those were real.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, but his only acknowledgment is to put a light hand on my back and gently push me into the gathering crowd.
35
The rest of the Family Day picnic is a complete wash, Headmaster Marron having to intervene and do a long speech in an attempt to distract from the public scandal involving one of his flourishing, most promising students.
Again.
The gathering parted ways, Lynda murmuring a long, sad goodbye to her untouched turkey platter as we exited the quad and they took me back to my room.
“Let me say, scenes like that did not happen when I was in attendance,” Lynda says as we amble with the rest of the families down the pathway. Then, her eyes widen with conspiracy. “But what a rush that was.”
“You must be happy with this, Cal,” Dad says to me. “Your roommate’s case is finally solved. I know I’m glad to hear it. I was worried about who could be wandering campus, meaning harm.”
“Yeah,” I say, though I put no conviction behind my statement.
“Do you want to come home, honey?”
Lynda’s question hitches my steps, the genuine warmth behind it flipping my stomach.
“You’ve more than proven yourself,” Lynda continues gently. “You’ve worked hard to show us your willingness to change. But if you’re not happy here, you can come with us. Right now. If you want to.”
Dad shares an affectionate, admiring look with Lynda, then squeezes my shoulder. “Lynda’s right. I may have sent you away … in haste. Perhaps it’ll be easier to mend fences with us all together.”
I want to say yes.
It’s tempting, so incredibly easy, to leave this fucked-up school with its dangerous societies, fixed grades, and chauvinistic games far behind.
But, coming home would mean facing my mother’s treachery. Forgiving my stepdad whole-heartedly. And I genuinely don’t know if I’m ready for that.
Besides … Ivy … and Chase.
Relationships I’m not ready to release.
“I think I’d like to stay,” I say.
“Are you sure?” Dad’s caterpillar brows come crashing down. “Because it doesn’t seem like you’re comfortable here.”
I can’t deny the observation, so I work on a deal. “I’ll stay until Christmas. Come home for Thanksgiving. And we can talk on both of those holidays. I’d like to take my time making such a big decision in my life, you know? I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing, by staying or leaving.”
The skin around Lynda’s eyes creases with a smile. She notices my prolonged stare, but doesn’t take it the way I mean it to come across: you’re beautiful when you smile. I hope my dad deserves you. “Lord,” she says, rubbing one corner of her eye. “I miss my damn Botox.”
I snort, and Dad catches me by the shoulder and pulls me to his side. “Deal. We’ll reevaluate then, but any time you change your mind, you call us. It’s not just you that’ll turn over a new leaf at this point. I will, too. And it starts with working on my patience and … trying … to trust your judgment.”
I nod, focusing on his willingness to work with me and not against me, and we part ways outside Thorne House, Lynda squeezing me tight, and the baby kicking me in the gut. Dad’s hug is more tentative, but it holds more promise of a fatherly touch than it has in years.
“See ya next weekend, Cal,” he says, studying me softly before taking his wife’s hand and heading down the drive.
I wait until I can’t see them anymore, then enter my dorm with a sort of melancholy cheer. Overjoyed that Addisyn got what was coming to her, happy that my relationship with my stepdad is on the mend, but heavy with Chase’s and my argument, the societies’ continued rule, and Dr. Luke’s strange visit that lead to a crucial clue. Basically—I’m torn over all the unrest Briarcliff protects.
Was choosing to stay the right thing to do?
I step into my room with hunched shoulders, ready to pack it in instead of locate a turkey costume. I’ll have to text Ivy, but other than that, I can quietly slip under the covers and…
A folded note on top of my laptop catches my attention.
Curious, I open it, recognizing Chase’s handwriting.
Going old school for this, sweet possum, but I feel it’s warranted. So, here’s a letter instead of a text.
We have a lot to figure out.
Meet me at the boathouse at sunset? I’ll be the guy with a fucking turkey painted on his chest.
Oh, and the only dude at the end of the dock.
A wistful smile crosses my lips before I can scold it into a frown. Checking the clock, I calculate about an hour’s worth of time to get ready before meeting him.
Because yes, I’m meeting him, and while he has some explaining to do with regards to my phone and all my missing evidence, no, I will not be listening to him in day-old sweats and unwashed hair.
I shower, shave, blow-dry, and make-up until I’m satisfied. There’s no time to put together a costume, so I put on leather pants and an artfully destroyed $60 white T-shirt, both “seasonal” and gifted by Lynda, figuring I’ll be creative and say I was attacked by a turkey.
The forested pathway to the boathouse is silent as I descend, most students attending off-campus parties or dorm room pre-games, the Turkey Trot in full swing and the drunken recapping of Addisyn’s arrest at full tilt. The rare few who would find themselves on this path will probably be here to hook-up, so I clomp as fast and quietly as I can through the trees, hopeful not to see anyone’s bared full moon.
I reach the clearing, the golden hour of the sun hitting the placid lake like molten metal, the ripples of the lake glittering with the shards of sunlit diamonds.
I’m early, so I’m not concerned when I don’t see any figure waiting for me at the end of the dock.
Moving to the boat house’s side door, I creak it open, glad it’s unlocked, and head to one of the boat bays opening up into the lake, figuring I’ll enjoy the view before Chase and I grow serious, and maybe, have a true discussion for once, with equal give and take.
A girl can hope.
There’s no figure, but something—an object—catches my eye at the end of the dock. Tentatively, I make my way over, thinking maybe Chase has left me something in his stead. I cringe as I throw my hands out for balance, the quiet laps of water under the dock more threatening than calming.
Chase is lucky I like him so much. He’s the only person who’s managed to get me to walk to the end of this floating piece of driftwood more than once.
I stay well in the middle, my boots making clomping, hollow sounds, punctuated only by the lonesome calls of birds not yet asleep in their nests.
Once I’m close enough to make out the object through the fast-setting sun, I notice the white rose laid out at the end, a fluttering note attached to it.
My immediate reaction is to sneer. I hate this
form of communication—these damn roses—but if it’s here, then someone knew I was coming and wants me to read it before I see Chase.
These secret admirer gifts have never harmed me before, so I walk forward until the end of the stem brushes the tip of my boot.
The same breeze lifts my hair as I bend down to pick up the exquisitely bloomed flower and read the note, attached to the stem with a black ribbon.
Unfolding the expensive, thick paper, I read the simple embossed sentence, then blink and read it again.
You’re in.
Huh?
I glance up, staring at the forest on the other side of the lake, like it can provide me with answers.
A howl rises up behind me, but it can’t be a wolf. Or a bear, because it sounds too human.
I put a name to the cry, and it rips from my throat. “Chase!”
I move—
Until two hands slam into my back and push me into the lake.
You’re in.
The Virtues respectfully ask that you meet them in FIEND, the final book in the Briarcliff Society Series.
TAKE ME THERE.
A Note from Ketley
Thank you so much for reading VIRTUE! Callie and Chase’s story just keeps getting better in my head, and I can’t wait for you to read the final installment, FIEND, out soon!
If you have the time, I’d love for you to leave a review on your preferred platform, or tag me on social media to let me know your thoughts. Those golden little stars are what drive me to keep writing.
The final book, FIEND, is up for preorder! TAKE ME THERE.
You can also join my new readers’ group, Ketley’s Crew, on Facebook! I’d love to meet you!
If you’d like to read more of my books, check out the next page.
xoxo, Ket.
Also By Ketley Allison
Players to Lovers
Trusting You
Daring You
Craving You
Playing You
Rockers to Lovers
Sing to Me
Strum Me
Sync with Me (Coming Soon)
Corrupt Empire Duet
Underground Prince
Jaded Princess
Vows Duet
To Have and to Hold
From This Day Forward
Briarcliff Secret Society
Rival
Virtue
Fiend (Coming January 2021)
About the Author
Ketley Allison has always been a romantic at heart. That passion ignited when she realized she could put her dreams into words and her heart into characters. Ketley was born in Canada, moved to Australia, then to California, and finally to New York City to attend law school, but most of that time was spent in coffee shops thinking about her next book.
Her other passions include wine, coffee, Big Macs, her cat, and her husband, possibly in that order.
Sign up to receive exclusive bonus chapters from Chase’s point-of-view, only available to her subscribers.
You can also join my new readers’ group, Ketley’s Crew, on Facebook! I’d love to meet you there!