by Kate Brian
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Ariana struggled to compose herself as he strolled over to her, his hands in the pockets of his blue suit trousers.
"You sure know how to work a room," he said, stepping closer to her than was absolutely necessary. "And my parents specifically."
Ariana glowed with pleasure. Apparently they hadn't lingered on her uncomfortable exit after she was gone. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Walk you back to your dorm?" he offered.
"Definitely."
They walked together, side by side, straight across campus. Palmer was silent, but Ariana didn't mind, because she could feel him looking at her. Studying her. Admiring her. When she hazarded a glance in his direction, he was smiling down at her with an almost giddy expression. Like he wanted something. Like he knew he was about to get something. As long as she was willing to give it.
The tingling of her skin intensified the closer they got to Cornwall. Ariana could actually feel the attraction between her and Palmer. So thick it was almost tangible. She couldn't help feeling that she had been sent here somehow. That she had been meant to meet him. That all the awful, ridiculous, heartbreaking moments of her life had led her to this place at this time for this reason. She and Palmer were soul mates. So what if she had only known him for a day? A girl knew these things. She just knew.
"Here we are," Palmer said as they arrived at the imposing front door of the dorm.
The arched alcove just outside the entry provided a bit of shelter,
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a bit of privacy, shielding them from the parking lot and arced driveway in front of the dorm. A few small klatches of people were still saying good-bye at the curb, but they were far enough off that Ariana couldn't make out specific voices.
"Yes. Here we are," Ariana said.
She leaned back against the cool brick wall and looked up at him through her lashes. Palmer smiled and placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
"So, what made you come over to meet my parents tonight?" he asked. "Got a yen for aging ballplayers?"
"Not exactly," Ariana said coyly.
She had never been one to make the first move, except on the odd occasion when she lost control of herself. But that was before. Here at APH, she hoped to keep her emotions from consuming her the way she had in the past. The results of that behavior had often been messy.
"Then what was it, exactly?" Palmer's grin widened and he took a step toward her. Ariana was light-headed with glee. He was going to kiss her. She was sure of it. Here it was, her first day at APH, and already she had landed the most eligible bachelor on campus.
President of the student body.
"You're a smart guy. You can figure it out."
Just then, a car door slammed and a girl's voice called out, thanking the driver. Palmer leaned back to see out the entryway of the alcove. Ariana wanted to grab him and pull
him into her, but no. Control. She had to be in control. Then the yawning chasm between
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them grew even wider as Palmer took a full step back and turned away from her.
"Lexa!" he shouted cheerily.
Lexa? Lexa Greene? Even as Ariana hankered for a glimpse of the infamous group leader, her brain was processing that something wasn't right here. Palmer was way too happy to see this girl."Hey! What are you doing here?" Lexa's voice replied merrily. "Did Maria tell you I was coming back early? She was supposed to keep it a secret!"
In a blur of red dress, the girl raced into the alcove and threw herself into Palmer's arms. She was slight but tall, her long dark hair shaped into a perfect, long blunt cut with bangs straight across her forehead. Ariana's gaze automatically flicked to her shoes. Tasteful black peep-toes, Charles David, Ariana guessed. When Palmer released her, Ariana got a good view of the girl's gorgeous, pixieish features. Tiny nose, big blue eyes, pretty smile, glossy lips . . .
Lips that were now pressing against Palmer's.
Ariana's face stung as she watched the embrace. What the hell was going on here? That was her kiss. That was her soon-to-be boyfriend.
"I missed you," Lexa breathed, keeping her arms locked around Palmer's neck as she leaned back.
Palmer smiled. A relaxed, happy, intimate smile. As if the girl he'd been about to make out with wasn't standing mere inches away watching him maul some other girl. "I missed you too."
Finally, Ariana couldn't take it anymore. She pushed herself away from the wall and cleared her throat.
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Palmer looked over at Ariana but kept one arm around Lexa's tiny shoulders. Ariana couldn't help noticing that the girl had a perfectly taut, athletic body, obvious under the clingy material of her red wrap dress.
"Oh, hey. Lexa Greene, meet Briana Leigh Covington. Ana for short," Palmer said in a formal way. "She's a transfer."
She's a transfer. The dismissive, detached nature of the comment made her skin crawl.
Yeah. The transfer you were about to hook up with.
"Hi," Ariana managed to say. "I've heard a lot about you."
Lexa looked at Ariana and her eyes narrowed. She took a step toward Ariana and for a split second Ariana was sure the girl was going to slap her across the face. Why not? She could tell with one glance that Lexa was not stupid. She had to see what was going on here.
Then, suddenly, Lexa's pretty face lit up like the Fourth of July. "Briana Leigh! I heard you were transferring in!"
Lexa threw her slim arms around Ariana and hugged her so hard Ariana could hardly breathe. Then, just as suddenly, Lexa leaned back, clamping her hands onto Ariana's shoulders.
"You look so different! I never would have recognized you!"
Ariana's pulse raced and her mind reeled, thinking back to every inane conversation she'd had with Briana Leigh. She had never mentioned anyone named Lexa Greene. Never. Ariana was sure of it. So why was this girl acting as if she and Briana Leigh were long-lost friends? What had Ariana missed? And what was it going to cost her?
"It's me! Lexa Greene!" Lexa said, her brow knitting in
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disappointment as she finally released Ariana. "You don't remember me, do you."
"I. . . sorry," Ariana said.
"I was your main competition in jumper at Camp Triple Star. The summer before fourth," Lexa continued, growing more animated. "Oh my God. I was so jealous when you took home that trophy, I cried for, like, twenty-four hours straight. Not that I'm proud of that fact." She studied Ariana's face for a long few moments and Ariana's stomach lurched. Any second the words were going to fall from Lexa's mouth:
"Wait a minute. . . . You're not Briana Leigh Covington. ..."
Ariana tried to mentally prepare herself for the moment. Tried to decide what she would say or do with Palmer looking on and all those people out in the parking lot gabbing away.
In, one. . . two. . . three. . .
Out, one. . . two. . . three. . .
"How can you not remember? It was such a huge deal," Lexa said finally.
Suddenly Ariana's whirling mind hit upon a dim memory. Something about equestrian camp. Briana Leigh had gone there during her grade school summers before transferring to Camp Potowamac when she was twelve.
"Right! Lexa Greene," she faked. "Of course I remember you. You were good."
Lexa smiled again. "Not as good as you! We called you 'Blue Ribbon Bitch' behind your back," she said, her cheeks turning pink. "I
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always felt bad about that because we were such good friends, but I guess that's how girls are when someone has what you want."
Ariana glanced at Palmer, who was standing a bit behind Lexa now. He quickly looked away toward the parking lot, but she could see the hint of an embarrassed blush on his cheek.
"I guess so," Ariana said.
"But I've improved a bit since then," Lexa said. "You inspired me to practice nonstop."
"She's the most accomplished rider on the APH equestrian team," Palmer announced proudly, squeezing Lexa's shoulder.
"That's great," Ariana said, forcing herself to smile at Lexa. All she could think about was finding a way out of this conversation and this awkward little threesome, but Lexa seemed hell-bent on keeping her there.
"Whatever. We had so much fun that summer! I can't believe you're here!" Lexa said, reaching out to brush Ariana's arm with her fingertips. "We are going to have so much fun!"
"Definitely," Ariana said. As soon as this violent nausea subsides.
"You look so different somehow," Lexa said suddenly, narrowing her eyes again. "Did you change your--"
"And you look exactly the same!" Ariana replied with a frantic laugh.
Lexa rolled her eyes. "God, I hope not. Otherwise the braces were for nothing."
Palmer slipped his arms around Lexa from behind and nuzzled her neck. "You have a perfect smile."
Lexa blushed and Ariana almost hurled. "My boyfriend. So sweet," Lexa said, cuddling back into his arms. She slid her hand up his arm
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until it found his gold team armband. Then she turned and looked from his band to Ariana's. "Hey! You're both on gold!"
"Yeah," Ariana said. "Lucky us."
"You are too, Lex," Palmer said. "I worked it with the headmaster."
Of course you did, Ariana thought.
"Yay! This is going to be so much fun!" Lexa trilled. Then she grasped Ariana's hand and squeezed. "Come on. Let's go inside. Palmer, can you help with my bags?"
"Sure," he said. He glanced over at Ariana and smiled as Lexa turned to flash her key card at the electric eye next to the door. Ariana leveled him with a stare that should have stopped his blood cold. But instead, he merely appeared confused.
As Palmer and Lexa jostled all her things through the door, Ariana hesitated. Had she completely misread Palmer over the last twelve hours? Had he not been flirting with her in the school store, on the quad, at the party? Their mutual attraction had seemed completely obvious. But then, Maria had said that he was a flirt by nature.
It doesn't matter, Ariana told herself, fighting off a crushing wave of disappointment. Whether or not he was flirting with you, he's obviously with Lexa. And you need to be friends with Lexa and her friends.
She had made her choice and she'd already pissed off Tahira. If she wanted to have any chance at a social life here at APH, there was no going back now. Suddenly months of hanging with Lexa and Palmer, watching them kiss and flirt and be adorable together, stretched out before her like an extended death row sentence.
So much for her perfect new life.
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gullibility
Ariana lay perfectly still in her bed, listening to Allison snore, trying to remind herself of all the reasons it would be unwise to murder her roommate in her sleep. First, she would instantly be sent back to jail, which would mean that all the work she had done for the past two years both inside the Brenda T. and out would be for nothing. And secondly, it wasn't Allison she wanted to get rid of, however annoying her snoring was. If she killed the girl, Ariana would just be taking out her ire on an innocent bystander. Bitchy, but innocent.No, it wasn't Allison she wanted to kill. It was Palmer. Or maybe Lexa. Or maybe both.
Ever so slowly, Ariana's fingers gripped and released her blanket. Gripped and released. Gripped and released. She repeated the motion over and over as she breathed deliberately and tried to calm her racing thoughts.
Lexa would be tricky to deal with. After studying all evening for
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her history exam, Ariana had e-mailed Briana Leigh's personal maid back in Texas and asked her to dig up any mementos she could find from Briana Leigh's days at Camp Triple Star. Ariana was hoping for diaries and photo albums, but even ribbons and trophies or plane tickets would do. If she could just know which events Briana Leigh had won or the dates she'd attended the camp, she would be in much better shape. After that, all she had to do was keep the conversations vague and hope that Lexa didn't ask as many questions as Brigit did. Because that could eventually pose a problem.
Why did there have to be someone at this school who actually knew Briana Leigh? How could Ariana possibly be that unlucky?
But she wasn't going to think that way. She was going to think positively.
She could deal with Palmer. She just had to stop thinking about him. Ariana squeezed her fists hard. No. She didn't need him. The last thing Ariana needed was a guy who cheated like Daniel Ryan had. A guy who thought it was perfectly fine to toy with a girl's emotions like Thomas Pearson. To lead girls on. To dally with several people at once. The first two loves of her life had been total players. Schemers. Cheaters with charm. And look how those relationships had turned out.
Ariana sighed as she thought of Hudson. Beautiful, kind, uncomplicated Hudson. If only she had met him in this life instead of her interim one. He would never mess with her the way Palmer had.
But he hadn't seemed in the least bit guilty. Did he have no conscience, or had Ariana actually misread his signals? She had posed this question several times over the past few hours and every time she
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came back to the same conclusion. It wasn't possible. She couldn't have misunderstood him. He was interested in her. She knew he was. But clearly he was more interested in Lexa.
Suddenly, Ariana's cell phone trilled. She had turned it back on that afternoon hoping Palmer might call her. She darted up in bed and grabbed for it, wondering if Hudson had psychically realized she was thinking about him. Or if, perhaps, Palmer was calling to explain himself.
Allison groaned and rolled over in her bed as Ariana finally glimpsed the caller ID screen. Her blood ran cold. The caller ID read Briana Leigh.
"Oh my God," Ariana said under her breath. Her fingers shook, and for a moment the specter of Briana Leigh hung over her, as if the girl were phoning her from the grave, but then the call clicked over to voice mail and the reality of the situation settled in. It was Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn was calling her from Briana Leigh's phone.
But how? She had canceled the service. This was just not possible.
The phone rang again, obliterating the silence. Allison sat up in bed. "Will you please take that outside!?"
Ariana flung her covers aside, shoved her feet into her slippers, and grabbed a cashmere hoodie on her way out the door. In the hallway, her bare toes dug into the soft carpet as she stared down at the still-ringing phone, considering what to do. She could simply ignore the call. Let it go to voice mail again and shut it off. But if it was Kaitlynn, she knew the girl would not give up. What if she came to campus? She
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could blow Ariana's cover with one word. Maybe it was better to deal with her now. Find out what she wanted and get it over with.
She hit the talk button and walked toward the floor's common lounge. "Hello?" she said, whispering tersely.
"Hey Briana Leigh!" Kaitlynn's voice sang. "Didja miss me?"
Ariana clenched her teeth. She shoved one arm into her sweater, then the other, holding the phone away from her to keep from gnawing on it in anger. Slowly she sank down on one of the room's cushy leather chairs, remaining perched on the very edge of the seat. The big-screen television in the corner was dark, but the green numbers on the cable box beneath it were flashing, begging to be set, casting an eerie dim glow over Ariana's face at two-second intervals.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"I just want to see you, B.L.," Kaitlynn teased. "I showed up at that fancy school of yours, but when I refused to show them my ID, they wouldn't even call up to your dorm. May as well be the Pentagon. Very impressive."
"What do you want?" Ariana repeated, gripping the phone so hard she was surprised it had yet to shatter.
"I want you to meet me tomorrow afternoon, two p.m., at the Belle Haven diner," Kaitlynn said, her voice syrupy sweet. "We need to have a little chat, Briana Leigh."
"Stop calling me that," Ariana said through her teeth, standing up. She paced around the wooden coffee table, strewn with fashion magazines left behind by her
floor mates, and walked over to the large, single-pane window.
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"Why? Isn't that your name? Isn't that why you drowned poor Briana Leigh in the lake that night?" Kaitlynn replied.
Ariana closed her eyes against the onslaught of images. Briana Leigh struggling for life, her lifeless form sinking to the bottom of Lake Page. Suddenly a rush of anger crashed in on her from all sides and she wanted to scream at Kaitlynn. Tell her it was her fault that Briana Leigh had died. She was the one who had fooled Ariana into thinking Briana Leigh was a murderer. She was the one who had manipulated Ariana into going to Texas and wheedling her way into the girl's life. If not for Kaitlynn, Briana Leigh would be alive and well right now.
Except that you did need the authorities to find a body, a little voice reminded her. But she chose to ignore that little detail. This was Kaitlynn's fault. All Kaitlynn's fault. Still, she couldn't get into a screaming match about culpability right now, not with all her new friends and classmates slumbering within hearing range. She gripped her arm with her free hand to rein in her anger, held her breath, and stared out the window at the glowing lights of the APH campus. "What if I don't come?""Well, then, I'll just have to send this little e-mail I've composed to your Headmaster Jansen, telling her all about the violent tendencies of the imposter they have living on campus," Kaitlynn said. Ariana could hear the sound of a computer keyboard tapping away in the background. "I'm sure that with all the dignitaries' sons and daughters they have strolling around campus, they'll be sure to investigate right away."
Hot tears seared at Ariana's eyes. She wanted to throw something.
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Hit someone. Break something. She imagined her fist going through the glass in front of her, the satisfying crash, the blood pouring down her arm.
"You'll be there," Kaitlynn said confidently. "See you at two."
The line went dead.
Ariana turned and hurtled her phone against the wall, shattering it into a zillion pieces. She let out a quiet groan and sank to the floor, pulling her knees up and holding her head in both hands, struggling for breath.
Why had she trusted Kaitlynn? Why had she let her out of prison? Why couldn't she have just seen the girl for what she really was-- a lying, manipulative, murderous psychopath?
