“If I refused to tell the police to clear my name, why the hell would I tell you?”
“Because it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re already serving your time.” Then he studies me, intently. “Oh. That’s why.”
“Why?” Sophia and Lance ask at the same time.
“Whoever it is has something on her.”
“Not exactly,” I admit. “It’s complicated.”
“The lies are always complicated. The truth never is.”
“Wow, that’s so deep,” Lance says, tilting his head in reflection.
“Shut up, Brendan,” I snap.
“Who’s up first?” Ashton asks.
“Give it to me,” Sophia demands, taking us all by surprise.
Ashton tells us she had the bench they’re seated on custom built so she can sit and blow the smoke out the window. Genius.
“Your room is amazing,” I admire continuing to notice details that capture her personality.
“They did a good job,” Ashton agrees.
“You had someone design this? It looks like you’ve been here for years.”
“Friday,” she corrects.
“Where were you last year?”
“The junior floor downstairs.”
“Then why am I up here? I’m not a senior.”
“You are an enigma, aren’t you, Lana?” Brendan points out as if he’s enthralled with the idea of me. “Nothing about you makes sense.”
I bare my teeth at him.
“Be careful,” he informs everyone, “she may look like a sweet and adorable pixie, but she bites.”
“I think pixies really do bite,” Sophia says thoughtfully, handing the bong to Ashton.
“So you’re saying Lana’s an angry pixie?” Ashton studies me like she can’t quite see it.
All of a sudden a detail clicks into place that should have been obvious hours ago. Maybe my mind was purposely avoiding the truth. “Your brother goes to school here, doesn’t he?”
Lance nods. “Printz-Lee.”
“Of course,” I groan.
But that’s an entirely different school, somewhere else in the forest of this town. I shouldn’t have to ever see him. I try to find comfort in that.
“Parker told me what happened between you and him, but what—”
“Don’t,” I implore with a slight growl.
“Are you attracted to trouble, Lana?” Brendan teases, taking his turn at the window.
“No, she likes the good guys,” Ashton blurts unfiltered. I roll my eyes when both Brendan and Lance laugh.
“There’s no such thing” Sophia sighs solemnly. “They’re like unicorns. Only a few left.”
This makes me laugh, because she looks so sad at the thought of it. “You’re right, Sophia. They are unicorns.”
“Is that why you’ve vowed to never fall in love?” Brendan asks. “Because you’re waiting for a unicorn?”
“I’m not waiting for anything.”
“She didn’t vow not to fall in love,” Ashton corrects, taking the bong back for another turn without progressing to Lance or me. “She said she was afraid to fall in love.”
Oh, Ashton and her drug-induced betrayal.
Sophia nods, like she totally gets it. “I’m afraid of wrinkles.”
“Growing old?” Lance clarifies.
“No. Wrinkles. On my clothes. I spend hours ironing and starching. I practice sitting just right and tucking in my shirts perfectly so they don’t rumple. It completely stresses me out.”
“Here, this’ll help,” Ashton says, handing the bong back.
“Hey!” Lance protests, launching up onto the bench with his hand extended. “Complete the circle.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Ashton passes it to him. Instead, she pats Sophia on her head. “I’d totally hug you, but I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
I’m not high. Not yet, but this moment is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t hold back the laughter. Which ricochets across the room, igniting an uncontrollable roll of laughter from everyone.
At that inopportune moment, clarity sobers me in an instant. “Shit.”
Brendan and Lance seem to be the only ones who hear me. I stand and start pacing. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Lance asks. “Come up here, this will mellow you out.”
I stare at him and his offering of the bong, but what he says doesn’t reach me. I’m too lost in my own head. Trying to figure out what the hell I should do.
“Lana?” Ashton’s voice is soft and soothing. “You’re looking like the angry pixie.”
Brendan’s beside me, carefully ushering me away. “What did you just realize?”
I peer up at him, but I can’t focus. I’m completely freaking out. My head is spinning, filtering through a thousand different possibilities. My hands are sweaty, and my mouth is dry.
“C’mon,” he urges, gently setting a hand on my back to guide me out of the room.
“Where are they going?” I hear Sophia ask as the door closes behind us.
“Lean back against the wall and put your head down. Take slow, deep breaths through your nose.” I can hear him speaking, somewhere.
I feel the solidity of the wall to my back and a hand pressing me forward.
“Focus on your breathing. In and out.”
I grip my knees as I breathe in and release each breath. The chaotic swirls dissipate. My pulse calms. And then I feel like collapsing. I slide down the wall until I’m seated on the floor.
“He goes to school here,” I mutter.
Brendan lowers himself next to me. It takes him only a minute to realize. “The guy you’re covering for?”
“Yeah,” I breathe out.
It wasn’t panic exactly that overtook me. It was a combination of everything—anger, frustration, annoyance and okay, maybe a little panic. It felt like I was filled with every explosive emotion that could fit inside of me. Because I have no idea what to do. And I don’t do helpless well.
I continue to stare at the wall for what feels like ten minutes, trying to formulate some sort of plan.
“Is this about the convenience store or Allie?” Brendan asks from beside me. I forgot he was here.
“Allie,” I answer numbly.
“Is it the same guy from the convenience store?”
I turn my head to stare at Brendan. My stony expression answers for me.
“Did that girl who called in see anything?”
I shake my head. It unnerves me how much he knows about the case.
“So it’s your word against his?”
I nod.
“Why would they believe him over you?”
“I’m the one with the record,” I answer. “And history of fighting.”
“He doesn’t?”
I shrug. “He’s not a nice guy. But I doubt there’s a record of it.”
“Right, because he goes to school here.”
“Not here. Printz-Lee.”
“Even worse.” Brendan is quiet for a second. “What if it remains unsolved?”
“Why should he get away with it?” Anger ignites my words.
Brendan studies me a second, like he’s seeing something he hadn’t noticed before. “Is justice that important to you?”
“She didn’t deserve what happened. And if she doesn’t make it …” My jaw flexes as the rage overtakes the other emotions. “Justice won’t be enough.”
“I take it you’re not afraid of him?”
“Hell no. He’s an asshat. But he’s also unpredictable. He won’t care who he has to hurt to protect himself. And I can’t let that happen.” I realize I’ve shared too much, with a guy I’m still not convinced I can trust, and stop myself from revealing more. I need to get away from him. I rise from the floor. “I’m going back to my room.”
“Want some company?” Brendan winks.
I groan in exasperation. “Get over yourself.” I begin to walk away, but then I spin back around. I didn’t want to have to do t
his, but I can’t think of a way to avoid it. “Can you ask Lance to come to my room?”
Brendan laughs in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
I glower back.
“Fine,” he answers before pushing open the door to Ashton’s room.
A few minutes later, there’s a knock, and when I open it, Lance is leaning against the doorframe wearing a dopey grin. “You wanted me?”
I roll my eyes. “Get in here.” He comes in and shuts the door behind him. “I need your help.”
“With what?” he asks, plopping down on the beanbag.
“I need to talk to your brother.”
Concealed by the cloak, he remained hidden from the sorceress's view. For if she has known of the beast within the cavernous shadows she would never have left her most precious Thaylina alone the evening she went into town. Once the sorceress was out of sight, the wolf emerged. Licking his sharp teeth, he looked up at the girl standing in the tower’s window.
It only takes me forty-five minutes to find my way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Everyone else chose to sleep in. On my way back, my phone beeps.
When I accept the call, I’m startled by an older woman with narrowed eyes and dark hair pulled back in a severe bun. I move the phone away, not wanting her to be that close to me even if she’s only on a screen.
“Lana Peri, I’m Mrs. Seyer, your dorm monitor.” Before I can say anything in return, she continues, “You have a guest waiting for you in the administration building. Don’t keep him waiting.”
Then she’s gone. Guest?
Must be Niall.
I stop myself from spinning around and getting completely disoriented. I’m facing the girls’ dorm. The administration building is directly behind me. So I carefully pivot to face it. Now … to get there from here. I weave in and out of corridors of hedges and several gardens, ‘round a pond and through the birch forest, finally reaching the wisteria tunnel. I’m pretty fricken proud of myself by the time I enter.
And run right into Brendan exiting a door next to the entrance.
“Hi,” I gasp, his hands holding my upper arms to stabilize me.
“Can’t resist, can you?” He grins lazily, his cockiness emanating like pheromones.
“Lana?” I look over his shoulder to find Niall standing within the same doorway. Brendan releases me. “You know each other?”
“Unfortunately,” I say as Brendan says, “Definitely.”
Niall looks between us. “Watch out for each other. Okay?”
“My pleasure,” Brendan replies, then winks at me before disappearing into the Court.
“Brendan’s your client too? Is there anyone here you don’t represent?”
Niall ignores my comment. “Parker wanted to say goodbye before he left, but I think it's best that we meet privately. How are you adjusting?”
I look around the foyer. But Parker's already gone.
“It’s only been two days.” I enter the room to find it filled with brightly colored Baroque furniture and a crystal chandelier centered above a high-gloss violet coffee table. A window overlooks the Court, filling the room with natural light.
“Yes, but you and I both know that a lot can happen in one day, so how were your two?”
If I didn't know better, I would think he was messing with me. But when I turn to him, there isn’t a hint of playfulness on his face or in his eyes. Perhaps he honestly thinks the world can burn down around me in twenty-four hours. Sadly, it can.
“They were fine.” I sit in the chartreuse chaise by the window.
“You begin classes tomorrow, correct?”
“So I was told, although I don’t know what classes I’m taking. But I’m used to not being told things until they’re actually happening.”
He picks up on my jab. “There was no reason to inform you where you were going before we arrived because it wouldn’t have mattered. I could have given you a name of any school in any surrounding state, and you’d still be attending regardless if you knew the name and location or not.”
“You’re such a lawyer,” I shoot at him like an insult.
“So I’ve been told.”
“But this isn’t just any school, is it, Niall?” I ask fervently. “There are so many more expectations here than any state program I could have attended. They demand effort, and not just any effort, but exceptional results. So what happens if I can’t live up to what all of you want me to be? Do I go back to juvie? What do I lose if I don’t become my best fucking self? Huh?”
“Two years.” His voice is stone.
“What?” I’m stilled by his words, my body rigid with shock.
“You’ll lose two years if you fail out of this school. It was the judge’s condition to your enrollment.”
“I thought it was a six-month sentence in juvie that you requested to be served here?”
“No, we go back in six months with a progress report. And if you aren’t engaging, then you’ll go to the juvenile detention center or a state run reformatory until you’re eighteen.”
If I weren’t sitting, I would have collapsed.
“Armed robbery is a serious crime, and they want you to cooperate with them. In absence of your cooperation, the judge made a decision he believed to be in your best interest. And this was the result. We’re fortunate to have this opportunity, trust me. So please take it seriously.”
I close my eyes to gather myself. “Trust me. I am.”
“I brought your personal possessions that were taken from you after your arrest.” Niall places a large, white plastic bag on the coffee table. “And your mother asked me to give you this.” He sets a pink box the size of a grapefruit on the table. It’s wrapped in a thick sheer raspberry ribbon, tied in a perfect bow.
“Thank you,” I say, barely audible. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut, and I haven’t been able to draw in enough air to find my voice. Or to even breathe properly.
Two years.
There isn’t a trust fund to threaten me with, so they chose the only they could … my freedom.
“Do I have any chance of going home?” I’m still worried about my mother, no matter what she says. She’s a masterful liar. She guards her pain in her heart, until her body betrays her. So the only way I’ll know how she really is, is to see her for myself.
“For visits, yes. But not for a while. I’ve offered to bring your mother with me when I come up.”
“Can I see my friends, or even talk to them?”
“That’ll be determined by the school. I’m not going to interfere with their program. You’re here for a reason.”
I whip around. “And why’s that? Because I covered for someone who could destroy my friends’ lives?”
Niall’s face doesn’t betray his emotion, but his eyes do. Sympathy reflects back in them, which only angers me. I don’t want his sympathy. I want him to clear me, to get me back home.
“Do you want to tell me who he is?”
I grind my teeth together. Rage boils up inside of me, filling my eyes with tears. I don’t know how to release it, fighting the urge to punch something.
My silence is my answer. And his is mine.
“I spoke with Dr. Kendall, and she’s agreed to lift your probationary period this summer. Typically, new students aren’t allowed to leave campus unsupervised for the first sixty days. But she’s agreed to allow you off-campus access, as long as you keep up with your school assignments, don’t miss curfew, and are accompanied by one of my sons.”
“Why do I have to be with one of your sons?”
“Because both the school and I trust them. And I thought you did as well. Was I wrong to assume that?”
“Why did you tell Brendan and me to watch out for each other?” I ask to avoid answering, because I don’t fully trust anyone, forget about the Harrison brothers.
“I only meant that since you obviously know each other, and have both been through a lot, it might be good knowing someone is looking out for you.” Niall studies me, a w
orried line creasing his forehead. “Am I reading all of this incorrectly? I’m trying to do what’s best for you, Lana, so if there’s something I’m missing, let me know.”
I can’t argue with him. He knows more than I do about Brendan, his sons, and why he requested that I be sent to this specific school. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that Niall already visits regularly to see his sons, and other clients, so this is his default school for all the dysfunctional teens he represents. Or … it’s for a reason I don’t understand yet.
“You have no idea what’s best for me.”
“Maybe someday, you’ll see it differently,” he replies solemnly. “I have to go, but call me if you need anything. You should hear from your mother tomorrow.”
I don’t look at him when he leaves, focused out the window, watching a butterfly flutter around the fragrant tunnel.
When I finally turn around, Brendan is seated on one of the wingback chairs, watching me.
“You realize that your creep factor only escalates the longer I know you, right?”
“I like going unnoticed, until I want the attention.”
I shake my head at his confusing statement. “Whatever.” I swing my legs over to sit up. “What do you want, Brendan?”
“I believe we can help each other.” He steeples his fingers with his elbows balanced on the arms of the chair, like a devious mastermind. When I don’t respond, he continues, “I may be able to help you clear your name and get you out of here, if that’s what you really want.”
“In exchange for?” I ask, knowing there’s more.
“Information.”
“What kind of information?”
“Any that I ask for.”
“Yeah, right,” I scoff, standing to walk out of the room.
“You’ll need me if Allie dies.”
My heart misses a beat at just the thought. “They don’t have a suspect.” I start toward the door.
“They’re going to find the witness.”
I spin around before I reach for the doorknob. “The girl?”
“Yes. They’re getting a lot of pressure from Allie’s parents.”
“What do they know?” I ask, panic settling in my gut.
Knowing You_The Cursed Series Part 2 Page 10
