by Lisa Roecker
I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Naomi to say the words, for her to put her own position in the Sisterhood at such risk, but I gave her credit. No one ever questioned these things, barely ever questioned Taylor or the headmistress or anyone in power, and she’d suffer for it.
Taylor opened her mouth to respond, but Bethany walked forward instead, her shoulder pushing Taylor slightly to the side, a bold move. “Naomi, everyone knows where you stand. Taylor’s explained where we stand. Take it or leave it.”
A few whispers followed and the room cleared, leaving a stunned Naomi at the center, radical ideas and all. I began to move toward her but was stopped by a strong hand on my shoulder.
“Hey, Kate!” Bethany squeezed my shoulder a little too tightly. “Just wanted to make sure you really understand the meaning of our little meeting. You need to stay away from your little boyfriends, mkay?”
“I’m assuming you mean Liam?”
Bethany’s cheeks went pink, and for a second, she actually looked kind of adorable, but half a second later, pink deepened to red and she was back to her terrifying self.
“I mean, boys. Did I stutter? Right now, they’re all the enemy. So watch yourself, because we’ll be watching you.” As she turned on her heel, her thick brown hair whipped across my face.
I had the sudden urge to do a fake shiver and say, “Ooh, I’m so scared,” like we used to in lower school. But considering the fact that my finger was already tapping a text to Bradley on my way out of the tunnels, I figured I’d give her a break. After all, actions always spoke louder than words.
“And nice try, Naomi.” Bethany spun and flashed her teeth. “You saw where Conventus got your brother. Wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to you, now would we?”
I half expected her to disappear in a cloud of green, wicked-witch smoke, but she just shot us another syrupy smile and walked away.
Naomi rolled her eyes. “I swear. I don’t know why I even bother.” I wondered the same thing. “But seriously, ignore her. She’s probably just nervous about her big date tonight.” Naomi linked her arm through mine.
“Date?”
“Yeah, she finally worked up the nerve to ask out Liam. I thought she cleared it with you first. It’s Sisterhood policy.” A trace of concern leaked into Naomi’s voice.
“Oh, yeah. She did, actually. I’m just kind of…” My mind searched for the words to describe my feelings aside from maniacal anger. “Surprised. I mean surprised that it’s so soon. I didn’t realize she’d actually gotten around to asking him.”
“She texted him last night, and supposedly he seems like he’s into it.” Naomi informed me in a helpful tone.
“Well, that’s just super.” I tried to control my sarcasm, but it was hard. Last night, Liam was with me. We had a moment. He tried to talk to me. But I’d shut him down. Again.
So maybe it wasn’t exactly surprising that he’d decided to start dating again. Especially after watching me kiss Bradley. But it was shocking that he’d agree to have anything to do with Bethany. She was everything that he hated about Pemberly Brown. And apparently, now she was also his date.
Naomi grabbed my hand and led me through the heavy door back into the tunnels, and I decided that if my life had a soundtrack, it would sound like a super-depressing song from Les Mis mixed with the music that accompanied the stabbing scenes in Friday the 13th. Too bad I could never seem to find my rhythm.
Chapter 21
It’s bad. Come 2 planetarium.
Not exactly a text I was prepared for at 6:26 a.m. Especially not from Bradley when I was walking underground with his sister.
“Crap.” I stopped and looked down at my phone. Naomi turned around, concerned. “I forgot my Econ essay at home. I have to go get it before first bell.” I turned to head back toward the headquarters. “I’ll exit at the gardens. It’s closer.”
“Oh, okay. I’m sure I’ll see you at Open,” Naomi said, buying my lie. I just prayed her brother hadn’t sent her the same text. “But Kate?”
I stopped walking and turned back toward her.
“You knew about Bethany and Liam, right? The last thing I need is to start something with Bethany.” She looked uncomfortable.
“Yeah. Yeah. Of course. It’s not a big deal. Liam and I…” I stopped short, having no idea what needed to come next. I waved my hand instead. “I’ll see you at Open.”
As soon as I heard the hatch shut with Naomi behind it, I rushed back toward the planetarium because it was faster. Huge mistake. It was cold and dark, and I kept expecting to feel someone’s clammy hands grab me by the shoulders. I might as well have walked backward, I spent so much time twisting around, but then I worried what was behind me or in front of me or…you get the idea. My footsteps reverberated off the surrounding stone, tricking me into thinking I was being followed, sending shivers up and down my already freezing arms and legs. This better be worth it.
The hatch was heavy as I pushed up and emerged from underground. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the Sisters weren’t the only fools to call a predawn meeting. Most ex-members of the Brotherhood stood around the vast room, grimaces stretched across their cocky faces, insults hurtled toward Bradley, who wore the saddest look of all.
“I know you think this is my fault after Conventus, but Dorian’s in a coma. We’ve got to stop this.” Bradley’s voice shook as the words tumbled out. Dorian. Dorian. Did he mean Clayton Dorian? Second-year soccer star, green-eyed, blond-haired, sexy surfer-esque Clayton Dorian? My air supply seemed to have been cut off all of the sudden, and my throat closed. I needed an inhaler or a shot of epinephrine or a new life.
“Dude, you got us shut down,” a fourth-year called.
“My brother was suspended,” a smaller kid in the back shouted.
After a few more minutes of accusing Bradley of being an incompetent fool, most of the guys just walked out, leaving a desperate-looking Bradley pacing at the front of the room. Only a couple of kids lingered.
“I heard Granger got a card like Alistair. But he refused to take the bait. And so they went after Dorian,” one of them said.
I sat back and did my best to process. Clayton Dorian was in a coma because Michael Granger had refused to perform a Factum Virtus. Whoever was behind this was making good on their threats.
“Please, if any of you get a card, come to me. We’ll figure this out together,” Bradley was begging.
“Whatever. You’re not in charge anymore, Farrow. The Brotherhood is dead.” They all started to walk out after that. I waited for the last of the guys to leave before approaching Bradley.
“What now?” Bradley’s entire face sagged. His eyes were bloodshot and his complexion waxy. He just shook his head slowly back and forth. I could tell he hadn’t nearly begun to grieve the loss of his best friend, let alone digest the fact that another Brother was barely clinging to life. In that moment, I could read his mind. It was easy because there was really only one question left: “Who’s next?”
Bradley silently walked out the doors of the planetarium and back toward main campus. Dew scattered across the endless manicured greens of Pemberly Brown like tiny diamonds. I almost expected them to crunch under my toes as I chased behind him.
If the tone permeating the halls of Pemberly Brown was somber before, it veered into dangerously depressing territory after the news about Clayton spread. The counselors had been busy enough after Alistair; now they were inundated. It was clear that something bigger was at play.
I trailed Bradley in the hall as students moved aside to let him through, and I was reminded of the days following Grace’s death, after I’d returned to school to find clear paths in the hallway, averted eyes, and whispers following me around like a second shadow. I hadn’t missed any of it. And at first, I thought it was happening all over again. I thought they were all looking at me. Whispering about me. I had to assume my new
flaming-red hair was whisper worthy. But it was Bradley they tracked. Bradley they whispered about. Bradley’s eyes they couldn’t quite meet.
My pang of relief felt like a betrayal.
Bradley turned his head slightly but never stopped walking. I could barely keep up. “We raid her office. Tonight. Bring that kid who works there.”
“Wait!” I slowed. “Ms. D.’s office?” I whispered her name and stopped in the hallway even though Bradley kept walking. He needed to slow down. He needed to wait for me. He needed to stop. “And Seth?”
He didn’t even bother turning around this time. Just nodded his head once and turned the corner, leaving me standing very much alone. Kids filled the path they’d cleared minutes before, and life at Pemberly Brown went on. Because like it or not, that was just how life rolled.
***
I climbed into Seth’s mom’s gigantic white van with its ridiculous stick figure family affixed to the back windshield, featuring a stick mom with an apron (gag), a stick dad with a briefcase (lame), and a stick boy kicking a soccer ball, even though I was 99 percent sure Seth hadn’t played soccer a day in his life. They must have been all out of the stick figure geeking out in front of a computer screen. I glanced over at Seth and saw nothing but a shock of red hair and a pale white face. He was covered in some sort of head-to-toe black suit. Footies? I didn’t ask.
“Camo,” Seth said as he backed down my long driveway. As if I didn’t know.
“Comfy,” I replied, choking back a laugh. I turned around automatically, muscle memory, looking for Liam, waiting for one of his ever-present one-liners. But his captain seat was empty, and my heart sunk a little. He was probably on his date.
When we made it to Station 1 at the entrance of the school, the closest entry point to Ms. D.’s office via the underground tunnels, Bradley came into view. His perfect features were lit by the glow of the surrounding street lamps, and I let myself forget Liam for the time being. Bradley offered me his hand and I took it. Maybe this was better. Maybe I was supposed to be with someone who was able to understand me and my grief. Maybe Liam was better off with Bethany.
“You know the code, right?” he asked, running his fingers over the bronze plaque fixed to one of the large brick pillars that flanked the school’s main doors.
I nodded and counted four (the number of original sisters) bricks over and eight (the number of sisters invited by the original) bricks down from the plaque. I pulled at the loose brick to reveal a small keypad, the bronze keys green with time. Something rustled behind us, and the rhythm of my already pounding heart jumped, thrumming throughout my entire body.
“What was that?” I whispered, jerking my head toward the sound. Seth assumed a ninja-like position against the wall, and Bradley’s ears had perked up, his eyes narrowed on the great expanse of black behind us.
We all saw movement at the same time. Two bodies, one slumped against the other.
This was it. The Sisterhood had me. I’d be excommunicated. I was fraternizing with the enemy and I’d be punished.
“Um…help?”
The soft voice was not Taylor’s and definitely not Bethany’s. It was Maddie’s, and when she came into view, she practically carried one very drunk Liam Gilmour. Seth darted over, catlike in his little black suit, and offered a shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I found him in his car and I was afraid he’d drive, and Seth mentioned you’d be here, and I had nowhere else to go. I’m sorry.” Maddie pushed a strand of her crazy hair away from her face after she’d been relieved of the Liam lump.
Bradley rolled his eyes. My cheeks were on fire, and Liam smiled, big and sloppy. Perfect, just perfect.
“Guess the big date went well.” I tried to look annoyed, but my heart wasn’t in it. Better to have him here than out with her. It was selfish and nasty, but that’s how I felt. Bradley caught me staring at Liam and laced his fingers through my own. When I yanked my hand away, I told myself it was because we needed to hurry and I was the one who had to punch in the code.
We were going in.
Chapter 22
A door previously hidden in the bricks clicked open a crack, and I pushed through, immediately swallowed by the darkness of the underground.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Bradley’s voice had dropped an octave, placing him squarely in ass-kicking-bully mode as Liam made a move to follow me down.
“Just following my girlfriend, man.” Liam’s voice was lazy, practically begging to be punched.
Girlfriend? He had to be kidding, right? Only Liam-freaking-Gilmour would have the nerve to go out on a date with Bethany and then show up here stinking drunk, proclaiming that I was still his girlfriend.
“You sure about that?” Bradley was inches from Liam’s face. “Go sleep it off. We don’t have time for this.”
Liam didn’t hesitate before throwing the first punch. Seth started screaming, and I stood frozen. It was like watching someone knock over a glass of milk. I knew something was about to shatter, but I wasn’t fast enough to stop it from happening.
Lucky for all of us, Maddie managed to insert herself between Liam and Bradley before Bradley even had time to react.
“Enough. You guys can have your pissing contest somewhere else. But tonight is about Alistair. Or have you forgotten?” She gave Bradley a pointed look.
“And I need Maddie,” Seth chimed in. “I mean…she helps at the office too. So she might come in kind of handy or whatever.” Even in the darkness, I could see that the tips of his ears were screaming red.
“And we can’t leave Liam up here drunk and alone. It’s too risky.” Maddie grabbed his arm and dragged him down the stairs toward me.
I shot her a grateful smile.
“Well, if you guys are done with this riveting display of testosterone, we should probably get going before someone catches us.” I spun on my heel, flicked on my flashlight, and continued walking, not bothering to look behind me to gauge Bradley or Liam’s reaction.
It was only a few hundred yards to the stairway that led to Ms. D.’s office. I raced up and pushed on the hatch, grateful to be leading this little mission. Grateful to have something to do aside from dealing with Liam and Bradley. But when I was temporarily blinded by a searing light, I knew something was very, very wrong.
“Well, how nice of you to pay me a visit.” Ms. D. sat in her office chair, her snowy white hair closely cropped, not a hair out of place. Her legs were crossed elegantly in the dove-gray pantsuit she had been wearing this afternoon when I saw her after seventh period.
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. CRAP.
I sent a prayer up to Grace—or really whoever the hell might be listening—that the others would be smart enough to turn around and go back the way we came. But then Liam’s head popped out of the door.
“What up?” He waggled his eyebrows at me and then noticed Ms. D. “Oh…”
“That’s quite enough, Mr. Gilmour. Come on in and make room for your friends.” She stood and walked toward the door. “Ah, ah, ah, no use running, Mr. Farrow. I see you. You too, Mr. Allen. And Maddie too? I would have expected better of you.” She ushered them into her office one by one, her lips pulled back in a straight, thin line.
“Well, now that you’re all here, would you mind telling me why you’re sneaking into my office after hours?” She sat back down in her chair, her glance flicking over each of us.
I tried to think fast.
“Seth left something in the office and he needed it tonight.” The lie flew from my mouth before I had time to think of something better.
“Is that true, Mr. Allen?”
Seth let out a little squeak and nodded quickly.
“Well then, by all means!” Ms. D. waved her arm out. “Please don’t let me stop you.”
Seth stood up and wobbled like a baby deer who wasn’t quite sure where to walk.
/> “Ok, um, thanks. Yeah, let me just…” He spun around the room aimlessly and finally his eyes lit up a little. “Right! There it is!” He inched toward the lost-and-found box tucked in the corner. “I’m so glad it’s here! What a relief!” He held up an unrecognizable piece of fabric with the tips of his fingers and wrapped it around his neck. “My scarf. My Bubby made it for me, and I was so worried about it.” He wrapped what looked like a dirty jockstrap around his neck and smiled brightly. “Okay, guess we’ll be going.”
The rest of us stood up to leave.
“Sit down.” Ms. D.’s voice was sharp. Seth shuffled back next to me. Whatever was wrapped around his neck smelled wrong. Just wrong. I stopped breathing through my nose.
“Ms. Lowry.” Headmistress D. fixed her bright blue eyes on me. “I trust you will enlighten me, Sister.”
I nearly peed in my pants. She was terrifying, and she hadn’t wasted any time playing the Sisterhood card, had she? After flying through about a million different alternatives in about half a second, I was forced to do something completely unexpected. I told her the truth.
Ms. D. looked thoughtful and eventually appalled as I showed her all of the evidence we’d collected. From the letters to the article about the headmaster to the yearbook picture of Ms. D., all roads led back to the Sisterhood, which led to the newly appointed headmistress with a major ax to grind against the Brotherhood.
“I see.” She pulled her glasses off and snapped the yearbook shut. “Someone is clearly trying to set me up. Or at the very least make the Sisterhood look culpable.” She narrowed her eyes toward Bradley, Seth, and Liam. Clearly she did not trust the boys.