Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

12. Holden

Chapter 12

Holden

F inn showed up an hour ago, lamenting about being bored sitting in his room alone. I get it. There have only been two challenges so far this semester. It’s like The League has put everything on pause, and they haven’t said why. If I were a betting man, I’d say it’s because whatever activities and games they’re planning to throw at us will push us to our limits. I check the time on my computer and push away from my desk. “Let’s go.”

He groans, “Do we have to?”

“Weren’t you just saying you’re bored?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this is us doing something.”

“No.” He huffs. “This is us being forced to sit in a room with people we can’t stand.”

The fraternities and sororities have a mandatory meeting with Dean Gibson. After last year’s fiasco, he wants to make sure we understand it’s our responsibility to keep the pledges safe during and after any training activities, volunteer events, and pledge challenges. In other words, he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened to Thea.

I’m not particularly thrilled about sitting through this bitch fest either, but all members of any campus sanctioned organization have to attend or they can’t participate in rush season this semester. I think what Finn is most upset about is the seating arrangements. We’ll be sitting next to Pax.

Did I say sitting next to Pax was going to be a pain in the ass? How about sitting next to Pax, who’s sitting next to Eloise? I stop inside the door of the auditorium and gesture towards our seats, “Is it me, or is Eloise more clingy with Pax than she ever was with you?”

Finn snorts, leading the way down the aisle. We take our seats, ignoring everyone in our row, and wait for Dean Gibson to show up and start the meeting. He’s about three minutes late. Which is early for him. He’s known for keeping folks waiting.

He thanks us for all coming, like we had a choice, then launches into the history and tradition of our school and organized activities on campus. It’s all shit we can learn about on the school’s website or in Founder’s Hall. He drones on because he loves the sound of his voice.

Pax, Finn and I have each mastered the art of zoning out while looking like we’re paying attention, but today, Pax isn’t even pretending. His head is down, his hand scanning over a piece of paper and he’s checking something on his phone. Every few minutes, he scribbles something on the paper, then goes back to scrolling.

Eloise and the dean notices too. We’re in the third row center directly in the line of sight of the dean. She leans over and whispers, “Pax.”

He looks up, sees the dean looking at him and folds his papers in half, giving Dean Gibson a look that says continue. For the rest of the meeting, his eyes are focused on the stage, but his thumb taps against the armrest of his chair. Something in those papers has him worked up.

When the meeting ends, he springs from his seat, hopping over the chair behind him to get to the aisle faster. By the time Finn and I make it outside, he’s standing by a trashcan, dropping ripped up pieces of paper in it. Then he takes off towards the parking lot.

Finn draws my attention away from Pax and tells me he’ll catch up with me later. I watch him walk in the opposite direction. This moment is symbolic of our current circumstances. We’re all moving in opposite directions. I take the path that leads to the dorms. Worrying about my friends can wait. Right now I want to lose myself in something I can control, and that’s getting a jump on next week’s homework assignments.

I get a Prospectus alert as I’m walking into my room. The message reads:

38195

Reality is an illusion. How far will you go? What are you willing to risk? To see the truth.

The hacker from the summer now has a Prospectus account. Interesting, but I’m still not interested in joining their cause. I move to delete the message, just in case the words are actually a code that’s trying to snake its way into my contact list or steal my data, but it deletes itself, leaving me staring at a blank screen.