Chapter 17
17
B y the annoyed expression on Li’s face pressed to the glass, I gather she’s been waiting for me to see her for a while. She might have even tapped on the glass but...soundproof booth. Effective for keeping music and singing from getting out but just as effective in preventing someone from gaining my attention from the outside. It's why each of the rooms is outfitted with a large red light on the wall—the admin at the front desk can press it to alert you if you're needed for any reason, or if your time is up and someone is waiting for your pod.
My scream reverberates around the space, and I cover my ears, wincing.
"We need to talk," she mouths, glaring into my pod. I hastily unlock the door and push it open.
"God, it's cold in here," she says as she leans in the door.
“Each one has independent controls. I guess most people get hot when they are singing.”
She shrugs, then gets right to the chase. “What is wrong with Dominic?”
My heartbeat picks up speed. I've been avoiding being alone with him for days. Yesterday we'd walked home from classes together, and we'd sat together in the hall for meals…but I've done my best to keep everything platonic. I can tell it's been confusing for him, but I keep explaining that classes are intense. Everyone has more studying than one day can hold, so it’s a ready excuse. I'm struggling to burn the candle at all ends and the exhaustion isn't feigned. “What about him?” Please don't say I broke his heart. Please don't say he hates me.
Her eyes bug out of her head. “What about him? What about him? Oh okay, let's just start with, I don't know... the broken nose?”
I blink rapidly. “I...what?”
“Or how about the blood I found all over his shirt?”
My hands start to shake. “Oh my God, is he okay?”
“No, Helena, he is not okay. I spent last night in the pharmacy with him picking up extra strength paracetamol and cold packs.”
My mouth flops open and closed. “Jesus, okay, well, what can I do? Can I get him food?”
Her eyes lose the glittering sharpness. "You didn't know?"
“Know... know what? Did he fall? How bad is it? God, was it a bicycle?”
“He didn't fall. Okay, so you didn't know.”
I glance at my watch. “How would I have known? No one called me. I would have helped. If I leave now, I can pick him up some soup on my way?—”
“No.” She reaches out and holds my arm.
I stop and look at her hand before glancing at her face.
“Okay,” I draw out. “No soup.”
My phone timer goes off, and I give Li an exasperated look. “I have to go. I’m volunteering and need to change in my room. Can we swing by and check on him together?”
Her face is stony. “He may not want to see you for a while, as I believe your boyfriend is the one who did this.”
My jaw drops open. "My boyf—Li. You know I don't have a boyfriend. Dominic and I?—"
“I don't mean you and Dominic.” She says some words in her first language that I gather aren't complimentary of my intelligence. “The tall blonde guy who has been pissing circles around you.”
My phone timer goes off again. Blankly, I turn it off. “Kendall? You think Kendall beat up Dominic?” I'll deal with the pissing circles comment later, mostly because she's probably right about how it's come off.
“I know he did. I came here to find out why.”
“You saw it?” I'm aghast, and I sink onto the piano bench.
“No, Dominic didn't see who did it. But, I've been watching what's been going on. As much as you may believe everything is normal, and that your...er, scholarship has nothing to do with Dominic getting hurt? That friend of yours, and whatever he’s involved in, is scary.”
I'm shaken. Kendall attacked Dominic. Probably for holding my hand. “Jesus,” I say. I can't believe she thought I knew about this. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Dominic left the math building late after a study group and someone attacked him in the quad. That’s all he’ll say about it.”
Pure rage takes over. My app dings. I have ten minutes to get to my volunteer shift, and I decide I don't have time to get back to my room to change. The music building is quiet, so I pull my T-shirt over my head and rummage through my bag to grab the black silk button up folded at the bottom. Thank God I planned for contingencies. Server chic is so easy to carry around.
“I'm not into skinny white girls. This won’t work if you’re trying to distract me.” Li is eyeing me with more than a little interest.
“We need to talk about this, but I need to be across campus in ten minutes.” I need to talk to Dominic, but in secret, to protect him. I’ll need all the information I can gather before I confront Kendall. “Can you help me? Can you pass Dominic a note from me?”
My silk shirt has seen better days, but it will have to do. It's got sheer pinstripes in the fabric that shows my bra—I usually wear a cami with it—so I reach underneath and unhook my undergarment before tossing it into the bag. I'm sure you can see my nipples in the right light, but I'm praying for a dark room or apron. A lot of our serving work has included aprons.
“A note?” Li watches my bra as it soars through the air and lands in my bag. “Are all Americans like this? I have to admit, I kind of get why Dominic is into you.”
I laugh and she shrugs. “You seem to come with baggage, so it’s probably for the best." She gives me a brief smile that turns brittle. “I don't do well with thugs.”
My own attitude sours as I yank on my black pinstripe trousers. “Here, I'll write Dominic a note and ask him to meet me. Secretly.” I scribble on the back of a page of my sheet music and hand it to Li.
“This is old school,” she says, folding it up and putting it in her purse.
I cast an eye at my phone. I don’t want to tell her that it’s occurred to me that Kendall might have a way to monitor my phone through the app I installed. “This way Kendall can't accidentally see a text or something.” I ponder whether or not he could actually be listening right now.
Her eyebrows rise. “Are you meeting him tonight?”
“Not him specifically, but he'll probably be at the event.” I blanch, trying to picture how I’m supposed to act naturally around that human being.
Li hesitates like she’s not sure she should speak but finally says in a rush, “Look, if you're in over your head with this volunteer stuff, maybe you should just quit. You look stressed. Your friends are getting beaten up, and I gather that you're having to spend time with this Kendall character because he's got the same scholarship. You could solve all the problems by just cutting ties.”
“This scholarship is the only reason I'm here. This is my dream. I want to be at Oxford. I need to be here. I can't explain it. I feel like my destiny is here.”
Li eyes me. “Worth selling your soul?”
I shove everything back in my bag, and fight off a chill of foreboding. Hadn’t I said the same thing to myself just a handful of nights ago? “Don't be so dramatic. I'm not selling my soul.” I'm telling her as much as I'm telling myself. “It's just a service scholarship. It's demanding. And while Kendall is out of line, that's between him and me. There are no bad guys running around in black robes, sacrificing virgins. I just have to stay the course and make it through this year. Then I'll have enough money to afford to drop the scholarship.”
“If you say so,” Li says skeptically. She turns to exit the door of the music room and gasps. “What were you just saying about no men in black robes?”
On the other side of the glass stand three men in black suits. All of them look pissed.
Li shrinks back. I don’t even think they could see her to begin with. “They can’t get in here,” I say. “I locked the door.”
She lets out a breath. “Maybe they’re here to murder us. Dominic was a warm up.”
“They are not here to murder us,” I say in a flat tone I don’t feel. “They’re in tuxedos.” No, this has to do with All Saints. I can taste it in the fine cut of their suits and their perfectly coifed hair. I yank open the door. “I’m not even late?—”
They grab my arms and pull me forward.
“Helena?” Li whispers, sounding scared. I hear her fumbling for her phone, probably about to call the police. I silence her with a sharp look that tells her to stay out of sight. As long as they don’t come into the booth, they can’t see her. I’m terrified of what they’ll do if they think I’ve told her anything about the scholarship.
“Let go of me,” I growl at one man. He's made of solid muscle, but I stomp on his foot and it earns me a wince.
“Mr. Saint James requires a word with you before the event this evening.”
I pretend to address the guy still bracketing my wrists with his fingers, hoping Li will know I’m really talking to her. Trying to alleviate her fears. The very last thing I want is her calling the police on All Saints business. I pitch my voice high and loud. “Oh is this some hazing thing? I forgot they told us this might happen. All in good fun, right?” I will the terror to leave my eyes and hope my smile looks genuine instead of a silent plea to continue the call. They drag me out the door. I'm not so sure I'm fine. These men seem to mean business.
I guess I was wrong talking myself down about teams of men in black abducting people. That's exactly the kind of organization I'm in, apparently. I can only hope I'm wrong about the sacrificing virgins and trading my soul parts too as they pull a black bag over my head and drag me out of the building and down the sidewalk.