Chapter Forty-Five
Forty-Five
Sixteen years ago
Gwen sat alone in her room, trying to read but too distracted to absorb more than a few words at a time. They had sent all the students back to their rooms, afraid that whatever Declan had might be contagious. Stomach bugs weren’t uncommon around there, and always unfortunate.
It had been at least a couple of hours and still no sign of Natalie.
Gwen expected as much. She didn’t think she would see Natalie again for a few days.
They’d have her isolated and on some kind of pills for at least that long after what she’d done to Declan and that poor lady at breakfast. This time, though, Gwen was grateful they had her locked up; the night before, Natalie had tried to kill her while she slept.
Gwen had missed something. She’d known Natalie was capable of violence, obviously, but not against her. After all she had done to help her, Natalie was supposed to be dependent, obedient even.
How many times had her father warned her about this very thing?
The second you assume anything about another person, you lose the upper hand.
Natalie could have done anything, any night, while Gwen slept peacefully a few feet away.
Gwen had never even considered it. She’d always seen herself as the monster and Natalie as someone she could control.
Gwen was disappointed she had been so overconfident, embarrassed she had been so vulnerable. If only her father could see her now. Weak and exposed.
He had told her she was special, but maybe Gwen didn’t have what it really took to be like him—someone immune to tricks and charm, someone who couldn’t be manipulated.
Gwen was the opposite of all of those things.
Her father had controlled everything she had ever done.
Was Natalie really the one who shouldn’t be messed with?
Gwen was agitated. She needed to fix this. Her strategy with Natalie had been all wrong and it had almost gotten her killed. She had underestimated Natalie. She had missed the potential—the possibility of having a true companion instead of a disciple.
Gwen assumed she was destined to be alone in the world, that no one could ever accept the real her—where she was from, what she had done.
But maybe there was someone who could. Maybe Gwen had sensed it all along, in the hours they spent together, sometimes giggling about nonsense, sometimes hoarding poison.
A girl so eager to hurt the boy who bullied her that she couldn’t help herself.
If there was anyone in the world Gwen could trust with the truth of what she had done to Cody, it was Natalie. She would understand.
Things would be different when Natalie came back…if she ever did.