Chapter 57
TALKING NONSENSE
Colt was right. It was incredibly fun. Stress relieving, even. For a few minutes, I forgot how insane my life is now.
But it’s a new day, which means the insanity returns, just as it always does.
Colt’s wristband flashes blue just after breakfast, informing us that it’s time to see Brielle.
I dodge Colt’s glances as we ascend the stairs.
I should’ve prepared something—anything—to say to her.
But my mind is blank, just a tangle of too many secrets.
I can’t even imagine what she’s been through.
First Avery, then June, and now, my disappearance.
That’s a lot to grapple with for one person, especially under a mentor who’s decided he’s above the rules.
I’ll improvise. It’s not like I have another choice.
Vance is waiting at the door, his face vacant as I slip past him into a sparsely decorated sitting room.
Brielle’s already here, sitting on the edge of a plush chaise, legs crossed at the ankles. Her cheeks are blushed the softest pink, blonde waves pinned back into an intricate updo. She jumps to her feet when she sees me, practically glowing; the picture of obedience.
Something I’ll never be. Something I apparently never was.
“I can’t believe it,” she squeals, crossing the room in bouncy strides and enveloping me in a hug. She smells like roses dipped in antiseptic. “You’re actually here!” Her smile is wide when she pulls back, almost reverent. “You’ll be graduating soon, won’t you?”
I open my mouth. Nothing spills out but a painfully nervous chuckle. Graduating. That’s what she sees when she looks at me. To her, I’m a raging success.
“I knew you’d do it,” she rushes on, squeezing my hands. “I told Ivy you would. Mister M said you were…difficult sometimes, but I never believed it. I knew you’d prove him wrong.”
Difficult.
That’s one word for it.
My shoulders tense, I let the fake smile drop. “Bri, it’s really like that.”
She holds my hands up, still clutched in hers. Tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not polished—or whatever this tier is meant to mean.” The words taste like a defeat for a battle I didn’t know I was fighting. “I’m just here.”
For the first time, Bri’s smile falters. “But that’s what ’here’ means.” Her voice softens, like she’s correcting a child. “This is where they send the girls who have almost made it. You’re so close, Maysie. Don’t you see?”
I shake my head, wishing I could fake excitement. “I don’t feel close.”
Something in her eyes shifts. The sky-blue shine dulls, replaced by something fragile. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, nodding like she gets it—when she certainly doesn’t.
“Well, maybe it’ll sink in soon,” she says, her tone lightens, but the warmth doesn’t return. “You’ll graduate before us. That’s…wonderful.” She offers another smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Try to enjoy it.”
The silence that follows is thick, weighted with all the things I can’t tell her.
Brielle clears her throat. “Maybe after graduation, you can write to me. Tell me what it’s like.” Her voice trembles with a hope so gentle I almost envy it.
I decide I can’t not tell her.
I lean forward, fighting the strain in my throat. “Bri…there’s something you don’t know. A lot of things, actually. About why they moved me here, why the others—”
Her eyes widen, panic flashing quick and sharp. “Don’t.”
“Just hear me out—”
“No.” She shakes her head hard, hair slipping loose from its pin. “Don’t say it. Please.” Her fingers tangle in the hem of her skirt. “If it’s bad enough that you can’t say it out loud, I don’t want to know. Don’t make me know.”
The words crush the breath out of me. She doesn’t want the truth. She wants the dream. The hollow promise.
“Brielle—”
“I’m glad you’re here, Maysie. I really am. I just—” She leans in for a quick hug, breath hot against my ear. “Hide this.” Something hard presses against my ribs. My fingers find a worn cover. I don’t need to look to know what it is.
Creatures of the Night.
My pulse spikes. I run my fingers along the coarse edges, heart pounding so hard I might pass out. I suck in a deep breath and force my hands still long enough to tuck the book into my cardigan pocket. “Bri, what are you—”
“Enough.”
Maverick’s smooth voice cuts the air clean. He appears at my back like he’s been there the whole time. One hand clamping down on my shoulder, the other firm at my neck, forcing my chin up. His smile is poised, but his eyes are daggers.
“Don’t fill her head with nonsense, little star. You’ve caused enough damage.” He releases my neck, letting his hand fall to my shoulder. I shudder, but he doesn’t so much as flinch.
Brielle blinks up at him, startled. Her cheeks flush. For a moment, I swear I see doubt flicker across her face. But she smooths it away, furrowing her brows and inclining her head at us both.
Maverick squeezes my shoulders, a threat poorly buried in his grip. “It seems like you girls are finished here.”
My blood runs cold.
Brielle forces a smile. “He’s right. I should go.” She offers a small nod, eyes skimming over me one last time before she turns to let Vance lead her out. Vance flashes one last glance at Colt, who rubs the back of his neck, pretending not to notice.
Maverick twists my shoulders hard, catching me just enough to keep my body upright while I stumble like a fool. Now facing him, he flashes me a set of perfect teeth. The kind of smile that makes you feel like the walls are closing in.
“You think Harrow can keep you safe from me? He can’t even keep you quiet.”
“And you could?” I retort, folding my arms so I don’t slap him.
“Cute,” he sneers, wrenching my shoulders back hard enough to sting. I press my lips into a line, willing my mouth shut. He cocks his head. “Don’t pout. It doesn’t matter what you told her. By tomorrow, Brielle won’t remember a word.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.” His voice drops low, intimate in a way that makes my skin crawl. “It’s unbecoming.”
“I don’t—”
“Maysie,” Vincent calls from the doorway, eyes locked on Maverick.
Maverick grins. “Better run along, little star.”