What Money Can’t Buy
Callum
I watch her from across the parking lot, yet she doesn’t see me. Did she really think I’d leave her alone after the note? She stares at her phone. Her cheeks are flushed, like she’s been bothered or out running.
I swear if she’s hiding something else from me, I will have to fuck it out of her. It isn’t safe for me to have this kind of aggression, not toward her. My grip tightens around the wheel.
She pulls her mirror down and looks at herself. But she isn’t trying to fix her makeup. It seems like she’s supressing a cry. Her ocean blue eyes turn icy. I can’t handle it. My teeth press together, and my chest rises and falls at a noticeable speed.
Scarlett is tough, there’s not much that she can’t handle.
But when I see her upset, I turn into a predator.
I feel the urge to hurt anyone who even looks at her the wrong way.
I want to feel their bones break in my hands and watch as they squirm under my shoes, their glare meeting mine as they suck in their last breath.
I want to take everything from them, because even though I don’t want to admit it, a piece of me disappears every time anything happens to her.
I’d give her all of me just to keep her safe.
She pushes the mirror back up and pulls out of the parking lot. I start the engine and keep a far enough distance, so she doesn’t see my car. She’s been high alert lately and pays attention to everything, but I’m always two steps ahead of her.
Her last class was Elliot’s. As much as I hate that slime ball, I don’t think he’d try anything in class, but maybe I’m giving him too much credit.
I need to figure out why The Society trusts him.
Should I ask Harrison for another favor?
I can’t. He’s too tied up in overseeing a few of the bigger drops right now.
I pull up the contacts list on my phone and click on Leo.
“Callum.” His voice echoes as if he’s also in a car.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Depends on what for.” A chuckle follows his stern tone. He pauses, waiting for me to go on.
“It’s about Elliot.”
He’s quiet for longer than I’d like. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Has he been given responsibilities? I thought he wasn’t allowed too.”
“He has. He said that he wanted back in. Daddy has the rest of the Highers in his pocket, it was only a matter of time before he was fully back, Callum.”
“He’s scum, Leo. After what he did… I thought interfering with an initiation was an immediate removal?” We’ve been over this before. I’ve heard the answer. I just want to hear it again.
“He’s a Professor at Langford, Callum. He doesn’t need a reason. His parents throw money at everything he ruins. It doesn’t faze him. He’ll never learn.”
I wonder how much money his parents have wasted to clean up his messes.
“Callum, I know why you’re asking.” He pauses. “You need to ask yourself if it’s worth it, if she’s worth it.”
“She’s worth everything.” I don’t hesitate.
“How do you need me to help?” I think about what I’m willing to ask. Once I say it, I can’t go back.
“I need his file.”
“I can’t give you that, but I can tell you what you’re looking for.” I’m locked in as I continue to follow Scarlett back to her house.
“The summer before Elliot went into teaching, there were a couple of girls that went missing. They weren’t local, but it happened just outside of Millhaven. He was the last person who was with them, but you’ll never find that information on the police file.”
Nothing is ever on the police file in a town where the highest members of society hold the sheriff’s department by a choke hold.
The Society basically funds it, so of course they can get away with anything.
I remember hearing about those women. They were twenty—one of them had just transferred to Langford, and the other was helping her friend settle in.
I wasn’t a part of The Society at that time, but I remember overhearing a conversation that Dad had with Archer, Harrison’s dad.
Their disappearances were chalked up as a boating accident.
“That isn’t it, Callum. I need you to give me your word that you won’t do anything irrational.” I can’t do that. He knows I can’t control what happens when I find things out. I don’t answer him. Words echo through the speakers of my car as my ears ring. I focus on Scarlett, a few cars ahead of me.
“Callum?” His words hum in my ears. It takes me a minute snap back to reality.
“Why are you telling me this?” Leo doesn’t owe me anything. While he’s my friend, his loyalty isn’t mine. It belongs to The Society.
“I had a Scarlett once, but I lost her. Don’t let them take that from you. I can’t change anything, but you can stop it from happening.”
Leo was engaged but never married. It was forbidden to talk about, but that didn’t stop rumours from spreading.
Some say that she took off with another man, others say she died.
Only the people who were involved know the truth.
I can’t imagine losing Scarlett. It would kill me, I’m not sure how Leo is still alive.
I don’t want to say that I’m sorry, it would insult him. We were raised the same, and I know that he doesn’t want my sympathy. He wasn’t telling me this to get a reaction—he was using it as a warning. I know what I must do.
“I’ll be in later today,” I say and hang up.
Scarlett pulls into her driveway. I stay down the road, not letting myself get to close.
She gets out of the car and walks toward her dad’s garage, then up to her room. She stays in there for a while. Her dad is probably working late. She checks her computer. I know that grades and school matter to her.
I don’t go in yet. I can’t. I sit and watch her for an hour before I pull away and drive toward The Society.
Just as I’m driving away, her name flashes on my dash. I pick up her phone call.
“Hey, are you coming soon?”
She has no idea how badly I needed to hear her voice.
“I can.”
“Oh, I forgot something at school, so I was going to head over to campus. I’ll call you when I’m back?”
What is she up to.
“What did you forget? I’m in that area, I can grab it for you?”
“Oh thanks, but I actually need to grab a paper that I handed in to Elliot. I must’ve submitted my rough draft, and I just want to explain myself and resubmit.” She would never submit something that wasn’t perfectly polished. Another fucking lie.
“You shouldn’t go alone.”
“He’s a Professor Callum.”
“Don’t trust him.” My foot pushes heavily on the gas as my hands turn the wheel in the opposite direction. I drive to campus.
“Callum, you need to trust me.”
It’s hard when you’re lying, Angel. I’m such a fucking hypocrite.
“Call me when you’re back then. Don’t be long.” I hang up.
She’s up to something. I should find her on campus and call her out, but instead I do what I’ve been doing for the last four years, I try to protect her.
Even if she’s unaware or resistant, I’ll always keep her safe. I smile, thinking about when she does resist, making this all much more worth it.
I pull into the campus parking lot and pick a spot near her usual space. I fight the urge to go in and confront Elliot. I watch her car pull up. We’re back to where we were not long ago. Again, I watch her from afar while she sits upset in her car.
She holds her bag of sour candy and pops a few in her mouth. I know her well enough by now to know that this can’t be good.
What the fuck is she doing? She lets out a big exhale and steps out of her car. She walks through the parking lot, toward the main building. By the way she carries herself, I can tell that she is hesitant to do what she’s on her way for.
She has three minutes before I’m coming in. She’s lucky I’m giving her that when she’s this anxious. Especially when I can tell something is bothering her this much.
No one messes with what’s mine and gets away with it. Especially not him.