Chapter 28. Lorena
lorena
By some miracle, Director Minaro misses the fact that William never returned to the bus.
Since the vampire told my friends he doesn’t live far from the school, I make up a story that he ran into his cousins, and they offered to drop him off later. But what will I say when he doesn’t return at all?
The ride back is miserable. Salma offers to split her time between Tiffany and me, but I’m in such a sour mood that she just stays with Tiffany most of the trip.
My brain feels like it ate too large a meal, and now it’s having a hard time keeping it down. Did we really just run into two vampires? And did William really leave with them?
Did he hurt Zach?
It’s even harder having to stomach his betrayal on my own, and this part I know is my fault. I chose to keep all this from Salma. How am I going to explain any of it to her now?
How is she going to feel when she learns I’ve been lying to her since we got here?
Once we turn past the gates into Huntington Manor, Salma leaps back onto my bench. “So,” she says in a conspiratorial voice, “when’s he getting back?”
I’m afraid if I try to speak, I’ll start to cry. Instead, I give her a shrug-and-shake combo with my shoulders and head. She blows out a hard breath and goes back to Tiffany’s side for the half a second that’s left of the bus ride.
She wants me to know she’s annoyed.
Not eager to face more of my roommates’ questioning, I head upstairs to the computer wing. It feels impossible that William won’t be there as I enter the library, and motion-activated lights pop on.
I climb the stairs to the top floor, and when the ticking of keys makes it to my ears, my heartbeat rallies, as do my footsteps.
“Hey!” I call out to him upon entering the computer wing, and he spins around from the monitor.
“Zach?” I say in surprise.
“Hey, you’re back.” He looks past me to see who else is here.
“Why didn’t you come with us?”
He tilts his head curiously. “I thought William would have told you.”
I step toward him, my brow furrowing. “Told me what?”
“It’s okay,” says Zach, standing up so we’re face-to-face. “I know what he is.”
Even my heart blinks.
I stare into Zach’s eyes through his square-rimmed glasses to try gleaning what he means. I can’t think of any reason William would have confided in him. Unless—
Has the vampire made himself a second Familiar?
“He told you?” I ask, swallowing, and Zach nods in assent. “And what, um, do you think?”
Zach’s eyebrows arch, and he lowers his voice. “I think it’s a lot. I’m honestly not sure how the others will take it when they find out. Especially Trevor.”
I frown. How is Zach not the least bit scared?
“William said if I keep quiet, he’ll give Tiffany and me the first interview, so we’d have the scoop. This kind of story would definitely catch the eye of the Columbia Daily Spectator. They’re one of the best—”
“Zach!” I nearly shout at him. “You can’t tell anyone—!”
“I know, I know!” He raises his hands like he’s surrendering. “Not a word until the investigation’s over. Damn, I can see why he trusted you—you really care about keeping his cover.”
I just stare at him blankly. “Investigation?”
Now it’s Zach who’s frowning in puzzlement. “He said you knew about it.”
“About what?”
“Oh, I get it!” Zach grins appreciatively. “You’re still protecting him.” He moves in closer and drops his voice to a whisper. “I know he’s an undercover cop.”
I cover my mouth just in time to block my scoff.
“Law enforcement works with the press more often than you realize,” says Zach, misreading my reaction. “He told me he’s investigating one of the faculty members on financial fraud charges, and to seal his cover as a student, he recruited you to fake a romance.”
“R-right.”
“I wasn’t sure at first, but then he made a good point—no one has ever seen you two kiss.”
My stomach seems to drop a notch lower.
“He didn’t happen to tell you which instructor it is, did he?” Zach looks intently into my eyes, as if he could read the name there.
“No.”
“Damn. Well, where is he?”
Gone. “I don’t know.”
“I wonder why he didn’t tell you he confided in me.”
I wonder that, too. “Maybe he doesn’t want to risk us discussing it and someone overhearing,” I say, and it feels like my stomach is still dropping.
“True.”
No wonder William chose to go with those two vampires rather than stay with me. Why would he want to live among humans when the most that his only ally could offer him was judgment and doubt?
He came up with a creative solution for the Zach problem that I never would have thought of—one that didn’t involve killing or even compelling. It would have been so much easier to make Zach forget what he found, but William wanted to make a point. He was showing me he could be better.
And the only thing he got from me were accusations.
Now I’ll never even get the chance to apologize.
“Lorena, you okay?” asks Zach. “You seem … disappointed. Does it bother you that I know?”
“Not at all. I’m just a bit tired.” He’s still surveying me a little too intensely, and to distract him, I ask, “By the way, what’s up with you and Tiff? Are you together?”
It works. Zach looks around uncomfortably, releasing me from his stare. “No, we’re just friends.”
I get the sense there’s more, but I’m not trying to pry into his secrets. I’m only trying to protect mine.
“I’m gonna go,” I say, my gaze drifting to the computer screen. Zach was searching some kind of news database that looks similar to the encyclopedia software, only he’s reading stories written by reporters who went undercover.
“Did you really skip the field trip to do research?” I ask. “You could’ve done this any other time.”
Zach shakes his head. “I stayed so I could sneak into the main office and forge a student file for Will.”
“What?” I blurt. “How?”
“I took my intake form, covered up my name, and made a photocopy. Then I wrote in his name by hand. Hopefully no one will look at his file too closely.”
“But—why?”
“What if another student comes snooping around and scoops my story?”
Something tells me there was some compulsion after all. Still, it was a clever idea on William’s part.
“Smart,” I say. “See you tomorrow.”
As I head to my room, I should be dancing with glee instead of sulking. I’m free. I protected my friends and the entire school. The threat of William Pride is over.
So why do I feel like Elizabeth after her visit to Pemberley?
Like I’ve completely misjudged William.
And now he’s gone for good.
THANKSGIVING brEAK is next week, and the vampire is still not back.
The only thing Director Minaro said was: “William is taking time off for family reasons.” I wonder if he compelled her before leaving Hanover, or if he actually phoned in an excuse for his disappearance.
And I bristle at the thought of him calling and not asking to talk to me—even though I know how ridiculous that sounds.
Every day, I have to fight the temptation to visit his room. I worry that if I go and find that none of his things are there, he will really be gone.
Which would be a good thing, I keep having to remind myself.
The vampire’s friendship overture wasn’t real. It was a means of survival because he thought he was alone in the world—in his own words, we had a symbiotic arrangement.
The best thing he could have done was take off.
So why can’t I accept that?
ON FRIDAY night, the dining hall is emptier than usual. Some students already left for break, and the rest of us take off tomorrow. The school is providing shuttles to the airport and train station.
“Do you think Will’s coming back after break?” asks Tiffany. Since Trevor already went home, it’s just the four of us tonight.
“He might need more time,” says Salma, and I hate that I’m playing with her emotions.
“Are both his parents sick, or just one of them?” Tiffany asks me.
“Lorena already told us she doesn’t want to betray his trust,” says Zach, who has been helping me field our friends’ curiosity.
“Sorry,” says Tiffany, shrugging her shoulders as she sits back in her chair. “I was just wondering.”
“Pardon me.”
The deep voice makes Tiffany’s spine go rigid, and the four of us look up at Director Minaro. “Lorena, may I speak with you a moment?”
I follow her a few paces, out of earshot of the others. “As I am sure you remember, today was when you and William were slated to perform and discuss your Romeo and Juliet scene for the class.”
I nod in assent, even though I hadn’t given it any thought.
“I think we should put a temporary moratorium on Shakespeare club,” she goes on. “So you are off the hook for this presentation. Given that you are in history club, your extracurricular requirement has been met.”
“But only until he’s back, right?” I ask.
She tilts her head in an almost pitying way. “Have a good holiday.”
FALLING ASLEEP feels impossible.
I can’t fathom going home after everything I lived through these past three months. I feel like a completely different person, and what worries me most is that Salma doesn’t know the new me.
How long am I willing to keep William’s secret from her? Our whole friendship? To the grave?
If I don’t tell her, this will become a wedge between us that only grows over time. There will be a huge part of my life that I will be doomed to carry alone, forever. Even if I wanted to tell her or someone else down the line, why would they believe me?
How big does the lie have to be, and how long do you have to keep telling it, before you become an irredeemable liar?
At 4:00 AM, I yank off the covers. I’m heading home in a few hours and will have plenty of time to catch up on sleep then—but there’s something I have to do before I leave this place.
I make sure Tiffany and Salma don’t stir as I put on my winter coat and sneak out of the room with my phone. I sidle through the dimly lit passages, and tonight I’m less afraid of getting caught because we’re practically already on vacation—
I hear footsteps and duck into the game room.