Chapter 51 Sable
SABLE
Looking at the time, I realize my options for the day aren’t great.
Two of my classes are gone and two remain, but I don’t have books or pencils or anything I might need for them.
I look through my phone, thinking about what I can do to get supplies or books, when I find my digital wallet is filled with cards, one from each of them.
A smile curves my lips. Of course those idiots made sure I would be okay. Who else would have?
The old Sable might have thought twice about this, but this Sable knows what she’s worth.
I head to the bookstore, get every single thing I need, and then sing eeny, meeny, miny, moe and choose a boy at random to buy it for me.
The next class is just a few minutes away, but I know the way to the medical department well, so I make it there just in time.
What I don’t know is the room numbers, so it takes me a minute to find the right class.
I’ve never been down this particular hall, and the lecture is already beginning as I step inside and find a seat in the back without drawing too much attention.
It takes me a moment to realize I recognize the voice at the podium.
Cillian is student teaching this class.
My heart climbs into my throat as I remember the day I witnessed Soren’s rape, and the reason I saw what happened stands there talking about the functions of the human body.
Was he involved? I ask myself for the first time.
I was so upset when it happened that I never even considered why he would lead me right past the crime in action.
It occurs to me then that I’ve never asked Lex if he sent for me that day.
Eyes glued on Cillian, I watch as he points at the diagram up on the wall.
He isn’t my official professor, but he likely grades too, so dealing with him is going to be an ongoing situation.
I pull out my books. People around me occasionally look my way, but I brush it off.
I’ve dealt with paparazzi flashing bulbs at me, so this is nothing.
The more they look, the more I just want to be a good student, but before I can convince myself of the role, Cillian pauses his planned lesson.
“Uh, Miss Briarwick, you’re not on my attendance list.”
“I signed up today,” I say meekly, but the silence amplifies my words, and I feel the burn of the whole class staring.
“That’s fine. Stay after class so we can have a chat and add you to my roster.” The words sound completely normal for anyone listening, but dread creeps under my skin.
Why does he need to talk to me to add me to his roster?
I signed up for this, so if his roster is not up to date, he can get that done any other time without me.
I want to be independent, but I know this wouldn’t be happening if Lex were with me.
Not many people are brave enough to question him.
The lecture is nearly three hours long, so I have plenty of time to dread what’s to come when class finally comes to a close, and people start to leave.
Because God hates me, a line of people stands at the front of the class waiting to talk to Cillian.
A couple of them are griping about graded assignments, and I can tell this is going to take a while.
Maybe if he’s distracted, I’ll be able to sneak out.
The door is right there. Surreptitiously, I stand, with every intention of slipping out unseen.
“Miss Briarwick, please stay,” he says, putting an end to that plan.
“I have another class across the castle,” I try to say, but he just holds up a finger and continues his current conversation.
I’m nearly sweating by the time they’re all gone, thinking about sending a text to one or all of the guys so they know where I am, when Cillian finally turns to me. “Sable, let’s talk.”
He pulls out the class list and writes my name. I’m not sure why I needed to wait for that. Does he want me to compliment his handwriting?
“You’ve already missed a few days of classes,” Captain Obvious tells me.
I swallow the sarcastic retorts that climb up my throat and instead keep things friendly.
“Are there any assignments I owe?”
He gives me a sharp look. “No, not yet.”
My skin prickles with nerves, and I wonder what exactly it is he wants from me. That budding sense of suspicion from earlier only grows.
“Is there a problem then?”
He shoots me a sharp look. “Your place at this university is secured regardless of your grades. But this class? It’s an exception. You do well in it, or you don’t attend it at all. We don’t slow down for newcomers.”
“I have every intention of doing well in this class.” I’m unable to keep the offense from my tone.
“People have intentions all the time that don’t pan out. Like me, when I left my room locked and assumed no one else would open the door.” He stares me down with dark and angry eyes.
“Is that supposed to mean something?” I ask, not sure what exactly I’ve done to piss him off so much. Did Lex’s little show last semester really offend him so badly?
“You and your little boyfriends haven’t wound up anywhere you don’t belong lately, have you?” he asks.
“No,” I answer immediately, and the key around my neck suddenly becomes much heavier. There’s no way he knows about my secret room, I assure myself. But frankly, breaking into his room does sound like them. “I’m not sure why you think that, but of course not.”
“And there’s no specific reason you’re taking this class today?” The paranoia drips off him.
“Of course there’s a reason. I registered late and had very few choices, but I had no idea you would be here. The schedule doesn’t list the TA.” I can’t help the hint of venom in my voice.
“So you’re taking this class to impress Mr. Morwen, then.” He laughs.
“You know better than anyone that this class is not enough to impress Mr. Morwen. You teach it, yet you haven’t managed to impress him.”
Bringing up his weird relationship with Lex is the right move, but the wrong way to do it.
Right because I wanted to piss him off, and by the look on his face, I just succeeded.
Wrong because I’m alone with this creep, and I shouldn’t be messing with him.
“You would know all about being a disappointment, wouldn’t you? ”
My cheeks burn. There are so very many things he could be referring to, but I don’t feel like having this conversation with him. He isn’t my father or brother, and he doesn’t get an opinion on how I lead my life.
“Why am I here right now, Cillian?” I decide to ask directly, tired of this whole conversation.
“You know, Miss Briarwick, a lot of people at this university think they know your family history. They laugh and talk about you, sure they know you well, but they don’t really, do they?”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “No, not particularly.”
“People gossip a lot around these halls, and it never costs you much, but I would be very careful about the ones who actually do.”
“The Briarwick curse isn’t even real. Who cares what they know?” I ask with a laugh. “My dad is dead, and I’m the only one left.” I shrug.
“Your dad.” He laughs. “Your father wasn’t a particularly memorable man, so why would I be referring to him?”
I freeze, wondering who he could possibly mean then. People in these circles rarely talk about women like they’re important, and his phrasing doesn’t lead me to believe he’s talking about my mother. Plus, how the hell would he know she went here?
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I tell him, but in the back of my mind, I fear that I do.
He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. They are filled with pure hatred, and I can’t fathom where that came from. I’ve never seen it before this moment, but it’s clear as day. He doesn’t just hate me. I disgust him.
“You don’t have much of a chance in this class or at this school if everything you just said is true.”
I open and close my mouth, tasting the words before saying them. “Why don’t you explain it to me, then? Nice and slow.”
“Your mother has a legacy at Bellthorn too.”
“What do you know about my mother?” I ask, biting my tongue a moment too late. He wants to dig into my family, prove that he knows more than me. I feel it’s his superiority playing a role, and I refuse to fall for it.
“What do you?” He raises an eyebrow, and the point he’s making is so similar to the one Nina made that my stomach turns with guilt. The days of my living in blissful ignorance are long over.
“Cillian, I don’t know what the guys did to your room, but if you know something about my family, you should just tell me, given they’re all dead and can’t speak for themselves.”
He looks me up and down. “You have no idea what happened to my room?”
“No, I swear. Do you know something about my mother?” I soften my pitch, as if it would mean a whole lot to me if he did.
He blows out a breath like he’s giving up this fight.
“Not much, actually.” He rubs his face like he’s tired, and if I didn’t know better, I would believe the act.
“As long as you pay attention in this class, we should be fine.” If I weren’t watching so closely, I would miss the wicked glint in his eyes entirely.
He’s fucking hiding something. It’s like being given a bunch of puzzle pieces, none of which perfectly match the next.
“Is that all?” I ask.
“Yes.” He nods, moving his intense glare from me. “I have everything I need from you. You can go.”
I turn immediately, absolutely freaked out by our conversation, even more so the false sense of complacency he tried to lure me into at the end. I don’t want to let him see that, though. He wanted to get under my skin, and the best thing I can do is make him think that he failed.
“And Sable?” he calls.
I turn back again to look at him.
“Keep this conversation between us. Lex isn’t in this class, and it’s not up to him whether or not you pass.”
“Yeah, of course,” I lie.
He doesn’t want the guys to know he threatened me, and I’m not sure what exactly he meant by the rest of what he said. Obviously, he thinks I know something I don’t, and now I’m very determined to figure out exactly what that is.