Epilogue Harper
Epilogue: Harper
3 Months Later
Jude Dearth, my stepbrother, stops walking, his wide shoulders braced. He’s never looked more handsome than he does now in his letterman’s jacket and slim-fit jeans. A gust of wind musses his black hair, and he reaches up absently to smooth it back.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” he says, his dark eyes latching onto mine as I come to stand beside him. “I wanted to get out of this fucking town, not commit to living here another four years.”
I weave my arm through his, giving him a quick squeeze before pulling away. “And I can’t believe you’ve already declared your major. Way to lean into it.”
Jude shrugs. “Might as well make the most of Pembroke’s deal.”
We’re standing in front of the large, double doors of Cinderhart Academy’s front entrance. The building is enormous, dark, and intimidating as fuck...especially for someone with high school transcripts as sparse as mine.
Someone already took our bags to our new rooms. Unfortunately, the Academy doesn’t have any co-ed rooms available, but we had our ways of working around that in Camp Joy. If anything, it’ll be even easier to sneak around here. I hear they treat their students here like people with actual human rights.
“Let’s go check out where we’ll be living,” Jude says, not sounding in the least pleased.
“Hey, you should be happy we got into such a prestigious university,” I tell him, giving him a playful punch as he pushes open the school’s door. The Cinderhart crest—a rearing stag—splits down the middle to let us in.
“Guess I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Jude says, cracking one of his rare smiles. My stomach flutters when he glances at me, and I reach to take his hand.
Ahead, someone clears their throat. “Dearth?”
I pluck my hand away guiltily from Jude’s. We agreed that we’d have to keep our relationship on the down-low in this place. It’s kind of frowned upon for siblings to date around here.Which makes Jude’s sacrifice that much more meaningful. He would have been fine anywhere—he certainly has enough money and with his father’s influence he could have gotten a job in any business in the city. But I’ve never had an opportunity like this before. I applied to thirty universities across the country. I was even starting to consider going to community college just so I had a chance to land any fucking job...but then Sean Pembroke’s father contacted us.
I blink as I stare at Eliza Jackson.
Oh God no.
“The fuck are you doing here?” Jude snaps.
Eliza twitches a sandy eyebrow at him. “Getting an education. Is that okay with you, Dearth?” She gives us a chilly smile. “Dearth s .”
I roll my eyes at her and Jude says, “Get out of the way.”
“Yeah, sorry. But I’m like your guide.” Eliza flips her blond ponytail over her shoulder. “I have to show you where everything is.”
“This is bullshit,” Jude mutters.
“What are you wearing?” I ask her, not just to change the subject but because I genuinely don’t understand what’s happening with her outfit.
“This?” Eliza plucks at the skirt of a black, silver-trimmed sheath dress. “School uniform, losers.” She gives me a quick scan. “Don’t know why you’re complaining, Harpy . Academy sluts look good in this.” From her tone, it’s obvious she doesn’t think of herself as one of those.
She turns on her heel before I can think of a come-back, and I barely manage to hold Jude back when he surges after her. Fuck knows what he’d do if he got hold of her, and I’d really like to last more than seven minutes before being expelled.
“Drop it,” I whisper as we follow behind Eliza. “She’s not worth it.”
He grunts, and then slides a hand over my ass and gives me a squeeze. “She’s right, though. You’re going to look sooo good in that little dress.”
I slap his chest, gasping. “Are you calling me a slut, Jude Dearth?”
“Hell, yeah.” He stares straight ahead, his mouth barely moving when he murmurs, “But you’re my little slut.”
My cheeks heat as I wrench his hand off my ass, and just in time. Eliza glances suspiciously at us over her shoulder before facing ahead.
“I doubt those stockings are part of the uniform,” I tell Jude.
“I hope they are,” Jude says. “I’m already imagining tying you up with them.”
“Oh my God, would you stop?” I point at Eliza’s back. “She’s going to hear you.”
He shrugs like he doesn’t give a shit, but I know he does. We still carry our relationship around like a dirty little secret...and honestly, I think it makes it that much hotter.
Eliza points out a few of the sights—the library, the cafeteria, the block where the classrooms are. Then we enter a massive courtyard, open to the sky, with several massive oak trees scattered over the perfectly manicured lawn.
“Girls’ dorms are there,” Eliza says, pointing. “Boys’ over there.” She gives Jude a cool stare and then fishes a keycard out of her pocket. “I’m sure you can find your way. Top floor, room 304.”
Then she heads for the girls’ dorms, not bothering to check if I’m following. Jude holds up his phone, tapping the screen and mouthing, “Five minutes,” before heading for the boys’ dorm.
I stare after him for a second with a smile on my face before Eliza calls me. “Dearth! I don’t have all day.”
I catch up with her, staring around at the school’s magnificent architecture as we walk through the courtyard. “So you’re also a freshman?”
“Obviously,” she says dryly.
“When do classes start?”
“Next week,” she says, giving me another look that makes me feel like I’m missing the mark on what I decided to wear today. “Good thing you came early. Best way to avoid all the hazing.”
“Hazing?” I force a swallow. “But I’m not pledging.”
She shrugs. “Your point is?”
“They haze students who don’t pledge?”
“Oh my God, Dearth, the seniors haze everyone .”
We walk in silence the rest of the way while I curse whoever decided Eliza should be my guide because fuck I have so many questions. But I’ll rather ask someone who might actually care that I get the right information.
On the top floor she hands me my own keycard and points down the hall. “Second last door on the right.” She takes her phone out of her blazer, briefly pausing to adjust the silver bow around her neck. “Is your number still the same?”
“Uh...yeah.”
Eliza swipes over her screen a few times and then shrugs. “Oh. I don’t have it anymore.” She looks up, eyebrows cocked. “Well? Are we swapping digits or what?”
“I’d...rather not.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “High school was forever ago, Dearth. Move on already.”
I glare at her for a second before I remember that I’m better than that. “I’d still prefer not?—”
She sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose. “If you have questions and shit, you need to call me.”
“I’ll ask someone else?—”
“Fuck it. I tried.” Eliza sweeps away without a backward glance, her blond ponytail swishing wildly from side to side. I watch her go and then let myself into my room with a sigh.
God, I hope Jude and I made the right choice coming here.