Chapter 49
Ren
“I’m going to go, but text me if you need me,” I whispered to Chantry.
We glanced at the bed where Ivy was sleeping, and Chantry nodded.
Luckily, Sabastian and Zigzag had been given a warning and told to steer clear of one another, but Ivy was a mess.
I couldn’t get her to talk. We tried everything to get her to open up, but she just hid under her blanket and asked us to leave. We refused, but she didn’t fight us.
I wanted to argue and push, but having one friend tell me off for overstepping this week was too much, and Lizzy had already done that.
I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that the guys fought over her that was bothering Ivy or the fact that she was close to failing a few classes, or something else entirely. I was a problem solver, and all I wanted to do was help, but everything was on hold for the night.
Slipping out, I gave Ivy’s still form one last look and then left.
Walking as quietly as I could down the hall, I headed to the guy’s side of the dorm and knocked on Myles and Blake’s door. Myles opened it, and all the guys were sitting inside.
Nash marched toward me.
“Myles told me what you’re planning, and if you think you’re doing this, you’ve lost your mind,” Nash said, referring to Project Break and Enter. Nothing like adding B&E expert to my resume. “I can’t believe you want to put yourself in this kind of danger.”
“Nash, I’m doing this. I told you that I’m sick of letting everyone else do the heavy lifting. They are targeting me, and I’m not going to hide,” I argued. “Besides, we’re at school, how dangerous could it be?”
He lifted an eyebrow at me, and I swallowed down the sudden unease in my stomach.
“Okay, fine, it could be dangerous, but that is why Myles and Blake are going with me.”
“No, we all go,” Nash argued, but I shook my head.
“It’s way too hard to explain why we’re all skulking around in the dark hallway after curfew. Myles is used to doing this sort of thing, and Blake is the one who got us the keys, so they come with me. The rest of you stay here.”
“No, I don’t like this. Guys, back me up here,” Nash said.
“Actually, I agree with Ren,” Liam said, earning a death glare from Nash. “If she wanted to run headfirst into a firefight or meet some creep in a dark alley, then yes, I’d agree with you, but this is not that.”
“And what if Sharpe is in there?”
“Ya really think that between Blake and me we can’t take Sharpe down?”
“Not the point. He could have a gun, or a knife, or a taser, or—”
“Give it up, Nash. Just let them go so that they get back sooner and we can all relax,” Theo grumbled, looking up from his laptop for the first time.
Nash crossed his arms.
“I was looking forward to a drama-free night and getting some sleep, apparently that is not going to happen.”
With a smirk, I ran my hands up his arms.
“When did you turn into the stuffy rule follower?”
“Wash your mouth out, woman,” he snarled.
Cupping my face, Nash kissed me hard. His touch was brimming with tension. When he pulled away, his lips remained touching mine.
“Be safe,” he whispered.
“We’ll be back before you notice that we’re even gone,” I said, grabbing a black hoodie and black jeans to change into from my all too bright yellow sweater of Blake’s and my blue jeans. All eyes turned to me as I stripped. I pointed at them.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Oh…I’m thinkin’,” Myles said, his eyes tracing my body. “Nothin’ is stoppin’ that train.”
They all had a one-track mind. Pulling my hair up into a high ponytail, I headed for the door.
“Ready,” I said.
“Ren?” I stopped and looked at Liam.
“Don’t be a hero. If anything doesn’t feel right, you call immediately,” he said, his voice as calm and cool as steel.
It affected me more than the I’m-going-to-tie-you-up-and-keep-you-here, look that Nash was giving me.
“I will. I promise.”
“And if she doesn’t, I will,” Blake said, walking to the door. “Enough talk, let’s go.”
“Bossy, bossy,” Myles teased Blake as we left and headed for the back stairwell.
“Oh, the good old days. Doesn’t this just bring back memories?”
Myles wrapped his arm around Blake’s shoulders.
“No, not really. When did we ever sneak into a teacher’s office?”
“Technically, we never did, but it feels like us four years ago,” he said, and I shook my head at Myles.
He was way too happy about breaking the rules. It was almost like this had been missing from his life for the last few months.
It was strange and a little eerie to be wandering the halls this late at night.
Our muffled shoes weren’t loud enough to echo, but the steady thump sent a shiver racing along my spine.
All the doors were closed, and the lights were off.
Even the main office looked deserted. For some odd reason, I had pictured Dean Henry just sitting in there all night.
“I can’t believe I got Nash to agree to let me go. I thought he was going to freak out and order me to stay.”
“He was definitely thinkin’ about it. But serves the bastard right to have to worry. Me arse is still sore from him marrying you,” Myles said.
Blake rolled his eyes as we turned into the hallway across from the main office.
“Dude, get over it already. It was never going to be you.”
“Shut up, man, you don’t know that,” Myles said, whispering angrily.
“Yeah, I do, and so do you,” Blake argued.
“Both of you knock it off. I made the final decision. Nash gave me the opportunity to back out, and I said no. But not because I don’t love all of you, I do.”
I grabbed Myles’s hand to reiterate my sentiment.
“I know. Sorry, it just sorta slipped out.”
A door closed somewhere and echoed along the quiet halls. We stopped and looked around.
“I really don’t want to get caught doing this,” I said.
“Don’t worry, they switch off the cameras in this part of the school at night,” Blake said, and I stared at his profile. He glanced at me and then at Myles. “I’m officially a tutor who will be teaching part-time once I reach college. I now know things.”
“Anythin’ else you’ve been holdin’ back there, friend,” Myles asked.
“Yeah, I know where the underground tunnel is that leads to billions in treasure. It’s what they use to pay the Curators,” Blake said.
Myles’s eyes bugged out of his head.
“No way. Is that true?”
Blake snorted, making me giggle.
“No, of course it’s not. And why would I tell you about the cameras here when we’ve never had to come down here until now?”
“Jerk, I thought you were gonna pull out like a pirate’s map or something next. Lead us through secret passages to a treasure below the building. That woulda been cool,” Myles said.
He was such a kid at heart.
“Can I ask why they turn the cameras off? That seems…fishy,” I said as Blake held up his hand and peered around the corner to the hallway that we wanted.
“All clear, and I don’t know. I didn’t really care, so I didn’t ask,” Blake said as we reached Sharpe and Martelli’s door.
He pulled the keys out of his pocket, and I used my phone as a flashlight so he could find the right one.
It was dark along this windowless hallway, and I was getting intense high school slasher-horror-movie vibes. The hair bristled on the back of my neck, and it felt like we were being watched, but there were no signs of anyone else. Still, it creeped me out.
Blake unlocked the door, and we quickly slipped inside before Myles relocked it behind us.
The office wasn’t much to look at, apart from the massive desk that wrapped around the outer part of the room.
There was a divider separating the teacher’s spaces, but it all blended together.
The chair that Vicky had been sitting in the last time I was here was joined by three others.
There were two filing cabinets, one on either side of the room, and a single bookcase right beside the door.
“Be as quiet as possible,” Blake whispered.
We got to work, but all I found were old tests, notes on classes, and textbooks. All things you would expect. Walking over to the books, I pulled them down one at a time and shook out the pages to see if there were any notes or hidden pieces of paper, but found nothing.
Myles was reaching into the filing cabinet like he was trying to find a secret passage.
This was pointless. All the earlier adrenaline of sneaking in and finding something suspicious quickly faded.
I gave up on Sharpe’s side of the room and began pulling open Mr. Martelli’s drawers. He had nothing but paperclips and an unhealthy number of pens. And I thought I was bad.
Flipping open the file on his desk, I froze. It was a stack of poems.
Twinkle, twinkle, near and far,
Every wish, a distant star.
When the night turns dark and deep,
Hope remains while we sleep.
Rest your mind and weary soul,
And calm surrounds you, head to toe.
Twinkle, twinkle dreams anew,
Guiding hearts the whole night through.
“Snowflake, you okay,” Myles asked.
I turned my head to look at him, but all I could muster was to hold out the paper. He read it over and then handed it to Blake.
“Are we looking at the wrong teacher?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like any of this,” I said.
“Neither do I. I think we need to tell Dean Henry,” Blake whispered. “Student, teacher, or otherwise, he should know if someone on the property is a threat. And it has to be someone who knows about this assignment.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
Blake took a photo with his phone before closing the file.
“We’d better go, the guards are due for rounds in five minutes,” he said.
Blake unlocked the door and pulled it open. I noticed a piece of paper taped to it. We all looked at one another before Blake grabbed it, read it, and handed it to Myles.
The sound of guards talking and their boots could be heard, and I saw their flashlight beams at the end of the hall. We only had seconds to spare before they turned the corner and caught us.
Blake signed. We need to go now. They randomly check offices.
Myles and I moved out of the way so Blake could lock the door again.
He tapped my shoulder, and the three of us ran quietly in the opposite direction, not stopping until we reached our floor.
I was panting hard when we burst out into the seniors’ hallway from the stairwell.
I bent over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
I held out my hand as I stood straight.
“Let me see it.”
Blake unfolded the paper and handed it to me. Myles stood behind me like a warm support as I read the chilling words.
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the blade,
You crept through the office, so brave in your charade.
Two at your shoulders, whispering plans,
Touching things with trembling hands.
Run little Queen, try hard to be clever,
You’ll never catch me. Not now. Not ever.
Hey diddle diddle, the game has begun,
You’ll fall before you find me—this ends when I’ve won.
I shuddered, and Myles wrapped his arm around me.
“Alright, this fucker has gotta die,” he growled.