Chapter 15
Josephine didn’t know much, but she knew her love for George could withstand a battlefield, and would survive the scars of
this war . . .
I type into my outline. My protagonist, Josephine, is separated from her lover, George, during a gruesome world war. Josephine
clings to the one way she knows that George is still alive, his letters. But one day they stop coming. Josephine does what
any sane woman would do and becomes a war reporter to travel to the front lines in search of George and—
Come over
My phone buzzes with a text from Asher late on the Friday of Halloween weekend while I’m trying to focus on my short story.
I stare at my phone screen considering, before getting out of bed and heading to the boys’ house. When I get to Asher’s bedroom,
I’m surprised to find Sam standing there.
“Oh, hey, Sam.”
Asher stands. “Sam was just telling me all about how Bryce is in some secret society on campus.”
“A secret society?” I question. “I didn’t even know Pembroke had one of those.”
Asher rolls his eyes. “That’s because it’s a secret, genius.”
I ignore him and turn back to Sam. “How do you know about this?”
Sam sighs. “Because I’m in it.”
“And what’s your secret society called?” I ask.
Sam looks at us apprehensively. “Do you guys promise not to laugh?”
“No,” Asher replies.
“Yes,” I say, shooting him a look.
“We’re called the Knights of Pembroke.”
Asher tries to hold in a laugh, and I purse my lips, trying to keep a neutral face. Sam rolls his eyes at us.
“I knew I shouldn’t have even said it,” he starts.
“No, no,” I say. “That’s a cool name. I like it. Um, where is it? Do you think you could take us there sometime?”
“Not exactly,” Sam says. “It’s under the campus and it’s for members only.”
“How do you become a member?” I ask. “Can we get Asher in?”
Asher scoffs. “I am not joining something called the fucking Knights of Pembroke.” He looks at Sam, whose face is red. “No
offense.”
“You have to be a legacy,” Sam says. “That, or everyone inducted can vote on a potential new member, but everyone has to agree
in order for that person to get in.”
“Then how can we get in?” I ask. “It’s important that we . . . become friendly with Bryce.”
Sam doesn’t ask why, and I’m grateful. “Well, usually I wouldn’t be able to get you in at all but . . . we are hosting a Halloween
party tomorrow night at midnight. Any nonmembers have to be brought by a member and blindfolded, so you don’t know the location.”
“Great! Then we’ll go with you. That’s okay, right?”
“I guess so,” Sam says hesitantly. “But just know it can get . . . weird down there.”
“Weird how?” Asher asks.
“I guess you’ll see for yourself,” Sam says. “But it can only be you two. Don’t tell Annica and Dani or the rest of the guys.”
“Okay, deal,” I say.
Asher sighs but agrees.
“So do you guys want me to bring the blindfolds, or do you want to bring your own?”
I wake up early on Saturday to prepare for the day, not really knowing what to expect. Annica wants me at the apartment by
four to take pictures before we go to the boys’ house. My costume arrives in the mail right on time and when I open it I just
know Annica is going to throw a fit. The yellow outfit was sold out everywhere, so I got the outfit that she’s wearing on
the movie cover. I go to the salon for a blowout at noon and come back to my place to start getting ready, but when I get
back Adrienne is leaving with a packed duffel bag.
“Where are you going? I thought you were coming out with me tonight?” I ask her.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sloane, I’m going up to Ivy Gate tonight for their Halloween with that guy I’m kind of talking to. I thought I mentioned it yesterday but it must have slipped my mind.”
“Oh, okay, no worries,” I say. “Have fun, be safe.”
“You too, Cousin!” When the door closes behind her I listen to her footsteps going down the stairs. Even though she’s gone
I tiptoe to her bedroom and sitting on her nightstand is her pack of Xanax that she sometimes takes for her anxiety. I stare
at it for a while, wondering if she’ll really notice if one or two are missing. Against my better judgment I quickly pop one
from the packet and put it into the clutch purse I’m taking out with me tonight. I put on my tight red dress with the matching
red heel, and the big, fluffy white feathered boa. The last touch is red lipstick, which I carefully apply before grabbing
my purse and heading out the door.
I realize the heels were a poor choice when my feet start to ache only halfway to the house. I wish I didn’t agree to be sober
so I could numb the pain just a little bit. When we come up to the house there are already a ton of people outside drinking
on the porch. Jake is outside finishing setting up a big blow-up spider in the yard. The boys always go all out with the outdoor
decor. There are three other blown-up figures in the yard and a ton of large fake spiderwebs covering the porch. Jake pretends
to hump the blow-up spider from the back as we approach, and the boys all laugh.
“Every year he thinks that’s funny and every year it isn’t,” Annica says.
“Boys will be boys,” I say.
Wes, Marissa, and Charlie are all on the porch. Wesley is in a fighter pilot costume with aviators on his face. Marissa is dressed as his female counterpart in a much sluttier-looking version of his costume.
Annica says so just we three can hear, “Couples costumes are so cringe.” I laugh, but then Asher comes out of the house dressed
in jeans and an Amnesty International T-shirt with a flannel over it.
Well, shit.
I can only hope Annica doesn’t realize that he’s dressed as Cher’s love interest in the movie. But of course, she picks up
on it.
“Why are you a part of our group costume?” she asks him when we walk up onto the porch. “Why is he a part of our group costume?”
She looks at me now.
I put my hands up in defense. “I didn’t tell him.”
“Oh, I did,” Dani says. “Sorry, I didn’t think it would be a problem. I actually thought it would be cute!”
“Surprise,” Asher says, grinning at me. I can’t say it doesn’t suit him. He looks like he belongs in the nineties, though
he looks more like Paul Walker and less like Paul Rudd. And unfortunately, Walker is the Paul I always thought was cuter.
“Here, got this for you.” He hands me a seltzer, and I give him a look like what about being sober? But then I take a sip and it’s water. He really dumped out a seltzer and filled it with water to keep up the charade. I glare
at him.
Wes makes his way around to our group, looking slighted that we didn’t greet him before his cousin. Marissa just stands behind
him with her arms crossed, staring at me. I return the look. She’s still on my suspect list, for now. I can see Wesley’s eyes
from under the aviator glasses as he looks at Asher before pulling me in for a hug.
“You look . . . really good, Sloane,” he says a little too low for Marissa to hear, but loud enough for Asher.
“Red is my favorite color,” Asher muses, putting a hand on my back to guide me inside and away from Wes.
“What the hell?” I say to him when we walk into the living room. “Why would you do that? He was flirting with me.”
“You call that flirting?” he says back.
“Also, I don’t want a seltzer with water in it. I can handle an actual drink.”
“Fine, then go get one yourself.” He walks past me to the backyard, where there’s a bonfire going and double the amount of
people. I grab an actual alcoholic beverage and go to rejoin my friends in the living room on one of the couches. A dry ice
machine goes off in the corner of the room, making it smoky, but we can still see Marissa and Wes by the stairs looking like
they’re having an argument.
“Charlie said he thinks they’re going to break up again,” Dani says.
Annica crosses her arms. “I doubt it. He would tell me.” She thinks he tells her everything.
“I don’t know.” Dani takes a drink. “Apparently, he slept with someone else while they were on a break last summer. Charlie
said he doesn’t know who it was but Wes hasn’t been the same around Marissa since.” I hold my breath, my heart beating rapidly
in my chest, waiting to see Annica’s response.
Annica’s eyebrows shoot up. “What? I can’t believe he didn’t tell me about that—we tell each other everything.”
“Looks like not everything,” I mumble.
“Do you know who it was?” she asks me. “I bet Asher knows. You should ask him.”
“Um, yeah, maybe. But if he didn’t tell you, maybe there’s a reason for it. Maybe we should just leave it alone.”
Annica narrows her eyes. “He must be embarrassed about whoever it was. Maybe she’s not very pretty. Or maybe she’s a major
slut.” She looks at us for reassurance.
Dani just nods along and I say, “Yeah, for sure. Probably both.”
I have bigger things to worry about tonight than Annica’s obsession with Wes and who he sleeps with. She claims to love him
like a brother but if it is something more, I wish she’d just say it already. Just put it out in the open and spare us the
group dynamic excuse.
A hypocritical thought coming from the girl who does in fact like him in that way and hasn’t said anything.
I start to chug my drink and hope they don’t notice my hands shaking as I do it. I go to the kitchen to grab another drink
and peer out at the backyard, making sure Asher is occupied, but I don’t see him. Looking back in the living room, I see Annica
and Dani join in on some of the drinking games going on and I lean against the wall by the staircase, digging around my purse
for the Xanax. I take it out and look at it between my thumb and finger for a while before bringing it to my mouth. A hand
catches my wrist and I look over to find Asher standing there.
“What is that?” he asks.
“Aspirin,” I lie.
He forcefully turns my wrist so he can see the blatant writing on the pill that says what it is, and then gives me a stern
look. “Drop it.”