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Chapter 17
Astrid
“Sneaking out again?” Roni lies prone in her bed. Her covers are pulled up to her chin, and a trashy paperback is resting over her face. I thought she was asleep. I didn’t make a sound. Has she been awake every night when I break curfew?
“Again?” I ask her.
She sits up, tossing the comforter off her. “It’s your routine now. I get into bed, you wait an hour, and then you sneak off.” Her eyes sparkle with amusement, calling me out. “You’re not as stealthy as you think.”
I stare back at her judging stare, and my heart sinks as low as it can go. Roni won’t snitch. She’ll never tell, but I kept a secret from her, and we’re supposed to be closer than just roommates. Or at least, we were heading in the direction of tight friends. Sharing secrets builds trust, and I just fucked up.
I shrug my shoulders in a lame attempt to make it a minor thing. “I’m going to go meet my old friends from my old high school.”
Roni shakes her head. She’s caught me in a lie. “That’s not it. The rumors are out there.”
My head snaps in her direction. “What rumors?”
Juicy gossip equals currency at Stonehaven. It will buy more than cash. “The whisper is you and Bryce Shelton are hanging out.” She rolls her eyes when I grimace. “Come on, you can’t hang out with the richest guy in the school and expect people not to notice.”
“It’s nothing special,” I mumble.
Roni lifts her chin. “I didn’t think he would ever be your type. A street girl like you with an entitled boy like him? What do you two even talk about? If you talk about anything.”
Roni is pushing it, but I don’t respond as I lace up my Converse. I have on wide jeans and a hoodie—not dressed to impress but to blend into the shadows. “So, who’s talking about me?”
“Every rich girl who thinks he ought to be dating her,” she replies bluntly.
“We’re not dating,” I snap. “He’s helping me get into the Investors Club.”
Roni flings the book off her covers, and it lands with a thud on her desk. I’m impressed with the aim and about to tell her, but I don’t get a chance. Roni bounces out of bed, glances at the door, and lowers her voice. The seriousness in her eyes alarms me.
“Astrid, whatever he said he’ll do for you.” She touches my shoulder gently. “The price isn’t one you want to pay.”
I take a step back to grab my backpack, and her hand slips away. “I can handle it.”
“No, you can’t,” Roni replies, “because you’ve already underestimated him. You think because the kids here don’t curse and fight that you have the upper hand. This isn’t the streets, honey. They have generations of being on top, and it’s not just good genes. You’re up-front about getting what you want, but they’re sneaky as rats about getting their way.”
My heart pounds at hearing a truth I didn’t want to admit. “I have to go,” I whisper, pulling my hood up over my head. “I’ll be okay.”
“When you’re not,” she says softly, “I’ll be here.” It’s awkward walking out of the room as if Roni hadn’t tried to warn me not to go, but I have no choice but to go.
Curfew starts at ten, but no one is stupid enough to sneak out a minute after. Eleven is when people take off, and it isn’t strange bumping into someone also slipping out of the basement. That’s where I run straight into ever-so-perfect Charlotte.
I have my head down as I approach the basement door out. And I walk straight into her back. At first, we giggle in embarrassment and mutter apologies until our vision focuses on who we’re talking to. Charlotte is dressed up like she’s going out on a date. Her tube skirt is tighter and shorter than anything I’ve ever owned, and I like the bitch’s red leather cropped jacket.
Instead of showing approval, I curl my lips at her like she’s stinking up my air.
“Excuse you.” She lifts her nose, trying to look down on me. We’re almost the same height, so that isn’t going to work.
“Whatever,” I reply, brushing past her out the door.
Charlotte mutters something under her stank breath, probably hoping I’ll lash out. She can think what she wants to. No matter what I do or say, she’ll think it anyway, so I leave Charlotte alone. I shove my hands into my pockets and keep going.
Stonehaven campus is over six hundred acres—about the size of a small town, packed with red-brick buildings all donated by wealthy parents. The computer lab is located across campus in the Vanderbilt Science Hall. The front of one of the few contemporary buildings on campus is well-lit with floodlights that imitate high noon. Sneaking along the hedges, I head to the back while looking for a door.
A rock on the ground almost trips me up. I grab it in my hand and reconsider tossing it away. I don’t trust Justin. He stares at my chest like he has X-ray vision, so I slip the rock in my pocket.
“Hey,” he whispers in the dark. I see Justin’s silhouette approaching from the trail toward the side of the building. His feet slide and slip down the embankment. Who the fuck wears loafers to break into a building? Justin hasn’t bothered to change his school clothes, except he took off his blazer. Doesn’t matter—he likes wearing black, so he’ll blend in. He tugs on my backpack, and we hurry toward the door.
