AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hate myself a little more with every lie I have to tell.
“Brady didn’t look happy when Nolan mentioned the sextape.” Cole cranes his neck to see the door, as if assuring himself that both of them have left the house. “You think we messed up by showing that video to everyone?”
“I thought that was Nolan’s bright idea.”
“He asked me to set up the AV equipment, but I didn’t figure out what he had planned until the show started. That’s not the way I would have gone about things, but I guess it worked.”
“Unless Olivia shows back up,” I point out.
Cole’s voice drops, his murmur so low that I have to strain to hear it. “I really hope she’s smarter than that.”
I bite my tongue until the urge passes to tell blurt out everything about Evangeline. For all the moral bankruptcy that’s just a part of being who we are, Cole has always been a decent guy. He has never seemed like the type to hurt people just for the fun of it or get any pleasure out of being an asshole for the sake of it.
But that doesn’t mean I can trust him with the truth.
I don’t know if I can trust anyone.
Brady waltzing in here right after a hit-and-run accident puts two people in the hospital is beyond coincidence. He didn’t react when Vaughn’s name came up. But that doesn’t mean anything. My father made it clear that Evangeline wouldn’t be safe when the alumni arrived. Now, our alumni rep is here, and she’s in the hospital.
Eventually, everyone is going to figure out that Vaughn had an accident. They’re going to visit him in the hospital and Evangeline will be there like a sitting duck with no idea of the danger she’s in.
I need to know how deep this rot goes, but I’m no longer convinced that I should do this on my own. Being with me is dangerous for her, but I’m also the only person interested in keeping her safe.
And finding the truth.
Havoc House is built on secrets and lies. Without them, the whole place will come tumbling down.
Chapter Five
I stare down at my phone with no idea who to call.
My father is probably the most obvious option, considering how many times he’s bailed me out of trouble before. But then I would have to explain why I’m in Drumville and calling him from Olivia’s phone.
I had a handful of acquaintances when I lived in Detroit, people I crashed or partied with. None of them are going to send me money for dinner, much less a bus ticket.
And I still haven’t figured out what name I’m going to put down on the hospital paperwork. The nurse made it clear that I can’t be discharged until it’s all filled out.
I’m fucked.
As much as I hate it, I don’t have anyone to blame but myself. I showed up here with no real plan and no idea what I was getting myself into.
Bravado can take you pretty far in life, but apparently not all the way.
I resist the urge to go see Vaughn, even though the nurse encourages me to get up and walk around. I tell myself that it’s just because I don’t know what I’ll do to him if I see his stupid face after the shit he pulled.
But really, the truth is even sadder than that.
Vaughn might be awake, and I don’t want to hear anything from him that might make me feel compelled to stay.
I’m not even convinced that I still want answers. The only thing I feel right now is tired. If he drops any breadcrumbs, then I might just follow them off a cliff.
Drake was right. There isn’t anything left for me to do here.
Someone tried to kill me and I’m no closer to figuring out who hurt my sister than when I started. The smartest thing that I can do right now is pretend that St. Bart’s never existed and go back to the life I had before, for whatever it was worth.
Maybe that’s the ugliest truth of all.
The poor little rich girl who was raised by narcissists has no real goals in life.
