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“I’d rather be in pain here, if I’m being honest. The food in that place sucked and none of the pretty nurses were ever the ones who gave me a sponge bath.” He picks up a bent wire hanger and pokes the end of it under his cast. “This shit itches like hell, though. Jesus Christ.”
“How long do you have to wear that thing?”
“Another couple of weeks, at least.”
“Just be happy that you get to miss out on some of the nonsense. Brady keeps thinking up more bullshit that we need to do.”
“Not if it means I’m going to miss out on the damn Initiation, too. My father would literally murder me.” Vaughn gives me an anxious look. “Brady hasn’t said anything about when it will be yet, right?”
“Nah, he seems more concerned with torturing pledges than worrying about getting the seniors through the Initiation.”
Vaughn lowers the hanger onto the bed and looks directly at me. “I wonder why that is.”
I’m very aware of the fact that anyone listening at the door might be able to hear our conversation. “Speaking of sensitive subjects, have you remembered anything else about your accident like who ran you off the road.”
“Not really, I mean…I was a little out of my mind that night.” Vaughn looks away to stare out the window with a pained shrug. “The more that I think about it, the more I think it was just an accident. Somebody jumped their lane, making me swerve, and then freaked out without staying to make sure we were okay. That kind of stuff happens all the time.”
I just stare at him. “Are you serious?”
“Look, I get why Evangeline came here. She wanted justice for her sister, but maybe she has you seeing sinister plots where nothing is actually going on.” He pitches his voice lower at my warning look, but the cajoling note is still there when he continues. “The piece of shit that attacked Olivia might not even be in town anymore. The alumni never even saw Olivia as a threat until they thought she came back to St. Bart’s for some epic payback when it wasn’t even her in the first place. Evangeline is stirring up all this shit…and for what? Problems for literally everyone.”
“You can’t think it’s all really that simple,” I scoff. “The alumni have never gotten themselves involved like this before. Even my father seems to care more about Olivia Pratt then he does about anything else.”
His expression is shadowed. “And whose fault is that?”
I know he loved the real Olivia and that he’s been in excruciating pain for the last two weeks, but I’m still annoyed. “Watch it.”
“You don’t know anything about this girl and you’re throwing your lot in with her like you won’t lose everything if this all goes bad. And judging from previous experience, this is probably going to get very, very bad.”
“You really don’t think that anyone tried to hurt you?”
Vaughn spreads his arms wide. “If somebody wants a piece of me, they’ve got the perfect chance to come get it. I’ve been a sitting duck here for days and no one has tried to kill me.”
I hate that I feel the smallest amount of doubt as I consider his words. The reason that I believe that accident was purposeful is because Evangeline told me it was. Her fear isn’t manufactured, but maybe she didn’t see what she thinks she did.
“What possible reason could she have to make this up?” I ask finally.
“You barely know this chick, maybe she’s legit crazy. Or just deluded. Grief does strange things to your mind, I know it did to mine. Her sister is in a coma and she reacted in a way that isn’t in line with reality. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“You’re the one who tried to drag her to the police station at gunpoint,” I point out.
Vaughn lets out an exasperated sigh. “Because I wanted all of it to be done. Olivia never told me she had a twin, and now I’m thinking there might have been a good reason for that. Sure, I overreacted but what did you expect me to do?”
I bite back an annoyed retort. “Maybe tell me the truth.”
He lets out a dry laugh. “Because that wouldn’t have sounded crazy, right? Give me a fucking break.”
“And Brady showing up on the same night that you get run off the road is just a coincidence?”
“Coincidences are a thing, you know. It’s not like this is the first that I ever wrecked my car.” He just shakes his head and casts me a sympathetic look, like I’m a grown adult who still believes in Santa Claus. “This girl is messing with your mind. I’m not going to get in the way of whatever you think you need to do, but I’d rather stay out of it.”
I abruptly rise from the chair, frustration overwhelming my normal control of my temper. “Just promise me that you’ll keep all of this to yourself.”
Vaughn settles back against the pillows with an annoyed sigh. “I’ve basically been stuck in the attic like someone’s crazy uncle. Nobody is coming to ask me about anything.”
Despite my better judgment, I hesitate by the door. I might not need Vaughn’s help, but there is something that I need to know. Even though I’d sounded confident when I reassured Evangeline, there is more doubt there than I want to admit.
“I need to know how long you dated Olivia. Were you guys broken up for a while before the Initiation?” I ask.
