She actually sounds sincere, in a way she didn’t the night of Franklin’s death.
“Why are you here?” I repeat.
After what we did to her, it’s definitely not to play nice.
Pandora shrugs. “I knew you’d be here. I didn’t want you to do the whole memorial thing alone.” She gives me a crooked smile. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to get revenge on you. But figured you might need…” she trails off and looks down at her hands. “I don’t know. Somebody. In case Asch and Blaze weren’t doing their jobs.”
Like this would be the first time I’ve had to grieve the loss of a friend by myself.
“Well, they are. So you can go back to plotting and scheming,” I tell her. Then I remember something, and I narrow my eyes at her. “And snooping. Don’t think I forgot you were somewhere you shouldn’t have been.”
Blaze had claimed that the secret basement room had been used for “frat business,” but Asch hadn’t looked any more convinced of that than I had.
“Kinda weird there was a secret room down there, huh?” Pandora knocks her ankle against mine. “What do you think they used it for?”
“I have a feeling you know more about it than I do,” I tell her. I don’t know how long she’d been inside before Blaze haddragged me and Asch to the frat house, but it had been long enough for her to look around. My mouth is suddenly dry, all of the past week forgotten as I ask, “Did you find out anything about Rachel?”
Pandora bites her lip. “Sort of. Did you see the camera in the room? Pointed at the chair? They took photos of people there.”
I remember the tripod in the corner, but I hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
“Did you find any pictures?” I ask her.
“Not yet,” Pandora answers. “But I’m working on it.”
Not yet?
That should have been a simple yes or no answer.
I’m about to question her about it when the door behind us opens. I look over my shoulder to see Blaze and Asch walk out.
Blaze purses his lips when he sees Pandora, and his hand goes up to his chest. She’d left a nasty cut on him, and I don’t think it’s fully healed yet.
“Pandora. How did you get here?” Blaze asks.
“I drove,” Pandora answers. “I have a car, you know.” She pats the spot next to her. “You two should be consoling River, not making chit-chat with whoever’s inside.”
“It’s none of your business what we were doing inside,” Asch says, and while his voice is calm, I can see the way his shoulders have tensed. He’s as wary of Pandora now as he was when we’d first met, and for good reason.
She did just tell me she’s plotting her revenge, after all.
Pandora notices Asch’s tension and smiles at him. “Asch, come on. I’m not going to cause trouble at a memorial service. I’m out to hurt you douchebags, not all of Franklin’s family.”
Pandora doesn’t usually care who she hurts along the way, but for some reason, I believe her.
“Well, you came, I’m fine, and now it’s time for you to leave,” I say. I want to ask more questions about what she’d found, butafter Blaze’s evasiveness about that room, I’m finding it a little more difficult to trust him.
There’s a long pause before Blaze sits down next to Pandora. “River’s right. You don’t belong here, Pandora.”
Pandora bumps her shoulder against Blaze’s. “No more than you. Did you even like the guy?”
“Yes,” Asch says. “We all did. He was easy to like.” He stays standing, his arms crossed against his chest.
I wonder what role he’s supposed to have in the Bouchard Syndicate when they return to New Valence. I’ve never asked, but I can make a few guesses based on how protective he acts around Blaze.
Unless, of course, Asch acts like that for other reasons.Feelingsreasons. It wouldn’t surprise me.
“Glad you all knew Franklin, then,” Pandora says. She pats my thigh. “And I’m glad River has you two looking out for him. Being alone sucks.”
