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Four
As soon asI fell back on the couch and let out a heavy breath, the tears returned. I was able to keep my composure on the drive across town, but there was no point in holding it in any longer.
Why were they still keeping secrets? Did they not trust me? If any of them stopped to think, they would realize I was a pretty good listener. Once things were explained to me, I had no problem following rules or instructions. If they didn’t want me to meet the other kids our ages, and they had a solid reason, I would have respected that.
Instead, they went behind my back. Even worse, they made me look incompetent in front of the chancellor. He thought I either wasn’t trying hard enough in training or I simply wasn’t capable, neither of which was true. How was I supposed to meet the mysterious requirements if I didn’t know what they were?
How many others were involved in this apparent conspiracy? Just when I was starting to feel like a true member of the Society, the rug had to be ripped out from under me once again. How was I supposed to trust them, or the organization as a whole when lies and secrets met me at every turn?
Was it really so much to ask for the guys I was dating, even falling for, to be honest and upfront with me? Wasn’t that the one thing I asked for from the very beginning?
What was I doing wrong? Why did I deserve this?
It was hard not to feel like this was all my fault when it was a recurring problem that only seemed to happen to me.
Someone knocked at the front door, but I ignored it. If any of them followed me here, they wasted their time and energy. I didn’t want to speak to them, let alone see them. Not until I was able to calm down and sort through my thoughts. My emotions were too high not to say something I’d likely regret later.
Another knock, but I didn’t move a muscle.
“Ave, I know you’re in there. Please let me in.”
Vince. He was the only one who wasn’t at Luca’s, but that didn’t mean he was innocent. He probably knew as much as the others. He was the one who lied to the other Society guys about who I was when we ran into them at the movie theater. He was just as much a part of this deceit as the rest.
“Please, Ave. I’m not leaving until I talk to you.” The pain in his voice wasn’t enough to crack my resolve. He could stay out there all night. I had a bed upstairs and food in the kitchen to last me several days. If he thought he could wait me out, he was sorely mistaken. I’d stay here out of spite for as long as needed to prove my point.
“I don’t agree with what Luca and his dad did.”
So they were working together against me. Good to know I had the head of the entire continent rooting against me.
“I wanted to tell you everything about the Society from the beginning, but I let them talk me out of it. I’m done though, Ave.”
Done? Like he was going to spill it all? Now?
It was tempting.
“Nothing’s off limits. You can ask me any question, and I promise I’ll tell you everything I know about it.”
Huh. I debated for about two seconds before sitting up and going to the front entry. I checked that he was alone before opening the door and letting him in.
“Thank you.” He didn’t try to hug or kiss me as he stepped to the side and pulled off his jacket and shoes.
I eyed him before going back to the couch and sitting with my knees pulled up to my chest at one end. He took the other, angling his body to face me.
“I got to Luca’s a few minutes after you left. When they told me what happened, I demanded keys and told them to leave you alone until you called them.”
“And they listened to you?”
He held up Gavin’s keys and tossed them on the side table. “I was ready to take them by force, but he was the first to cave and then the rest agreed.”
I stared down at my socks with books printed all over. Gavin surprised me with them last month simply because he thought of me when he saw them. He was a puzzle I feared I would never solve. One second I thought I had him figured out, then suddenly pieces were missing. At least he made an effort tonight to talk to me. Plus, he helped Vince. Maybe he really was sorry for his involvement.
“I’ll admit at first I was on board with keeping you to ourselves. Things were crazy at the beginning, figuring out who you were, and then there was the stuff with Carter and your cousin. Then, you started getting more tasks, and we were all so busy. There never seemed to be a good time to pause and rethink things. It wasn’t like there were ample opportunities for us to introduce you to the others until we ran into them.” He sighed. “I panicked. I didn’t want some dramatic scene in public so I lied, and I made you continue the lie. I’m really sorry about that.”
He watched me until I nodded. I appreciate that he recognized that.
“There was a lot of fear from each of us that if you met the other guys you might like them more. That one of them could offer you a simpler, more traditional life.”
I shook my head, and he stopped, “How could you guys think that little of me? That I’d run off with the next person I met?”
