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I look up at the chandelier.
“It’s all fucked either way, T,” I mutter. “I lied. Now they know. I’m going to end up like that guy you showed me on your phone on our drive into the city.”
Tara grips my arm. “No!” she protests. “That’s not going to happen, Al. You’re entitled to a fair trial. That guy didn’t get his because the students got to him before the Executive Body could. That won’t happen to you.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I pin her with a disinterested glare. How simple it must seem to her. Her optimism would be inspiring if I didn’t know the truth.
Even with an investigation, they’ll still find me guilty.
And if the students here don’t kill me, my father’s enemies will. There’s no solution for me. I was doomed from the start. The tragedy of my life would make a good movie. People would cry after leaving the theater and feel better about their own lives.
“There’s so much you don’t know.”
“Make me know, then.”
Tara turns me to face her with a light grip on my chin. Her green eyes are the color of underbrush, glassy with tears. I sink my teeth into my lip.
She’s sad because of me.
I have nothing to lose now. The least I can do is tell her the truth.
“Where do I even start?” I mumble, running a hand through my hair.
It’s a tangled mess. I straightened it to go on that wretched trip, but now all the humidity and water has it curling again in odd places.
I probably look like a wet rat.
“A few months ago, my house was attacked by some of my father’s enemies and I almost died. My uncle sent me here to lay low until they figured out who was trying to kill me.” I almost can’t remember what happened, as if none of it was real. “He gave me a fake identity because my father’s kept me hidden from the world all this time. It was a risk to reveal who I was.”
Tara is pensive, hanging on to my words. She searches my face.
“That’s so fucking dangerous,” she huffs. “Have you told your uncle what’s happened?”
I jut my chin toward my phone lying on the counter. “He won’t answer the phone.” Fresh tears prickle the corners of my eyes. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do, Tara. The investigation is going to find me guilty and—”
A sob racks my chest, stifling my words. Tara pulls me into a hug. I curl into her chest and she rests her chin atop my head. She pats my back lightly.
“Don’t think that far ahead,” she coos. “You don’t know that for sure, Al. After all, the Peace Treaty is meant to keep spies and snitches out. You’re not like that, I’m sure they can make an exception or something.”
Despite her words, her voice shakes. Her heart is thundering in her chest. Tara’s just as scared as I am. The tears roll down my cheeks, soaking her shirt.
Fuck, this shouldn’t be happening.
But it is, because I trusted Alexander.
I should have avoided him after our encounter by the lake like I told myself. I should have been firmer, stronger. He was a mistake, everything was a mistake.
My hand travels to the necklace around my neck. I yank it but it doesn’t give. The cold metal digs into my neck, taunting me. It’s proof Alexander has outsmarted me.
It’s not just a necklace anymore. It’s a noose now.
“Alexander ratted me out because I broke up with him,” I spit. “He’s the only one I told.”
Tara’s hand stills.
“What?” Her voice is low, poisonous. “He…he did this to you?” The concern in her expression melts into rage. “You can’t fucking take this lying down! You can’t let Alexander do this to you and get away with it.”
My shoulders slump. “Believe me, T. I want to fight it, fight him.” I sigh. “But the odds of me winning are so slim. Alexander has all this power, he could have me executed on the quad if he wanted and—”
