Page 12 of Heartless Legacy

JR

Riptide

My heart squeezes. I don’t know if he gave the same speech to Holden or Finn at the garden party. Even if he did, it feels like that one word is a message directly for me. I’m caught in a riptide right now. The harder I fight, trying to push back, the further I get sucked into the undertow. How do I pull myself from the current?

My mind is a jumbled mess, but there’s one way I can escape my thoughts. I get to my feet and grab my bag so I can change my clothes. My back hurts like hell, but the adrenaline should drown out the pain for at least a little while. Or slamming into a wall or falling off a cliff will end my suffering permanently.

Right now, I don’t care either way.

Holden

My dad and his pep talks. Sometimes he’s eloquent. Other times, he’s a cagey SOB. But today, it’s JR whose text doesn’t make much sense.Riptide?What the hell is that? My mind goes to Pax wondering what words of wisdom his father’s giving him that we’re not privy to. I feel myself getting mad all over again.

My dad is right about this year being a test of who we are. I appreciate his optimism, but he doesn’t know Pax has lied to us so many times. Each lie and deception eroding our bond further.He’s already shown us and The League what kind of man he is. One that puts himself first. There’s no way back from this.

I finish setting up my monitors and power on my computer, letting the familiarity of logging on soothe me. When all the screens are up, I type in the server address for campus security and pull up the archived footage. I click back to the last day Thea was on campus and begin my search. I’ve done this at least thirty times already. Each time, I branch out in a new direction. A new city. A new state. I’ll keep expanding my search until I find her.

I’ve been staring at my screens for roughly two hours when there’s a knock on my door. I open it to find Pax in the hallway. Finn’s leaning against the wall between my room and Thea’s. He gestures towards Pax, while looking at me. “He wants to know what the plan is for this semester.” I turn to Pax, waiting for him to explain what he’s asking.

“We’re back on campus. It’s one thing to avoid me when we’re at home. We could just say we were doing family stuff or were busy. But now we’re at school and people will notice.”

We went to tons of events this summer, and Finn and I kept our distance. “I’m sure people noticed this summer, too.”

Pax rakes his hand through his hair. Did he expect me to say something supportive?

“As soon as the other teams get back on campus, they’ll come for us, and it’s only a matter of time before the frats start trying to take our spot. Everything we’ve built will be ruined.”

He’s trying to get a rise out of us. It won’t work. I say, in a measured tone, “We know what’s at stake on campus.”

“We don’t want to end our last year at school on a loss because we’re having a disagreement.”

Finn pushes away from the wall, his emotions on full display. “A disagreement? A disagreement is you wanting Chinese for dinner and us wanting pizza. A disagreement is you voicing an opinion that we don’t agree with. Disagreements can be resolved by talking like adults or beating the shit out of each other. What you did is betray everything we’ve ever said we wanted. Betrayedus.” He points to me, then to himself. “The people you swore an oath to. Now you want us to put our feelings aside so your status doesn’t fall? You want us to swallow the shit you did so you can continue to build power and look good?”

“I want us to succeed, Finn. I want us to go out on top. This thing with Eloise is… don’t let this come between us. You didn’t even want to marry her. Now you don’t have to.”

Pax looks at me, and I tilt my head to the side, waiting to hear the excuse he gives for why I shouldn’t be upset about what he’s done. He’s got one ready. “And come on, Holden. I knew you weren’t going to want to share Eloise, so why are you acting like I wronged you?”

“Nobody cares about your union, Pax. You can have her. My problem is that you lied to us and schemed behind our backs for an entire year, if not longer. You made us think we were all on the same page about our future. You made us jump through hoops drafting contracts so we could all marry Thea, but all you were doing was stringing us along.” Finn’s nodding his agreement. “I think I could be okay with how things panned out,if it were just us involved. But we’re right back where we were last semester. Thea’smissingand Eloise is on your arm.”

I look for any hint of concern on Pax’s face, finding none. “Do you even think about what that means? Thea’s gone and there will be consequences for her running away.”

His jaw clenches as he says, “I warned her that the challenges weren’t easy. The League will deal with her if they ever track her down.”

Finn growls, “When!When they track her down.” He takes a step forward. “Or maybe you’re hoping they won’t find her, because once again, you’re the reason behind her disappearance.”

Pax shakes his head. “I’m not. I had nothing to do with her being gone.” He stares at the ground, grumbling, “This whole thing would be so much easier if she weren’t.”

“What thing?”

His head jerks up. The regret I thought I heard is nowhere to be seen. “Our tension, and that the two of you are mad at me. It would be easier for you to get over it if she were here, because then you’d fixate on her and stop pouting because I made a decision about my future.”

Finn roars, “It’s a fucking awful decision, Pax! Trust me. I know how bad this is. I was engaged to Eloise first. Remember?”

“She’s not that bad,” Pax says, defending her. “The two of you were clearly incompatible. Now she has someone who sees her worth.”

Pax looks up to the ceiling, then shakes his head as if he’s dealing with children throwing a tantrum. “We’re all expected to get married and father the next generation of legacy children. I’ve made moves towards that goal. You two need to do the same. Now either we move past this or we face the fact that our Trium isn’t any stronger than the ones that came before us. We all swore we’d never let a woman tear us apart. If you twocan’t respect my choices, then you’re the ones going back on that promise.”

Finn goes to his room, slamming the door behind him. I take a calming breath and say, “We won’t let everything we’ve worked for go to shit because you’re a lying bastard. We’re there for challenges, we’ll maintain our points, and put on a good show of solidarity in public. This is a business arrangement only. Outside of that, you’re on your own.”

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