Page 21 of Heartless Legacy

Another beat of silence. “Why would I lie? The only reason I’m the one doing this is because I’m Pax’s companion and I live in this building. No one will question me being here.”

Is that what she thinks? That being his companion gives her the right to be up here, letting herself into our rooms and snooping through our shit? The front door opens then closes and my phone chimes, showing the elevator has arrived on our floor.

Stepping into the living room, I skim my eyes over the space. The school did a walk through and had maintenance come through to close out the dorm assignment, but there wasn’t much here to clean. Layla Jean and the Hugheses packed everything up since Thea wasn’t here on her move out date.

I hurry back to my room and reach the front door in time to hear Eloise’s pitiful screech. I bite back a smile as I step into the hallway. Finn has impeccable timing. He has one arm pressed against her throat; his free hand holds a knife, pressing it into the underside of her chin, as he asks, “Why the fuck were you in Thea’s room?”

Eloise looks at me wide-eyed as I lean against the wall across from them, legs crossed at the ankles, arms folded across my chest. “Don’t look at me. I wasn’t the idiot in a room I’m not authorized to be in.”

“I was-”

“Just about to come up with a lie,” Finn says, cutting her off. “Yes, please do.” He twirls the knife around, slowly pushing it further into her skin. “Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of cutting your tongue out? Until today, I didn’t really believe dreams came true. But call me a Disney Princess, because here we are. Holden, mind giving me a hand?”

I take the open mouth gag from his outstretched hand and strap it onto Eloise’s head. He must’ve had plans to use this on someone else later. That person should thank Eloise for their temporary reprieve.

Once the straps are secure, I return to my spot on the wall. I’ll be studying her body language while Finn questions her.

“Now I know it’s gonna be difficult for you to do anything but scream and drool with this gag in your mouth so we’ll use charades, eye blinks, and hand signals. Kay?”

Her eyes flick to the elevator. Finn notices and chuckles darkly. “After what the two of you did to me, do you really think I give a shit if he shows up? In fact, I think I’ll record this and add it to my highlight reels.” He looks over his shoulder at me. I pull out my phone and give him a nod.

“Is this a challenge? Blink twice for no, three times for yes.”

I watch as her lashes flutter three times.

“Did you complete whatever your challenge was? Blink double the times for no, triple the times for yes.”

She blinks four times.

“How did you get into that room?”

She lifts her arm, pointing towards his door.

“All my shit better be there.” He warns. “Now, final question. Do you know what happened to Thea? Five times for no, ten times for yes.”

Five blinks. Finn steps away, and her body sags. It’s stupid of her to feel relief, because seconds later his hand is around her throat, squeezing the air out of her. “You forget I was your companion for years, Eloise. I was forced to spend time with you. Talk to you. Watch you interact with people and your surroundings, so I know when you’re lying.”

Her eyes bulge in her head. As he continues to choke the air out of her with one hand, his knife slices through her shirt with the other, exposing her chest. She screams around the gag, tears stream down her face, as he carves an L over her heart. Her muffled sobs wash over me, the sight of her blood trailing down her skin mesmerizes me. She finally passes out from the lack ofair, but Finn has no problem keeping her upright as he continues to work. The elevator chimes and Pax steps onto our floor.

His steps falter, his gaze bouncing from Finn to me. I don’t know why he’s looking at me. I wouldn’t be able to stop Finn, even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Finally, he moves forward, shoving Finn out of the way. Without him holding her up, Eloise slumps to the floor. We all look at the dead weight at Pax’s feet.

“What did you do?” He asks, glaring at us.

“I kept my promise.” Finn turns, heading to his room, and calls out, “But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

When Finn’s door closes, Pax turns to me. “You just stood there and watched him carve up my companion?”

“I’m under no obligation to protect her. That’syourjob.”

He argues, “You protected Thea when I wasn’t around.”

“That wasn’t about you. It was about Thea. Just likethis.” I point to the pile of flesh on the ground. “Is about Eloise.” I step over her body, resisting the urge to kick her. “While you’re nursing yourcompanion’sbruises, ask her what the hell she was doing with a key to Finn’s room, and what she was looking for in Thea’s room. Maybe you’ll get the truth since you’re so close. Unless you already know the answer because you’re a part of her schemes, too.”

Pax

I lean over, tapping Eloise on the face. I’ve walked up on Finn doing a lot of crazy shit. Him carving people up, that’s normal. Him doing it in the middle of the hallway on our floor. That’s new. Him slicing into Eloise Charles. That’s a problem. Me standing there watching is a bigger problem. But, I didn’t know what to do. I know something had to have happened that made him feel justified in his actions. But this stupid companionship means I have to take her side no matter what she did wrong.

Make no mistake, coming onto our floor and breaking into Finn’s room is definitely wrong. She’s not his companion or fiancé, so she had no business being in there. I’ve also told her that the fourth dorm room is off limits, but according to Holden, she was in there, too.

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