Page 55 of Heartless Legacy

I barely get a look at Thea before Eloise is rushing me off to finish our shopping. I play my part for the rest of our outing, perpetuating the lie that I’m happy with her. I smile and dote on her, pretending that for me, no other woman exists.

Thea and LJ are gone when we make our way back through the annex towards my car. If I could, I’d leave Eloise to find her own way home. I tamp down the urge to drive off, gripping the steering wheel while she piles her bags into the trunk and settles into the passenger seat.

I turn the radio up, preventing any conversation, until she and her packages are out of my presence. When the door to her parent’s home closes behind her, I turn the volume down, so I can hear any police or emergency sirens as I speed along the roads leading to campus as if I can out-drive my thoughts.

When I reach my room, I exhale, willing the tension to seep from my neck and shoulders, and allow myself to think abouther. My glimpse of Thea was too brief, but she’s alive. And here. She wasn’t trafficked, which has been my fear since Parker stood in chambers and announced they were looking into the disappearance of the Rockridge patients.

Relief. That’s all I feel. She’s here. I know there are so many still missing, yet I’m so fucking happy Thea’s not amongst them. Does that make me a bad person?

Probably, but when have I ever claimed to be good?

Chapter 35

Finn

It’s a new semester and I’m engaging in my new pre-lunch routine. I’ve gotten used to coming to The Circle and spending some time tossing a football around with Connor and Austin. I won’t exactly call them friends, because I don’t really know them on any deep level, but we’re not as antagonistic as we were before. Last semester, right around midterm, I went back to sitting at the legacy table, but I still make time to do this.

Connor sends the ball flying. I shuffle backwards, then run to catch it. It lands beautifully in my hands. Palming the ball, I prepare to send it back to him. My hand stops mid throw, as I spot Thea standing off to the side. I think I’m hallucinating until I see LJ get up to greet her. She stops a few inches away from her and they press their heads close, without touching, whispering to each other. Then they’re walking towards us. I lower my hand, my heart speeds up, and there’s a smile on my face. They stop to talk to Connor and Austin, then they’re walking towards me. Past me. Without speaking.

“Thea-” I call out, taking a step towards her. It’s LJ, who turns and shakes her head at me. Is she warning me not to talk to her? Fuck that. “Thea…” Her back stiffens, but she doesn’t stop,as the two of them continue toward the dining hall, then take a right on the path away from it.

“They’re having lunch in LJ’s dorm.” Austin says, coming up to me. He shoots out his hand to stop me when I move to go after them. “They said they needed girl time.”

Girl time. Right. I remember how important that is to them. But she didn’t even speak to me. Did she not notice it was me since I’m standing here throwing a football and that’s not what I used to do before she left? I quickly dismiss the excuse. No. That’s not it. She knew it was me, and LJ told me not to talk to her.

Thea’s back. My spiraling thoughts slow as I focus on that. She was gone. Missing. Deemed a traitor, and now she’s back. Maybe her dismissal of me is because of that. Does she think she can’t speak to me because she’s now labeled as a traitor? I mean, therearerules, but I don’t plan to abide by them.

I toss the ball to Austin and head to the dining hall to eat. Holden slides into the seat across from me. Even though I’m a little upset about what happened, the smile is back on my face.

“Who did you stab?”

“No one.” Disbelief is etched all over his face. “I didn’t.”

“Fine. Who are you planning to stab?” He asks, fingers swiping across his phone screen.

“She’s back.” I say, no interest in being coy or delaying this. “Thea’s back.” His fingers still, as he looks up at me. “Before you ask how I know, it’s because I saw her. She was here on campus with LJ.”

He goes to stand and I tell him what Austin said to me. “They’re having girl time.” His eyes slit, but he lowers back into his seat.

“What did she say? Where has she been?”

“I didn’t have time to speak to her.” My brows pinch. “That’s not true. I tried to speak to her, and she ignored me. That’s when Austin said they were having girl time.”

“And you accepted that?” His fingers are back to typing.

“You remember how important girl time is to her, so I figured I’d talk to her later tonight at the dorm. We can have a floor meeting.”

“That’s gonna be hard to do.”

“Why?”

He looks up from his screen. “Because Thea’s not assigned to our dorm.”

Deacon

I never thought I’d say it, but I missed this place. Not the school itself, but the gym and the structure of teaching and putting together a comprehensive course. It might be time for me to think about leaving and building up a more robust training program at Wolfe Pack.

I don’t know how much time I have left here. When Thea leaves, so will I. I’ve already got the money I’ll have to repay for early termination of my contract with The League of the Daggered Raven. Phoenix Foundation pays well for their jobs. I could have left a long time ago. But I stayed, because I got a perversive sense of joy from my failure to provide any great leads for The Guardian program.

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