Page 13 of Splitting Secrets
Just as I open my mouth to explain, the lights go out again.
9
Sonny
“Are you guys okay?” I ask across the ocean of black, already missing the light.
I can hear them moving around and muttering things to each other, but no one answers me right away. When I repeat the question, it’s Ava who responds. “I think everyone is fine. What are you doing here?”
“What arewedoing here?” Beatrix questions incredulously.
“Probably those damn journals,” Jonah mutters. “I told you we shouldn’t have touched them.”
“Who is Sonny?” Ava interrogates.
They speak so fast, their questions coming at a rapid-fire that I’m not used to. How long have I been down here that my brain feels this delayed?
Instead of answering the dreaded question, I counter with another, “What day is it?”
Maybe if we can find a way to keep track between the four of us, we won’t be so lost.
“It’s Wednesday,” Ava patiently supplies. “It was morning when they came.”
So, I was right about them being pulled from their beds. Shit. If it’s Wednesday, I’ve only been here for four days.
Three long, torturous days.
“Sonny is me,” I admit through a sigh.“My cousin’s name is Penelope Ellery.”
“Your cousin . . .” Ava drawls doubtfully.
“You lied to us?” Beatrix balks.
“No. No, I never lied about anything that mattered,” I insist. “Everything I said was the truth. I was only using a false name.”
“How are we supposed to believe a word you say?” Beatrix’s tone is sharp, but I can hear the hurt behind all that anger.
I’ve betrayed them. I know that. But this whole semester, we’ve been cultivating a real friendship. I can’t let it slip through my fingers over this stupid lie that has ruined my entire life—and probably ended it. For the first time ever, I’ve made friends with people by relating to them through my own personality; not Poppy’s. I wasn’t just her weird, tagalong cousin who she would have to ensure I was cool just to convince people to keep me around.
I was Sonny—complete with all my flaws. And they accepted me for that.
“Because nothing has changed,” I insist. “I’ve never had friendships like the ones I have with you guys. People I can relate to and be myself. I came to Ravenshurst under Poppy’s legacy, but I’ve been Sonny through and through.”
God, I wish I could see their faces. I wish they could see the authenticity in mine.
Instead, I’m pouring my heart out into this black abyss.
“That’s bullshit,” Beatrix bites back, and Jonah makes a disapproving sound.
“You lied about so much more,” Ava’s soft voice says, interrupting whatever Beatrix was going to say. “What about your parents...hell, your entire family life? And we heard them talking about you and Dr. Whitlock.”
“Dr. Whitlock—” I start to say, but stop myself. Shaking the thought of him away, I decide it’s more important to tackle my parents than whatever fucked-up thing I had with Raze. “He’s nothing. And my mother was expelled from Ravenshurst. She was front page news. It’s not like I could risk having the truth be exposed if I wanted to stand a chance here.”
“You could have trusted us,” Beatrix pipes up angrily. But I know her well enough to hear the hurt in her words, too.
“I do!” I practically yell. Sucking in a breath, I pace a small circle in the open space of my cell to calm myself. Then, I let the truth fall from my lips. “When I was in the woods...whatever Matilda gave me had my gifts go into overdrive. I was seeing visions from the past in rapid-fire—answering questions I didn’t even realize I had. It all connects. Finley, Lewis, Dr. Whitlock,my mother...”
I pause, squinting in the direction I’ve been hearing their voices to catch even the smallest movement. You’d think that after spending this long down here without light, my eyes would adjust enough to see their silhouettes or the bars that separate us. Instead, I’m met with the same suffocating darkness that’s been driving me insane since Raze and the others walked up the stairs and snuffed all the lights out.
