Page 86 of Tell Me Why
Had three chicken tacos from the cafeteria for dinner.
She sent these kinds of emails to Christian every day forweeks.
With tears welling in my eyes, I sit back in the chair and stare at the pages, trying to make sense of this. I just can’t believe Skye could do this to me.
She wouldn’t. It’s not possible.
Maybe it was someone else sending the emails? Someone pretending to be Skye? But my mind automatically rejects that explanation. The emails are loaded with things only Skye would know—my entire life, our private conversations reduced to bullet points.
My fingers tremble as I dig deeper through the desk drawers. In the bottom drawer, partially hidden under some old papers, I find a large leather-bound book. It’sreallyold. The red leather is faded, well-worn, the corners rounded with repeated use.
There’s no title, just an embossed crown with flames erupting from the tines.
The spine moans when I open it. Inside, there are row after row of symbols. Pages and pages of it, the handwriting meticulous at first, then switching, like someone else has taken over.
Fingers trembling, I reach into my pocket and pull out the decoder. It takes me a couple of minutes, but I manage to translate the heading on the first page—Blood Ledger.
My heart stops. Like, actually screeches to a halt when I scan the long,longlist. Near the end is T. Savano, written in code. My cousin.
I frantically flip through the rest of the pages when suddenly, I hear the elevator ping in the hallway. I freeze, stashing the decoder between the pages of the book before closing it. Then I watch the door, waiting for whoever it is to pass by. Maybe a student or faculty member working late?
Hushed voices echo in the hallway, but instead of moving farther away, they seem to be getting closer. Then the door handle jostles and I nearly come out of my skin.
Oh, my God.
Holy fuck.
Without thinking, I bolt to the light switch and flick it off, then dash back to the huge desk. I snatch the leather book on my way, diving underneath, yanking the chair in front of me for cover. Heart pounding in my ears, I curl up in the darkness, hoping whoever’s coming will get what they need and leave without noticing me.
The door pops open, and I hear shuffling as someone enters. I’m burrowed so deeply under the desk, I can’t see anything, but I wish I could.
Maybe there are cameras hidden throughout the building, and security saw me sneaking in? Honestly, a million thoughts spin in my mind as I work to quiet my breathing, so I can listen…
The light flicks on, and fabric rustles as whoever it is walks deeper into the office. Just one wrong breath and I’m fucked—because if it’s a Sacred Son who finds me here, I’ll be dead before I can even scream…
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
Eve
I’m panicking.The space beneath the desk is cramped as hell, and sweat is already beading on my forehead. I’m breathing hard and shallow, the sound amplified in my own ears.
The door clicks shut, and I press myself deeper into the hidey hole, just praying I can’t be seen. One corner of the leather book digs into my ribs, reminding me exactly how fucked I am if I’m caught with it—because everyone is already suspicious of me. There’s no explaining it away. No innocent reason why I’d be hiding under a desk, holding what has to be the Sacred Sons’ most guarded secret.
“You said this is where she was headed?” a voice says, Christian’s familiar baritone trickling down my spine.
I gasp, the sound escaping before I can stop it.Shit.Squeezing my eyes shut, I slap my hand over my mouth, breath held.
He wasn’t shot. That’s my first thought, and relief floods me, which is instantly chased by shame. He doesn’t deserve my concern, especially after everything I just found out. The fucking psycho. But I can’t help it—I’m happy he’s not dead. There it is.
“Yeah, she should be here,” a female says, her voice shaky, and I recognize that voice, too. It’sSkye. Un-fucking-believable. “Oh, God, do you think something happened to her on the way over?”
“No,” he says. “Campus security is crawling all over campus, looking for those Shadow and Ash cunts. They would have alerted me if they’d seen anything.”
I feel nauseous. The gunshots from the beach are still ringing inside my head. Who was shot? Is my brother okay? My mind is spinning with all the horrible possibilities.
And then there’s Skye—my supposed friend. The same “friend” who’s been spying on me and reporting everything back to Christian. I can’t make excuses for it now. Can’t pretend there’s some explanation that would make this okay. There isn’t. She betrayed me, plain and simple, and I’ve never felt more alone than I do right now, curled up under this desk, holding my breath, praying they don’t find me.
“Should we wait around?” Skye says, sniffling like she’s been crying. “I don’t want to go back to Rush House. Not with those fucking lunatics out there.”
