Page 40 of One Twisted Lie

Chapter 20

Ozymandias

“What the fuck?” I growl, carding my fingers furiously through my hair.

The headmaster frowns at me, clearly displeased. “Mr. Clark, watch your mouth.”

My fury bubbles to the surface. “You watch you’re fucking mouth—”

“He doesn’t mean that, Headmaster,” Daniel rushes out with a sheepish smile. “This is just a difficult situation.”

Difficult situation my ass. This is animpossiblesituation. I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out how we ended up here—in a fucking loony bin—with Avery committed for a mental breakdown.

“You don’t fucking speak for me!” I snarl at Daniel.

“Lay off!” Magnus shouts, pushing at my chest.

I take a deep breath, regretting taking out my anger on them. Swallowing my pride, I turn to the headmaster. “Sorry, Headmaster.”

He nods, sighing as he runs his hand down his face. “This is such a fucking mess.”

Jesus, finally. We’re all gathered around the front counter of the Lausanne Institute, this fancy-ass psychiatric center not too far from campus. We’ve been here for two hours already, waiting to hear whatever we can about Avery. With every minute that passes, my nerves increase. I’m fucking freaked out over here. My nose is still sore from where a thrashing Avery accidentally decked me when we were trying to settle him down, acting as a reminder of what happened.

Carter approaches me. “You have to calm down, prin—Ozymandias.”

“Calm down?” I question. “They have Avery in there, doing fuck knows what with him.”

“Treating him,” Daniel gently assures me. “He’s going to be okay.”

I find that so hard to believe. It’s like they weren’t there to witness what he did. They’re acting like they didn’t see the crazed look in Avery’s eyes as he lost his control. Like they didn’t hear the pain in his voice as he wailed and begged Sebastian to marry him. It’s an image I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget.

“They’re taking him back right now,” the headmaster says, clapping me on the shoulder. “I need to head back to the school, but I’ll excuse you all from classes Monday so you can be here.”

“Thank you,” Daniel says sweetly.

The headmaster turns to him. “You’ll keep me informed, Mr. Levingson?”

“Yeah. Here, let me walk you out.”

Daniel and Magnus follow the headmaster toward the exit. Carter and I stand there, watching Sebastian who has his hands pressed against the glass doors leading to the personnel-only section, staring through the windows as though it’ll make Avery magically appear.

“Hey,” Carter whispers, tugging my hand and leading me to a little secluded corner of the lobby. “Come here.”

“What? Why?”

He stands in front of me, arms open with an impatient look on his face. “You’re going to hug me.”

“The fuck I am,” I say, taking a step back from the lunacy that’s contagious today. “You hug yourself.”

I don’t need a fucking hug. I’m not a sniveling mess. Hugging implies weakness and my father’s words ring in my head, the reminder that I’m not weak, that I don’t need anything from anybody.

Carter doesn’t seem to give a damn about what I want. He gathers me in his arms roughly before I can get away from him. No matter how much I squirm, he doesn’t let go. He takes that as a challenge and holds me tight, crushed against him. After a minute, I stop fighting, and when I give in, I feel something I haven’t felt before. All those cracks, all those broken pieces get remolded. The steady pressure of him, the unwavering anchor he provides envelops me. The last thing I feel right now is weak.

“There you go,” he mumbles, rubbing the back of my head tenderly as he ghosts his lips against my neck. “Do you feel better?”

I breathe out deeply, the steady beating of my pulse through my veins keeping me tethered to my reason. “Yeah, I actually do.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he urges, cupping the sides of my neck as his thumbs rub soothing circles on my skin. “It’s just the two of us now.”

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