Cruel Love (13 page)

If Reed hadn’t changed her schedule for the day at the last minute, she would be dead by now, and Ariana could get on with her life—get on with plotting her next move with Meloni and securing her future. But no. She had to go finishing her lab the night before. Even that wouldn’t have been so bad, if she’d simply not shown up at all. Ariana would have waited for a while before giving up, going home, and coming back with a new plan. But that wasn’t possible, either. Reed had to pop into the lab to print out her work and, just to add insult to injury, bring Noelle along with her. It was as if the girl had known Ariana would be hiding there and had figured out exactly how to hurt her.

Behind her, a pair of girls laughed and Ariana turned toward them. It was Tahira’s roommate, Allison Rothaus, and her friend Zuri. ey were huddled over a cell phone, scrolling through pictures. e two of them were, of course, strictly second-tier around here. Zuri was in one of the other societies and Allison had failed to make the cut at Stone and Grave. But still. The sight of them together, having fun, made Ariana’s spirits drop even lower. They may have been losers, but at least they had each other.

Ariana turned around in her seat again and looked at the empty chairs surrounding the table, feeling suddenly and hopelessly alone. A few weeks ago, Brigit would have been sitting right next to her, gabbing about the next big party. Soomie would have been texting on her BlackBerry obsessively. Lexa would have been perched across the table, flipping through
Vogue
and pointing out who would look best in which outfits. Maria would have been to her left, chugging her espresso and studiously avoiding carbs. But now, Brigit and Lexa were both dead, Soomie was AWOL, and Maria was taking out her grief in the dance studio. Ariana may have been the new It Girl on campus, but that position was supposed to come with an entourage. Hers was practically nonexistent.

“We need to talk.”

Tahira dropped into the chair across from Ariana’s and just like that, Ariana completely perked up. At least she wasn’t sitting in the café looking like a loner anymore. “What’s up?” Ariana asked. “Do you want something to eat? Because I can get Quinn back here in two shakes,” she said, reaching for her phone.

“No, thanks.” Tahira rested her elbows on the table, her dozens of glittery bangle bracelets clinking merrily. She wore a royal blue, V-neck and her dark hair hung in loose waves over her shoulders. “There’s just something I have to ask you. It’s kind of serious.”

Ariana’s heart skipped a troubled beat. Was this about Palmer? Had he finally gotten around to spreading rumors about her? “You have my undivided attention,” Ariana said, trying to sound upbeat.

“Okay, ever since you got here, all this weird stuff has been happening,” Tahira began. “I’m not even going to get into the thefts,” she said, causing Ariana’s stomach to turn. “We’re well past that.”

Ariana cleared her throat. She’d forgotten about the thefts. Only Tahira knew about them, but that, coupled with anything Palmer might have said, was not going to help her case. She sat up straight as Jessica returned with her sweater.

“Here you go, Ana. Is there anything else I can—” “No, thank you, Jessica. Just go,” Ariana snapped.

Jessica’s face crumpled and she hurried off. Ariana clucked her tongue, but the last thing she felt able to deal with at that moment was stroking the ego of an underling.

Why was Tahira even mentioning the petty crime Ariana committed at the beginning of term?

“But first Palmer breaks up with Lexa out of nowhere to get with you, and last year those two were totally most likely to hire Colin Cowie,” Tahira continued under her breath. “Then Brigit dies, Lillian vanishes, and now Lexa …”

Ariana’s heart pounded sickly in her throat. She clutched the cashmere sweater under the table, her mind whirling in ten thousand directions. Tahira had figured her out. She knew that it was all connected, and connected through her. e question was, how
much
did she know? Had she found out Ariana’s true identity? Was that what had kept her up all night? And what would Ariana have to do to keep her quiet?

“I just need to know,” Tahira said, leaning so far forward Ariana could see every inch of her cleavage. “How do you do it all?” Ariana licked her dry lips. “Do what all?”

“Somehow, with all of this stuff going on around you, you managed to keep your head on straight and come out the other side the queen bee!” Tahira exclaimed, sitting up, her brown eyes wide. “I mean, aside from that slight panic attack the other night, but everyone’s had one or two of
those
in their lives. So tell me. How do you do it?”

Ariana let out a
whoosh
of breath. Her tension deflated so quickly she actually slumped forward for a moment, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands,

her sweater draped across her knees. Tahira wasn’t accusing her of masterminding the deaths and disappearances and breakups. She wasn’t going to tell her she thought she was crazy, too. She was telling her she thought she was awesome.

“Take your time,” Tahira said. She reached for Ariana’s scone and tore off a piece. “Omigod! Is that an invite to the MTV New Year’s thing?” She snagged the glittery envelope from the top of the pile. Then her eyes widened at the large stack of invitations beneath it. “Wow. It must be good to be president.”

Ariana preened. “I suppose so,” she said modestly.

“Unbelievable,” Tahira said in awe, running her fingers along the edge of the invitation. “Seriously, Ana. You should give, like, a seminar on success or something. Right

now, every girl at this school wants to be you.”

Now Ariana couldn’t help grinning. Tahira had no idea, but this little visit was exactly what she’d needed. Still, there was that niggling problem of Palmer’s threat hanging out there like a guillotine ready to drop. Ariana narrowed her eyes and decided that she could trust Tahira, especially after the serious ego-stroking the girl had just given her.

“T, can I ask you something?” she said, resting her elbows casually on the table. “Anything.”

“Has Palmer said anything about me? To you or Rob or anyone?” Ariana asked.

Tahira laughed lightly. “Oh, you mean that ridiculous story about you trashing your room? Uh, yeah. I heard that one.” “You did?” Ariana asked, her face flushed.

Tahira grabbed another piece of scone. “Like anyone’s gonna believe that. You’re the second most anal person I know, after Soomie,” Tahira said as she chewed. “And honestly, even if you
did
trash your room, who cares? Everyone’s gotta vent somehow, especially with everything that’s been going on. e other day me and Rob went to his dad’s shooting range and went ballistic on the targets with actual shotguns. It was
so
therapeutic.”

Ariana blinked. “Um. Wow.”

“Yeah. No one’s gonna be judging you for breaking your own stuff. Believe me,” Tahira said firmly. “And all Palmer did by bringing it up out of nowhere was make himself look like a sore loser and, honestly? Kind of a dick.”

Ariana laughed under her breath. Talk about a plan backfiring. Too bad for Palmer. “That’s good to know. Thanks, Tahira.”

“I just can’t believe you have to run S and G with him as your second-in-command. That’s not gonna be awkward or anything,” Tahira said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Ariana curled her hands around her coffee cup. With everything else that was going on, she hadn’t even thought of that. Palmer was still the vice president of Stone and Grave. And he clearly hated her. His first play for power seemed to be unsuccessful, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep trying. Perhaps it was time to start thinking of ways to get rid of him. Maybe it would be a good thing if he kept talking crap about her around campus. If
everyone
started to think he was a sore loser and a dick, it would

be far easier to gather support for his removal.

Tahira’s phone beeped and she tugged it out of her bag. “Crap. I was supposed to meet Rob and his parents at the gates ten minutes ago,” she said as she stood up again. “They’re flying back to Florida today and we said we’d have breakfast with them. Yee. Ha.”

Ariana laughed.

“Hey, do you want to do some shopping tomorrow?” Tahira asked, lowering her voice. “I personally believe that the president of Stone and Grave should have a signature look to be envied by all. And I’m not talking about that sunglasses-at-night look.”

“Absolutely,” Ariana replied. “We can make a plan later.”

“Perfect,” Tahira said. She leaned down and double-air-kissed Ariana. “Then maybe I can pick your brain about how you do it all.”

She winked before whirling away and disappearing through the Privilege House doors. Ariana watched her go, her confidence entirely recovered. Apparently Palmer didn’t wield quite as much power as he thought. And Tahira was right, after all. Look at all she’d been through in her life, and she always,
always
found a way to land on her feet. Yesterday’s blip with Reed had been just that—a blip. All she needed to do was rethink, retrench, come up with a new, foolproof plan. Before long, Reed Brennan would be dead, and Ariana would be one step closer to the perfect life she’d always wanted.

HOLDING
OUT

“Okay, I need one of these in every color.”

Tahira grabbed a fringed leather Jimmy Choo bag and slung it over her shoulder, posing in front of the full-length mirror. Ariana had already done some serious damage to her credit cards, buying a whole new wardrobe for her position of power. She’d purchased so much, in fact, that she’d left all her packages with the store’s valet to have them shipped back to school, knowing they wouldn’t fit in the trunk of her tiny car.

“It
is
very you,” Ariana replied as she considered a mustard-colored Michael Kors clutch.

“What do you think, Maria?” Tahira asked, whipping around dramatically. “Isn’t it just yum?” Maria glanced over from her perch atop a Lucite table filled with sale merchandise. “Eh,” she said. Tahira’s shoulders dropped and the bag slid to her wrist. “Eh? You’ve got to be kidding me.” “Sorry. Fringe isn’t really my thing,” Maria said, lifting her slim shoulders.

“Well, I love it,” Tahira replied. She walked over to the counter and plopped the black bag down in front of the saleslady. “I’ll take the red, the white, and the green as well.”

e saleswoman’s dark eyes widened, probably seeing her monthly commission triple in one fell swoop. Tahira had just committed herself to about five thousand dollars’ worth of purses.

“Are you getting that?” Tahira asked Ariana.

Ariana replaced the bag on its shelf. “I think I’ve spent enough for one night,” she said, even though she could have bought a million clutch bags with the green she had in her bank account, thanks to Grandma Covington’s recent death.

“Well, maybe your new
boyfriend
will get it for you for Christmas,” Tahira said, her voice leading. She slapped her credit card down on the counter as the saleswoman returned from the display with her other bags.

Ariana smirked. She’d wondered when this subject would come up. Now that the wound of Lexa’s death wasn’t quite so fresh and the Stone and Grave presidency had been decided, of course Jasper would be the next bit of gossip to occupy everyone’s minds.

“Yeah, what’s up with that anyway?” Maria asked, leaning her palms into the display table across from Ariana. “One second you’re dumping Palmer, all heartbroken, and the next second you’re canoodling with the Louisiana blondie.”

Ariana lifted a shoulder. “It just kind of … happened.”

“Oh, please. You’re not getting off that easily,” Tahira said, watching with one eye as the saleslady placed her purchases into their cushy boxes. “I mean, Jasper’s a cutie, don’t get me wrong. But Palmer is … Palmer.”

“And Palmer’s a jerk,” Maria put in.

“Yes, but only
since
the breakup,” Tahira reminded them.

“I don’t know. Jasper and I bonded during pledging and there was always something intriguing about him,” Ariana said with a blush. She dragged her finger across a row of hanging Coach keychains, letting them swing and clink together. “Palmer was always very by-the-book, very black-and-white and predictable. But Jasper is … surprising.”

Maria grinned and raised her eyebrows. “Sounds delish.” Ariana’s blush deepened. “You have no idea.”

“Okay. Now
I’m
intrigued,” Tahira said, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. “And starved. I say you spill all the
delish
details over tapas.” “I could be in for that,” Maria said.

“Me too. But you have to eat more than one thing,” Ariana said, raising a warning finger at Maria.

“Who said you get to mother me?” Maria said good-naturedly. “You’re the one we’ve got to keep an eye on around here, Miss Panic Attack.”

Ariana’s skin prickled. If she could take back anything from the past few days it would be having that minor breakdown in front of her friends. She didn’t want them to worry about her. But even more importantly, she didn’t want them to lose confidence in her, especially with Palmer talking crap about her behind her back. Maybe Tahira hadn’t cared, but that didn’t mean everyone would be so open-minded. She needed to project a self-assured, in-charge,
sane
image, not that of a weakling who could crumble at any second.

“That was a fluke,” she told Maria, looping her arm around her friend’s. “It won’t happen again, I promise. I’m fine.” “Ready?” Tahira asked, joining them with two massive bags dangling from either hand.

“Ready.”

As the girls walked out of the department store and onto the dark, frigid street, Ariana fished her car keys from her bag. She hit the
UNLOCK
button and the headlights on her sleek, silver sports car flashed. With another click, she popped the trunk for Tahira’s bags. She and Maria waited on the sidewalk while Tahira loaded her things inside and slammed the door.

“So, Ana, how long did you think you were going to be able to hold out on us?” she asked, leaning one red-gloved hand against the trunk. Ariana blinked. “Hold out on you? About what? Jasper?”