Privilege 5 - Pure Sin (8 page)

"All right," Lexa's mother said. She shot an apologetic look at the group. "Duty calls." Then she turned to Ariana and took her free hand. "I'm looking forward to talking to you more at our brunch tomorrow, Briana Leigh." She kissed Lexa on the forehead. "Get some sleep tonight, honey, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," Lexa said quietly.

As Mr. and Mrs. Greene sauntered off, Ariana sighed with relief at another crises averted. It was time for her to focus on keeping Lexa in check, before the girl completely lost it and did something both of them would regret. "Everyone ready?" April Coorigan asked late Friday night as she walked along the end of the long line of Stone and Grave members.

"Ready," Ariana replied.

"So ready," Tahira put in, lifting her hood over her head.

The double doors at the front of the line opened, and the brotherhood began to walk inside slowly, heads bowed. Ariana lifted her own hood and bowed her head. For the last hour, April and Connie had gone over the meeting ritual with the five new members of Stone and Grave so that they would be ready for their first official gathering as brother and sisters. Ariana's steps were light as she entered the circular stone room where she had been locked inside the coffin with Jasper. This was it. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, ever since Lexa had first spilled about the secret society.

Slowly, Lexa led the group around the open graves. All along the stone walls, candles of various shapes and sizes flickered. Around the open graves, dozens of skulls had been placed, just like the ones Ariana had seen on the night she and the other potential members had first been introduced to Stone and Grave a couple of months back. That night seemed like it had happened a million years ago. Not only had Brigit still been alive, but Kaitlynn had been there as well. And because of Kaitlynn, Ariana had been full of anger and fear, unable to fully focus on the opportunity being laid out before her. But now all of that was over. Blissfully, mercifully over. And now she was here. Right where she was supposed to be.

Lexa stopped near the top of the room, right behind the gravestone that read Becky Sharp. Palmer stopped next to her, behind the Starbuck stone. Conrad was next in line as Lear, then April as Miss Temple, then Soomie, Rob, and so on, standing in order of their rank in the society. For a moment, Ariana felt a twinge over being near the end of the line, but at least she wasn't last. That spot belonged to Jasper, being that he was last alphabetically in their pledge class. Tahira stood behind her Sister Carrie headstone, and then Ariana took her place, glancing down to admire the name Portia, which was stamped onto hers in big, bold letters. Behind her, Landon took his spot as Pip--a name that made Ariana wonder if the Stone and Grave membership knew about him and Maria after all, since Maria was Estella. Then Adam stood behind Oliver Twist, and finally, Jasper took his place as Amory Blaine.

Christian Thacker stepped forward and closed the doors, then returned to his place in the circle. Lexa lifted her head and removed her hood.

"We are the Stone and Grave," she said loudly, firmly.

"We are the Stone and Grave," Ariana and the rest of the brotherhood repeated as one.

Lexa stepped forward, carefully skirting her headstone, breaking the circle. "Welcome to our new members!" she said with a smile.

The room burst out in applause and shouts. Ariana and the other new members laughed happily. She caught Palmer's eye from across the room and felt his pride radiating through her. Her next instinct was to look at Jasper, but she refused. He was her friend, and he was going to be with Soomie--at least maybe he was--if she ever got around to talking to him about her.

"You may all be seated," Lexa said, removing her hood from her hair.

Everyone tucked their black robes beneath them and hit the floor. Ariana hesitated only a split second, wondering why a room full of millionaires couldn't afford chairs, but then she sat. The robe was thick and kept the cold of the concrete from seeping through to her skin, and as she brought it over her knees, tucking it around her shins like a blanket, she was just grateful it wasn't a burlap sack. She nudged her hood off her head, following the brotherhood's lead, and smiled.

"Our first order of business is the Stone and Grave Ball next weekend," Lexa began, her voice as clear as a bell, ringing out across the large room. "I understand a few of you have yet to RSVP. Manners, people. We don't want to look bad in comparison to the other chapters. Let's get those cards returned so that our hosts can have time to prepare."

A murmur went through the room as April and Soomie eyed everyone suspiciously. Ariana almost laughed. Those two would take other people's lack of organizational skills as a personal affront. Then Soomie's eyes fell on Jasper, and she blushed and looked down at her lap. Ariana leaned forward to look at Jasper. He was smirking in Soomie's direction. And was he also . . . blushing? Had she already asked him to the ball without telling Ariana?

Ariana's heart flew to her throat, and her fingers curled into the folds of her robe. She took a deep breath and forced her fists to open again.

That would be a good thing, she reminded herself. A very good thing.

But it wasn't. She had thought that Jasper liked her. Whether or not she liked him back was irrelevant. It was like Thomas and Reed all over again, watching the two of them make gooey eyes at each other when he was supposed to belong to her. What the hell was going on here? Why was this always happening to her?

"Is it just me or is your butt freezing?" Tahira whispered, leaning toward her.

Ariana flinched. Suddenly the room came into focus. She took a deep breath and looked at Soomie again. It was just Soomie. Innocent little Soomie. And all her attention was focused on Lexa. Ariana uncurled her fingers, which had tightened again into fists.

Control, Ariana. Get control. It's not like she's making a play for your boyfriend. Jasper is just a friend.

"We also have a bit of business to complete concerning the new members," Lexa said. April reached behind her and lifted a black folder off the floor to hand to Lexa. "Each of you will have to sign this confidentiality agreement," Lexa said, opening the folder. She lifted the pages inside, one by one, checking them over. "We've already got one typed up for each of you so you'll just have to--"

Suddenly Lexa froze. Everyone sat and waited for her to continue. And waited. And waited. But she simply sat there, some of the papers in her hand, the folder open on her lap, staring down.

"Sister Becky Sharp?" Palmer said finally, gently.

"Why is this in here?" Lexa's voice was shrill in the silence. Shrill and loud. She dropped the papers in her hand and picked up the offending page. "Why is this in here? Is this some kind of joke, April? Some kind of sick joke?"

"It's Miss Temple," April said calmly. "And I don't know what you're talking about."

Lexa got up, scattering the papers and the folder everywhere, and shoved the page into April's face. "I'm talking about this. What is this doing in the folder? Are you just that stupid, or did you leave it there on purpose? Because last I checked, Miss Temple, Lillian Oswald is no longer with us!"

A wave of total dizziness and nausea crashed over Ariana. No longer with us. Did she really have to say it that way?

Conrad got up and put his large hand on Lexa's back. "It was just a simple mistake, Becky," he said in a soothing tone. "Give it to me. We'll just burn it."

"No!" Lexa shouted, whirling on him. "It's not a simple mistake! It's not! Things have to be done a certain way around here. They have to be done. Done. Done the way they're supposed to be done. Not this way. This is not the way this is supposed to happen, do you understand? I try! I try to make everything perfect! I can't keep having these things go wrong! I can't! I can't have this on my hands! I can't have this on my hands!"

On her hands, Ariana thought with a sinking realization. This was why Lexa kept washing her hands, carrying disinfecting wipes everywhere. She was trying to clean off the blood. The blood she imagined she had on her hands.

Everyone in the room was starting to mumble and shift uncomfortably as Lexa completely broke down in front of them. Ariana knew what was coming. Any second Lexa was going to go there. She was going to say something about the murder. About the blood. It was right there on the tip of her tongue. Terror seized Ariana's heart like an ice-cold vise grip.

"Can't have what on your hands, babe?" Conrad said, completely breaking Stone and Grave protocol. "What are you talking about?"

Lexa's eyes were desperate as she opened her mouth to speak. Desperately searching for a lifeline. For someone to help her.

"Conrad, I--"

Without a moment to rethink it, Ariana hurtled herself to her feet.

"Lexa!"

Every single person in the room turned to look at Ariana. Lexa's eyes flicked past Conrad's shoulder and widened when they came to rest on Ariana's panicked face. And then she looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this," Lexa said. "I have to go."

Then she dropped Lillian's form on the floor and ran out, letting the doors slam behind her.

"What was that about?" Rob said.

Instantly, everyone started talking. Tahira got up and nudged Ariana. "What the hell was that? Why did you yell at her?"

"I . . . I wanted to make sure she was okay," Ariana said off the cuff. Her fear was already beginning to subside, leaving behind the clarity of what she had just done. The oddity of her actions. "Was I that loud? I didn't realize."

Tahira simply shrugged, watching the mayhem as the meeting deteriorated around them.

"Maybe I should go after her," Ariana said.

"No."

Palmer's voice filled the room. He was right at her shoulder. A chill went down her spine as his directive brought all conversation to a halt.

"No one goes anywhere," Palmer said. He squeezed Ariana's hand, then turned to the circle. "I want to see the execs right now. The rest of you hang out until we've had a chance to talk."

Palmer planted a comforting kiss on Ariana's temple, then walked over to an indentation in the wall, just behind Lexa's headstone. Conrad, April, Soomie, and Rob followed. Ariana watched them closely. She knew they had to be discussing Lexa, and she had to find out what they were saying.

"Hey," Jasper said, appearing at her left shoulder. "Anyone ever tell you you look hot in that robe?"

Ariana narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you mean Soomie looks hot?" she said.

Then, leaving him with his mouth gaping open, she walked away from him and Tahira and joined Maria, who was closest to the confabbing exec board.

"Okay. What do you think is going on with Lexa?" Ariana whispered.

"I don't know," Maria replied under her breath.

". . . acting crazy . . . ," Rob said.

"She's just under a lot of stress," Soomie defended.

"So are the rest of us," April put in, clearly hurt and pouting over it. "You don't see any of us freaking out."

"She really hasn't been sleeping at all," Maria added. "The other night I woke up at three A.M. and she was in the bathroom, scrubbing her hands. I mean, what's that about? It's like she's suddenly gone all OCD on us."

"Weird," Ariana agreed, swallowing back a new thump of dread. She was right about the imaginary blood. She knew it. She tilted her ear toward the group behind her.

". . . know I love the girl," Conrad was saying, "but this is unacceptable."

"He's right. We have to look out for Stone and Grave's larger interests," Palmer said.

"You guys, what're you saying?" Soomie asked fretfully. "You can't mean--"

"And then her mom called at six o'clock this morning," Maria said, drowning out Soomie's words. "I mean, the woman knows she's not sleeping, so she calls at the crack of dawn? What's that about?"

Ariana's fingers curled into fists over having a vital bit of the conversation spoken over, but she knew it didn't really matter. Because she knew in her heart of hearts what the execs were talking about. They were talking about removing Lexa as president of Stone and Grave. They were saying that if she didn't get her act together, she was going to lose her position of power.

Which meant that, as Lexa's best friend, she would lose any power she had in Stone and Grave as well--before she ever even got the chance to find out where that power could take her. What are you doing right now Reed? Ariana wondered, gritting her teeth as she stared down at the smudged photo in the newspaper, which was

, tucked inside her government text. What are you doing right now? Are you having brunch with your friends? Is Noelle there? Are you still dating that Boy Scout Josh Hollis? What are you thinking? Do you ever even think about me? About what you did to me? About where I am right now , because of you?

Someone dropped a heavy book on the other side of the stacks, and the slam brought Ariana back to the present. She heard someone curse under their breath as she looked around at the brightly lit Atherton-Pryce Hall library. The room was warm, thanks to a charming wood-burning fireplace in the corner, around which several students were gathered in plush chairs, their books splayed open across their laps. The sun streamed in through the skylights overhead, casting its beams along the spines of the classic, leather-bound books all around her. Ariana took a deep breath and sighed. Where she was right now actually wasn't that bad. Not bad at all.

It was what she was dealing with that scared her. She looked up, across the three tables that separated her from Lexa. This morning Lexa appeared to be just fine, all cuddled into her white turtleneck sweater, poring over her history text with Conrad. Every now and then, Conrad would run his hand over her hair and look at her with concern, whisper something in her ear, kiss her cheek. He was taking care of her, which was a plus. But Conrad had no idea exactly what he was dealing with--nor did Ariana want him to find out.

Lexa was dangling precariously over the edge of the deep end. The slightest mishap could push her in at any moment, and the splash would take out not only her, but Ariana as well. After what had happened the night before, Ariana knew what she had to do. She had to stick to Lexa like glue. She had to make sure that she stopped any future budding breakdowns before they could truly blossom. Otherwise, she was going to have to do something drastic. Something she didn't even want to think about.