Page 26 of Brutal Lies

Chapter 13

Astrid

“You okay?” Roni squints at me as I drag my ass into our room. The sliding lock is gone from the inside of the door. I’m not clear on who put it there in the first place. And I’m not asking as long as it’s gone.

“Whatever,” I mumble as I fall face-first onto my bed in my clothes. “Just let me sleep.”

My back is to her as I curl up into a tight ball on my bed. I don’t even bother getting under the covers as I yank my pillow under my head. The room is still, but I can feel Roni’s eyes jabbing holes into my back. Lifting up, I toss my pillow over my head.

It took me forty-five minutes to get back to campus. I was too nervous to pay for an Uber, and I didn’t want to call Wyatt, not when I’m supposed to be meeting Pierce later. What would I have said to Wyatt when I needed to leave?

Everything has already happened this weekend, and Sunday is tomorrow. My head vibrates as if I’m getting a headache right between the eyes, like when the music is too loud at a rave. If the Monarchs had started a nightclub, would the cops have rounded us up like criminals? Probably. I squeeze the pillow tighter around my sore head until my thoughts compete with the pressure.

We were breaking the law, but we aren’t criminals. No one was getting hurt. And we weren’t stealing. People were giving us their money to watch us fight. It was a fair exchange, even if it was illegal. I feel a jab in my back, and I turn to glare at Roni. She’s holding my phone in her hand, and it’s buzzing.

“It fell on the floor when you got in bed. It keeps going off.” She glares back when I snatch it out of her hands. And then she sucks her teeth. You know what? I have no time for it.

My phone vibrates again, and Pierce is already looking for me.

Pierce: We still on?

Astrid: Give me twenty. Where?

Pierce: Getz’s office.

I stare at the screen until it goes blank. Am I fucking around with fate by not telling Wyatt that I’m meeting Pierce? Of course I am, but I’m good at fucking up in all sorts of positions. I hop off the bed, and Roni glances at me but doesn’t say anything. The cold treatment’s gone on too long, but tonight I don’t have to fix it. Let her sulk a little longer.

I change into my team tracksuit, pulling the zip up to my chin. Going to Getz’s office to meet Pierce alone is a risk, but if I tell Wyatt or even Bryce what I’m planning to do, they’ll stop me. I know Pierce will be all into it. I sigh. Howland better not find out.

I pause at the door, my back to Roni while she continues to treat me like Charlotte and I are the same person.

“I’m going out,” I talk to the room. I don’t wait to hear what she says as I shut the door behind me.

It’s barely four, but the campus is dark as midnight—thanks, daylight saving time. I hurry my steps in the night air toward Oberlin Hall. My breath leaves a cloud of steam as I pick up my pace and hurry up the lit path.

Two figures stand by the door to Oberlin, and I slow down until I can recognize who they are. I recognize Pierce, and that SOB is standing too close to a trifling freshman. I can’t hear what the kid is saying, except he’s squeaking loudly. Pierce grabs the kid by the arm, and I take off running toward them. What an asshole. Just when I think Pierce isn’t a total shit, he is one. But before I reach them, the kid twists and uses Pierce’s outstretched arm against Pierce.

With his arm held behind his back, Pierce starts to fight, and his feet struggle to keep traction on the smooth concrete. He breaks free, but instead of swearing at the freshman, Pierce laughs out loud. The kid joins in and smacks Pierce’s open palm.

“You got it.” Pierce wraps his arm around the kid’s neck. “Next time they’ll think twice before messing with you.” Pierce lets the kid go, and the kid scurries off.

I stop in my tracks and gape at Pierce until he spots me. The smile on his face dissolves as he stares back at me. So the asshole has a heart of gold.

“Gotcha,” I smirk. “I caught you being a good guy.”

“Fuck you,” he says, twisting his lips.

I stand beside him, shaking my head. “And just like that, your old shitty self is back.”

Pierce tries not to grin, but I see something in his eyes other than distaste.

“So,” I shrug. “Are we going inside?”

Pierce grabs the handle on the door and holds it open for me like a sleazy gentleman. I shake my head. I’m not walking ahead of him so he can watch my ass. “You first,” I tell him, “I’m not turning my back on you.”

He nods, entering, but holds the door for me anyway. He leads the way down the stairs to Getz’s office, glancing behind his shoulder as if I might run off. I meet his gaze silently and keep my guard up. I don’t trust him, but I need him. And I hate that.

The office door is locked, but Pierce reaches into his cargo pocket and pulls out a set of keys similar to what a maintenance man would carry on a chain. There have to be fifty keys on that ring. Pierce tries one then another until he finds the one that turns the lock.

“Breaking and entering?” I ask, frowning.

“Not when your great-grandfather donated the building,” he replies.

He walks in, but I stay on the threshold until he switches on the desk lamp. It casts a dark shadow onto half of his face that should send me running for safety. The fierce expression he gives me appears in nightmares. But I stay where I am…right by the door.

“I want to do this in private,” he says, waiting for me to step inside.

“Do what?” My body tenses as I grip the doorjamb, ready to sprint.

Pierce tilts his head and smirks. “Apologize.”

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