Page 54 of Tangled in His Game

I lower my phone and look up at her.

“Can we talk?” she asks.

“Yeah, sure.”

She enters the room and sits down on the edge of my bed. “I just got a call. About the investigation. They confirmed that the fire was started on purpose, but they don’t know who did it. They seem to think it was a prank gone wrong.”

“Oh.” I thought the whole thing would be deemed an accident, but I guess not.

Maybe Victor really wasn’t behind it and it was someone else. Someone who wants me gone. A few students saw me and knew I couldn’t get out. Any of them could’ve done it or told someone, who then got the idea to get rid of me for good. But how could they have pulled it off? It doesn’t make much sense. I don’t think it was a prank either. Who the hell sets a library on fire and calls it a prank?

“The boy who locked you in...” she says. “He claims he didn’t realize you were still there when he did it, and he was in a hurry to get to some party.”

“Right.”

Victor locked me in there on purpose, but of course he’s not going to admit that. Then he would remain the main suspect, and he can’t have that, especially with his important games coming up.

If I said anything against him, he’d probably claim I inhaled too much smoke to think clearly and don’t remember things as they happened. Besides, I was supposed to tutor him, and why would I tutor my enemy?

“He left the keys in an unlocked office, as agreed with the staff, so anyone could’ve taken them from there,” my mom says. “I just can’t believe someone would do that. You could’ve died. What was that person thinking? Why aren’t they stepping forward and taking responsibility for their actions?”

“I wish I knew, Mom.”

Who could’ve gotten those keys and knew they’d find them there? Dammit, I should talk to Victor. It could’ve been one of his friends. He could’ve told them about what had happened and that he was dropping off the keys in the office.

Or maybe that’s not what really happened. Just because he didn’t do it himself doesn’t mean he hadn’t instructed someone else to do it for him. I need to talk to him. Then maybe I can figure out who it was.

“Honey, your dad and I were talking, and we think you should transfer to a different college,” my mom says. “You haven’t made any friends that I know of, and they almost let you die there. Setting the library on fire isn’t a prank. It’s arson. And with you in there, asleep... I can’t understand what kind of monster would be capable of that. Except for that boy who saved you—and I guess he had a guilty conscience because he left you in there without realizing—no one has come to visit you or help you. Only one of your professors called to ask how you were doing or if you needed anything. Other students saw the fire and they were recording it instead of calling for help. What kinds of people go there? What’s wrong with them? Where’s their humanity?”

“I’m a scholarship student, and they’re all rich or know each other from before. It’s not easy to make friends when we don’t have anything in common.” I shrug. “And I guess they thought someone else already called the firefighters. The staff or someone.”

“Still... I don’t think Emberwell is the right place for you, and your dad agrees.”

“But I don’t want to quit, and we can’t afford—”

“Don’t worry about the money. We’ll figure it out. I spoke to some people, and I can pick up a few extra shifts. We can sell some old jewelry and you can get a part-time job. Emberwell is a great college, but it’s not worth losing your life over some sick prank. If people don’t treat you well, then your education will suffer too. There are other awesome colleges, with students who don’t look down on you just because you don’t have as much money as them.”

I sigh. Maybe she’s right. How can I fight against people like Victor and his friends when they aren’t afraid to do the vilest things just to hurt me? If they all want me gone, then maybe I should leave.

I’m tired of being an outcast and waiting to see what crazy thing they’ll pull next. Transferring somewhere else would be a smart move, even if it’s difficult. I doubt students at another college would be as insufferable as the ones at Emberwell.

It’s like I picked the worst possible college out there—an academy for villains or something. But it’s just Victor who’s been bullying me. The rest laughed and talked and filmed everything.

So who could’ve tried to kill me? The answer is Victor, but then what the hell happened? Why save me? Why not go all the way and just let me burn? Maybe he only intended to scare me and whoever he sent to do it misunderstood the whole thing.

Or the fire spread too fast. Or something else went wrong. But could he have known I’d come to the library to tutor me? Okay, I’m predictable and no one else likes to volunteer. But he kind of invited me to his room before he left, so it doesn’t seem like everything had been planned beforehand.

Maybe after he left me locked in, he met with someone, told them about it, and they came up with their “prank,” which went wrong. But then why would Victor risk getting inside to save me?

It was a risk for him too, and he could’ve gotten seriously hurt, especially because he had to go get the keys first. The fire had spread a lot by the time he got to me. I have way too many questions and zero answers, and that’s exactly why I need to talk to Victor. Even if he doesn’t tell me the truth, his reaction might give something away.

“I’ll think about it,” I say to my mom. “And I’ll check out some other colleges close by.”

“Okay, honey.” A smile stretches across her lips. “You do that.”

As she gets to her feet and starts for the door, I chew on the inside of my cheek. There’s a tiny possibility that Victor wasn’t behind the whole thing, and that means there’s someone who hates me more than him.

Someone very, very dangerous who wouldn’t mind seeing me dead. I don’t think I want to leave without finding out who it is, just in case this person follows me to my new college. You never know with psychos. If someone is targeting me because of Victor or for who knows what reason, I still might be in danger, even if I’m no longer attending Emberwell. It’s a scary thought that chills me to the bone.

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