Page 53 of Sweet Ruin

“You’re cheating on Noah?” I asked, more quietly this time.

“No, I’m not cheating on him.”

“But you just said—”

“I can’t cheat on Noah,” she fired back

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t cheat on him because we’re not—” She paused and started quickly shaking her head. “Look, we’re not talking about this. Forget I said that.”

“But…”

Before I could say anything else, Veronica gathered her things and moved to sit at a desk on the other side of the room. Moments later, the teacher entered and called us all to attention.

Once we’d all confirmed our attendance, the class fell silent as everyone buried their heads in their work. I was completely distracted though, and I couldn’t stop myself from flashing looks in Veronica’s direction for the duration of the hour-long detention. Who had Veronica been caught with? More importantly, what was going on with her and Noah?

It wasn’t until after detention that Veronica acknowledged me again. She pulled me aside as we exited the classroom, and she waited for other students to filter past before she spoke.

“You need to forget what we talked about earlier,” she said. “You can’t say anything to anyone. Especially not Noah.”

“Why?”

“You justcan’t.” She seemed really stressed out. It was the first time I’d ever seen Veronica lose her cool like this. “Promise me.”

She was almost begging me to help. I didn’t feel like I owed Veronica anything though. She’d put me through a lot since I’d first arrived at Weybridge. Plus, even though Noah and I weren’t exactly on good terms, that didn’t mean I wanted to aid Veronica’s deception of him.

“If you’re cheating on Noah, he probably deserves to know.”

“I already told you I’m not cheating.” Veronica released an irritated breath. “Look, all I’m asking for is a bit of time. Keep this to yourself until after next weekend and I’ll explain. Though it should all become pretty apparent by then.”

“What’s happening next weekend?”

“Just trust me.”

I stared at her, unsure what to do. I definitely didn’t trust Veronica, and I didn’t want to be involved in whatever she was covering up. But she seemed like she really needed this.

“Please?” she asked. “Can you keep it to yourself?”

“Fine.” I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was agreeing. "But if I’m doing you a favor, I want one in return.”

She began to frown. “What do you want?”

“I want you to stop calling the scholarship students rude nicknames—especially Lily. You told me you don’t have a problem with them, so prove it.”

“Done.” Veronica didn’t even hesitate, and I again wondered what it was she was so desperately trying to hide.

It felt like I was making a deal with the devil, but at least I didn’t have to keep quiet forever, and in exchange, Lily would never be called a charity case by Veronica again. “Okay, I really don’t like it, but we have a deal.”

“Good.” Her whole body seemed to relax. “I better run. I hate being late for dinner. There’s never any dessert left.” She took off without another word, leaving me standing in silence by the classroom door, trying to work out what had just happened.

Dinner was drawingto a close by the time I arrived. Most of the food at the buffet had already been taken away, and there wasn’t much to choose from as I scrounged for something to put on my plate. I guessed most of my friends had already eaten and left as none of them were sitting at our usual table.

I wasn’t too sure where I should sit, but as I started across the room, Lily caught my eye and waved me over. She was sitting with her roommate, Amber, and Eric from my econ class. We hadn’t spoken since he’d helped me pick my books off the floor after class a few weeks back, but he always gave me a smile when we passed in the corridor.

“Where have you been?” Lily said as I took a seat beside her. “You almost missed dinner.”

“I had detention,” I replied with a groan. “And thanks to detention, I appear to have missed dessert.” I probably should have rushed to the dining hall like Veronica.

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