Page 70 of Endless Anger
Celeste’s bloody corpse flashes across my vision, staining everything in sight. Nausea churns in my stomach, and I shove the image away.
“Um…” I rub my fingernails together in my lap. “I saw her at a party in the quarry. After I left the library. There were lots of other students there, so they can vouch for that.”
“And did Ms. Hawthorne leave your group?”
“My group?”
“Whoever you were there with. Did she leave? Did she tell you where she was going or suggest anyone go with her?”
“She…” I trail off, pinching the bottom of my palm. It doesn’t feel right to talk about her plans with the dean. “I don’t know.”
He blinks. “You don’t know?”
“That’s what I said.”
Sighing deeply, Dean Bauer’s shoulders slump. “When was the last time you saw Ms. Hawthorne then? Friday night, shortly after your arrival at the party?”
Suspicion claws at my sternum.
I narrow my eyes. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“Well,ifthat was the last time you had any sort of contact with your roommate, then it should come as no surprise to you that Ms. Hawthorne was reported missing this morning by her parents. They haven’t seen or heard from her since Friday either.”
My hands grow clammy, and sweat beads under my arms, sticking to the cotton fabric of my sweater.
I’m not sure how to react. My body stiffens, my spine goes ramrod straight, and I stretch my fingers over my thighs, drawing quick circles on my tights.
I can’t stopfidgeting, my discomfort mounting the longer I’m forced to sit here and try to stave off the memories.
A knock sounds at the door, and seconds later, the thick wood divider is being pushed open, and my parents are shoving their way into the office. The dean’s mousy secretary gives him an apologetic bow as she stands in the hallway, unable to corral the intruders.
Bile pushes into my esophagus, threatening to spew.
Dean Bauer moves to greet them. “Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe, what a pleasant surprise?—”
Mom holds a hand up, her expression malicious. “Save it, Bauer. I want to know why the school didn’t notify my husband and Iimmediatelywhen they thought there was an issue involving our daughter.”
The dean’s eyes widen. “Well, we did call over the weekend with our concerns, but out of respect for your presumably busy schedules, we thought it best to simply deal with the incident internally.”
She crosses her arms, her sleeve tattoos only partially obscured by a sheer white blouse. Her pierced nostril flares, anger radiating off her in waves. “And what is the incident exactly? Why is our daughter here at all?”
He swallows, reaching up to adjust the knot in his black tie—the only tell that my mother makes him nervous.
She has that effect on most people, whether it’s because they think she’s beautiful or because she doesn’t take no for an answer. Powerful, compelling women are as alluring to some men as they are intimidating, and they either embrace the attraction or aim to squash it altogether.
With her, she’s too far gone for anything they say to make her wilt. Especially with my father in the room, who would rip funding from the school himself if they even hinted at disrespect.
Me, on the other hand—I’m a different project completely. One Avernia isn’t yet afraid of.
Primarilybecause I don’t like to involve my parents in these situations, because they tend to exacerbate my problems when they’re gone. Not on purpose—just the residual effects of power.
“To be quite honest, Mrs.—may I call you Cora?”
“No.”
I catch my father’s smirk in the corner of my eye.
“R-right.” Dean Bauer clears his throat, leaning back in his leather office chair. “Lucy’s roommate is, unfortunately, missing. Allegedly. Now, we’ve had similar instances in the past—a party gets out of hand, and a girl finds herself in over her head and can’t take the heat from the experience. Or maybe she’s wandered off and gotten herself lost or headed home to recuperate for a few days. I’m sure it’s nothingserious, but there are certain protocols we have to follow when official reports are made.”
