Page 91 of House of Pain
Swiftly, Blaze went over to his closet and grabbed his leather jacket before he crushed the butt of his cigarette into an ashtray on the windowsill.
The House was quiet as he left his bedroom.
Of course, it was well past midnight on a weekday, and most students, even the Snakes, were sleeping or pulling all-nighters in the library.
Blaze left the House, going down the street towards the campus. Killer’s note said to meet him at the back of the library, and it was about a ten-minute walk.
The air was already cold; it was nearing the end of September. Blaze could see his breath as he crossed Main Street and took the path leading down to the library at the corner of the campus.
The campus was eerily quiet; soon the large wooden doors emerged in front of Blaze. Instead of entering, Blaze took the path on the left, rounding the building.
As he passed the large windows opening to the inside of the room with tall bookshelves and tables with lights, something drew his eye.
In the very corner, at the long table, sat Alecto and Jolene, both laughing at something Jolene was saying.
Not far away from them was the goddamn leather armchair, only the small corner of it visible from his vantage point.
What are you doing, Alecto?Blaze had asked her that night.
Taking what I want.
The image of her kneeling in front of him, eyes wet with tears as her sultry mouth took him in, was ingrained deep into Blaze’s mind.
The pressure inside his chest built, and for a moment, Blaze thought he might lose the fight against himself.
He slowed his steps, stopping as he watched them, so different from what he was used to seeing in the House.
None of those in the Inner Circle were the nicest people. None of them treated each other or people outside of the Inner Circledecently.
And it never bothered Blaze before. It was their way of communicating, and it worked well.
But seeing Alecto so happy and carefree at that moment, still in her uniform surrounded by textbooks, was doing something to him.
Right now, the girls didn’t look like Snakes.
They looked like normal students who were simply attending the school of their dreams, seeing their friends every day, and deciding what time was the best to go to the common showers.
No legacies. No Houses. No Games.
Blaze blinked, suddenly remembering himself, and left before they noticed him staring through the window.
When Blaze reached the back of the library, Killer was already there, leaning against the wall with his hands shoved inside his pockets. He had a hood pulled over his head, and when Blaze approached, he glanced around.
“Nobody’s here,” Blaze assured him.
“You can never be too sure,” Killer said, pushing himself off the wall. “I wouldn’t want to be seen with you in the middle of the night.”
“Do you have what I need?”
Killer inspected Blaze for a moment as if evaluating whether he was worth the effort. Then he nodded and pulled a small bag out of his pocket, pinching it between his two fingers.
“Money first, Leveau.”
From his inner pocket, Blaze grabbed his wallet and took out a couple of notes. He snatched the bag out of Killer’s hand, bringing it closer to check the pink powder inside.
“I trust you’re not trying to sell spiked shit to me,” Blaze teased, stuffing the bag in his pocket.
Killer flashed him a smile.“I’m gonna be honest, I thought about poisoning you. But then I changed my mind. I owe you one.”
