“Whatever you hear, just remember that rumors are very rarely accurate,” she looks off to the side before leading me around the side of the Academy, and towards the pool house where I saved Maddox’s life all those months ago.
“Carly was last seen with Emmet, so everyone is saying. I’m not sure how much I believe it, but he’s the last person to see her before today.”
“Hang on, they think Emmet did this?” I ask, feeling confused.
“Either she wouldn’t take no for an answer or he decided to let off a little steam during them getting hot and heavy. I don’t know what’s true, but you should hear this from me.”
“Hang on, how could you have heard this already?” I ask, feeling as though I’m missing a massive chunk here.
“I haven’t, I just know what they’re going to say. I have been around enough to hear the rumors about Emmet and I don’t even know if I can say they’re false. I said to you I never really knew him as a kid. He was older than me and kept to himself. Only girls back then used to say that he got a little rough at times,” she keeps looking around, and I don’t understand why she would say any of this.
“Is Carly okay?” I ask and all she can do is shrug in reply.
“I know as much as you, but the girls are scared and I think I even saw one of the groundskeepers being carried out. They say she fainted, it makes you wonder what she could have seen to cause such a reaction.”
Agreed, it does make you wonder, but all I want to know is whether or not Carly is alive because you sure as hell couldn't tell just by looking at her. If she is… dead, then what happens next? Because I can’t imagine Sir Harkwright would be welcoming if it came down to a police investigation. Although surely they wouldn’t try to cover it up, even a man with his reach couldn’t be capable of something like that. So why do I suddenly feel naïve just by thinking this way?
We’re all ushered back into the assembly hall after ten minutes have passed, and I can’t even imagine how they’re going to explain this one.
We return to our seats and technically I’m still a Thirty-Four, so I go to sit down but my arm is captured at the last moment before I’m pulled into… Aeron. Oh yes, my claiming, the story fairytales are made of. Insert eye roll here.
“You and Daria will be sitting with us, one time allowance considering the circumstances,” he says as he spins me around so I’m facing the stage, and I can see where two chairs have been added. Because God forbid either myself or Daria sit on the two vacant seats already in place.
He really could let me go anytime, but for some reason he keeps hold of me and even as I take a seat beside him he still keeps an arm around my shoulders. I watch as Bradley does the same thing with Daria. Only, she looks more than happy about this arrangement. At least that makes one of us.
Ms. Vanderbilt comes back to the stage, no sign of Sir Harkwright, unless I look to my left and then I can see him standing just off to the side of the stage, staring right at us.
“This is not a Q&A session, so I will give you the relevant information and then you will go about your evening as though nothing has changed. Do not even think about asking any questions, I will dismiss every last one of you if I have to.”
She looks over every last one of us and we don’t say anything, knowing it will only get us in even more trouble. Aeron squeezes my shoulder, but I don’t give into his touch. I stay strong and stiff, and hope that he’ll eventually get the message.
“Carly Monroe was seen leaving the ball in the early hours of the morning, she was not alone. Now I know who many of you are speculating she was with, but until we can confirm or deny it, we will not be discussing that matter any further. Although we all heard the scream over twenty minutes ago, it is not possible that Miss Monroe was the one who made it. We believe the scream came from someone who discovered Carly, we are interviewing the groundskeepers as we speak. Be that as it may, it is highly unlikely that what has befallen Miss Monroe could be con
sidered an accident. It is believed Miss Monroe will make a full recovery but considering the situation, she will no longer be a part of the Academy. We will not be calling in replacements and instead we will carry on with the way things are and we have already assigned your new numbers to you. You will find these in your current rooms once the retreat has taken place, along with any other relevant information should you be required to change your room,” she takes a deep breath in and I watch as a shudder passes through her. Whatever she’s about to say, I don’t think she’s overly happy about it.
“What happened to Miss Monroe is unfortunate but we fully believe it to be an isolated matter and are not overly concerned about a repeat happening.” I don’t believe her, I think she is concerned, but she isn’t going to admit it. “However, I will remind you that you are not allowed to venture out into the gardens after eight pm unless occupied by one of the men, and even then I will advise that even the Harkwright men stay inside after eight pm for the foreseeable future. Although many of you may like to point fingers and assume to know who the culprit is, you must also remember that it isn’t only the men who can cause suffering in this place, and it could very well be a female. Again, this is not to point fingers but you must know the culprit will be punished fully and they will not get away with this unless…” she looks to the side, right at Sir and his eyes are boring into her, not leaving any room for an argument to take place. “However, if this turns out to be an accident, then you should all be prepared to put this behind you and not dwell on things that cannot be changed. Unfortunately, sometimes in the heat of the moment accidents can occur, and we expect you to understand that. Whatever the case, no matter who is at fault, they will be held accountable, no matter what their surname may be.”
She walks off the stage, not even taking a second to look at us, I wonder if her mouth tastes like ash or if her deceit is eating her alive. How can she stand up there and say all of that bullshit? It’s a fucking joke, and I can feel my body starting to shake as my rage builds. It’s only staying in check because of Aeron and his hand kneading into my muscles, which is distracting me enough to keep a hold of my senses.
“One last thing before you leave,” Sir steps back out, and we all wait with bated breath. “I know many of you have already started to accuse Emmet of what occurred, and let me just say that I know what your names are and what you have said. Don’t forget, you may be an Academy girl but I own this place, and I hold your future in the palm of my hand. Any more slanderous comments, and I will crush you and every last one of your pitiful dreams until you are nothing more than a blip on my radar, a piece of trash swept up in an unforgiving sea. You will be torn apart and left as something that isn’t even half of what you once were. I will not warn you again, my son shall not face any more heinous allegations, especially while he is not here to defend himself.”
He looks out at the crowd, and I never thought I would be present to see him ever looking anything other than refined, but his shoulders are stiff and his mouth is parted. I can definitely see his chest moving faster than before.
“The fucking moron,” Aeron breathes against my neck, right as a shadow moves against the wall, only it isn’t a shadow. It’s a person, I’m guessing a man dressed all in black with a hood pulled down low over his head, concealing his face from view.
“What crimes am I being accused of this time?”
The voice that has haunted me, that captivated, and frightened me in equal measures and also… no it can’t be. I have to be imagining things right now, otherwise I’m a bigger fool than I ever thought. No, it’s because of my frayed nerves, besides no one with that much darkness in his voice can be that convincing.
“A girl was found in the center of the maze, there are rumors that she was last seen with you. That you left the ball together and headed towards the gardens, however we will discuss this in private Emmet, go to my office right now. I will be there in a moment, and you will not speak to anyone else until I come to you. Do I make myself clear?” His voice thunders through the room and chills me completely.
“Crystal clear, don’t worry ladies and gents. I’ll be back,” he bows low at this, but I still can’t see his face as he leaves the room. Sir wastes no time in descending the stage and following after. Oh to be a fly on that wall.
We’re sitting in the same room Tucker had me grinding in his lap to prove some point to Aeron, but no one is talking. Well, Bradley, Aeron, and Tucker are, but me and Daria are just sitting here staring at the door.
I have so many questions, is Carly really okay? What happened to her? Did she really go out there with Emmet? Did he hurt her? Do I believe he would? I know I should be able to answer the last one, but I can’t. I don’t know him or what he is capable of and my head and heart still won’t believe what I need to learn to accept. I just don’t know how.
Hours pass with nothing changing, other than Daria being as close to Bradley as possible and I’m trying to keep as much distance between myself and Aeron as I can. My hands are still covered in blood and the sight is now starting to turn my stomach, knowing that I wouldn’t have stopped hitting her if the guys hadn’t pulled me away. I was the one who stopped Carly from killing Chantelle back when we first got here and yet, today I was just as bad as her. How can I claim to be a good person, a better person when I couldn’t stop myself? I should have been stronger, I am stronger so where was that strength when I needed it? Why the fuck did I have to end up being stopped by the goddamn Harkwrights themselves? I just feel so mad, I can’t… breathe.