Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

Instantly, Ariana’s skin warmed and her eyes stung. Images of her former friends from Easton Academy—Noelle Lange, Kiran Hayes, and Taylor Bell—flitted through her mind. She vividly recalled how her heart used to leap whenever the guards announced that she had a visitor. How she used to stand outside the door to the visiting room while it was being unlocked, nearly giddy with hope, envisioning Noelle sitting at the metal table with her dark sunglasses on, or Kiran perched with a pile of fashion magazines, or Taylor offering a sweet smile. But it was always her lawyer or her father or some reporter hoping for a story. None of the Billings girls had ever come. Their rejection stung, even now.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” Kaitlynn said, stepping into a blue pleated skirt and fastening it around her slim waist. “They couldn’t have cared less. But me? I was always there for you.”

“You had to be,” Ariana replied. “We were stuck in the same room.” Just like we are now, she added silently. Although back then it had been different. Back then, Ariana had thought that Kaitlynn was sweet, innocent, and wrongfully accused.

“Well, just so you know, it wasn’t all lies.” Kaitlynn sat down on her bed and jammed her feet into knee-high socks.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you used me,” Ariana said quietly.

Kaitlynn sighed. “Maybe,” she said, standing. “But would you have broken out if I told you the truth? Would either of us be here now?”

Ariana took a deep breath. Kaitlynn never tired of reminding her that she was the one who had led her to Briana Leigh. That without Kaitlynn, Ariana never would have met the girl and never would have had the chance to assume her identity and start a new life. And Ariana, as always, had to admit that it was true.

“But if neither of us were here now, Brigit would still be alive.”

She turned, but Kaitlynn stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”

Ariana swallowed against a dry throat.

“I know you’re pissed off that Brigit isn’t here anymore, but I had to do it,” Kaitlynn said. “If anyone should understand that, you should. You got rid of Briana Leigh because she was standing in your way. Well, that’s all I did. Brigit was in the way of me having the life I want. It was simple math. There were four spots in Stone and Grave and five people to fill them. All I did was help us both out.”

Ariana looked into Kaitlynn’s eyes, so calm and guileless, and her heart thumped. Because she realized that what Kaitlynn was saying made sense. Kaitlynn’s entire life was at stake here. She needed Stone and Grave to survive. And survival was what it was all about.

“Think of it this way . . . you’re lucky,” Kaitlynn said, withdrawing her hand from Ariana’s shoulder and giving a shrug. “It could have just as easily been you.”

Ariana blinked, her heart dropping into her toes. A cold icicle of fear drove its way directly into her heart, and her knees started to tremble beneath her.

It could have just as easily been you.

Everyone was expendable to Kaitlynn. Everyone.

Kaitlynn turned away, humming as she slipped her APH blazer on over her white turtleneck. Like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Like she hadn’t just offhandedly threatened Ariana’s life.

Taking a deep breath, Ariana steadied herself, quelled the bristles of fear prickling along her spine, and kept the hot tears threatening in her eyes at bay.

“You know what? I can wait a few minutes for you to get ready,” she said, placing her bag on the floor.

Kaitlynn’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ariana said. “Go ahead and get dressed. We’ll walk over together.”

“Okay.” Kaitlynn looked her up and down, surprised, maybe even wary. “I’ll be ready in five.”

Then she slipped past Ariana into the bathroom and turned on the hair dryer. Ariana gave her weakened knees a rest, dropping down onto her perfectly made bed. She wrapped her fingers around her forearm and squeezed, watching the door of the bathroom and waiting for her roommate, thinking ahead to the mindless chitchat she would make as they crossed the campus together.

After all, it was all about survival. And now Ariana knew exactly what she had to do to stay alive.

THE GAME IS AFOOT

The large, white-washed dining hall was filled with hushed conversation, the sounds of clinking silverware, and the scent of frying bacon. Ariana walked in with Kaitlynn at her side and turned toward her usual table, which she shared with Lexa, Soomie, Maria, Landon, Adam, Conrad, and sometimes Palmer—who would have been a sight for sore eyes right about then.

Lexa looked up, caught Ariana’s eye, smiled, and waved her over. Ariana waved back. Hanging out with a real friend like Lexa right now would be a relief after a morning chock-full of Kaitlynn.

“Wait. We should sit with Allison and Tahira,” Kaitlynn said, touching Ariana’s arm.

Kaitlynn tilted her head toward the two girls, who were sitting at a small table near the door. Ariana hesitated, but she knew Kaitlynn was right. If anyone from Stone and Grave was watching—and Ariana knew that they always were—they would appreciate her and Kaitlynn sitting with the rest of their tap class. Ariana sighed and resigned herself to unpleasant company. Impressing Stone and Grave was worth a painful meal or two.

“Okay,” she said. As she walked ahead of Kaitlynn, she saw her roommate’s look of bemusement over having been agreed with so easily.