Page 96 of The Darkest Note

I nod. “Sol’s in room 201. We can’t be long or they’ll figure out he let us in.”

“Dutch, you genius.” Zane smacks my back.

Finn smirks at me. “Impressive.”

“I’ll bathe in your praise later. We’ve got to hurry.”

My brothers file behind me as we sneak through the back door and move carefully up the stairs. It’s late and there’s no one moving around in the hallways.

“There!” Zane whispers, pointing to Room 201.

I look both ways and charge across the corridor, my heart pounding. I open the door and let my brothers in first before I slip inside.

“What the hell?” Sol bellows from his perch on the bed.

“Sh!” Finn quiets him.

“Hey, man.” Zane’s grinning broadly. “Long time no see.”

“Sol,” I say.

Our best friend gazes at us with wide brown eyes. Then he leaps off the bed and attacks Finn and Zane in a two-armed hug.

“Bastards,” Sol says, his voice cracking.

Finn thumps him on the back.

Sol releases them and glances at me. His bare feet press against the floor as he takes a few steps my way.

I avoid his eyes. “Sol, man… I… I’m sorry.”

“Shut up, Cross.” Sol sweeps me in a hug.

My bottom lip starts trembling, but I firm it like a man and refuse to get emotional.

Sol leans back. The light shines in his face. He looks thinner than usual, his cheekbones are hollowed out and his eyes are a little sunken. His skin, which was always a healthy tan, is pale.

“Like the beard,” Zane says, making a motion over his own chin.

“Yeah.” Sol smiles sheepishly. “I figured, since the ladies here aren’t anything to look at, I’d try it out. You’re lucky you came today. A few months ago, you would have seen it in the weird, straggly phase.”

We laugh, but it’s hollow and empty.

Silence creeps in when the chuckles fade. It’s like we’re standing in a pool of regret. I’m up to my knees in it and I don’t know how to get unstuck.

“How did you find me?” Sol asks, whirling around and taking his seat on the bed again. “These psychos don’t let us use our phones or laptops. And the internet is heavily supervised.”

“That must be fun,” Zane quips.

“Unbelievably.” Sol tugs at the hem of his pajama top. It’s an awful greenish-brown color with standard buttons and wide-legged pajama pants. He catches me looking at it and grins. “They force us to wear uniforms here. Even when we sleep.”

“Sol, man, we’re gonna get you out of here,” Zane says. I look at my twin and his expression is more serious than I’ve ever seen it before.

Finn nods. “You shouldn’t have taken the rap by yourself that night.”

“Nah.” Sol shakes his head. “What’s done is done.”

“That’s not good enough for us,” I declare firmly. “We’re getting you back into Redwood Prep. Where you belong.”