Page 16

HE LIGHTS THE MATCH

MILA

Patience stops in my doorway, carrying a freshly packed bag of clothes. Her white-blonde braid is fuzzy from redoing it so many times. She’s spent the entire day packing for her summer internship with Violet, and they leave tomorrow, officially marking the end of our sophomore year.

This is a moment I thought I would be excited for. I’ve never had an entire summer all to myself. But as the days have ticked by these past few weeks, I’ve dreaded the thought of my roommates leaving. Especially with everything that’s happened recently.

Oxy is finally out of the hospital, but he still hasn’t revealed who attacked him. I’ve heard whispers that it was an altercation with Sigma Sin. If that’s the case, no one will ever learn the truth.

Marco has been as insistent as ever that he’ll win me back, getting more aggressive by the day about it. Sweet talk has turned into emotional warfare as he considers new ways to convince me that dating him is worth it .

Then there are the mysterious, threatening texts that started a couple of weeks ago. The first one came through right after I was poking around Sigma House looking for answers.

Unknown

Keep looking, and you’ll end up like her.

When I tried calling the number, they didn’t answer. But the message was clear. The man who killed Remi has finally caught on to me. He knows I’m looking, and he’s going to try and stop me from uncovering who he is.

As if all of that isn’t bad enough, Alex is still on my mind.

It’s been three weeks since he shut the door in my face at Montgomery, and I’ve felt every second of it. I tried going back to see him, but his door has been closed each time. On one visit, I dared to try the handle, but it was locked.

He’s shutting me out, specifically , since I know Patience has visited her brother since then.

Something I said or did that night offended him.

Maybe I showed up one too many times unannounced.

Maybe he didn’t appreciate me throwing my relationship problems with Marco at him.

Or maybe he didn’t like how I insinuated he was involved in whatever happened to Oxy.

I guess I shouldn’t blame him, but it still hurts. I didn’t realize how much I appreciated the friendship we were building until I lost it. Now everything is emptier.

“You were out late last night.” Patience stops just inside my room. “Are you dating someone you’re not telling us about? ”

“I went for a walk.” I fuss with my hair in the mirror, avoiding her gaze.

It’s not a lie.

I did go for a walk—to my car. Then I drove to Montgomery Psychiatric Ward for the third time this week because I couldn’t help myself. At least this time, I convinced myself to stay in the car. Alex has made it crystal clear he has no interest in seeing me.

“You need to be careful going for walks at night.” Patience’s eyebrows furrow. “Especially after what happened to Oxy.”

After what happened to Oxy, everyone in Bristal has been on edge. It’s like a warning has been issued. A reminder of what happens when someone pisses off a member of Sigma Sin.

“Don’t worry about me.” I change the subject. “You’re not wearing that to the party tonight, are you?”

Patience looks down at her pale-pink cardigan and jeans. The clothes cover almost every inch of exposed skin, even though it’s summer. The wispy feathers on her sweater wave with her every movement. Which, paired with her blonde hair, is almost ethereal.

“Why would I change? I already told you I’m not going.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s the year-end party. I understand you hate Sigma House, but you’re leaving town tomorrow. It’s our last chance to celebrate surviving another year.”

Her cold eyes narrow.

“One hour. I promise that I’ll take you home myself if you aren’t having fun. Besides, Teal’s heading there after her art show, and we both know she’ll stay the night with Declan. So if you don’t go, you won’t have a chance to say goodbye before you both leave for the summer. ”

From across the room, I can almost hear her teeth grinding.

Patience has come to terms with Teal and Declan’s relationship these past few weeks because she’s had no other choice when they secretly got married. But that doesn’t mean she likes it.

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “One hour. Then I’m saying goodbye to Teal and leaving.”

“One hour,” I promise.

Her phone rings from her pocket, so she sets her bag down to pull it out. “Wonderful.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s my parents.” She answers, “Hello.”

Something is said on the other end of the line that has her spine straightening. Tension ripples through the air, and her face pales more than it naturally is.

“He what?” Patience snaps. “When did he check out? I was just there yesterday.”

This is clearly a private conversation. One I should not be listening to, but I can’t help it.

“Why would he go back there?” This time, her anger cracks at the end.

Her expression is stoic, but her eyes gloss over.

“I don’t believe it.” The final whisper is still hanging in the air as she hangs up.

“What’s wrong?”

Patience grips her phone, staring at the wall.

“It’s my brother—” She swallows the rest of her sentence as her cold eyes shoot to mine.

“It’s nothing. My parents are just trying to get in my head before I leave.

They’ll do anything to try and keep me in Bristal for the summer. Are you ready to go? ”

“To the party you were just trying to avoid?” I hitch an eyebrow.

“Just—” She shakes her head, grabbing the bag and storming to the door. “We leave in five minutes.”

I barely have time to finish my hair before Patience grabs my arm and drags me out the door. She’s quiet the entire drive to Sigma House. To the point where she might have forgotten I’m with her. It isn’t until we park and climb out that I break the silence.

“Patience, slow down.” I jog to catch up with her.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head, frazzled.

“What’s going on? Talk to me.” I grab her hand and walk beside her. “Why are you in such a rush?”

She rolls her shoulders back, trying to school her expression. “My parents are probably just messing with my head.”

“What did they say to you?”

“That Alex left Montgomery.” She laughs, entirely unamused. “It’s ridiculous, right?”

It’s many things, but I don’t know if ridiculous is one of them. Still, I nod in agreement.

“Like he’d leave Montgomery just to come back here.” Patience waves her arms to the fraternity looming ahead of us.

“They said he was at Sigma House?”

“They’re lying,” she grits out, but there’s little to her tone that makes me think she believes her own words.

Every fiber in my being wants her parents to be wrong because, as much as I’ve wanted to see him these past few weeks, if he’s here, then it proves Marco right .

How well do I really know him?

That thought lingers as we step through the door. And Patience is no longer the only one on edge.

The party rages on like it always does. Somehow wilder, given it’s the end of the school year.

We search the first few rooms without finding Alex, and I hope it means that Patience is right. Her parents are messing with her. But when we reach the back of Sigma House and step into a room that’s rarely used, hope pops like a balloon.

Patience’s steps falter in time with mine, and we both freeze in front of a couch.

“Alex?” Her voice cracks when she stops in front of him.

Her mouth hangs open, and I, for once, relate to how Patience is feeling because there he sits in the middle of a Sigma Sin party like it’s no big deal—Alex Lancaster.

The man who shut the door in my face three weeks ago and probably hasn’t thought about me since.

Irritation is a living, breathing thing inside me as his gaze lifts.

“Are you kidding me?” Patience rolls her shoulders back. “When Mom told me you were back here, I didn’t want to believe it. How could you?”

There’s a current of heartbreak in that simple question.

How could he be here?

How could he go back to them?

How could he not tell her?

Alex’s expression doesn’t falter. The cold, disinterested glaze he’s perfected reveals no emotion. Any remnants of that fire in his eyes have cooled, and I can’t help wondering if it was all my imagination playing tricks on me.

When he doesn’t answer, she takes a step back. “I can’t believe you would do this. ”

I try to grab her arm as she starts to pull away, but already, her walls are flying up. The bricks that hide her from the world cement in her stare.

“Patience, listen to hi?—”

“No.” She cuts me off, and it’s probably for the best when I can’t explain why he’s here either. “I’m done with this place. He deserves whatever he gets if he’s going to stay in here. I can’t believe I was by his side, thinking things had changed.”

If I didn’t know Patience better, I’d swear the storm in her eyes is anger. But when she offers a final look to her brother, all I see is heartache.

She storms away, and I know there’s no point stopping her. I should probably follow, but my legs won’t move.

Turning to face Declan and Alex, I see them both still staring up at me in unnerving silence.

“She’s just upset you’re back here. That’s all.” I force a smile, wondering why I’m defending her to Alex when he’s the one who owes us all an explanation.

Declan, being an asshole, chuckles. “As if that wasn’t clear.”

Only then does Alex break his stone-cold facade to reach over and smack Declan on the arm. Which seems to confuse Declan as much as me. Until Declan’s phone pings, distracting both of us.

“I gotta take off for a bit.” Declan stands, reading a message. “You good? Keep an eye on Maddox for me?”

Alex nods in response to Declan’s question, but his eyes don’t leave mine. He doesn’t so much as blink as Declan brushes past me.

Over these past three weeks, I’ve tried to forget how gorgeous Alex is. I’ve tried to erase the memory of his hazel eyes. I’ve tried to train myself not to think about him in the middle of the night, even when I swear I wake up smelling him.

But he’s my addiction. My obsession. And one look drags me straight back to the sickness.

Alex holds my stare for a long moment, and I hear nothing but my heartbeat flooding my veins. My nails dig into my palms, and my body burns under his attention. But just as quick as he lights the match, he douses me out, blinking his attention away.

A pretty girl with black hair shoves past me, knocking me in the shoulder. She has the nerve to glare like I’m standing in her way. The venom in her gaze quickly fades when her attention moves to Alex.

She leans down, whispering something in his ear, and I hate that a lock of her hair skims his shoulder. That her chest practically spills out of the top of her shirt. I hate that she’s close enough to breathe him in.

It’s too noisy for me to hear what she’s saying, and he doesn’t offer much of a reaction. But when she straightens her spine, he slowly starts to stand.

I get one final uninterested glance from Alex before he walks away with the black-haired beauty hot on his heels. I don’t need her smirk to tell me what she’s planning, but she shoots me the venomous smile anyway.

I hate her.

I hate him.

I hate Sigma Sin.