Page 165 of River of Deceit

River frowns, but he shakes his head. “I still don’t think she’s in there, Blaze.”

“Probably. I told her she had to sneak out.” I laugh, but that turns into another cough. “I said she should sneak out the window, and she replied that she was always planning to. She did know she was banned.”

“Then we have to assume she did. I’ll keep trying to get in touch with her, but…” River suddenly stops, his expression abruptly shuttering.

“What?” I ask.

“She wouldn’t have,” he says, but it’s like he’s speaking to himself.

I want to ask what he’s talking about, but Asch returns, then it’s my turn with the paramedic and the oxygen tank. They check me all over—and notice some of the marks Pandora left on me—but otherwise declare me fine to leave.

“Just take it easy, and don’t go near smoke or vapes for a while,” the paramedic says.

I laugh, because the last thing I want to do now is jump into another fire, and I’m probably going to destroy any vape I see for the foreseeable future.

I return to Asch and River. Zayden is there too, with somebody from the school administration.

“Please, for tonight, we need everyone to stay here,” the woman is saying. “We’ll contact your parents or anyone you need, and the school doctors will be on hand to continue to give medical attention.” She spots me and turns away from Zayden. “Mr. Bouchard, good. All the fraternity members who lived here will be placed in the gym overnight, just until we’ve got everything sorted and we know who’s accounted for and who’s missing.”

It sounds like a pain, but I don’t have the energy to argue. “Yeah, okay.”

I somehow end up leaning against River as we all pile into ashuttle to the gym. I don’t point out that River doesn’t technically live at the Kappa Alpha house.

The gym has enough mattresses for all of the brothers who stay in the frat house, and the school arranged for basic toiletries. I file into one of the showers—nobody dares try to get ahead of me in line—and wash all the dirt and grime off.

There’s a long scratch along my side. I trace the red mark, trying to remember when it had happened. Right before the fire? But Pandora was up against the wall. I don’t think she could have scratched me… Before, then, when I was carrying her, or maybe when we were facing each other.

Why are my memories so hazy?

Fucking smoke inhalation.

I finish washing myself, put on the t-shirt and sweats emblazoned with the school logo, and walk back out to the gym. Half the fraternity is there, not just the guys who live in the house. Somebody brought sandwiches and drinks, and I find a vegetarian sandwich for myself before taking the mattress next to Asch.

River sits down on the mattress with me. I catch Zayden glaring at River, but once again, I give zero fucks what Zayden thinks.

“I tried calling her again,” Asch says. “Straight to voicemail.”

“But she’s definitely fine,” I repeat. “They didn’t find her in the building.”

River is strangely quiet.

Asch gives him a sidelong glance before sitting down on the mattress next to mine. “What’s that look for?” he asks.

River shakes his head. “Nothing.”

Everybody’s mumbling to themselves, and I’m ready to fall asleep again, when Zayden steps into the center of our mattress layout.

“So we need to find out who did this to us,” Zayden announces.

Everybody stares.

Tate coughs and says, “Wasn’t it an accident? A microwave on the fritz?”

Zayden shakes his head. “An accidentalfire? After we get attacked by some masked assholes? This was an attack on Kappa Alpha Omega Sigma. Somebody is out to get us.”

I groan, because if I weren’t so tired, I would agree with him. All of our appliances are new, and the school requires us to do maintenance checks once a year.

“Was somebody burning candles in their room?” another one of the guys asks. “That happened to a friend of mine. His girlfriend lit candles without a holder, and they burned all the way through to the plastic cabinet they were on and everything went up in smoke.”