Page 13 of Under the Lights (The Big Boys of BRU #2)

Twelve

Sierra

The sorority house looked the same, but it no longer felt like home. The faded photos and strings of fairy lights on the walls were still there, as were the worn couches sagging in all the familiar spots. The smell of old popcorn lingered in the air.

But to me, it was quieter, like the house was holding its breath.

Nobody acted differently — not that I could tell, anyway. They laughed the same, joked the same. I kept catching myself watching faces, trying to read the cracks in their smiles or the hesitation in their voices. But there was nothing obvious.

Just quiet.

Too quiet .

The fact that I had trusted these people made me so incredibly angry. When I had joined this sorority, it was specifically because it seemed like it was really about the things it was supposed to be about.

Solidarity, values, sisterhood.

I used to be the first one to join in, to share stories late at night on the creaky staircase. Now I found myself slipping past the common areas, trying to keep my distance and avoid eye contact. I wasn’t sure who I could trust, and that feeling settled like a stone in my chest.

I touched the bracelet on my wrist, the one I’d gotten on bid day, and wondered how much of this was my own paranoia. But after what I’d read, the thought that I’d misjudged these girls — my sisters — stung more than I wanted to admit.

Trust was supposed to be the foundation of this place. That’s why I joined — to find people who had my back. But now, I didn’t know who to trust.

Maybe I never had. Maybe I’d just been pretending.

In my room, the soft glow from the fairy lights didn’t warm me like it used to. I stared at the framed photo of our pledge class, smiling back at me with bright eyes and hopeful faces. I wondered how many of them were hiding pieces of the truth and if I could ever believe in them again.

The whole situation was eating me up. What was I going to do?

I knew I couldn’t do this much longer. The anxiety and anger constantly simmering in the pit of my stomach was growing and growing, consuming me from the inside out.

There was a knock on my door. “Yes?”

I was sitting on my bed, facing the door, when Jas stuck her head in. “Hey. Mind if I come in?” I motioned for her to enter.

Her makeup was flawless, her hair in a cute half-up, half-down style, and… I had never seen her in that outfit before, which was odd. I was pretty sure I knew her wardrobe inside out. We often swapped clothes or helped each other put outfits together.

Narrowing my eyes, I took a closer look, trying to figure out where I’d seen this dress before. “What’s up?” I asked casually as I continued to study her.

“Just wanted to try to persuade you to come with me tonight?”

David’s frat was throwing one of their mixers tonight, where alumni and potential future employers would be in attendance.

Normally, I would be psyched for this kind of thing. Right now, though, I couldn’t imagine anything more ghastly than spending the evening surrounded by people who had spit on not only me but everything we were supposed to stand for.

I scoffed. “Hard pass. I don’t feel like seeing David’s stupid face, and besides, I have enough to do with this project. We have the presentation in a few days.”

Jas pursed her glossy lips and smoothed a hand down her dress. “Oh, come on, I’ll be there—”

All of a sudden, I knew where I recognized the dress from. “Tom Ford.”

“Excuse me?” Jas looked at me uneasily.

Slowly, deliberately, I raised my eyebrows. “That’s the dress we saw at Nordstrom. The one by Tom fucking Ford .” Tilting my head slightly, I watched her carefully.

“Oh, yeah,” Jas laughed, deliberately light-hearted. “It was on sale, so I just had to buy it.”

“Is that right? The seven thousand dollar dress was so heavily discounted that you could easily afford it?”.

I could see her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “Yes, well, my parents sent me some money.”

Jasmine came from an ordinary, middle-class family.

“Really? How come you didn’t tell me? I mean, you usually text me when you splurge on a fancy coffee. How come you didn’t tell me about this incredible bargain you stumbled upon?” I pursed my lips and raised my hands in an ’ oh, really? ’ gesture.

She chuckled lightly, trying to wave me off. “Si, you’ve just been so busy lately, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“No more than usual.”

“Come on, Si, what is this about? Are you seriously mad at me for not telling you about a dress I got on sale?” She looked at me with her brows drawn together, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes flicked to the side for a moment.

Gotcha.

“I think,” I said, my voice quiet and sober, “you know exactly what I’m getting at, Jas.”

Her eyebrows shot up for a blink, her eyes widening slightly before she regained her composure.

“I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, Sierra. What do you want from me?” Now she was getting defensive.

Not surprising. I knew Jas well enough to know that she would bite if backed into a corner.

“Is that how you want to play it?” With an incredulous laugh, I got up from the bed and took a step toward her. “Where did you get the fucking money, Jasmine?”

She pulled down the corners of her mouth and shrugged. “My parents, like I said.”

“I fucking hate liars,” I spat in a low voice.

She flinched slightly, as if my words had been a physical blow. “Si…”

“Come on, Jas,” I mocked. “You had the balls for this whole scheme. Now at least have the balls to admit it.”

Jasmine said nothing, her arms crossed over her chest, but I knew I had rattled her. She knew I knew something, and it was freaking her out. I took another step closer, looking down at her.

“You know,” I let my gaze sweep across the room, shaking my head, “you should really pay attention to who you CC in your emails.”

Was she going a little pale there, underneath all that foundation? Her eyes darted away again. ”Seriously, Sierra. What the hell are you talking about?”

“What do luxury hotels and designer clothes have to do with our charity event? At first, I really thought it was nothing more than a few slip-ups, but then I began to realize what’s going on. What you guys are pulling, especially with David’s frat. Tell me, Jas, who’s all involved? Who else knows?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about! You must be mistaken.” She raised her hands defensively and took a small step back.

“Your dress says otherwise. How long has this been going on, Jas?”

“Oh my God, Sierra. Can you just drop it? This is why we didn’t tell you. We knew you’d overreact!”

I stared at her in disbelief, blinking a few times. “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re siphoning money for personal gain, ripping people off, and I’m overreacting?!”

“Everyone does it, Sierra, everyone . How do you think we got the idea, huh? The only difference is that others are content with crumbs, while we had a bigger vision.“ She shrugged, unconcerned, and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear.

“A bigger vision?” I repeated.

This was so much worse than I had imagined.

“It’s really not as bad as you think. We would have told you, but we thought it would be better for everyone this way.”

Did she think this would make the situation better somehow? Who was this person in front of me? It couldn’t be my best friend because I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me.

“Are you telling me that everyone is involved in this?”

“Everyone who matters.” Her tone was so nonchalant, as if we were discussing something trivial, an everyday matter.

I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at it briefly, and then let my arms drop again.

“Guess I know where I stand with you, then. If it hadn’t already been abundantly clear, that is.

Just so we’re on the same page, you’re stealing from donations and funds for your own benefit? Is that what’s going on here?”

“Sierra, I swear to God, you’re acting like we’re monsters . So what if we try to get a little more out of the situation for ourselves?” Her eyebrows rose briefly, and she shrugged.

“Out.”

Jasmine recoiled. “What?”

“ Get out . Right now.” I turned away. “I can’t even look at you.”

She scoffed. “You’re being ridiculous, Sierra.”

I snapped back around, my hand shooting out to point at the door. ”Get the fuck out of my room, Jasmine!”

She flinched briefly at my thunderous tone before she scoffed again, rolling her eyes like none of this mattered. Like I was the one making things difficult. Jasmine turned and put her hand on the doorknob.

“Just let it go, Sierra. It’s not going to end well for you otherwise.” Then she slipped out, the door clicking shut behind her with an infuriating calm.

The silence that followed pressed in on me like a weight. All that was left was me, alone, disillusioned, and boiling with rage.

Let it go? We were just getting started .

Mechanically, I turned around, like moving too fast might shatter something fragile inside me. My hands shook slightly as I began stuffing clothes and essentials into my bag. Whatever I could grab. I didn’t even check what I was packing.

I just needed to move. Get out. Now.

Sisters, yeah, sure.

Each item I stuffed into the bag felt heavier than it should have. It was as if it were soaked with all the things I hadn’t said. All the things I’d let slide before.

I used to believe Jasmine had my back. I used to believe a lot of things.

The walls of this house — covered in group photos, pastel canvases with inspirational quotes, and our chapter’s motto hand-lettered in gold — looked back at me like a joke I was too slow to get.

Sisterhood. Loyalty. Unity. Right.

Maybe I’d ignored the cracks. Maybe I’d wanted so badly to belong somewhere that I’d silenced my instincts. But this — this was the kind of mistake you only make once.

My radar for trust was fried. Jasmine had just confirmed what I’d already started to suspect. I was surrounded by people smiling with knives behind their backs.

The hardest part wasn’t that Jasmine had lied. It was the resignation setting in. The normalcy of this feeling.

My hands froze over the half-packed bag. I stared at it for a moment, my heart still pounding, before the reality of the situation sank in.

Where was I even going to go? I couldn’t afford a hotel, and almost everyone I used to trust was connected to Zeta Gamma Gamma. I’d backed myself into a corner without realizing it.

Maybe someone on my team? I tried to mentally scroll through the roster, weighing who might let me crash and who would ask too many questions. The reality of the situation was that if I were to walk out now, I would most likely be living on someone’s couch until the end of the semester.

Finals were coming up fast. If I tanked those, I’d only be making things worse for myself. Should I bite the bullet and stick it out until the end of the semester? But then what?

I could already hear the voice in my head: Be smart. Wait. Don’t let them see you unravel.

With a low breath, I dropped onto the edge of the bed, the half-zipped bag at my feet like a wound I wasn’t sure how to close. I’d have to stay — at least until finals.

Play along. Keep my head down. Get through it.

That didn’t mean I was letting it go. I needed time to come up with a battle plan and potentially gather some more evidence if possible. I couldn’t afford to react purely on emotion alone.

The gears in my head kept turning. Struck by a possible solution to at least one of my problems, I picked up my phone and scrolled to Ella’s name.

The call didn’t solve everything. But it gave me enough — to stay focused, stay quiet, and make it through the next few weeks.