Needless to say, Alexei and I weren’t in the Valentine’s Day spirit when we planned to meet up with him, and though Alexei pushed for something a little more private, Preston insisted the party would be a good time to chat. Of course, he’s assuming Alexei is meeting him to discuss whatever Preston wanted to talk to him about the other day, not that Alexei has been speaking with the enemy.
Preston’s brow furrows. “Your face looks a little better.”
“That’s actually what I’m here to talk to you about,” Alexei says. “Can we go somewhere more private?”
There’s something mischievous in Preston’s expression as he smirks. “Of course. Come on.”
He starts to lead us through the crowd, but then stops and turns, noticing I’m still behind them. “Eh…I assume I don’t have to tell you that Matteo can’t come with us.”
“He already knows, Preston.”
I study Preston’s expression, gauging his reaction, but it remains unchanged as he glances between us, and withoutany indication of his feelings about the news, he turns back around and continues through the house.
Alexei and I follow him to the second floor. Preston guides us into his room, and Alexei closes the door behind us. As soon as we’re alone with the guy, I’m glad I pushed to come. Alexei had insisted it might be better to do it on his own, but that wasn’t happening. The past few weeks I’ve spent time with him, I’ve felt so protective, and it’s only getting worse the more time we spend together. The guy can clearly take care of himself, but he shouldn’t have to. He’s a good guy who deserves to have someone to back him up. And really, Preston and his friends shouldn’t have ever put him in this situation to begin with.
“You wanna tell me what’s going on, Alexei?”
Alexei just goes for it. “The Sinners know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was frustrated because you guys weren’t following through with your end of the deal, so I got images from Spencer’s notebook and tried a spell. Basically, it did some fucked-up shit to Matteo, and the Sinners found out, and now I’m here because we have some things we need to sort out.”
I’m waiting for Preston to explode into a violent rage, or at least launch an onslaught of questions after that reveal, but he closes his eyes and nods. “Okay, what is going on?” he asks as he opens his eyes.
His question throws me, and so does the chill way he’s asking it.
“Alexei, are you trying to punk me?”
“What?”
“What notebook did you get from Spencer? And what’s the—what did you call it—Sinners?”
If he’s pretending, he’s doing an excellent job because it’s got me questioning everything I assumed coming into this, but Alexei’s wide-eyed reaction assures me something’s up.
“Why are you acting like this?” Alexei asks. “I told you. Matteo knows. He’s experienced this stuff for himself, so cut the act.”
“Act? You go off about a spell and shit, and I’m the one putting on an act?”
“Quit it, Preston,” I chime in. “I saw what was in that notebook with my own eyes.”
“How the fuck would I know what Spencer’s into? What does that have to do with me?”
“Okay, clearly, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Alexei says. “I talked to the Sinners. I didn’t name anyone in the Saints because I didn’t think that would be right. I did have to say there was a group of guys on campus who knew about the Rift besides them. I had to do this because Brad woke up the other night and found Matteo possessed by a dead serial killer. The Sinners think if we team up, we might be able to figure this out.”
Preston stands there, wincing. “This some kind of role-play?”
“Pres, come on,” I say. “Why the fuck else did you want to meet with Alexei here if not to talk about this shit?”
Preston stares me down, taking a few moments too long to come up with an answer—the first crack in his impressivefacade. “I didn’t want to have to share this, which is why I didn’t want you coming up here, but since Alexei’s lost his fucking mind, I guess you should know I thought I might interest him in some extra weed I bought. And based on everything I’ve just heard, I’m guessing you don’t need any. But whatever you’re doing, it’s not my problem, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me or anyone else at Alpha Alpha Mu.”
He directs those last comments to Alexei, like he’s sending the message that whatever happened with that spell isn’t his or the Saints’ problem.
“Preston, please,” Alexei says. “We need to work together with the Sinners. They say something horrible is coming, and it’s worse than that monster we all saw in the woods. If they’re right, we need to—”
“I think you need to leave,” Preston says. “And since you’re not wearing costumes, maybe just go right back to the dorms. Kind of missing the spirit, aren’t you?”
Alexei and I exchange a look. We’re not getting anywhere with Preston, so we head out. We’re quiet until we get to the front drive.
