I most definitely am not.
Grabbing a change of clothes from my laundry, I pull on a coat and quickly exit. Campus is still quiet this early, an eerie haze coating the cloudy air. A text comes through my phone, requesting my presence in the Primordial Forest, and I take a deep breath, wondering what the hell my brother can possibly be up to at this fucking hour.
On my way, Quincy practically runs me over, spilling the latte she’s clutching on my shoe.
She opens her mouth as if to apologize but seems to think better of it when she notices who I am. “Oh,” she says, pushing her glasses up. “I didn’t see you there.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Good call asking your father to fly in by the way. I came to you for advice, not intervention.”
“Do you even understand what being the oldest sibling means?” she snaps. “You told me my sister was injured after I told you to stay away from her. Of course I called my dad.”
“Were you aware she’s been keeping things from him?”
Quincy’s face falls, and she shifts, working her jaw from side to side. “Well, everything comes to light eventually. I’m just helping her along. The sooner she owns up to her lies, the sooner she can move on with her life.”
Cocking my head, I study Quincy’s face, her ringed fingers brushing the bangs out of her lenses. She shifts, in constant motion, as if she doesn’t enjoy the speculation.
Everything comes to light eventually.
“You told the dean about us,” I say finally, slowly, processing each word as it leaves my mouth.
She doesn’t reply at first, her eyes narrowing further until they’re nothing but angry little slits. Her grip makes the cup in her hand buckle, more latte spilling out.
“I mentioned there was a professor who should be looked into,” she answers matter-of-factly. “I didn’t give specifics.”
“You sold your sister out. She was happy, and you tried to ruin it.”
The way she flinches when I say “tried” isn’t lost on me. An irritated, dangerous expression crosses her face, and she steps toward me, jabbing a finger into my chest.
“Look. I spent years keeping my mouth shut because I didn’t want to scare her away, and I didn’t want to keep watching people drain the life out of her. I wanted her to get everything she dreamed of in Hollywood, and I…” Quincy blows out a breath, shaking her head. “Doesn’t matter. The past is moot at this point. But I will be damned if I sit back and watch someone else take advantage of her, especially when I have the power to put a stop to it.”
“I’m not trying to take advantage of her,” I say, shoving her finger away. “Why the hell can’t you understand that? Your sister is not the weak little girl you’re painting her out to be.”
“You barely know her.”
“No,youbarely know her,” I shoot back, my own ire growing into a ball of fiery rage, incinerating the inside of my chest. “She got abducted and brutally beaten by one of our campus organizations last night, and she walked out of those caves. She stayed with me and never asked for you. I wonder why that is.”
Quincy’s eyes harden. She clenches her jaw tight.
“Maybe you’ve spent the last eight years thinking she was lost and afraid, and now you’re trying to distance yourself from the fact that you didn’t believe in her. Or perhaps you think you’re the reason she stayed away for so long.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows, looking at her feet.
Ah.
That’s it then.
Still, she says nothing.
“Getting her into trouble won’t repair whatever is broken between you,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. “Don’t use me as some scapegoat for your issues.”
“At least I tried to help my sister.” Her voice is low as I start to walk away, pausing as it reaches me.
“Did you?” I quip, cocking an eyebrow. Reaching into my coat, I pull out the journal from the other night, the one that revealed everything, and toss it at her feet. “Let me know if you recognize that handwriting. If you need a refresher, might I suggest the sign-in logs of Erebus Hall during your time as an undergrad?”
She bends to pick up the journal, murder in her eyes.
“Maybe you’ll remember more than you think.”
