“Can I be mad that you’re such a Goody Two-Shoes?” he quips back.
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” I say, meeting Sutton’s eyes finally as I ball my hands into fists. “Research is a school-sanctioned activity.”
“With proper permission,” Sutton replies curtly. “Which you’d need from the library board and the dean. I’m going to assume by the lock-picking kit Mr. Abbott is holding that you obtained neither.”
“You know what they say about assuming,” I tell him.
Exhaling, Sutton reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Would you all just go back up to the main floor? You’re not allowed to be down here without a faculty escort.”
“And Asher’s looking for you, Luce,” Quincy adds.
I smirk. “How sweet. You have your own little lapdog.”
She frowns, poking my side. “Hey, don’t take your irritation out on my love life.”
My shoulders slump. “Sorry, Lulu.”
Lucy grins, wrapping her arms around my neck. “It’s okay,” she whispers in my ear. “I have a tendency to lash out when I’m around the man who pushes my buttons too.”
Gripping her arms, I pull away, giving her an incredulous look. “That’s not what’s happening here.”
Her eyebrows quirk, and she withdraws with a shrug. “If you say so.”
“Ash-tree’s always been like this anyway,” Aurora notes, stepping toward my sister. “If Foxe is a golden retriever, Asher’s a Doberman, and he’s only gotten worse since everything last semester.”
My stomach churns at the reminder.
Lucy grabs Aurora’s wrist and pulls her toward the stairs. “Swing by the apartment this weekend. I’ll tell you everything I know about…” She trails off, pausing as she glances between Sutton and Quincy. “The subject at hand.”
Seconds later, the sound of their feet pounding against the steps as they head up echoes through the corridor.
I cross my arms, defiant.
Sabrina’s eyes narrow into slits. “Hello? The exit order goes for the wannabe actress and her puppet too.”
“Real nice, Sabrina,” Lexington says under his breath.
“What? Is it untrue? Did she not come crawling back to the East Coast because she couldn’t hack it?—”
“Hey—” Quincy starts.
“Enough,” Sutton says at the same time. My throat burns as they exchange a look, and he drags a hand through his hair, mussing it as he shakes his head. “Name-calling is unnecessaryand more than a little childish, Ms. Taylor. I expect better from the Visio Aternae treasurer.”
Heat blossoms on Sabrina’s cheeks, but her face just grows angrier. She turns to Percy, pointing toward the stairs. “Whatever. Let’s go set up for the philanthropy mixer.”
He hesitates, tossing Lexington an apologetic look. As she stomps away, genuine pain colors his features, making his pale skin glow with a greenish sheen. Like he’s powerless against denying her.
Lexington rolls his eyes. “Just go, man. I get it.”
Percy blows him a dramatic, wet-sounding kiss, then takes off after Sabrina, tripping and nearly falling over a couple of steps before disappearing. A door slams shut, and the sound carries all the way down here, making everything feel emptier than before.
I pretend not to notice how dejected Lexington looks.
Sutton lets out a long breath as he turns toward my sister. “What do you think?”
She lifts a shoulder, adjusting her glasses. “Knowledge is power.”
I clench my fists tighter, feeling the indentation of each individual nail as it cuts into my palm.
