“So, I went along with the plan because I don’t want to be stuck with this Envy in my body for the rest of my life.”
“Why did the headmaster want the veil open?” I ask.
“It was always his demon that wanted it open. Like I said, it’s powerful. He wanted to unleash the trapped souls back into the world.”
“And where is this demon now?”
“Fuck if I know.” Something about the way his jaw twitches when he says this makes me wonder if he knows more than what he’s telling me.
I scratch my chin, wishing I had a sliver of trust left to work with, but it’s hard to rebuild something when any shred of trust that was once given has been so thoroughly burned to the ground.
“Well, we need to do something about this situation between you and the rest of the house, because having you back here is affecting everyone.”
“I know it, man. But you’re the only one who is even willing to listen to me. Maybe you can talk to them. Call a house meeting. We haven’t done one of those since the beginning of the year.”
“Well, we technically had one when you were gone… so.”
“Right.”
“I can’t promise that anything will change with me calling a house meeting, but I’ll think about it. Just… see if you can smooth things over so we can live in this house in peace.”
He nods his head and leaves me alone at the dining room table.
“You don’t believe him, do you?” Salem’s voice calls from the shadows making me jump.
“What the fuck? Were you there the whole time?”
She slinks out into the light, sitting directly across from me in the seat that Emmet was just occupying.
“Something isn’t adding up. He definitely knows more than what he’s telling you.”
I nod my head letting her know that I hear her concerns and that I share them.
“The truth will come out.” I state, to which she rolls her eyes.
“Well, I’d rather the truth come out sooner rather than later. I don’t fancy having a gun pointed at my head again.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this.” I promise, but once the words are out of my mouth I wonder if it’s even a promise I’ll be able to keep. We were blindsided by Emmet’s betrayal and his part in losing Pierce. We could have also lost Lukas and Salem that day, had things gone differently.
“How are we going to do that?” She asks, “He’s been a step ahead of us, and I feel in my gut that he’s planning something.”
“I wish I had the answers, Salem, but I don’t.” She throws her hands in the air letting out an exaggerated sigh.
“This fucking sucks. How are we supposed to just keep pretending that he didn’t literally threaten people’s lives?”
“I don’t have an answer for that. I would just avoid him as best you can.”
She pushes back from the table, stands and points her finger at me. “Don’t fall for his bullshit, Garrison or so help me, I will learn how to turn you into a toad.” She stomps off. I watch as her school skirt swishes as she walks away. She was something to look at alright and I felt myself staring for longer than was appropriate. I clear my throat, fixating on my watch in an attempt to focus on the time it was displaying.
Time to check my stocks. I log in, clicking into my accounts to double check all the numbers. It was soothing to see my amassed wealth, feeding the Greedy little fucker that lived in my chest. It thrives off my wealth, always wanting more, more, more. I watch the numbers climb until I think it’s had enough, closing my apps down and rolling my neck.
Maybe I will call a house meeting after all. It was true that any of us could have fallen into the arms of these demons as easily as a sailor falling into the song of a siren.
ChapterThirty-Five
SALEM
SONG: STRUT BY EMELINE
