7
“G’morning,” Lev said with a sympathetic twinkle in his eyeswhen I opened the door. He was leaning against the hallway wall with his arms folded across his chest. I shot him a scowl, then rubbed my tired eyes with the base of my palm.
“What do you want?” I hissed snidely as Ezrah Warwick appeared from out of the room next to mine. I heard noises and voices in that room last night, but I didn’t think it was him. “Ah, great. Assholes surround me.”
“We’re escorting you to breakfast, then Ezrah will be escorting you to business study class,” Lev informed me as I glanced atEzrah, who winked, and I flicked him the middle finger, which made him laugh.
“I’m too depressed to eat and go to class,” I sighed, “And you’re the last people in the world I want to escort me anywhere. I need some fresh air. Alone. I don’t want you with me.”
“Sorry, we can’t do that,” Ezrah clarified. “We understand that you’re grieving, but it’s too risky to have you be alone.”
“What?” I shirked, offended by what he was implying. “You think I’m going to do what my father did? You think I’m a suicide risk?”
There were a couple of beats of intensity where they seemed uncomfortable, and it was Ezrah who broke the silence, but a dark cloud seemed to engulf him. “We’ll let you go once the investigation is over, as I have already stated.”
“Because…you,” I pointed my finger at Ezrah’s handsome, punchable face. “Youhad something to do with it.”
“If you don’t want to end up like your father, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut,” he warned, looking down at me like I was dirt, but I caught a flash of fear in his eyes. It was there for only a second, easy to miss, but he was afraid of something, and I assume it was a fear of being found guilty.
“You’ve basically admitted it, then. Why did you do it? Why did you kill him?” Hot tears burned my eyes as my chest hitched in grief.
“We didn’t,” Lev said softly, noticing me becoming emotional, whereas Ezrah was still glowering at me. “Adina, we didn’t do that. He locked himself in his office, and the first time we saw him, he was lying on the floor, and you were standing over him.”
I took a deep breath to relieve the overwhelming emotions that were like a solid brick in my chest. “Did you mess with the security system?”
“No comment,” Ezrah stated dryly, folding his arms across his chest as the world as I knew it began to disintegrate before me. Liars surrounded me, and it was difficult to know who to trust.
“I’m not hungry. I don’t want to go anywhere,” I said glumly, slamming the door on their sneering faces, and was about to hook the chain only to find that it’s been pulled out of the wall. JFC! I had no privacy or solace away from them. They had a key and could walk in at will, but at least they didn’t remove the lock on the bathroom door.
Next option: the window.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Ez knocked solidly on my door, followed by sniggering. “We’ll be waiting all day for you, Adina. Aaaaall day. Don’t even think about hiding, as we will find you.”
Quietly, I grabbed my bag, opened the window, and flung a leg over the side of the ledge, felt for the trellis, and once my footing felt secure, I threw my other foot over the side and began my climb down. When I was only halfway down, I decided to jump the rest of the way and landed on the grass, pleased that I didn’t twist my ankle, but I was so numb that I wouldn’t care even if I did.
“You’re more athletic than I thought,” I heard a voice, and looked up to find that smirking, overly confident face of Ezrah Warwick looking down at me frommywindow.
“Fuck you,” I hissed, shooting him the middle finger, then turned to walk toward the dining hall, just out of habit, even though I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, and smacked into Lev.
“Going somewhere?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“You got down here fast,” I snarled, stepping away from him to lengthen the space between us because I didn’t trust him. He became my friend, a man I started to perhaps see a future in, but he then drugged me and probably killed my father.
“I ran,” he said proudly, and I rolled my eyes. “Let me escort you to the dining hall, or we can grab a coffee from Scholars, if you want. “I’ll pay.”
“I hate you,” I told him straight as I walked ahead, clutching my bag tightly, then remembering that they took my knife as well. The pricks searched my bag, went through my phone, and took my knife.
His hand found his chest, nostrils flaring mischievously, “I’m heartbroken.”
“Seriously, I hate you,” I affirmed strongly, and this time he flinched. “I don’t want you around me anymore.”
“Luckily, I’m anti-social, so you’ll barely notice I’m around,” he argued, which didn’t make much sense.
Mt chest was tight, holding back the tears mixed with rage, then I stopped dead, and this time he smacked into me. “Please, Lev,” my voice cracked under the weight of emotions. “Please be honest with me. Did you and Ezrah have anything to do with my father’s death? Please, Lev, be straight with me.”
That gaze locked onto mine, and he held it there, which was unusual for him because he normally avoided eye contact. “We had nothing to do with your father’s death.” He looked away to gather his thoughts before adding, “I did lie earlier, though,” and my heart lifted in hope. “I said the first time we saw him that day was when he was lying on his office floor. That’s a lie. We were watching him that morning, as well as Leslie and you. When Leslie left, and you went to your room, that’s when we decided to break in to kidnap you while your father was shut up in his office.”
“So…” I swallowed over a lump in my throat, “So, you didn’t see anyone else?”
