Page 7 of The Revenge
After leaving some colleagues with Declan’s body, Office Sullivan ushered the six of us to one of the administration buildings that campus security opened for them. We’d all beenseparated into faculty offices after that, and it took another twenty minutes before Officer Sullivan and his partner even came to speak to me. From the moment they walked in, they seemed unbothered about everything, even the fact that Declan tried to kill me.
No doubt, they’d spoken to Syn first.
“Or was someone else there?” Officer Sullivan asks when I don’t move.
I’ve spent countless hours trying to investigate what really happened the night JP was murdered, including requesting the police reports. Until then, I’d never seen a police report before, but I didn’t need to be an expert to know the contents were severely lacking. One officer tried convincing me that because my brother had straight up confessed, there was no reason to conduct an ‘unnecessarily thorough’ investigation I was expecting.
Whether that was from general incompetence, lack of care, or someone convincing them to sweep it all under the rug and close the case as quickly as possible, I wasn’t sure. But right now, I can tell that trying to tell them that I’m sure Declan was put up to it by Syn is going to fall on deaf ears.
My voice has almost given up on me. They’ve not offered me anything to drink since I’ve been here, and I don’t have the ability to argue.
I also don’t have any evidence to link Syn to any of this.
“No,” I whisper.
“Then, we’re done here.” This time, he doesn’t wait for me to stand. Instead, he walks over to his partner, and the two of them leave me alone in the room.
Getting up from the low leather seat takes more effort than I expect, and I decide that I’ve had enough of today. I want to take a shower, some painkillers, and curl up under a blanket.
I walk out of the office, and I’m surprised to see the corridor empty. I was expecting Royal, Gemini, or even Syn to be waiting for me. But I’m not disappointed to find they’re not there. Right now, they’re the last people I want to see anyway.
Before I can check if they’re waiting for me somewhere else, I head further into the building. I’ve been here before, and I know there’s more than one entrance. I leave through the back and cut across a courtyard to a neighboring building, successfully escaping undetected.
Maybe they weren’t going to threaten me to keep quiet?
Only, as I’m shuffling along the cleared paths, heading towards my dorm room, a small nugget of doubt starts to form.
Because, if their goalwasto kill me, even if Declan’s attempt had failed, all they needed to do was not ‘find’ me until later. There’s several feet of snow on campus, and the sweats that I’m wearing aren’t doing much to keep the icy air out. Yesterday was no different; I’d have frozen to death.
As I replay things in my mind, I can’t deny that Royal, Gemini—and even Syn—seemed… I’m not sure I can go as far as to say they looked worried. Royal, maybe…
News of Declan’s death seems to have spread around campus because by the time I reach my dorm, the girls are lingering in doorways, reactions ranging from shocked to some sobbing hysterically.
Despite my appearance, no one seems to pay any attention to me as I make my way to my room. Realizing I’ve not got my room key on me, and that these dorms don’t have coded access, I walk the extra feet to Penny’s room and knock on the door.
“Tori!” The door swings open, and Penny goes to launch her arms around me, but thankfully, stops herself at the last moment. Her mouth drops open, and then she ushers me into her room. “I thought you were leaving. The group chats aresaying something happened to that Elite freshman, Declan. Are the cops here because of you? What happened? Are you okay?”
I don’t wait for her to close the door behind me as I make a beeline for her bed and fall down on her hot pink covers. Inhaling a peach scent that is reassuringly familiar, I close my eyes.
“Tori, you’ve got to give me something, because if not, I’m going to make sure those cops come here. What did Syn do to you?”
“If you can get me a drink, I’ll tell you everything,” I rasp at her, wishing I could just keep my eyes closed and go to sleep. But no matter how I feel, turning up at Penny’s door like this does require an explanation.
Penny closes and locks the door before she busies herself with making one of her infamous hot chocolates. By the time she’s done, I’ve crawled up against the headboards and curled up under her thick blankets.
Starting from leaving her room to returning here, the story takes a lot longer than I’d expected, especially since Penny has to stop to top up my mug another two times in between. By the time I’ve finished, she’s just staring at me in horror. Her lips are slightly parted, and her complexion is competing with mine in paleness awards.
“You can’t stay here, Tor. I know how much you want to free your brother, but this is too much for anyone to go through. He wouldn’t be mad or disappointed if you quit now.”
My hands are wrapped around a fresh mug of hot chocolate, which I’m holding close enough to feel the heat on my face.
She’s right. Iknowshe’s right, but…
“We need to get you to a hospital because the only reason you’re not agreeing with me right now is a concussion. Or braindamage.” Penny shuffles over so she’s kneeling in front of me. “It’s not worth all this, Tori. Please.”
Something happened the night JP was killed. Something that has been covered up by god knows who, and after that conversation with Officer Sullivan, I’ll probably never find out.
“It’s not weak to give up, you know? It’s not like you’ve not tried your hardest.”
