Page 72 of Always: A Legacy Novel

Catherine shrugged on a wrap sweater at the door. “But … since when?”

“Eighth grade or so.”

“What?”

Her brother was not exactly the type to deal drugs. Sure, their parents did their things—a whole lot of bad things—but Michel had always seemed very straight and narrow. He studied hard, worked harder, and had a clear path set out for what he wanted to do with his life.

Catherine remembered once, when she was new to the Academy, she had gone looking for her brother when he wasn’t waiting in the parking lot after school for her. She was still in the lower, while he was in the upper. She found him outside the locker room, bag open, money being exchanged between him and other students. She hadn’t seen what he was selling at the time, and someone shoved the little lower Academy girl away and out of their space before Catherine could ask her brother. She forgot about it by the time he found her in the parking lot.

She hadn’t thought drugs.

Not then.

Or maybe she was just naive.

Michel laughed. “Jesus, pull your head out of the sand, Catherine. We all get our kicks somewhere, and I happened to be pretty good at this when John needed a hand.”

“So you’re just going to the party to deal?”

“Supply and demand, little sister. I do like money. People, not so much.”

“Huh.”

“And don’t drink out of a cup you don’t pour yourself,” Michel warned as they walked out the door.

Noted.

Catherine was starting to regret wanting to go with Michel to the house party. Apparently, being the school’s pariah for a whole week also extended to outside of school.

Usually, she liked the atmosphere of house parties, especially ones thrown by Academy kids. She didn’t partake in the same shit they did with drinking or getting high, but she still enjoyed going. They were always big enough for her to get lost in a sea of people, but it seemed like no matter how hard she tried, Catherine couldn’t exactly disappear.

People stared.

They talked.

She could still hear them, even when they whispered.

Catherine pushed through a crowd of kids in the large kitchen, and headed through the maze of halls she had just come from. She wanted to find her brother, and see how much longer he planned to stay. When they first arrived, Michel headed into the house with another warning for her to check in, be safe, and stay sober.

Another trip through the massive house, and Catherine still couldn’t find Michel.

Shit.

She ended up settling into a corner of a sitting room, and trying to avoid drawing more attention to herself. It was just easier this way than glaring at every single person she walked by.

It was only the buzzing of her phone in her pocket of her jeans that brought Catherine out of her thoughts. She pulled the phone out, and glanced at the screen.

Busy?

Catherine’s brow furrowed.

She didn’t recognize the number at all.

She quickly typed back, No, and who is this?

Bored?

Who is this?