Page 272 of Depraved Boys

I frowned. That was over three-hundred-and-fifty miles away.

“Well.” Leopold pulled up his boxer briefs then his pants. “It’s one-thirty-five. If we leave now, I can drive us to the other side of the country by seven.”

Sebastian shook his head. “But Kash is—”

“Kash isn’t going anywhere,” said Leopold. “And he wouldn’t want you to stay around up north when your grandfather is ill.”

“He’s right.” I smoothed down Sebastian’s dark hair and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Besides, the trial is on Monday. You have the weekend free.”

Sebastian shook his head. “If he dies…”

“If he dies and you don’t get a chance to say goodbye, you’ll never forgive yourself.” I squeezed him tight, hoping he would go.

“We’ll come down with you.” Leopold buttoned his shirt. “Right, Wills?”

I was about to say yes when my gaze fell on the blue-and-black, anti-bullying pin on my blazer. My shoulders deflated. “Sorry. Cormac’s getting married tomorrow in Gretna Green.”

Leopold rolled his eyes. “He’s getting pigged. Doesn’t he know that?”

“Didn’t you tell him?” Sebastian asked.

A pulse jumped in my dry throat, and I gulped again and again. Cormac’s relationship with Geraldine had been a secret until I’d discovered them last term on the stairwell. I had brought up my suspicions several times, but Cormac had the perfect counter-argument. He truly believed the kings were playing me, and I’d trusted them, so why couldn’t I trust that he knew what he was doing with Geraldine?

I exhaled a long sigh. There was no way I could explain this without distracting them from the issue of Sebastian’s grandfather.

Instead, I said, “I’ve warned him, but he won’t listen.”

Sebastian shook his head. “If this turns out like Ashley’s pigging, you’re going to need backup.”

“No.” I drew back and stared into his wide, green eyes. Trying to sound truthful, I said, “I’ll stand on the sidelines and won’t interfere with anything. When the pigging has stopped, I’ll help him pick up the pieces.”

Leopold opened his mouth to call me out on a lie, but I gave my head a sharp shake. His eyes widened in realization, and he said, “Get dressed, Garraway. We’re driving south.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” asked Sebastian.

“Of course.” I pressed my lips on his cheek and gave him a tight squeeze. “Afterward, I’ll take the train down from Gretna Green.”

Sebastian gave me a sharp nod. “Come as quickly as you can.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I wrapped my arms around Sebastian and inhaled his sandalwood scent.

The kings would be leaving me alone in the academy, allowing Miss Claymore to strike. If I managed a few hours of sleep between now and dinner, I’d be able to stay up all night to keep watch.

Hours later, after Sebastian texted with an update on his grandfather’s emergency heart bypass, I huddled on his sofa, struggling to stay awake. Two wooden wedges sat at strategic points under the door, and a chair stood propped under the doorknob. Every sound in the hallway made me flinch, but I clutched Leopold’s cricket bat to my chest. If anyone breached my early warning system, I’d crack them over the head and deal with the consequences later.

Eventually, my eyes drooped shut, and I dreamed of standing back-to-back with Cormac in an empty church. Each of us brandished a cricket bat at hoards of bullies who surrounded us like hungry zombies. Bruce Wilmington and the Riley twins tore at my wedding dress, with Ashley egging them on from the sidelines. Miss Claymore stood at the doorway with Leopold and Sebastian slung over her shoulders, and Mr. Byrd carried Prakash and swung him in the air like a besotted bridegroom.

“Willow?” a heavy knock on the door broke me out of my nightmare.

My eyes snapped open. It was still early, and pale wisps of sunlight streamed in through Sebastian’s tall windows, casting its yellowish light on the silver comforter. “What?”

“We’re leaving in an hour,” said Cormac. “Give me a knock when you’re ready.”

I stretched, yawned, and blinked. “Sure. Thanks for the wakeup call.”

After a quick shower, I wore a fifties-style, pink dress Mom had bought me last year. It had a fitted bodice Mom said showed off my narrow waist and it flared at the hips. Since Ashley had burned most of my favorite clothes the day she raided my room, I put on a cashmere cardigan that cropped at the waist and hoped it looked okay for a wedding.

As I headed for the door, my gaze caught the cricket bat I’d left on the sofa. I would love to smash it over Geraldine’s face when she and her sycophants pigged Cormac, but doing so would get me locked up for assault. Perhaps I really would offer Cormac tea and sympathy when things inevitably went wrong.