Page 54 of Depraved Boys

The deputy head walked out of the room, and the receptionist brought in a tray with two cups of tea and a plate of pink wafers. I murmured my thanks, gulped down a mouthful of hot, bergamot-scented liquid, and waited. Mrs. Benazir didn’t speak, and I didn’t raise my head from the tea tray.

Part of me resented the headmistress for not warning me about the extent of the bullying in her academy. If she had advised me to stick with the scholars, I would never have gone to that party, and I would never have attracted the attention of the kings or the resentment of the queens.

A soft knock on the door broke me out of my thoughts, and I raised my head to find Geraldine and Bianca stepping through the doorway. When my eyes locked with Bianca’s, her nostrils flared, and her lips formed a tight line.

Geraldine’s face paled, and she wiped her palms on the sides of her skirt. I clenched my teeth. Did they really think I would stay silent about such an unforgivable attack?

Miss Claymore folded her arms across her chest. “Miss Evergreen is outside.”

The headmistress nodded her thanks. “I want to hear in your own words what happened on Friday night.”

“Willow and Ashley wanted to join our little sorority,” said Bianca. “Each person needs to perform a dare, like name a celebrity they like or do a handstand.”

“Where did this initiation ceremony take place?” asked the headmistress.

“Close to Hard Knott,” whispered Geraldine.

I sucked in a breath and clasped my hand to my chest. That was the area where Mom and Dad had died.

Bianca shrugged. “Willow was an overachiever and downed a bottle of vodka.”

“And you left her in the mountains?”

“She sprinted away. We thought she’d gone to Geraldine’s car. But when we went to meet her, she wasn’t there, so we called nine-nine-nine.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “They pinned me down, and—”

“Thank you, Miss Evergreen.” Mrs. Benazir turned to the other girls. “From this moment, there will be no such initiations, do you hear?”

They both nodded.

The headmistress inclined her head. “You may leave. I wish to question the other Miss Evergreen.”

Miss Claymore opened the door and let the girls out. Then she ushered Ashley inside, who was clad in a creased and rumpled uniform that looked like it had been thrown on the floor and put on in a hurry. Her gaze fell on me for a millisecond, and her expression blanked. She turned to Mrs. Benazir, who gestured for her to sit.

Nausea surged up my gullet. I wanted to spit in her face, especially when Ashley pulled the wooden seat next to mine about three feet away and sat.

The headmistress stared at Ashley for several moments before speaking. “Now, I’m hearing two different accounts of the events that led to your sister’s hospitalization. What happened to Willow?”

“We wanted to join the Queens of Brittas Academy, and the girls dared us to do something brave. I think they wanted us to tell our deepest secret, but Willow grabbed a bottle of Everclear vodka and gulped it down.”

My lungs filled with air. “That’s a lie—”

“You didn’t think to stop your sister?” asked Mrs. Benazir.

“By the time I rushed over and snatched the bottle, she’d finished it all.”

Blood roared through my ears, and the edges of my vision turned black. My own twin had betrayed me… Again.

Miss Claymore stepped forward from where she had leaned against the wall, her nose wrinkled with disgust. “And the pork ribs?”

Ashley twisted around in her seat and fixed the deputy head with a wide-eyed stare. “What pork ribs?”

“Thank you, Ashley. You may leave,” said Mrs. Benazir.

Ashley rose from her seat and walked to the door. She opened it and turned to stare at a spot above my left shoulder. “Please stop hurting yourself. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want you to go off the rails.”

Adrenaline spiked through my heart, and fury coursed through my veins. She had twisted the knife by using her concern for Mom and Dad to give her lies credibility. My hands trembled and itched with the desire to wring the truth out of her scrawny neck.