Page 55 of Depraved Boys

Mrs. Benazir pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m afraid my hands are tied. If your sister is corroborating the others’ account of events, it’s now your word against theirs unless your forensic exam can prove otherwise.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

If I had to describe what it felt like to have Mrs. Benazir attempt to assure me she had done her best, I would say it was like watching a scene on TV. Not quite real and through a glass barrier.

I supposed I watched the headmistress through the numb shock of Ashley’s second betrayal. Everything else paled in comparison, even the forced alcohol, the pork ribs, and the groping boys.

Seventeen years. Seventeen years of sisterhood, more if one counted the amount of time we spent together in utero, and the moment Mom and Dad died, she had turned on me.

Cold seeped into my heart. I no longer had a sister.

“I’ll call the constable who took my statement,” I cut through the headmistress’s bumbling excuses. “It’s time to press charges and to process the forensic examination for evidence.”

Mrs. Benazir’s brows furrowed, and her lips thinned into a disapproving line. I mentally dared her to say something discouraging, but the older woman just nodded. “As you wish.”

Miss Claymore escorted me back through the hallways to my room. As I opened the door, she said, “Mrs. Benazir can’t act without a witness statement from at least one person to corroborate your side of the story.”

I shrugged. According to Corrine’s diary, the headmistress stood to lose a fortune for expelling everyone involved. Not to mention the damage to the school’s reputation.

“For what it’s worth, I believe you.”

“Really?” I gazed into Miss Claymore’s dark eyes. Compassion and sincerity shone within their depths.

“Our new measures to stamp out bullying have just pushed the behavior underground.” Her stern face melted into an apologetic smile. “Bear with us. We’ll get there eventually.”

I stepped into my room. Most of Ashley’s things were gone. She’d probably moved in with Bruce or one of her new friends. I no longer cared, and the next time Miss Claymore called me into her office about Ashley’s grades, I would tell her to send the traitorous wretch back to Cummersdale Comprehensive. DJ Bones could take care of her now. She was no longer my problem.

“This is so fucked up.” I sank into my mattress and pulled the picture of Mom and Dad from the bedside table.

“I can’t take care of her as you asked. Ashley’s…” I shook my head. “She’s pushed me too far. Anything could have happened that night. I could have fallen down the mountainside, drowned, or wandered onto the road. And I still run the risk of an infection. Something’s wrong with her, and I’m tired of getting hurt.”

The next day, I stayed in my room and read up on my subjects. Advanced Calculus was the first lesson of the day, and I couldn’t face seeing Prakash. I’d probably hallucinated his presence at my bedside because he was the king I had spoken to the most.

Breakfast and lunch passed, but I wasn’t hungry. Mom and Dad stared down from the framed photo, their smiles strained.

A tiny voice in the back of my mind scolded me for not giving Ashley a chance, but my self-respect and survival instinct dredged up memories of all the times she had let me down and hadn’t given a damn. It had been a pattern of behavior that had culminated into this disgusting betrayal.

Just after sunset, someone knocked on my door. Cormac, probably. He would ask how it went with Mrs. Benazir last night, and I would tell him that my former sister had sold me out.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. It would seem insensitive to speak ill of my twin when he had lost his to suicide. That was a conversation I didn’t need right now.

The knocks became more insistent, and someone turned the handle. I leaped to my feet. “Cormac—”

Sebastian stepped into my room with Leopold on his heels. They filled the space with their large, broad frames, bringing with them the mingled scents of sandalwood and sunshine. My heart exploded into a wild gallop. I clutched at my chest and forced panicked breaths in and out of my lungs. What did they want?

“I just heard what happened.” Sebastian stepped forward with an intensity in his green eyes I hadn’t seen before. His lips formed a thin line.

Every nerve ending still grated from yesterday’s incident with those groping, grasping, taunting boys. My stomach clenched as though bracing itself for a blow.

“We’re so sorry.” Leopold crossed the room, his aquamarine eyes shining with compassion.

I staggered back and hit my hamstrings on the edge of the bed. “What?” My legs gave way, and I sank into the mattress. “Why?”

Sebastian knelt at my feet and rested both hands on my knees. The warmth of his fingers seeped into my skin and traveled toward my cold heart. “We’re sorry for not being there to stop them. If we had known—”

“It wouldn’t have happened while we were here,” Leopold growled.

I shook my head. “How can I trust anything you say when you get younger students to play pranks on me?”