Night School

She sighed. ‘OK. As long as you promise not to apologise to me again.’


His blue eyes sparkled. ‘I can’t promise never to apologise again, but I want to talk with you about something else right now. However, I am very sor …’

‘Right, that’s it,’ she said, heading away from him, but he grabbed her arm lightly, laughing.

‘I couldn’t resist, please do not go. I promise not to do it again.’

She didn’t mean to smile at him but she did. ‘OK, I give in. What’s up?’

‘Do you mind …?’ He gestured down the hallway ‘We should go somewhere else.’

‘We’re not allowed to go anywhere but here.’ She pointed at the library. ‘It’s after eleven.’

‘Oh, the rules are not so strict for me.’ When she shot him a dubious look he added immediately, ‘We will not go far.’

‘Five minutes.’ She held up her hand with her fingers splayed. ‘Then I have to get back to work.’

‘Agreed.’

Carrying her coffee cup she followed him down the hallway to the empty entrance hall. Their footsteps echoed in the spacious corridor.

As soon as they were alone, his demeanour changed. He seemed uncomfortable, and he looked around to make sure that nobody had followed them. His tension made her uneasy.

‘So … what did you want to talk about?’ she asked.

Without warning, he stepped close to her and pulled her into a hug. Before she could pull away he whispered into her ear.

‘I am sorry to say, Allie, that you are in danger.’

‘Sylvain,’ she hissed, ‘let me go.’

‘Please, Allie, pretend we are talking like close friends.’ His pleading tone startled her enough that she stopped trying to get away from him.

‘What the hell is going on?’ she whispered back.

‘I cannot tell you much,’ he said, ‘but I believe that you are in danger. That somebody will try to hurt you.’

She looked for any sign that he was kidding, but he wasn’t smiling. For the first time she felt a stab of fear.

‘Who, Sylvain? Who wants to hurt me?’

He shook his head. ‘I can tell you nothing. I shouldn’t even tell you this. But, I am worried for you. Please believe me, this is real.’

‘Is it Nathaniel?’

As soon as she said the words, Allie’s hand shot up and covered her mouth.

A spark of interest lit up his face.

‘How do you know about Nathaniel?’

Carter will murder me.

‘I … I just … must have heard a rumour or something …’

He searched her eyes as if looking for clues.

‘Who threatens you,’ he said smoothly, ‘matters less than what could happen if we do not keep you safe. I think you should stay with friends as much as possible – do not spend time alone. Especially not outside.’

It still seemed strange to Allie that Sylvain was the one telling her about this. She tilted her head to one side dubiously.

‘Does Isabelle know?’

‘Yes, but she does not want to scare you and thinks she can protect you. Everyone thinks they can keep you safe. I am not so sure. Please believe me. This is real.’

The warmth of his body still pressed against hers was disturbing. His familiar scent reminded her of how she’d once felt about him – of kissing him.

Suddenly she needed to be far away from him.

She exhaled. ‘OK. Fine. I’ll stay with friends, and I won’t go outside much. Don’t freak out.’

She expected him to walk away at that point, but he stayed where he was, his eyes holding hers.

‘What? Is there more?’ she asked. ‘Please say there’s not more.’

‘No. I am still trying to figure out how you know about Nathaniel.’

‘And I’m still trying to figure out who’s trying to hurt me,’ she said tartly. ‘So I guess we’re even.’

She could see something in his eyes that seemed to mirror her own conflicted emotions, and that worried her too. Manoeuvring her way out of his arms, she picked up her coffee and began walking back down the hallway. He stayed right by her side.

When they reached the library door he said quietly: ‘Just remember. Be careful.’

‘On it,’ she replied, her voice grim.

Allie couldn’t decide whether or not to tell Carter about her conversation with Sylvain. She was fairly certain he wouldn’t be happy that she’d spoken with him at all. Definitely not happy that the conversation took place the way it did. But not telling him felt wrong. Not like cheating, necessarily. More like lying. A little.

But when she returned to the library he was gathering his books to leave for Night School so the decision was made for her – she had time only for a quick goodbye, and she didn’t see him again that night. The next day, because he had time off to sleep, he wasn’t in morning classes. So she never had a chance to tell him.

At least, that’s how she explained it to herself. And to Rachel, who, to her surprise, took the news very seriously.