Night School: Legacy

As they walked towards the dining hall, Allie waited until Nicole wasn’t looking then leaned close to Sylvain.

‘Have you talked with Jerry and Zelazny yet?’

Nodding, he looked away.

She frowned at his reaction. ‘Is everything OK?’

When he didn’t reply, something in the way he avoided her eyes told her it wasn’t.

Before she could say anything else, Nicole glanced back at them, her gaze sharp and curious.

Quickly, Allie stepped away.


Carter didn’t come to dinner. His continuing absence left Allie with a growing sense of dread. Wherever he was, he knew what had happened. And he wasn’t taking it well. After a tense meal during which she couldn’t talk about anything that mattered, she fled the dining hall at the first opening, determined to track him down.

A quick search showed he wasn’t in the library or the common room. She was considering crashing the boys’ dorm when it struck her that she knew exactly where he was.

With a steadying breath, she opened the door to the great hall and stepped inside letting it swing shut behind her. She squinted into the dimness; dust motes seemed to hang still in the air in denial of the laws of gravity. In front of a fireplace so big she could easily have stood upright inside it, she surveyed the space – a few empty tables, a scattering of chairs.

She was turning back towards the door when a scuffing sound made her turn back around again.

‘Carter?’

No answer. But, from the far corner of the room, the sound came again. Like a chair moving on the wood floor as someone stood up.

Weaving her way between odd pieces of furniture, Allie walked towards the sounds. She was about halfway across the room when she sensed motion to her left.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He was standing in the shadows, one hand on the back of a wooden chair.

‘Carter.’ Her throat seemed to close on her words. ‘I …’

She’d thought so hard about what she should say, but now that she was standing in front of him, she knew there could be no excuses.

‘I knew you’d go to Isabelle,’ she said at last, ‘regardless of what I wanted. And I needed to talk to Christopher. I couldn’t let them kidnap my brother.’

‘So you told Sylvain instead.’

His grip on the chair was so tight she could see his knuckles bulge.

He looked so hurt and angry; her shoulders sagged under the weight of her guilt. ‘I had to tell him, for the interview.’ When Carter shot her a dubious look her tone became more defensive. ‘He asked if I’d heard from Christopher and I had. I couldn’t lie. So I told him. I told him I was going to go and meet him. He didn’t want me to go alone.’

‘Why didn’t you tell someone else? What about Rachel?’ When he spoke, his voice was low and steady, but she could see how he fought for control over his emotions. ‘Don’t you trust her?’

‘She doesn’t have any training.’ Allie’s voice was dull. She felt like she’d lost this argument already. ‘I couldn’t bear it if she got hurt.’ She took a step towards him. ‘Carter, it killed me not to tell you. You’re the one person I would have wanted to tell. But …’

‘But you didn’t trust me.’

With a move so sudden she didn’t have any time to react, he picked up the chair with one hand and flung it across the room. It crashed to the floor with a shattering sound that echoed through the ballroom.

‘Carter,’ she breathed, staring up at him.

‘Tell me the truth, Allie.’ Clenching his hands at his sides, he breathed heavily. ‘Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel anything for Sylvain except friendship. Tell me you’re not attracted to him at all.’

Allie opened her mouth to say, Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the only one.

But nothing came out. She’d lied enough. And her feelings for Sylvain were so conflicted she no longer knew how she felt about him.

She hadn’t thought it possible Carter’s eyes could get darker.

Crossing the space between them in three rapid steps, he grabbed her arms, pulling her close. His body pressed up against hers until she could feel his heart beating through his shirt. She could see nothing except his dark eyes.

‘I would,’ he said through clenched teeth, ‘have done anything for you.’

Allie stared at him, stunned. This was not Carter. He never acted like this. Reaching up, she touched his temple lightly with her fingertips – he flinched away.

‘I’m so sorry I hurt you,’ she whispered, her lip trembling. ‘I just … I hoped you would understand how important it was for me to see Christopher. And I care about you so much …’

He didn’t wait for her to finish. Shoving her away roughly, he stepped back.

‘And I hoped you would understand how important it is for you to trust me. But you don’t. And I’m starting to think …’ To her horror she realised there were tears in his eyes. ‘I think you never will.’

When he walked out of the room, he didn’t look back.





TWENTY-ONE





The next morning Allie felt numb.