“Thank you!” Ariana planted a kiss on his cheek and leaned back into him again. All she had to do was show Lexa some actual fun. Distract her with total normalcy. Make her understand that life could, in fact, go on exactly as it had been before, even after what had happened with Kaitlynn.
It was a truth Ariana lived every single day of her life. If Lexa was smart, she’d figure out how to live it too.
“All I know is, these bags are not going to fit in that car,” Soomie said, dropping her many paper shopping bags as she sat in a small Georgetown café on Thursday evening. “But I do so love that car,” she added, looking longingly out the window at Ariana’s gunmetal gray, classic Porsche 944 convertible, which had just been delivered that morning. It was parked out on the street below the flattering glow of a streetlight, and two college guys in backward baseball caps were just now stopping to admire it.
“Don’t you, though?” Ariana asked giddily.
When Maria had floated the idea of a Stone and Grave Ball–related shopping jaunt, Ariana had jumped at the chance to drive her friends to the chic merchants’ district in her new ride. Of course, the “backseat” was the size of a bread box, but it did come equipped with seat belts, so Maria and Soomie and crowded in, letting Lexa take the front. Everyone had enjoyed the drive, even Lexa, who hadn’t whipped out a single disinfectant wipe all afternoon. Still, Ariana sighed as she looked around at the four girls’ many purchases. Soomie was right. They couldn’t have fit this haul in the back of a Hummer.
“No worries,” Lexa said, slipping her phone from her purse. “I’ll just have Keiko call one of Daddy’s drivers and have him come pick it all up.”
Ariana grinned. Not only was Lexa with it today, she was even being proactive. Plus she had purchased a gorgeous black Marchesa gown for the ball, gabbing on about how Conrad loved her in black. Maybe Palmer was wrong. Maybe Lexa was simply going through a cleanly phase. Leaning back in her chair, Ariana decided to savor the moment. She was off campus, relaxing with her friends, and didn’t have a care in the world. She could have sat in that café all night long and been perfectly content.
“Hello, ladies,” a tall, blond waiter appeared at their table, pad and pen at the ready. “Can I take your order?”
“We’ll all have oriental chicken salad, low-fat dressing, and no nuts,” Maria said, handing him the menus. “And we’ll stick with water,” she added, gesturing at the four filled glasses on the table.
“Hey! I was going to get pasta,” Ariana said, grabbing in vain for her menu.
“Not if you intend to be bloat-free for the ball, you’re not,” Maria replied.
“Maria, please,” Lexa said, turning off her phone after her brief call. “Do not try to foist your eating disorder off on the rest of us.” Maria rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair. “I’ll have a turkey burger and fries,” Lexa told the waiter.
“Ooh, me too!” Ariana said.
“I’ll stick with the salad,” Soomie told him.
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything else, ladies,” the waiter said with a grin. Soomie eyed him from behind as he turned and pushed through the doors to the kitchen.
“Checking out the merchandise, Soom?” Maria joked.
“I don’t think he’s on the menu,” Ariana added, earning a laugh from her friends.
Soomie blushed as she turned around again. She checked her BlackBerry quickly, then placed it next to her silverware on the table. With both hands she smoothed her already sleek black hair, then cleared her throat.
“He kind of looks like Jasper, don’t you think?” she said, ducking her chin toward the table with a giddy smile.
Ariana’s stomach twisted tightly. She toyed with her water glass, spinning it in a circle, and tried to look casual. She knew what was coming next.
“Have you had a chance to talk to him yet?” Soomie asked.
“Not yet,” Ariana said, wincing.
Soomie’s face fell, and she sat back hard in her chair. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry, Soomie. It’s just been a crazy few days with my grandmother and dealing with the car delivery people this morning and everything,” Ariana said in a rush. “I feel like I’ve barely even been in class.”
“It’s okay,” Soomie said. “It’s just . . . the ball is next weekend.”
“I know,” Ariana said, guilt weighing down on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”
As the other girls turned the conversation back to their many purchases, Ariana leaned back in her chair and sipped her water, trying to figure out why, exactly, she was so hesitant to talk to Jasper for Soomie. She didn’t begrudge Soomie a boyfriend. It was just . . . if Jasper started going out with one of her best friends, the casual flirting would stop. It would have to. Which would kind of suck.
Stop it, Ariana. You can’t keep all the boys for yourself, she told herself, shaking her head slightly.
The bell over the door pinged, and Ariana automatically looked up. Walking through the door were three girls in Georgetown windbreakers, their hair back in sporty ponytails. For a whole ten seconds Ariana’s heart stopped. Stopped until she could see the face on the third girl, which was blocked by her friends. Finally, one of them laughed, turning to the side to whack her friend on the arm, and the third girl was revealed.
Revealed to not be Reed Brennan.
Ariana breathed in, long and slow.
“Maybe I should ask him to be my date for the ball,” Soomie was saying, when Ariana tuned in again. “Not that we need dates, but still—”
And just like that, Ariana couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the café.
Maybe she wasn’t a linger-all-night type of girl after all.
For the welcoming dinner that Friday night, the vast ballroom in Pryce Hall was tastefully decorated with floral arrangements in autumn colors, and a welcome banner was strung across the widest part of the room, reading simply, welcome, parents! in silver glitter. A string quartet played in the corner farthest from the tables, and waiters in shirts and ties circulated the room, offering traditional hors d’oeuvres like salmon en croute and mini spring rolls. Ariana sighed, her arms folded behind her blue wrap dress as she attempted to focus on the conversation between Palmer’s mother and Lexa’s father. But she was too busy wondering why Lexa was so late. Earlier that afternoon she’d told Ariana she had an errand to run and would meet them here at seven, but it was now almost eight o’clock.
Just to make matters worse, the subject of the conversation couldn’t have been more boring. If Ariana heard the words “filibuster” or “amendment” one more time, she was going to start yawning unattractively. In fact, across the circle, Maria was doing just that as Soomie checked her watch. Both their parents were late.
“Sorry,” Palmer whispered in her ear, touching his fingertips to the small of her back in a very pleasant way. “Sometimes these two get carried away, being from opposite sides of the aisle and all.”
“It’s okay,” Ariana whispered back with a smile. He looked incredibly handsome in his gray suit and blue tie, much like a young senator himself. “Keep your hand there and all is forgiven.”
Palmer grinned and moved his hand up and down her back in a soothing circle. Ariana stepped a bit closer to him, relishing the fact that he was displaying their relationship so boldly in front of both his parents and Lexa’s. At least something good was coming out of this yawn-fest of a gathering.
A burst of sudden, raucous laughter nearly knocked Ariana over in her new Louboutins. She turned and glanced over her shoulder. Standing near the wall under the glittering banner was Jasper, who was doubled over laughing with his hand on the shoulder of an older man, clearly his father. The man was rotund and balding, but perfectly coiffed in a dark suit and red tie. He looked exactly as Jasper would have looked if someone had hooked up an air pump to him and gone to work. Standing near the wall on Jasper’s other side, talking quietly with a few suited ladies, was a diminutive woman with blond
e curls, an angular face, and a sharp eye. Clearly, Jasper’s mother.
Jasper’s dad cracked another joke, and the growing crowd around him burst out in another round of laughter. Mr. Montgomery reminded her of her own dad, who was always the center of attention at any gathering.
Suddenly Jasper looked up and caught her staring. He smirked and lifted his glass, and Ariana snapped her head around to face forward, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
What is wrong with me? she berated herself. Palmer. Focus on Palmer.
“Lexa! There you are!” Mrs. Greene said suddenly.
Everyone in the little group turned. Lexa paused and slowly faced them, her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t recognize her own mother.
“Oh. Hi,” she said.
Lexa looked slightly unkempt in her black pencil skirt and wrinkled white top. Her skin was waxy, and although she’d applied eyeliner, she’d spaced on the mascara, which gave her a sort of frightened aspect. Her ankle wobbled as she stepped toward them. Ariana saw Mr. and Mrs. Liriano exchange an alarmed glance. She knew the feeling. What was up with Lexa now?
“Where have you been?” Her mother looked her up and down in a disapproving way as Lexa planted a perfunctory kiss on her cheek.
“Mother. Father,” Lexa said flatly, ignoring the question. “Hey, guys,” she said to her friends. “Hello, Lirianos.” She lifted a hand half-heartedly.
Lexa grabbed a flute of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter. “I’ve got kind of a lot going on right now.”
She sipped the champagne and tapped her foot as if nervous, not looking anyone in the eye.
“Lexa!” Her mother whipped the glass out of her hand. “No drinking!”
“Mom!” Lexa whined, her shoulders slumping.
Ariana and Palmer exchanged a glance as Mr. Liriano cleared his throat and looked away. Maria and Soomie leaned toward one another, whispering under their breath as if they were trying to come up with a plan to help, but no one knew what to do, what with all the adults hovering around.
“Lexa. What has gotten into you?” Senator Greene said, his voice a low rumble.
Lexa opened her mouth to answer, but Ariana placed her hand on Lexa’s wrist to stop her.
“We’ve all been under a lot of stress lately with the SATs coming up and finals,” Ariana said, smiling at the adults. “Honestly, Lexa just hasn’t been getting much sleep.”
Instantly, Lexa’s mother’s face was lined with concern. She handed both her champagne flute and Lexa’s to Maria and Soomie. They took them, obviously startled at being suddenly treated like the help. Mrs. Greene stepped toward her daughter.
“Is that true, honey? You haven’t been sleeping?” she said, cupping Lexa’s face with both hands.
Lexa’s cast her eyes down and nodded.
“You know how you get when you’re overtired,” her mother said as she wrapped one arm around Lexa to face the group.
“I’m the same way, Lexa,” Palmer’s father said in his congenial way. “I’m a bear when I don’t get my eight hours.”
“It’s true. He could never do my job,” Congresswoman Liriano joked. The others, including Ariana, laughed half-heartedly.
“What’re we going to do with you?” Mrs. Greene asked, shaking her head at her daughter.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Greene,” Ariana said, reaching for Lexa’s hand. “I’ll make sure she takes care of herself from now on.”
She gave Lexa’s fingers an extra-hard squeeze, driving her point home.
“Well, thank you, Briana Leigh,” Mrs. Greene said. “It’s nice to know that Lexa has an old friend here, looking out for her.”
Ariana beamed with pride over Mrs. Greene’s approval.
“Lacey, there are the Janikowskis,” Senator Greene said suddenly. “We must go talk to them before they leave for Greece.”
“All right,” Lexa’s mother said. She shot an apologetic look at the group. “Duty calls.” Then she turned to Ariana and took her free hand. “I’m looking forward to talking to you more at our brunch tomorrow, Briana Leigh.” She kissed Lexa on the forehead. “Get some sleep tonight, honey, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” Lexa said quietly.
As Mr. and Mrs. Greene sauntered off, Ariana sighed with relief at another crises averted. It was time for her to focus on keeping Lexa in check, before the girl completely lost it and did something both of them would regret.
“Everyone ready?” April Coorigan asked late Friday night as she walked along the end of the long line of Stone and Grave members.
“Ready,” Ariana replied.
“So ready,” Tahira put in, lifting her hood over her head.
The double doors at the front of the line opened, and the brotherhood began to walk inside slowly, heads bowed. Ariana lifted her own hood and bowed her head. For the last hour, April and Connie had gone over the meeting ritual with the five new members of Stone and Grave so that they would be ready for their first official gathering as brother and sisters. Ariana’s steps were light as she entered the circular stone room where she had been locked inside the coffin with Jasper. This was it. This was the moment she’d been waiting for, ever since Lexa had first spilled about the secret society.
Slowly, Lexa led the group around the open graves. All along the stone walls, candles of various shapes and sizes flickered. Around the open graves, dozens of skulls had been placed, just like the ones Ariana had seen on the night she and the other potential members had first been introduced to Stone and Grave a couple of months back. That night seemed like it had happened a million years ago. Not only had Brigit still been alive, but Kaitlynn had been there as well. And because of Kaitlynn, Ariana had been full of anger and fear, unable to fully focus on the opportunity being laid out before her. But now all of that was over. Blissfully, mercifully over. And now she was here. Right where she was supposed to be.
Lexa stopped near the top of the room, right behind the gravestone that read Becky Sharp. Palmer stopped next to her, behind the Starbuck stone. Conrad was next in line as Lear, then April as Miss Temple, then Soomie, Rob, and so on, standing in order of their rank in the society. For a moment, Ariana felt a twinge over being near the end of the line, but at least she wasn’t last. That spot belonged to Jasper, being that he was last alphabetically in their pledge class. Tahira stood behind her Sister Carrie headstone, and then Ariana took her place, glancing down to admire the name Portia, which was stamped onto hers in big, bold letters. Behind her, Landon took his spot as Pip—a name that made Ariana wonder if the Stone and Grave membership knew about him and Maria after all, since Maria was Estella. Then Adam stood behind Oliver Twist, and finally, Jasper took his place as Amory Blaine.
Christian Thacker stepped forward and closed the doors, then returned to his place in the circle. Lexa lifted her head and removed her hood.
“We are the Stone and Grave,” she said loudly, firmly.
“We are the Stone and Grave,” Ariana and the rest of the brotherhood repeated as one.
Lexa stepped forward, carefully skirting her headstone, breaking the circle. “Welcome to our new members!” she said with a smile.
The room burst out in applause and shouts. Ariana and the other new members laughed happily. She caught Palmer’s eye from across the room and felt his pride radiating through her. Her next instinct was to look at Jasper, but she refused. He was her friend, and he was going to be with Soomie—at least maybe he was—if she ever got around to talking to him about her.
“You may all be seated,” Lexa said, removing her hood from her hair.
Everyone tucked their black robes beneath them and hit the floor. Ariana hesitated only a split second, wondering why a room full of millionaires couldn’t afford chairs, but then she sat. The robe was thick and kept the cold of the concrete from seeping through to her skin, and as she brought it over her knees, tucking it around her shins like a blanket, she was just grateful it wasn’t a burlap sack. She nudged her hood off her head, following the brotherhood?
??s lead, and smiled.
“Our first order of business is the Stone and Grave Ball next weekend,” Lexa began, her voice as clear as a bell, ringing out across the large room. “I understand a few of you have yet to RSVP. Manners, people. We don’t want to look bad in comparison to the other chapters. Let’s get those cards returned so that our hosts can have time to prepare.”
A murmur went through the room as April and Soomie eyed everyone suspiciously. Ariana almost laughed. Those two would take other people’s lack of organizational skills as a personal affront. Then Soomie’s eyes fell on Jasper, and she blushed and looked down at her lap. Ariana leaned forward to look at Jasper. He was smirking in Soomie’s direction. And was he also . . . blushing? Had she already asked him to the ball without telling Ariana?
Ariana’s heart flew to her throat, and her fingers curled into the folds of her robe. She took a deep breath and forced her fists to open again.
That would be a good thing, she reminded herself. A very good thing.
But it wasn’t. She had thought that Jasper liked her. Whether or not she liked him back was irrelevant. It was like Thomas and Reed all over again, watching the two of them make gooey eyes at each other when he was supposed to belong to her. What the hell was going on here? Why was this always happening to her?
“Is it just me or is your butt freezing?” Tahira whispered, leaning toward her.
Ariana flinched. Suddenly the room came into focus. She took a deep breath and looked at Soomie again. It was just Soomie. Innocent little Soomie. And all her attention was focused on Lexa. Ariana uncurled her fingers, which had tightened again into fists.
Control, Ariana. Get control. It’s not like she’s making a play for your boyfriend. Jasper is just a friend.
“We also have a bit of business to complete concerning the new members,” Lexa said. April reached behind her and lifted a black folder off the floor to hand to Lexa. “Each of you will have to sign this confidentiality agreement,” Lexa said, opening the folder. She lifted the pages inside, one by one, checking them over. “We’ve already got one typed up for each of you so you’ll just have to—”