Page 7 of The Honor Society

“We got you food.” Lilah looks confused.

Jude looks slightly annoyed, like he knows. It’s just one more thing he’s going to have to either lie about, or come clean about with Lilah. Considering she’s never mentioned it in front of me, he hasn’t told her shit about the Society his dad’s involved in or how deep this goes. Charlie looks genuinely clueless when she sees Dorian “sleeping” no recognition at all. The plot thickens.

“Good news! I’m moving rooms!” I announce just as a nurse walks in and announces the same thing.

I’m moved within minutes and before the new nurse leaves she checks my pulse and slides a note into my hands.

I glance down.

Report tomorrow. The Chancellor is waiting.

Shit.

2

Nineteen Days Until The Convocation

CHARLIE

“You missed.” The first text I got the night Axel was in the hospital, as if I was trying to kill him when I’d done everything in my power to buy time, to try not to kill him.

A year ago I took a job thinking it would keep me safe.

A year ago I screwed myself over and got in over my head.

Look at me now. Holding a soggy sandwich with no tomatoes and watching the man I love lying through his teeth.

He remembers.

Why is he pretending?

I’m not buying it. I refuse to believe it.

My only job was to get close to Lilah during the school year, find out what she knew and at worse, if The Dean’s List ever surfaced, make sure it never fell into The Proctor’s hands.

At any cost.

I thought it meant stealing.

Lying.

A sprinkle of intentional betrayal.

Turns out it meant kill or be killed.

So much for survival.

What the hell is a Proctor anyway?

What had Edward Hale been so involved in that people were willing to die for it?

And what had Axel been willing to die to keep it away from them?

Unless he was protecting it?

Maybe he’d been trying to get rid of it instead.

What if he’s in as deep as me? The thought alone makes my stomach sink to my feet. Had they pulled the same shit on him? Make the job sound simple, essential, or even like you were doing society a big giant favor rather than putting a big giant target on your back?