Chapter 17

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The next morning, I woke up to see Reid had texted thank you, sent at almost 3 AM.

"How ambiguous," Kayley commented during class after I told her all about the charity gala. "I can't believe you were in his bedroom and nothing happened."

"Well, his mother basically told me to stay away from him."

"That's so weird," she muttered. "He's treated like a prized pony."

I turned back to the petri dish of bacterial broth that Kayley and I had been examining. She was hopeless at Biology and it certainly wasn't my strong suit either so it was safe to say that we were both struggling miserably.

Behind us, a chair scraped against the floor and I looked up as someone stopped by our table. It was Dennis, who had just transferred into our class today, headphones slung around his neck as he unknowingly became a source of distraction for the female population.

"Hey." He smiled as some girls behind us swooned. "Uh, Lex, I was just wondering if you had any plans - for Homecoming?"

"Homecoming?" I echoed stupidly.

"She doesn't have plans," Kayley interjected with a huge grin. "Like, ever."

I wanted to slap her when Dennis looked between us curiously. At that point, Kayley realised that she was being creepy and pretended to busy herself with the Petri dish. She looked like she was about to take a good gulp of the bacterial broth.

"Great. I was wondering if you'd like to be my date?"

Suddenly, the ability to formulate words left my body.

I opened my mouth and closed it again, the baffled look on my face making Dennis falter. I didn't think it was exactly fair on him that the first thing I thought of was being Reid's date less than twenty-four hours ago. Kayley certainly didn't help either as she was so excited she knocked over my bacteria sample and swore loudly in horror.

"Sure," I blurted, realising that he was still waiting for an answer. "Sounds good."

The relief on his face was imminent and the reality of the situation settled in. While Dennis and I got along, we didn't know much about each other. He was quiet and observant, but comfortable to be around and I truly thought I was the last person in the world he'd ask.

"Okay, cool." Dennis seemed to suppress a smile, nodding awkwardly when the silence dragged on. "Can I get your number? So I can text you the details later tonight?"

"Here you are," said Kayley brightly as she pushed a slip of paper into his hands.

I rolled my eyes upon seeing my digits scrawled messily on it.

"Thanks," Dennis said in surprise. "Right. I'll see you around."

Right on time, the bell shrilled loudly and Dennis went back to his table. Kayley gave me a meaningful look as I grabbed our stuff and we headed out.

Kayley squealed, punching me repeatedly in the arm when we were safely out of earshot. "You guys are going to have the cutest blue-eyed babies! Oh, we have to find a dress. I'm looking at some condos this afternoon, but I'll be free after school for the rest of the week."

I sighed in exasperation and then paused. "Wait - are you moving out?"

She shifted her books over onto her other arm, hesitating. "I don't know yet."

Kayley had debated moving out of her mother's luxury penthouse for years and I knew it wasn't my place to sway her either way. While it would benefit her mental health to get a place of her own, it might also strain her relationship with Elena further which I knew she didn't want.

"Good luck," I said simply. "I'll see you later?"

She flashed me a quick smile, disappearing into the crowd. I went the other direction, ready to make my way to the library to finish off the growing pile of homework when –

"Miss Patterson!"

I turned to see Mr Creed shuffling along the corridor in his tweed coat. A group of freshman girls pushed past him without as much as an apology but he just smiled reassuringly at me and gestured for me to follow. He picked up a stray scrap of paper and threw it into the recycling bin.

"I've been teaching for thirty-eight years, Alexa. I know a good student when I see one and I heard that you want to go to Yale." He looked pleased with the prospect as I cluelessly trailed after him. "Did you know that I used to be a professor there?"

I did the math quickly in my head. "Mr Creed, did you –?"

He nodded, eyes twinkling. "Twenty-seven years ago. Anthony Patterson and Marina Greene were two of my most outstanding pupils to date."

Before I could reply, he waved a dismissive hand.

"Anyway. Give Marina my best, will you?"

Chuckling to himself, he walked away, humming a tune while I stared after him.

-

Throughout the week leading up to Homecoming, I debated whether I wanted to go at all.

While Reid seemed to be avoiding me like the plague, Tyler and Bree were back together and front-runners for King and Queen. Homecoming seemed to be all anyone wanted to talk about but Kayley in particular loved to point out how the crown would be too small for Tyler's big head.

I stared at my laptop, checking my Yale application for the umpteenth time. Taking a deep breath, I finally hit send.

Thank you for your interest in Yale University.

It was 7 PM at the Coast cafe and since there had been no customers for the past hour, I decided to sit down and do some work. Kade had been here for three hours now, silently making his way through The Catcher in the Rye and a strawberry milkshake.

The bell jingled and somebody walked in.

It was a boy in his early teens, wearing a maroon jumper with the hood pulled over his head. As the door closed behind him, he shook out his dark hair that was damp with rain. The piercing green eyes and stubborn jaw were very familiar.

"Lee," said Kade in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

So this was the infamous Lee Castellan.

"It's a public space," Lee replied drily. "Mind if I join you?"

"How did you find me?"

"Does it matter?"

"How?"

Lee plopped down across from him, kicking his feet up on the table. His brother's obvious discomfort seemed to amuse him and strangely enough, an odd sense of protectiveness came over me as I watched them survey each other.

"I tracked your phone," Lee smiled but it was more provocative than friendly. "Is there a problem?"

"What do you want?" Kade's voice was testy but restrained, leg bouncing under the table. It was a nervous habit I'd noticed recently. "I'm not in the mood to play your stupid mind games."

Lee rolled his eyes and when he looked up suddenly, his attention fell on me. I was hit by a shock of familiarity from the underlying hostility and challenge in his silent gaze. Although Lee was smaller in stature compared to Reid, their mannerisms were unbelievably alike. From the set of his jaw, to the hard line of his mouth, to the single raised eyebrow - it gave me chills.

Lee's smirk widened. "You're Reid's girlfriend, aren't you?"

"I'll help you with those, Lex." Kade stood quickly before I could reply and all but dragged me into the kitchen, letting Lee entertain himself by paging through The Catcher in the Rye with vague disinterest. "Here, let me grab table four."

"What is it?" I hissed, in the privacy of the empty kitchen.

Kade breathed in deeply, brows furrowing. "He wants something."

I gestured for him to elaborate, not quite understanding his panic. Kade, as far as I knew, was quiet and easy-going but upon the introduction of his brother, all of that had disappeared.

"What's wrong?" I asked with concern. "Are you alright?"

He jabbed a finger in Lee's general direction. "Elijah Lee Castellan is a manipulative snake. I don't know why he's here but it's not good and I don't want any part in it."

I blanched, partly because his first name was Elijah. "He's, like, fifteen."

"Exactly. Now, how do we get rid of him?"

My phone rang suddenly, displaying Kayley's name on the caller ID. I gave Kade a reassuring smile, mouthing one minute before picking up. "Not a good time, Kayley."

"Lex!" Kayley screamed over the line. "My Dad and my brother want to meet me - I leave for San Francisco tomorrow. Will you be home in ten?"

I shook my head in confusion. "Wait... what?"

She groaned and repeated; "Will you be home in ten?"

"Yes," I replied as Kade widened his eyes at me, waving his arms in front of my face. I swatted him away. "Yeah, I will be. Hang on - I'll see you soon, okay?"

After she hung up, I pocketed my phone and glanced towards the front of the diner, turning my attention back to Kade. "Anyway. Well, you could always just... talk it out?"

"Talk it out?" Kade looked unimpressed, crossing his arms. "He beheaded Blair's Barbies when he was two years old. He stabbed his nanny when he was five. He's terrorised me for years. Sometimes he even hangs out with Chase Anderson's crew! Sure, Lex - let me just talk to my problematic little brother and see how it works out."

I was surprised at the revelations but rolled my eyes. "We all have to face our demons, Kade. It just so happens that yours is your own flesh and blood."

Kade made a face, arms folding stubbornly across his chest. "Should we call Reid?"

"He's your brother." I inclined my head towards the front of the diner. "And he's your brother too! I will help you with anything else you need but this sounds like a family matter."

"Do you remembered that flagrant foul by Chase Anderson on Lee months ago? Everyone said that Lee took it like a champ. He was knocked out cold, concussion, dislocated jaw and a knee contusion that made it swell up twice its normal size." Kade shuddered, brows drawing together at the memory. "He craves that shit. If he wasn't so awful to me all the time, I would be worried for him. It's like he provokes people to actively seek out that high. It's not right."

It sounded like Lee Castellan had some serious issues to work through.

"Maybe you should call Reid," Kade pressed. "He'll answer if it's you."

I pointedly ignored the second part. "Alright, we can talk to Lee and see what he wants. If you think we should call Reid later, then we can do that too."

He tried the puppy eyes on me but I gave him a quick push out of the kitchen doors. Then, we both froze because at the booth, sat a lone copy of The Catcher in the Rye on the table.

Lee had already left.


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