I pushed open the door to Slater’s room, my legs were heavy with exhaustion, and my mind was fogged with everything that had happened today.
I found him sitting on the edge of his bed, clearly waiting for me. His shoulders were tense, his green eyes filled with a mixture of relief and apprehension.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, he stood up quickly. "You’re going to be fine,’ he said softly. "We—they’ve fixed your admission situation. You won’t be leaving."
I didn’t stop walking. I offered a clipped and emotionless. "I know."
I tried to cross the room toward the bathroom, needing space and time to process everything that had happened, but before I could make it, Slater’s hand shot out and caught my wrist.
"Let me go," I said without looking at him.
"Please, just—" he took a deep breath, his grip tightening. "Let me explain."
I turned slowly and met his gaze.
"I need you to understand why I did what I did. I know I was wrong. Yes, I was angry—furious, actually—seeing you again after everything-it messed with my head. But I swear, I was trying to protect you. I acted on instinct."
I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened more.
"Ravenshore isn’t safe. This place—it’s not just an elite academy. There’s so much more here than meets the eye, things happening that you don’t understand." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Students go missing, Charis. They disappear without explanation..."
I blinked. "Disappear?"
He nodded grimly. "But it’s not on their official records. No one talks about it, but it’s happening. Even my sister—" he trailed off.
I narrowed my eyes. "Your sister what?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I’m just saying the administration has a lot of skeletons in its cupboard. There are dangers here that you can’t even imagine."
Something flickered in his eyes—pain, loss, maybe grief, but he continued. "I thought...I thought if my father came and exposed you publicly, it would get you away from here before something terrible happened to you. I know it sounds insane, but I was trying to save you from this place."
"By destroying my life?" I fired at him. "By humiliating me in front of everyone when it was you who started this charade. Was that your revenge?"
"I made a terrible mistake," he admitted quietly, "and I’m sorry. But I need to know—what was your deal with Headmistress Vale?"
"What are you talking about?" I eyed him warily.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body.
"Because Headmistress Vale is notorious for sending rule-breakers home without a second glance. You saw it at the assembly hall on the first day you arrived, right?"
"That’s who she is," he continued. "She’s expelled students for far less than identity fraud. But she was the one who told us about the recommendation form for your situation. She even managed to drag Rhett from his hospital bed back to school for you."
"Really? I didn’t know that."
"It’s true," he nodded grimly. "He wasn’t even due for discharge until tomorrow evening. His doctors were insisting he needed another full day of monitoring to make sure he’s fine. But Vale made sure he came back today so he could sign your recommendation form. She’s pulling strings for you, Charis."
He moved closer to me, taking on an urgent tone. "Don’t you see how strange that is? She went to extraordinary lengths to keep you here when she should have been throwing you out. What happened in that office after we all left? What did she say to you?"
I shook off his hand and stepped back. "Nothing happened," I said flatly, trying to walk past him again.
He blocked my path. "Charis, you have to tell me. You don’t understand how dangerous this place is. Everyone here has their own agenda. You have to be careful with whatever deal you’re making with anyone. I’m the only one you can trust."
I turned to him and let out a long, dry laugh that held no humour. "Well, I did trust you, and I almost got expelled because of it."
"That was a mistake!" he insisted with an impatient sigh. "It’s not like you’re guiltless, too. You rejected me because you assumed I was cheating."
"Wow?" I scoffed. "So, exposing me made you feel better? You thought if you could get back at me, it would erase the past?"
"I was angry and I’m sorry. I’m so incredibly sorry. But I need to know what hold she has over you now."
"There’s no hold," I said, my voice growing heated. "Nothing happened. "
"C’mon, Charis...I’m trying to help here."
"Helping?" I let out another dry scoff. "You handed me over like a traitor handing over a spy. I guess Vale took pity on me. That’s all."
"Does she know you’re a girl?" he asked bluntly.
I hesitated for a few seconds before I shook my head. "No."
"You don’t have to lie to me," his eyes darkened. "I know you’re scared, but I can only protect you if I know what we’re dealing with."
"What did you expect, Slater? That after everything, I’d fall into your arms and thank you?"
"I am just trying to protect you, Charis. Can you stop this blame game?"
"Protect me?" My voice rose with anger. "Like you protected me this morning when you called your father to expose me? Like you protected me after I opened up to you. You didn’t even tell me what you did."
"I was trying to stop it!" I shot back. "I tried to get my father to leave, tried to explain that I’d been wrong about everything. You were there. You saw it."
"But you still called him in the first place," I yelled. "You still decided that your hurt feelings were more important than my safety!"
"I thought you had betrayed me!" Slater yelled back. "I thought you had publicly humiliated me and rejected me, that you didn’t love me anymore."
"So your solution was to destroy my life in return?"
"I had a lot of scars from that incident," his voice cracked. "I made a terrible decision when I was angry and hurt, but I tried to fix it when I realised the truth!"
I stared at him for a long moment, tears starting to form in my eyes. "Do you have any idea what it felt like to realise that the one person I trusted completely had sold me out?"
"I felt safe with you last night," I whispered, my voice breaking. "It felt like old times, and for the first time since I left home, I felt like someone cared about protecting me. And then I found out that you were the biggest threat to my safety all along."
"Stop whining, Charis. I’ve taken responsibility. What else do you want?"
"Taking responsibility doesn’t excuse betrayal," I said quietly. "And it doesn’t undo the damage you’ve caused."
I moved toward the door, but Slater stepped in front of her.
"Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here," I replied. "I can’t bear to stay in the same room with you right now."
"This place is dangerous," he said urgently. "Whatever game Headmistress Vale is playing, you’re in the middle of it now. You need someone watching your back."
"I needed that this morning," I said coldly. "But instead of protecting me, you handed me over. So forgive me if I don’t trust your concern now."
I pushed past him toward the door, but turned back one final time.
"You want to know what happened in that office?" I said, my voice steady despite the tears in my eyes. "I learned that the only person I couldn’t trust in this entire academy was the one person I thought would never hurt me."