Page 42 of Make Her Break

“You brought me down there.” I press my lips together, because my eyes are burning and I don’t want to cry in a hallway with everyone watching. “And I bet I can guess why. The society picks a guy everyone likes, someone who plays soccer and gets invited to everything, and then he shows up the week I’ve got no friends left and no one who’ll even look at me, and he’s so understanding about all of it. Poor Jayden, whose roommate is mad and left. Poor me, whose roommate moved out. We’re in this together, right? Just the two of us against them, and isn’t it lucky we found each other?”

“Don’t do that.” He gives me a pleading look.

“Was there a schedule?” I ask. “Did they give you a deadline to have me signed up by, or is it more of a whenever-she’s-lonely-enough situation?”

He grabs my wrist. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I can’t believe I trusted you.” My throat closes up as I yank my arm free. “I told you things I’ve never said to anyone, and you were only there because they sent you.”

“It’s not like that,” he says, and his voice cracks a little. “Would you listen to me for a moment? Please.”

“No.” I shoulder past him toward the stairs.

“Veronica!” he shouts, loud enough that everyone looks up.

I race down the stairs, and whatever he says after that gets lost in the noise. Great. Now everyone will be gossiping about this, and I’ll again be the freak who argued with the soccer captain.

But I’m furious with Jayden and even more furious with myself, and even worse, it hurts, and he shouldn’t get to do that to me at all.

I wish I could just punch him in his stupid face, because that would be easy and I’d probably enjoy it. My eyes are burning and my throat aches, so I take in a deep breath and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand before anyone snaps a photo of me or something.

“VERONICA?” SOMEONE calls after me before I reach the doors, but it isn’t Jayden’s voice, so I turn around.

The guy behind me is tall and blond, and he looks like a model or something. Is this some kind of prank or is he talking to some other Veronica?

“Veronica, right?” he says.

“Do I know you?” I furrow my brow.

“No.” His lips pull into a quick smile. “I’m Braxton.”

Whatever this is, I don’t have the patience for it today. As I head for the doors, he falls in step next to me as if I asked him to come along.

“I saw you with Jayden back there,” he says.

“Congratulations. Good show, right?”

“He isn’t going to leave you alone, by the way. If I had to guess, he’ll try to make you believe whatever he wants you to believe.”

That gets me to stop. Braxton gets in front of me and looks back at the stairs. Once some guys are past us, he leans in.

“I’m not supposed to be talking about any of this in public,” he says, “so keep your voice down.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m in the society.”

A laugh escapes me. “Sure, why not? Two of you in one morning. Is there anyone at this college who isn’t in it? Should I ask the girl at the front desk? The guy who refills the coffee machine?”

“You’re being considered to become a member,” he says. “You know that already, obviously. But they don’t just hope you’ll come to them. They pick someone who’s already in to get close to you first.”

Jayden. So I had it right, and I wish I hadn’t. I bite the inside of my cheek hard.

But why would another member of a secret society come find me between classes to give away their biggest secret? He could be lying about everything, and he could sound just as convincing as Jayden did. Maybe they sent him and this is the next step, where I’m supposed to be so grateful that someone finally told me something true that I trust him with everything else too. It would be a smart plan. Horrible, but smart.

Or maybe he means it. I have no idea, and I hate that.

“Why would you tell me any of this?” I ask. “You don’t know me. And if it’s as secret as you’re making it sound, you’re taking a huge risk for someone you don’t even know. Especially when everyone thinks I’m a crazy stalker.”