Perfect Mistake

  "I'm just excited to move in," Lexa added, changing the subject. "You know we get to pick our own rooms, right?"

  "Actually, I didn't know that," Ariana said.

  "Guys are in Alpha tower, girls are in Bella," Maria explained.

  "It's really A--tower and B--tower, but they have nicknames," Soomie explained, rolling her eyes as if the whole thing was just so juvenile. "Alpha for the alpha males, Bella for the supposedly softer gender," she said pointedly.

  14

  "So clever," Ariana said facetiously.

  "Whatever you do, just don't pick 2B," Brigit cautioned. "Steer clear of that one."

  "Why? What's with 2B?" Kaitlynn asked, glancing over her shoulder at Brigit.

  "It's cursed," Brigit said with total seriousness.

  The other girls laughed. "It's not cursed," Lexa said. "A girl died there back in the nineties and ever since then no one has wanted to live in 2B."

  "Died? How?" Ariana asked.

  "She killed herself," Maria said flatly. "With a carving knife she stole from the dining hall."

  "Apparently she had some . . . issues," Soomie added.

  "Ew. Omigod," Kaitlynn said, hand to her chest. "That's so awful! Okay, I am definitely not picking that room."

  Ariana wanted to laugh. Kaitlynn grossed out by a little suicide? She'd killed a man, shooting him point--blank with a handgun. A man she supposedly loved. She so wished she could tell her friends about that tidbit from "Lily's" past. But then, Kaitlynn would expose Ariana's secrets, her own . . . indiscretions. And that, she could not have.

  "Don't worry. We usually just use it as an extra closet," Lexa told them as they emerged from the circle of lesser dorms and headed up the steep incline toward Wolcott. The building's two towers of dorm rooms flanked a low--lying common area with floor--to--ceiling windows at the center that overlooked the campus on one side and the

  15

  Potomac River on the other. Ariana had been dying to see the inside of the exclusive building for days.

  "Hey Ana, have you found a roommate yet?" Lexa asked. "Because Lily is solo if you two want to hook up."

  "Omigosh, please say you're still solo," Kaitlynn said brightly, rushing forward a few steps to join them. "I would love it if we could room together."

  Ariana felt the sudden urge to chew her own arm off. "We get to pick our own roommates, too?" she asked, stalling.

  "Just one of the many perks of living in Privilege House," Soomie said, brushing one of her thick braids over her shoulder.

  "And we're already paired off, so you two might as well pair off too," Maria suggested. "Before you get stuck with some loser like Tahira."

  "Now, now," Lexa scolded with a laugh.

  "What do you think, Ana? We can help each other figure this place out," Kaitlynn suggested, putting on a perfect, eager puppy dog act. Making it impossible for Ariana to turn her down without looking like a bitch in front of her friends.

  "Sure. Sounds great," Ariana said, gritting her teeth.

  Kaitlynn smiled in triumph. As the girls made their way up the hill at the front of the long line of students, Kaitlynn leaned toward Ariana's ear.

  "It'll be just like old times," she whispered.

  Right. Except back then I didn't know you were a psychotic, coldblooded murderer.

  16

  Ariana felt so heavy with dread and defeat, her steps started to slow. Soon she was watching all four of her new friends from behind as they trotted up the hill, gabbing merrily with her sworn enemy. The enemy who was going to be sleeping in the next bed for the rest of the year.

  17

  CHOOSE

  As Ariana walked into Wolcott Hall, she managed to let all her venomous feelings toward Kaitlynn go so that she could properly survey the rewards of her triumph. She was not disappointed.The floor--to--ceiling windows Ariana had noticed from outside bordered the common study area, which was dotted with deep velvet couches and chairs. Dark maple study carrels, each with a wing--backed executive chair, had Internet hookups for the students' laptops. Off the study area on the east side, facing the river, was a small cafe with a coffee bar, pastry counter, and sandwich board, which opened onto a private patio. Next to that was a game room, complete with a pool table, several chess tables, and two flat--screen TVs with Wiis attached. Off the west side of the study area was a state--of--the art gym, packed with cardio machines, weight machines, yoga mats, exercise balls, and free weights.

  "Wow. Definitely a step up from the Brenda T.," Kaitlynn said under her breath.

  18

  Ignoring her, Ariana walked over to two heavy double doors opposite the gym. "What's in here?" she asked, standing on her toes to try to see through the high windows.

  "That's the theater," Lexa explained, yanking open the doors. She stepped over the threshold and flipped on the lights. Inside were at least twenty--five stadium--style seats with cup holders and fat armrests, facing a small movie screen. "It was donated by Vera Cassidy a few years ago. She's an alum."

  "Vera Cassidy . . ." Ariana said, racking her brain. The name was familiar, but she couldn't place why.

  "The director?" Soomie prompted, as if Ariana were somehow deficient for not knowing this. "First female auteur ever to win best director at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars in the same year?

  "She makes sure we get first--run films up here," Maria said. "Guess she really liked this place."

  "I can see why," Kaitlynn said, looking around the common area in a proprietary way that made Ariana's skin crawl.

  "Come on, we'd better get upstairs and pick our rooms," Brigit said as the crowd outside the elevators started to grow.

  "Like anyone's gonna take our rooms," Maria said.

  "Don't rain on her parade. She's just excited," Soomie replied.

  Just as they were about to approach the group of chatting girls outside the Bella tower elevators, a group of loud, raucous boys walked into the common area from Alpha tower. Ariana's heart tripped when she heard Palmer's uninhibited laugh. His heather gray APH T--shirt

  19

  was untucked over well--worn jeans, his black hair covered by a battered New York Yankees baseball cap. Ariana automatically glanced at Lexa, who had gone pale beneath her smattering of adorable freckles. Palmer and his crew, including Landon, Adam, Christian, and Rob, paused when they saw the girls. Palmer's boyish grin faltered, but not so much that a casual observer would notice. There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, during which Palmer glanced at Ariana in a way that made her knees puddle.

  You're all mine now, she thought. You're mine and I'm yours. Happy little goose bumps bubbled up all over her skin.

  "Privilege House, baby!" Christian shouted, breaking the silence.

  "Whooo!" Landon cheered, bending at the knees and leaning his head back like a howling wolf. His long bangs fell backward from his face, and the tendons on his skinny forearms stuck out as he clenched his fists.

  Maria and Soomie laughed as the two groups came together, hugging, jostling, and talking over one another. Brigit made a beeline for Adam, whose tall frame towered over her, and the two of them blushed while they spoke, just like they'd been doing all week. Even Tahira and Allison rushed to join them, focusing their celebration on Tahira's boyfriend, Rob, and the guys, of course. Lexa, however, didn't move. Palmer slowly made his way over to Ariana and Lexa, his hands in his pockets. Ariana wasn't sure if Lexa was making him come to her--which would have been very cool of her--or if she was frozen by her fear and emotion, which would have been decidedly less cool.

  "Hey Ana," Palmer said with a small smile. Suddenly Ariana loved

  20

  her new name. The way he said it made it the most beautiful word in the English language. "Lexa," he added, glancing at her. "Well, this is . . . awkward," he said with a sheepish smile, trying to lighten the mood.

  "It shouldn't be," Lexa said casually, shrugging one shoulder. "We've always been friends, Palmer. There's no reason we can't
still be."

  Palmer raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "All right, then. Friends it is."

  "Good," Lexa said.

  "Good," Palmer echoed. He looked at Ariana with a glint in his eye and it was all she could do to keep a pleased blush from rising to her face. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you ladies around."

  "Later," Lexa said.

  '"Bye," Ariana added.

  Palmer rejoined his friends and Ariana turned to Lexa. "That went well. I'm impressed."

  Lexa's hand shot out and gripped Ariana's wrist.

  "Bathroom," Lexa said through her teeth. "Now."

  As soon as they were through the swinging door next to the cafe, it opened again. Ariana fully expected to see Kaitlynn, horning in where she didn't belong, but instead Brigit came bounding through, all friendly concern.

  "What happened?" Brigit asked.

  "I can't do this." Lexa backed up against the marble counter of the sinks, pressing her palms against the edge. Tears shone in her eyes and her long, dark bangs got caught in her thick lashes as she attempted

  21

  to blink them back. Her nose was rapidly turning red. Apparently the casual thing in the common room had been nothing but a very convincing act. "How am I supposed to live in the same dorm with him?"

  Ariana's heart filled with a sour feeling that was part regret, part sympathy, and part annoyance. So Lexa wasn't over Palmer. Not at all. How was Ariana supposed to start dating the guy if the person she had chosen to be her best friend was busy moaning and groaning over him?

  "It's gonna be okay, Lex," Brigit said, reaching for her arm.

  Focus, Ariana. It isn't about you right now.

  Right now it was about Lexa. If she and Lexa ever were going to be best friends, she had to start acting the part.

  "It's true," Ariana said, handing Lexa a tissue from the marble counter. "It doesn't seem like it now, but you're going to get through this."

  "No. I'm not." Lexa was wide--eyed. A single tear sluiced down her cheek. She wiped it away. "We had all these plans. . . . We were going to spend Christmas in Paris with my parents, spring break volunteering in the Dominican Republic. And what about the Crystal Ball in December? And the spring formal? We were supposed to go together. I had it all planned out."

  "So you'll go with someone else," Ariana said decisively. "Someone better."

  "Who's better?" Lexa blurted.

  Ariana didn't have an answer for that question. For her, there was no one else.

  22

  "I mean . . . did he find someone better?" Lexa asked, pacing toward the bathroom stalls. "Is that what this is about? Did he meet someone over the summer?" She glanced at Ariana, and for a split second, Ariana was sure she was going to accuse her of stealing him out from under her peep--toes. "You were hanging out with him that first night. Did he mention anything? hrxyone?"

  "No," Ariana said truthfully. He hadn't, in fact, even mentioned Lexa while he'd been flirting with Ariana.

  "Then I don't get it," Lexa said, throwing up her hands. "I thought everything was fine."

  "What did he say when he broke up with you?" Brigit asked. "Did he give you a reason?"

  "No." Lexa shook her head and shrugged. "That's just it. Not a good one anyway. He said something about the two of us growing apart. He definitely didn't seem that distant the other night when we sneaked down to the boathouse together."

  Ariana tasted bile in the back of her throat.

  "I can't believe all the things I said to him." Lexa sniffled and looked up at the ceiling. "How much I missed him and how I couldn't wait to see him . . ." She started to cry in earnest. "I feel so stupid."

  Ariana's heart went out to Lexa as a pair of sexy, teasing blue eyes flitted through her mind. She knew how it felt to be intimate with a guy one night and be completely dropped by him the next. To have your heart torn out. And Lexa was feeling that way now. It didn't matter that the boy who had hurt her was the boy Ariana wanted. What mattered was that her friend was in pain.

  23

  Maybe she could help. Maybe, if she played it right, she could help heal Lexa's broken heart, help her forget about the guy who'd hurt her. Which would mean she wouldn't care when Palmer moved on to someone else--namely, Ariana.

  "Don't feel stupid, Lexa," Ariana said in a soothing voice. "If anything, he's the idiot. You don't need to be with a guy who doesn't appreciate you."

  "She's right, Lexa. Boys suck," Brigit said, pulling Lexa into a hug.

  Lexa pressed her face into Brigit's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her back. "They so do."

  Ariana placed her hand on Lexa's back and moved it around in what she hoped was a comforting way.

  "Don't worry. We're here for you," Ariana said. "We'll help you avoid him or trash his room or hook up with his best friend or do whatever it is you want to do to get back at him."

  Lexa laughed. She turned her face so that she could see Ariana. " There's the Briana Leigh I know and love."

  Ariana blinked. She wasn't quite sure how to take that. "What do you mean?"

  "Nothing . . . just . . . back when we were little you were always the instigator. The plots, the pranks, the raiding the boys' dorms," Lexa said, grabbing another tissue and giving her nose a quick wipe. "I don't know. You just seem . . . different. Less . . . crazy. Not that that's a bad thing," she added quickly. "It's just something I noticed."

  Ariana's whole body tensed. Damn tliat Briana Leigh and her over--the--top personality. And damn Lexa for being here and knowing that

  24

  Briana Leigh had that personality. If Lexa hadn't been at APH, Ariana could have just been herself and no one would have known the difference.

  "I guess that's what losing both parents will do to you," Ariana said in a flat voice, going for the guilt, figuring it would change the subject.

  "Your parents are both . . . ?" Brigit's eyes were wide with pity. Ariana looked away.

  "Omigod, I'm so sorry. I'd heard about that, but I.. ." Lexa trailed off. "I'm such an idiot. Forget I said anything."

  "It's fine." Ariana gave her a small smile as Lexa took a deep breath and moved to the sink to splash her face with water. Her fingers were balled into fists, which she quickly released. "I guess I could loosen up some."

  But how the hell was she supposed to do that when she was in love with a guy who basically belonged to Lexa? When she was living in the same room as a manipulative, murderous wench? Before Ariana knew it, her fingernails were digging into her forearm.

  "Ana? You okay?" Lexa asked, glancing at Ariana's arm in the mirror.

  Ariana cleared her throat and quickly tucked her arms behind her back. "I'm fine," she said. "Loosening up even as we speak."

  Liar. But you'd better figure out a way to chill, Ariana, she told herself. Before Lexa starts to get suspicious.

  25

  PERKS

  Kaitlynn laughed in her sleep. It was one of the quirks Ariana used to find endearing about her. Precious. Now, as Ariana sat on the edge of her bed in her flimsy, white eyelet nightie, her bare feet flat on the glossy wood--paneled floor, the short laughs and occasional giggles made her tiny arm hairs stand on end. What was the girl dreaming about? What made a conniving, scheming psychopath laugh in her sleep?Ariana sighed. All she wanted was a normal life. A second chance. To be free of her past and all the mistakes she had made. Free of all the people who had tried to stifle her and tell her what she could and could not have. But Kaitlynn was not going to let that happen. She was going to be here in this dorm room every day making damn sure Ariana was never able to put these things behind her. Never able to move on.

  Suddenly, Kaitlynn turned over onto her side, her back now facing

  26

  Ariana. A quick sizzle of possibility raced through Arianas veins. Her fingers reached for the feather pillow at the head of her bed. She had tried to do it once before and failed, but this opportunity was so much more convenient. Kaitlynn was dead asleep, mere footsteps away. All Ari
ana had to do was bring the pillow down over her face and hold it there. A minute or two of struggle and this could all be over. She could be free.

  Her fingernails dug into the five--hundred--thread--count pillow case. Her jaw clenched.

  Just do it, Ariana. She deserves it. She deserves it for everything she's done to you. Everything she did to Briana Leigh.Briana Leigh.

  Kaitlynn laughed again, and Arianas grip loosened. She couldn't kill Kaitlynn. Obviously. If "Lillian Oswald" turned up dead, there would be an investigation. It would take the authorities about two seconds to discover that Lillian did not exist. Another two to run Kaitlynn's face through some database and learn who she really was. Two seconds more for them to turn to the roommate and discover her true identity as well.

  And then it would all come to light. How Ariana had faked her own death. How she had murdered Briana Leigh Covington and sunk her to the bottom of Lake Page for the authorities to find in her place. How she'd assumed Briana Leigh's identity so she could attend APH. Ariana would be back at the Brenda T. before she could say "guilty as charged."

  Ariana sighed. She placed her pillow back where it belonged and

  27

  looked around the broad expanse of her dorm room. There were only four rooms on the top floor of Bella, each with a stunning view out its plate glass windows. Ariana and Kaitlynn's looked out over the campus and the thick green trees surrounding it. Their private suite consisted of a large bedroom, a bathroom, and a lounge area. The bedroom was outfitted with two dressers, two desks, and two walk--in closets. The bathroom boasted both a sunken tub and stall shower, and connected to the quaint lounge on the other side, which contained several bookshelves, a pullout couch, and a small flat--screen television. Each of the other three suites was exactly the same, except that Lexa and Maria had a bay window with a window seat and an unparalleled view of the river. Soomie and Brigit had chosen the room that looked north toward Washington D.C., and Tahira and Allison, Ariana's former roommate, were on the south side, facing the playing fields and gymnasium.