Pure Sin

  She had done it. Finally, finally, she was an official member of one of the most influential secret societies in the country, which meant that the whole world was at her fingertips.

  “I’m so glad you like your name,” Lexa said as she and Ariana walked toward the dining hall late on Sunday morning. They had been up most of the night, partying with the rest of the Stone and Grave members, and were barely going to make it to breakfast before the dining hall closed. “I struggled hardest with yours because I wanted to get it just right.”

  “Really?” Ariana said, blushing. “Thanks for working so hard on it.”

  Lexa grinned and took her arm. “What are best friends for?”

  They had just reached the door of the dining hall when Maria and Landon came striding around the corner, their heads so close together they were practically kissing.

  “Dude,” Landon said, shoving Maria away from him.

  Ariana glanced at Lexa to see if she noticed anything odd, but Lexa merely smiled.

  “Good morning. Are you two coming or going?” she asked them.

  “Coming. I mean, uh, going,” Landon said, scratching the back of his neck. “We just, uh, ate.”

  Maria rolled her eyes. “Excuse him. Someone’s still a little hung-over from last night.”

  “Rock star can’t party like a rock star, huh?” Ariana joked.

  Landon blushed, hanging his head as he glanced at Maria guiltily from under his bangs.

  “I’m glad I bumped into you guys,” Maria said, without a trace of Landon’s awkwardness. She had her hand inside her bag and was rooting around for something. “Now I can give you these.”

  She extracted three dark gray, oblong envelopes from her bag and handed one to each of them.

  “What are they?” Ariana asked.

  “Invitations,” Maria replied, glancing around. The campus was quiet, as it usually was on Sundays, with people either sleeping in or heading out for shopping sprees or to visit family. Except for a couple of joggers at the far end of the sunlit quad, there was no one in sight. “To the Stone and Grave Ball at the end of next week. My parents offered to host.”

  “Cool,” Landon said.

  “Not to look a gift invitation in the mouth, but didn’t we celebrate last night?” Ariana asked, tucking hers into her bag.

  “Yes, but this is much bigger,” Maria told them. “All the local Stone and Grave chapters attend. Everyone from all the private schools in Virginia and Maryland will be there, as well of some of the most influential alumni. We’re talking serious networking possibilities.”

  “How do you think she got to tour with the Boston Ballet last summer?” Lexa put in.

  Ariana frowned, impressed. “All right. I’m in.”

  “Of course you’re in,” Maria said, reaching back to tug the band from her ponytail. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders. “It’s an intense party.”

  Ariana saw Landon reach up automatically to touch her hair. Maria froze and Landon flinched, pulling his hand back. It was all Ariana could do to keep from groaning in frustration. Why didn’t they just let the proverbial cat out of its stifling bag already? Who cared if the kids at school knew? They could still keep the secret from Maria’s dad, who’d forbidden her to date.

  “Oh, and there’s a dress code,” Lexa said, slipping her invite into her handbag and reaching for the door. “Everyone has to wear gray or black.”

  “That’s not very festive,” Ariana said. She’d always hated the tendency of the girls at Easton to wear black to parties. New York and Connecticut bashes always ended up looking like upscale funerals. And despite recent events, Ariana was in no mood for a funeral. “I don’t even own a black dress.”

  “Shopping spree!” Lexa squealed as Maria strode off, Landon loping a few paces behind. “Come on. Let’s get inside before all the pancakes are gone.”

  Ariana’s cell phone rang. Lexa paused in front of the door, waiting for Ariana to extract the phone from her bag. The number had a Texas area code, but it wasn’t one of the Covingtons’ numbers. She took a few steps away from the door to let April and Hunter—another couple of Stone and Grave stragglers—inside.

  “Hello?” she said, as Lexa followed her, keeping a polite distance.

  “Miss Covington? This is Leon Jessup, attorney at law,” a gruff voice greeted her.

  “Uh . . . hello,” Ariana replied, confused.

  “I’m very sorry to be the one to tell you, but your grandmother has passed away.”

  Ariana simply stared at her phone, dumbfounded. Briana Leigh’s grandmother had died? Lexa eyed her with curiosity, and suddenly Ariana remembered the role she had to play here—that of a girl who had just found out that the only family member she had left in the world had just died.

  “Miss Covington?” Jessup said.

  “Yes,” Ariana said. She turned her profile to Lexa and gripped a low-hanging branch on an elm tree for support. She knew she should be crying, but she couldn’t seem to summon any tears for the old woman. “Yes, I’m here. I’m just . . . stunned. What happened?”

  “It was peaceful,” the man replied. “She passed away during the night. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” Ariana squeezed her eyes closed, forcing herself to think back to one of the worst days in her own life—the day of her own funeral. She’d watched her mother and father sob over the ashes they thought were hers. She felt a choking sob hit her throat, and tears stung her eyes. Lexa stepped closer and took her hand.

  What is it? she mouthed.

  “My grandmother,” Ariana whispered.

  Lexa covered her mouth with her free hand.

  “I know this is short notice, but I’m flying to DC tomorrow so that you can sign the paperwork,” Jessup said, all business.

  “The paperwork?” Ariana repeated. A tear spilled over onto her cheek, and she would have wiped it away if Lexa weren’t crushing her fingers in her grip.

  “Yes. So that you can receive your inheritance,” Jessup said impatiently.

  “What?” Ariana blurted. Lexa was now alarmed. She searched Ariana’s face, as if looking for some kind of answer as to what, exactly, was going on. Ariana’s pulse raced like mad. “But I thought that was supposed to be held in trust until I was twenty-five.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” Jessup said. Ariana could hear papers rustling in the background. “As far as your grandmother’s estate is concerned, it all goes to you upon her death, and your parents’ estate is to be released to you as well. As of three o’clock this morning, Miss Covington, you are a very wealthy young lady.”

  Ariana looked at Lexa, who was clearly desperate for the exact details. It took every single ounce of control and strength and sheer will inside of Ariana to appear as devastated as a truly dedicated granddaughter would have felt at that moment—to keep from twirling in a circle on the grass, throwing her head back, and singing at the top of her lungs.

  Because she wasn’t Briana Leigh Covington. Not in her heart of hearts. Down deep, she would always be Ariana Osgood. And thanks to good old Grandma Covington’s timely kicking of the bucket, all of Ariana Osgood’s fondest dreams were about to come true.

  “Are you going to go home for the funeral?” Lexa asked as the elevator rose to the top floor of Privilege House that evening. They’d spent the past few hours in the library with their American history study group, but Ariana had zoned out, daydreaming about what she was going to do with all her newfound money. But hearing Lexa’s words, Ariana’s heart dropped, as if the lift had suddenly taken a dive for the ground. She hadn’t even considered the funeral—which she absolutely could not attend, because someone would undoubtedly notice she was not the real Briana Leigh.

  “I don’t know. The lawyer didn’t mention any plans,” Ariana replied, trying to keep voice steady.

  “Do you want me to call him back for you?” Lexa said. “I understand if it’s all too much.”

  “That’s s
weet, but don’t worry about it,” Ariana said, trying to think five steps ahead, trying to come up with a plan to get out of going to Texas. “I’ll figure it out.”

  They exited the elevator and turned the corner into the hallway leading to their rooms.

  “It’s freezing in here,” Ariana said, pulling her wool coat tighter around her body.

  Lexa touched Ariana’s arm, her eyes wide. “Why’s the door to my room open?”

  The two of them walked cautiously down the hall together. They found Maria standing just inside her and Lexa’s room, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and an Atherton-Pryce sweatshirt, her arms folded as she kept an eye on a janitor, who was crouched to the floor. Wind whipped through the window across from the open door, where jagged broken edges of glass stuck out in all directions.

  “What happened?” Ariana asked, taking a step into the room. Lexa hovered in the doorway.

  “I wouldn’t come any closer, miss,” the janitor said over his shoulder. “There’re glass shards everywhere.”

  “Some freshmen decided to play baseball in the dark. Apparently they didn’t know their own strength,” Maria said wryly.

  Suddenly one of the shards fell loose from the pane and crashed to the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces.

  “I think . . . I’m going to—” Lexa gasped.

  Ariana turned around. Lexa was as pale as milk. A second later, she fainted dead away.

  “Lexa!” Maria cried, rushing over to her friend. Ariana ran to the bathroom and came back with a cool, wet towel. She placed it on Lexa’s forehead. A moment later, her friend’s green eyes fluttered open.

  “Kaitlynn?” Lexa croaked, pointing limply to the window, where the janitor was sweeping up the last shards.

  Ariana’s heart crashed to her knees. The broken window. The shattered glass. This was how Kaitlynn died. Ariana fought the urge to curse aloud. This was not good. This was very, very not good.

  “She must be disoriented,” Ariana said to Maria, who had a panicked look on her face. “Lexa, are you okay?”

  “Lex, what happened?” Maria asked, grabbing her friend’s hand.

  Ariana forced herself to breathe. Lexa could not lose it now. She simply couldn’t. Not when everything was finally going Ariana’s way.

  “Do you have low blood sugar? You didn’t eat very much at dinner,” Ariana said before Lexa could answer. She stared at Lexa, silently begging her friend to keep her mouth shut.

  “I think we should take you to the infirmary,” Maria said worriedly. The janitor finished taping up the window and left the three girls alone in the room.

  Slowly the room began to warm up, and color returned to Lexa’s face. “No, I’m sure Ana’s right.” Lexa struggled to sit up. “Besides, I’m fine now. I swear,” Lexa said, as Maria opened her mouth to protest.

  Ariana forced a smile for Maria’s benefit. The two girls helped Lexa into her bed and pulled the covers up tight around her chin.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? I can get you some food or call the nurse,” Maria said, laying her hand across Lexa’s forehead.

  “Seriously, guys, I’m fine,” Lexa said, waving Maria and Ariana away from her. “Thanks, but I just need some sleep.”

  “Do you want me to stay?” Ariana said uncertainly, her hand on the doorknob. “Or you could sleep in my room if you’re worried about . . . the window.”

  Lexa shook her head. “I’m fine. Now shoo!” She closed her eyes and snuggled down on her pillow.

  Ariana hesitated for a long moment and glanced at Maria. Maria shrugged, so Ariana exited, shutting the door quietly behind her. Once in the hallway, she sank to the floor and clutched her arms, drawing blood where her fingernails dug into her skin.

  Sure, Lexa said she was fine. But people who were fine didn’t faint at the sight of broken glass. And if Lexa wasn’t fine, she could take everything Ariana had fought so hard for away with one ill-timed breakdown.

  The next morning, Ariana watched from her window as the weak November sun lit the facades of Atherton-Pryce Hall’s redbrick buildings. Down below, Maria headed out in gray sweats and a pink fleece jacket, her toe shoes slung over her shoulder, walking briskly toward her early-morning workout in the dance studio. Once Maria turned the corner around the dining hall, Ariana went to the mirror on the back of her dorm room door. She mussed her hair a bit, trying to make it look as if she’d just woken up, then cinched her white silk robe and headed for the room Lexa and Maria shared at the end of the hall.

  Everything’s going to be just fine, she told herself as she padded silently along the thick carpeting. She just needs a good talking-to.

  She paused in front of the closed dorm room door, took a deep breath, and knocked lightly.

  “Come in!” Lexa said, her voice surprisingly bright.

  Ariana opened the door and poked her head inside tentatively. Lexa was already showered and dressed, her red sweater wrinkle free over boyfriend jeans and brown boots.

  “You’re up early,” she said to Ariana with a smile.

  “Not as early as you,” Ariana replied.

  “I have to do some last-minute cramming for my French test,” Lexa said. “I’m gonna hit the library before breakfast. You wanna come?”

  Ariana eyed her quizzically. Was this chipper thing for real? “Actually, I have to go into the city today. To meet with that lawyer,” she said.

  Lexa closed her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead. “That’s right. I’m so sorry! Is there anything I can do?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll be fine,” Ariana replied. “I just wanted to see how you were doing this morning. Are you feeling better?”

  Lexa tilted her head as she fluffed her pillow two, five, then ten times. “Yeah. I am.” She laughed in an embarrassed way, then lifted her folded blanket from her desk chair and spread it across her bed. “I was just overtired,” she said, turning her back toward Ariana as she moved around the bottom of the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles. “You may not remember this about me, but when I get overtired, my whole system freaks out. And lately? I really haven’t been sleeping a lot.”

  Ariana wondered if the real Briana Leigh would have remembered this tidbit about Lexa from their time together at equestrian camp as kids. Her guess was probably not. Briana Leigh was a tad too self-involved to recall details about other people.

  “Oh,” Ariana said, feeling slightly better as she click, click, clicked the stapler. “Well, how did you sleep last night?”

  “Okay, I guess,” Lexa said with a shrug. “At least, I definitely slept at some point, because I remember having a dream.” She narrowed her eyes. “Something about my parents parachuting through the roof of my house. Isn’t that weird?” Lexa laughed and then shook her head. “Anyway, any sleep at all is an improvement.”

  She stopped primping the bed, and turned to Ariana. “Honestly, don’t worry about me. I’m totally fine. I just feel bad that I made you worry.”

  Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was okay. All Lexa had needed was a good night’s sleep, and she was herself again.

  “Oh, that’s all right,” she said.

  Lexa unexpectedly wrapped Ariana in a hug. “Do you want me to come with you today? I’m sure I could make up the test.”

  “No, thanks. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I just want to get it over with,” Ariana replied, edging toward the door. “I’m going to go take a shower. I mean, as long as you’re all right. . . .”

  “Of course I’m all right,” Lexa said, turning back toward her bed and smoothing out a wrinkle that wasn’t there. “Why shouldn’t I be all right? I mean, just because I aided and abetted a murder, and just because the dead body of my former friend who tried to kill me is buried in my backyard, and just because if anyone ever finds it we’re both going to jail and my entire family will be ruined, I mean, why would any of that make me not all right?”

  Ariana stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “Lexa?”

  Suddenly Lexa sat down o
n her perfectly made bed, buried her face in her hands, and burst into tears.

  Oh, I am so very, very screwed, Ariana thought.

  Watching her friend blubber uncontrollably, Ariana’s heart started to pound real terror through her veins. She breathed in and out, in and out, but it didn’t help. The telltale gray dots started to prickle over her vision. She gripped her forearm in one hand and squeezed as hard as she could, trying to keep herself present. Trying to keep herself in the now.

  Trying to keep herself from snapping.

  Breathe, Ariana. Just breathe.

  In, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  Out, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  In, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  Out, one . . . two . . . three . . .

  Her vision began to clear, and she took a step forward. “Lexa, listen, I know this is difficult, but it’s all going to be okay.”

  “How?” Lexa blurted, lifting her face. “I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t stop . . . seeing her face. You killed her, Ana. And I helped you hide it. That makes me an accessory.”

  Ariana gritted her teeth. It was never a good sign when people started talking in legal terms. It meant they were thinking in legal terms. Which meant they were considering bringing the law into it. Ariana could not have this.

  “Lex, it was self-defense,” Ariana said, sitting next to Lexa on the bed and taking her hand. “She was trying to kill you. Did you want me to let her do that?”

  “No!” Lexa replied. “But if it was self-defense, then it should be fine. If we tell the police, they’ll—”

  “It’s too late for that,” Ariana said, squeezing her friend’s hand. “We hid her body. We cleaned up your house. It’s been two weeks. If we tell them now, it doesn’t matter how we say it happened, we’re going to look guilty.”

  “But—”

  “There’s no reason to cry over her, Lexa,” Ariana said calmly. “The girl knew you were hiring a PI to look into her past. Clearly there was something she didn’t want you to find. She came there to kill you. Do you understand that? The girl was psychotic.”