Chapter 5

• Celeste
• Celeste observed Delaney St. James as she packed her belongings. Delaney, with her striking looks and occasional sarcasm, handed Celeste a skeleton key for the library's exits. After some playful banter, Delaney left, and Cruz Hayes appeared outside the locked library door, creating tension. Celeste, clutching the key, worried about being spotted. Delaney noted Cruz was there for her, citing her recent involvement with a frat boy, earning her an unwelcome fan club.
• Celeste cleared her throat and couldn't help but let her eyes flicker to the sizable diamond ring on Delaney's left ring finger. “You...and Cruz?” Celeste couldn't even form the sentence she was trying to ask.
• “No, me and Nathaniel. Cruz just watched,” Delaney huffed as if this were public information and that Celeste needed to catch up. “You’d do some pretty stupid things too if your parents were trying to marry you off to some awful old man.” She held up her hand, and the diamond sparkled brighter than it had any right to while being worn by such an unhappy bride-to-be. “Just hang back until you hear me leave; I’ll get rid of him.” She pulled her hood up before pulling an identical key to the one she had given Celeste earlier out of her pocket. She was already at the door when she called back to Celeste, “Don’t lose that key, Celeste, you can’t open the door without it to leave.”
• “Thank you again,” Celeste whispered-yelled, even though she knew these old buildings were soundproof, and there was no way Cruz could hear her. She heard the heavy door swing open and the muffled sounds of Cruz’s deep voice and Delaney’s soft one as the door slowly swung shut behind her. Celeste waited a few seconds, listening closely to make sure they hadn't come back inside. She only planned on staying for a few hours, until Kane had given up looking for her.
• Celeste tossed her bag on the chair and a giddy feeling rushed through her as she let her eyes wander the expansive building. Usually when she was in here, she was hustling back and forth between classes or trying to avoid her evil stepbrother. She let her hand trail along the dense wood of the bookcases that had to be twenty feet tall. They weren't practical, but not much was at Westbrook. It was all about how things looked, how they were perceived from outsiders, and everything had to be expensive.
• Celeste didn't pluck any of the books off the shelf because her mind was too scattered to even focus on the titles. If she didn't go to the party tomorrow night, Talon was going to broadcast whatever he knew about Blaine, which would rile Kane up and only get him into trouble. That was the very thing that Blaine never wanted to happen. Even though everyone knew Blaine as the good-natured, gentlemanly Blackwell and Kane as the wild and reckless brother, Blaine had his fair share of darkness. He just hid it well. On the other hand, if she did go to the party, she knew Talon would only use her to keep the fight Ella mentioned going.
• Before she decided which classic novel to pull from the shelf, Celeste reached up and grasped Blaine’s chain that held his legacy pendant. She wasn't sure why her step-father offered it to her when he and her mother came to visit Westbrook for Blaine’s burial, but she wasn't about to say no. It was all she really had left of her best friend, and it was something he wore almost all the time.
• She undid the clasp and slid the key to the library onto it so that she didn't lose it. She clicked the clasp back into place just as she heard one of the heavy doors of the library opening. She covered her mouth with her hand and stooped down to hide between the bookcase and the large table meant for studying. It could be anyone, and they were probably here for something harmless that had nothing to do with her.
• Her heart practically leapt into her throat when she heard Kane’s bitter voice call out, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” She was the first one to admit that she had a soft spot for Kane when he was having a panic attack induced by night terrors.
• She wanted nothing more than to console him when he was angry and crying over the loss of his only brother. This version of him though? She hated him. She hated him so much. She wasn't sure where he was, so she wasn't sure which direction she should go. She could hear the edge in his voice. He was out for blood tonight, and he wanted hers. “I can hear you breathing, panicking. I love the sound of your fear. Are you going to run, Celeste? You know how much I love to chase you.”
• Flight overtook the portion of Celeste's brain telling her to show herself and fight him. She took off running in the dimly lit library. She found the grand staircase that led to the second floor in hopes that she could get to the top, find the back staircase, and flee the library before he could catch up to her. She had only made it up three or four steps when she was yanked backward into the hard chest of her stepbrother. He had wound her hair into his fist and leaned in close to her ear when he whispered, “I’ll always find you.”
• Celeste tried to wrench out of his arms, but his grip was too tight. His abdomen felt like a brick wall when she yanked her arm back and made contact with her elbow. He acted as though he felt nothing, and his chuckle was raspy as he let her go without warning, causing her to stumble and fall on the stairs. He reached down and nudged her over on her back like she weighed nothing at all to him. She watched as his eyes seemed to darken as they roved over the form-fitting dress she was wearing. Her nipples hardened instantly beneath his lustful gaze.
• She stood, but she didn't try to run from him. He'd enjoy that too much. “Why are you here?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him when he shook his head and gritted his teeth. Clearly, he had realized how he was looking at her, and she wasn't sure why that brought her satisfaction.
• “Looking for you, of course.” He reached out and held a piece of her long black hair between his fingers, almost as if he was inspecting it. Celeste liked to think that she was strong with most people. She didn't trust easily, and she wasn't a people pleaser, but she had never been strong when it came to Kane and the way his eyes lit her on fire and his touch twisted her in flames. She knew all it would take was to feel his hands on her, and she'd melt in his arms without provocation. He hid his beautifully straight teeth by pressing his lips into a straight line before he said, “I always seem to be looking for you, Celeste.”
• His hand moved higher to tunnel through her hair, but she had fallen for that before only to have him yank her hair and say something demeaning while he peered into her eyes. He was either a really good actor or sick with conflict because he couldn't seem to make up his mind if he wanted to caress her into submission or inflict pain until she no longer mattered to him.
• She swatted his hand away, and his eyes lit up when her palm cracked against the bone of his wrist. “I don’t want to be caught, stepbrother.” She narrowed her eyes to glare right back at him, and he leaned in so close that his straight nose brushed the tip of hers, and for only a fraction of a second, she thought he might claim her lips with his.
• Her eyes took him in quickly. He wasn't dressed in his usual Friday night attire of jeans, hoodie, and sneakers that weren't permitted on campus. Their headmaster said they were sloppy looking, and casual dress should still be classy. Kane must have been looking for her since he got out of his last class, which gave Celeste conflicting emotions.
• She both loathed and enjoyed being the object of his attention.
• “Who are you meeting here tonight?” He bit out the question, taking a step toward her, causing her to move up two stairs. She was at eye level with him this way, and it made her feel less vulnerable.