[Lily]
Atticus is making a huge ruckus, so while Link goes downstairs to talk some sense into him, I lean out Alexis’ window.
“Atticus!” I hiss down at him. “What are you doing? Are you drunk?”
As he rocks on his feet he is quite clearly drunk.
“You left without saying anything,” he sways, barely standing as he almost trips down the small stoop to look up at me. His face is flushed and he seems unable to stand still.
“I left you a note!” I scream down at him, mystified by his suddenly possessive and obsessive behavior. “I told you I just needed a break. I’ve only been gone for..”
“Two hours!” He holds up his phone to show
[Lily]Nyx looks both frightened and angry, terror filling her eyes as she clenches her hands. “You can’t let my father find me. Please, we gotta hide me.”“Shhh,” I try to calm my friend down, but her eyes are wide and unfocused. She’s petrified. I’ve never seen her this scared before, even when she found out that Atticus Preston and the rest of the Legacies have skeleton keys to every room in the Academy--An event which led to her putting deadbolts on her dorm room and, as I am now learning, a brief stay in a mental facility while she worked through her persistent panic attacks.As I try to comfort my friend, Atticus and Link briefly come to an unspoken truce. It is hard to make out exactly what she is saying, but according to Nyx, her father intends to keep her trapped in her bedroom here in NYC until she c
[Lily]That wasn’t the answer any of us were expecting. We are all racing away in the night avoiding Nyx’s dad and heading right back to the very place I was trying to escape and the best reason that Atticus could give to why Link’s plan would work is “because it would be fun…”Why would anyone find any part of this situation “fun.”“Does it matter why I’m doing it?” Atticus drawls, his voice taking on its usual sarcastic tone. “It should only matter to you that I’m willing to put my neck out there to save you.”“I’m grateful,” Nyx responds, her voice completely deadpan. “But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
[Lily]I had forgotten for a moment that Link Carter is related to Evangeline Crocker. His mother is her brother's sister.“It was bad enough I had to see your low-born face at the fashion shoot, but now you’re here, with…she points at Nyx…her? Do you really have no respect?”Link is completely unaffected by Evie’s anger. If anything, he’s amused by it. Shaking his head, he chuckles as he walks past her without the slightest touch of fear. He must be insane. Evie is standing with her hands on her hips, her eyes moving from side to side as she looks from Link to me and then over to Atticus and Nyx. When her face rests on Nyx, her already angry expression curls into one of disgust. But she doesn’t do anything more than stare and scowl while Atticus helps me sit.Interesting. As soon as I’m comfortable, Madison rushes past everyone to scoop me into a strong embrace. “Lily!” she exclaims, “We were all so worried about you! Wherever did you go?”She says “we were all so worried”, but loo
[Lily]It’s amazing how fast things start to move when the Legacies make up their mind to do something. It takes us only moments to pack and in less than an hour we are in the air, flying back home with Nyx on one side of me and Link on the other. He decided to come with us to make sure Nyx arrived safely.The three of us spend the entire time chatting. Nyx and Link have a lot of catching up to do, but they don’t exclude me. If anything, I feel like I’m at the center of the conversation as the two of them tell me about all of their exploits from childhood. Seeing Nyx so relaxed warms my heart. I am grateful to Link for giving my friend this gift. He knows exactly what to say to cheer her up and I see her coming back to herself bit by bit. I've been a terrible friend to her. If only Link went to our school, then Nyx wouldn't be lonely again. She might even feel safe with such a strong ally on her side. I can feel Atticus’ gaze on the back of my head the entire ride back. Even though
I know it might seem strange, but I’ve never had a slumber party before.Nyx and Link spend the first two hours hanging out in my room watching scary movies on Nyx’s new laptop. She was very surprised to find out it had all the streaming services, which seemed really strange to me. It is, after all, her computer, right? Should she know what she has and does not have on her own computer?“It was given to me by a mysterious new friend,” she admits a bit cryptically. “I don’t know who but…I…”Just as she is about to say more, her computer beeps. Simultaneously her phone beeps as well. She takes a quick look at her phone and her face becomes very pale.“Nyx, is anything wrong?” she looks at her compute
[Lily]“Please…” Atticus begs. “Just, meet me in the library in 30 minutes, okay.”“Why,” I try to hold my head up a little higher as I take a prouder stance, squaring my shoulders and giving him a cold, hard stare. “Why should I?”“Because…” he takes a hesitant step forward as if whatever is happening between him and Evie in the next room has him tethered in place. If it weren't for his missing jacket and lipstick-stained t-shirt, I may be moved to sympathy. “Because you are my friend.”"Am I?" I wonder aloud. Evie calls his name and Atticus' head snaps back in her direction. “Please,” he pleads, looking torn. “Just please trust me.”I nod even though I'm not sure that trust is something I can give him right now. My heart is so heavy I feel its weight dragging me down. I’m not sure that I can manage any time alone with him. The last few times we've been alone he has kissed me. The first time it was forceful full of anger and pain. He was using me to work through his feelings, and
[Lily] After Nyx and I said goodbye to Link, the next week went by without much fanfare. I was still living on the Legacy floor, but I had almost no interaction with the other Legacies outside basic greetings and the occasional breakfast. Nyx and I had returned to our old routines of eating breakfast together and meeting under the walnut tree after classes to discuss our day. Evie had become less aggressive towards me, but only by a small measure. If she had forgotten that she hated me that quickly, it would have been suspicious. The main difference was between me and Atticus. He and I had stopped talking. He could barely look at me. The only time he said more than two words to me was when his doctor came to remove the cast. And then, as soon as it was over, he went back to pretending not to know me. He had gone so far out of his way to put his neck out for Nyx, to help us execute this plan to bring her back, only to rush back into Evie’s arms and far away from me. Which I guess
[Lily]Nyx and Madison have been fussing with me non-stop. In their attempts to make me feel “desirable” and “pretty,” I just feel like one of those cosmetology mannequins, the ones they use in beauty school to practice makeup. I tried to convince them that I knew how to dress myself and put on my own makeup, but neither girl would take me seriously. Nyx snorted. Madison laughed. Neither one of them would leave me to my own devices. “Nothing personal,” Madison says over her shoulder as she raids my closet. “But you have the style of a blind middle-schooler.”Ever notice how whenever someone says “nothing personal” they are always about to say something extremely hurtful? I expected Nyx to defend me, but she and Madison have formed some type of weird connection over making me “glow up”. Best pals in fashion. I reminded her that Madison St.Claire is a Legacy, just like the rest of them, but she rolled her eyes and responded with “Whatever she is, she knows what she is doing. You shoul