Devil Incarnate (Boys of Preston Prep #4) - Angel Lawson Page 0,176

about what a piece of shit I am?” Shaking my head, I mutter, “Fuck you.”

He gives me a quick look, eyebrows high on his forehead. “Georgia has a lot of problems, Heston.” I can’t fucking stand the way he says it. Like he knows more about her than I do. “But she also has a lot of friends, caring parents, attentive faculty, counselors, therapists. She has a strong support system, when she actually chooses to use them.” Pointedly, he adds, “You don’t have anybody.”

I turn to glare at him. “Gee, thanks for reminding me.”

His forehead wrinkles with a frown. “You’re emotionally volatile right now. You’re adrift. You’re quite clearly suffering—physically and emotionally—and you’ve just lost your business and your...er, friend.” Arching an eyebrow, he observes, “One might conclude that you don’t have anything to lose, and I’ve got to tell you, that’s a risky place for an addict to be.”

I finally catch on to what he’s saying. “You’re worried I’m going to start gambling again?” My bark of laughter sounds just as rough as it feels in my sore throat. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this before, but you need money to gamble. I’ve got three hundred dollars to my name and no paying job.”

“You really haven’t listened to a word anyone’s said in those meetings, have you?” Warren smiles wryly. “Addicts find a way.”

Sniffing, I look out at the passing trees. “This addict doesn’t.”

I meant what I said to Georgia about the fire being my last gamble. Somehow, despite everything, I managed to win.

For once, I’m quitting while I’m ahead.

When I get back to campus, I loiter for a while in my car. I’ve been avoiding my apartment, determined to spend as little time there as possible. It’s still a wreck, trashed from the night Georgia found out about the video. The whole place reminds me of her. Smells like her. I can’t even go near the bed, having recently been sleeping on the couch or in my office at the pool. I haven’t even been back in twenty-four hours.

But school is out for Thanksgiving break, and although I don’t have to leave my apartment, I do have to leave the natatorium, which has been scheduled for a deep cleaning over the holidays. With nowhere else to go, I force myself back to the apartment, and that’s when I see the black envelope tucked under the mat. It’s damp and warped from sitting out for the last day or so in the cold sprinkle we’ve been having. I have to wonder who the hell is still sending me invites. Obviously, someone who doesn’t realize I’m neither welcome by any of the members nor personally amused by their idiotic ideas of pranks and rituals and initiations.

Straightening up is like pulling teeth. My mind wants to be doing literally anything else. Still, I don’t let myself look at my phone until I’ve gotten the front room at least mostly in order. After that, I allow myself to slump on the couch and bring up ChattySnap.

Georgia has three new photos.

One is of her and Vandy in what I’ll have to assume is Vandy’s bedroom, making bitchy faces at the camera. The second is of what must have been her lunch; a tortilla filled with shredded meat and avocado. The third is of her and my brother.

My stomach plummets.

Georgia has her arm around his neck, pulling him close like she’s got him in a headlock. There’s nothing sexual about it—even if his cheek is right by her tits—but she’s wearing this happy, playful grin that makes me want to hurl my phone at the goddamn wall.

The caption reads: ‘Reunited and it feels so good! Can I trade in my brother for this one? #JustKiddingGeorge #Mostly #TotallyJoking #Probably’

I stare at it for too long, letting my stomach churn in anger and resentment, before reaching for the black envelope that was left on my front stoop. At first, it’s just a reminder that Sebastian isn’t special. That I was invited, too. That I belong to this world just as much as he does. But then I open it and read the card.

“Soon they reached the fields of asphodel where the dead, the burnt-out wraiths of mortals, make their home.”

Go, Heston.

Elvatio Infernum

Well, if they want to set a goddamn effigy on fire in the middle of the lake, there’s two things I can definitely add to the mix.

Recent experience and some gasoline to pour on it.

The lake is quiet, other than the occasional