The Ivies - Alexa Donne Page 0,69
Unstable. That’s the word they used with my parents.”
“That’s a pretty massive accusation.” Ethan leans forward; I see his journalistic instincts roar to life. An urge to fact-check. But this isn’t a story to me. It’s my friend. I lay a hand on his forearm, urging him to back off.
“And Emma didn’t take Adderall,” I say.
Kaila smirks. “Avery Montfort’s family runs one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, and you’re questioning where Emma could have gotten some spare drugs?”
Heat creeps up the back of my neck. “It’s just so extreme.”
Kaila quirks her brows and tilts her head, as if agreeing. “I was pretty shocked to find myself on the receiving end. I thought they were my friends. What surprises me is that you didn’t know about any of this.”
“Well, it turns out the Ivies did a lot of things I didn’t know about,” I mutter into my soy latte.
“I wondered if they ever warmed up to you after I left. Guess not.” Kaila’s eyes are shrewd but kind. “What other things have you found out about?”
“Why do you want to know?” Ethan squares his shoulders, cracks his knuckles.
“See, he’s your heavy,” Kaila teases, then shrugs. “I’m just curious. They must be bad enough that you reached out to me. I want to know what my former friends have been up to.”
The set of Ethan’s jaw tells me he disagrees, but he doesn’t actively stop me from pulling up our list on my phone and handing it over to Kaila.
Slowly but surely, Kaila’s brow disappears into her bangs. “I see drink sabotage is a theme. Though it’s weird that Emma was taking the ACT in February last year.”
“Shit!” Ethan exclaims, trying to save his coffee cup but failing. Caramel macchiato slides across the table, and Kaila has to skid her chair back to avoid a lap full of coffee. I grab for the few napkins on the table and throw them on top, but it’s not enough.
“I’ll get more.” Ethan rushes to the sidebar and grabs a thick handful of napkins. As he returns and mops up the mess, Kaila hands back my phone. It’s dry, thankfully.
“Well, I feel better knowing I’m not the only victim of Emma’s vengeance. How are you feeling?”
Pre– versus post–Haven Ridge Kaila jumps out at me again. I think I’ve made more eye contact with her in this ten-minute conversation than I did in an entire year at Claflin. Her concern seems genuine.
“I’m okay,” I say, finding it difficult to articulate my swirl of emotions, especially to a near stranger. “I’m not even sure what to say to them, knowing all this now.”
“Watch your ass. That’s my best advice. Keep your head down, graduate, and never look back. I wish I’d stayed out of their way.”
“Avery?” the barista calls out, and I nearly jump out of my skin. Scanning the room frantically, I look for her familiar blond head moving toward the pickup bar. But it’s a short brunette who grabs the proffered drink. False alarm. It strikes me how annoyed Avery would be to have a name twin out in the wild. She prides herself on being singular.
“Ethan, would you mind getting me a scone for the road?” I ask. “I’ll text you a screenshot of my Starbucks card.” If Ethan thinks it’s strange I’m using him as my lackey, he doesn’t say anything. Dutifully he joins the end of the line, which is ten people deep, so it’ll take him a bit. By design.
Kaila leans in, a knowing smile plucking at her lips. “Something you want to ask me privately?”
“Are you really saying that the reason Emma did all that to you is because she wanted Tyler for herself? It wasn’t about getting Avery that ASB spot?”
“I think the ASB spot was likely cover. Gravy. It wasn’t about Tyler per se….” Kaila sips her coffee, I think as an excuse to go no further.
“Why can’t you tell me?”
Kaila’s expression turns grim. “You don’t want to get any more involved in it than you already are, trust me. Emma was a complicated girl. She had secrets. Don’t let her take you down with her. I’m glad I escaped with little more than an expulsion no one will care about in ten years.”
“Emma’s dead. What can she do?”
“You’re thinking too small. You’re caught in a web and don’t even know it.” Kaila finishes her zucchini bread and crumples the waxy paper bag into a ball. Then she downs the rest of