but doesn’t drop his arm from my shoulders. He won’t leave me alone. We may not be the closest siblings ever, but we’ve got each others’ backs when it counts.
I will myself to exude the confidence and ease Daddy wears like a crisp suit. “Headmistress.”
Headmistress Morgan’s eyes glance over Cal before returning to me. “The next time you arrive at this school inebriated, your parents will hear about it.” Her expression is haughty and piercing.
It takes everything in me not to squirm. “Yes, ma’am.” My words are sure as I shrug off her hand. Taking off my Emily Allison heels, I swing them in my hand as I saunter up the stairs with as much gumption as I can muster. Cal’s big feet leave wet shoe prints on the carpet.
Once we’re out of sight, we lean back against the wall, awash in the glow of the sconces.
“Thanks for the assist, Cal.”
“Any time.” He shrugs, the charming facade he’d worn with Headmistress Morgan now discarded, revealing a boy who isn’t always comfortable in his own skin. His sharp nose and hollow cheeks are wet from the downpour that continues to roar outside.
“Next time you want to leave an event early, find an excuse to take me with you. Especially if you’ve had some champagne. You shouldn’t have driven home.”
I smooth my wet skirt with both hands. “You know I don’t drink.”
My brother’s eyebrow ticks upward.
“Fine. I’ll bring you with me next time.”
Cal’s head bobs. “Go sleep it off, Char.” He loafs up the stairs, pulling off his sodden jacket as he moves.
“See you for breakfast?” I call after him.
He lifts a hand without looking back.
I watch him go, once more wondering if Daddy prefers Cal because he’s older, or because he’s a guy. No, I know that isn’t it. Daddy’s never given me the impression that he’s some anti-feminist meathead. So what is it? No matter the reason, there has to be a way for me to prove I’m deserving of his grooming, of his support after I earn my dual degree in Public Administration and International Relations. Then I can announce my intention to follow him into public service.
I unlock my door, and my eyes fall on the Georgetown University pennant that is tacked to the wall over my bed. It will be enough. It has to be.
Peeling off my bedraggled cocktail dress and underwear, I toss them into my hamper. Usually I would wash my face and brush my teeth, but I’m suddenly so tired it’s all I can do to climb into bed.
No longer is the champagne frothing in my veins. Maybe my encounter with the headmistress was enough to sober me up. A deep sigh unfurls from my chest. Tomorrow begins the second semester of my junior year at the academy, and I have to make it count. It’s probably the most important semester of high school. My future depends on it.
3
Bright red and blue lights shine behind my lids, waking me up. Groaning, I open my eyes. What is that?
The lights shine in through my wide open curtains, casting a glow in the early morning dawn. Apparently I forgot to close my curtains before I went to sleep.
I focus on the red and blue sheen of the light hitting my walls. Police lights. Oh no.
My chest tightens as if it’s being gripped by a vise.
Cal is fine, I tell myself. I saw him last night right here in the dormitory.
The vise tightens.
What if something happened to Adrienne? Images of my sister, unconscious as her bodyguard, Mikhail, pulls Ambassador Sibale off her flicker through my vision. She’d been so pale, her neck criss-crossed with purpling bruises and reddening friction burns. Mikhail had scooped her up in his arms and laid her out on a bed in the next room, carefully brushing a sweaty red curl off her forehead.
I shake my head. Adrienne is fine. She’s safe. Mikhail was with her last night.
But I can’t shake off the clawed fingers of the unknown.
Pushing the covers off, I ignore my shivering as the cold air hits my bare skin. I get my fluffy white robe out of my armoire and tug it on as I totter to the window, careful to stay hidden behind my curtain. I do not want anyone to see me in this nubby, old thing. I’ve had it forever, but it’s so comfortable I refuse to get rid of it.
Down in the courtyard, my eyes snag on Cal’s car. It’s parked crookedly in the middle