The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,73
It took so long because I refused to speak until a lawyer got here and Hart backed me up. When they both came—Hart called one too—I told them I was framed.”
“You did?” I asked.
He nodded. “They don’t know about the presents we found in our rooms. I dropped that we keep drugs off the campus to protect the OB kids. Someone who doesn’t want to worry about us getting in the way would call in a tip and hope they tripped over something that would get us out. The lawyers shared all of that with Hart, but just told the police the tip was fake and they didn’t turn up proof showing otherwise. They also accused them of harassment. Hart’s lawyer said a lot of nice stuff about discrimination and suing the department for cuffing and dragging me off after their search turned up nothing.”
“Nothing?” I pressed.
“Nothing. We’ve been doing this for years, princess. We know how to hide our shit.”
“We got lucky,” Clay said. “We were twenty minutes away from matching silver bracelets and a parade across the lawn. This will not happen again.”
“It won’t,” Cassius agreed. He put an arm around his sister. “I’ll come up with a way to keep this guy out of our rooms for good.”
“How?” asked Camila.
“Trust me.”
Four days later, Cassius and Clay presented their solution.
“Personal door wedge alarms,” said Clay. “Used by solo female travelers around the world.”
“You use it like you would any other door wedge, but if a sneaking fuck opens your door and presses on this, the alarm will go off.”
Camila and I examined the tiny triangular contraption with interest.
“Its genius is in its simplicity,” said Cassius. “Perfect if you’re in a dorm room with weak security.”
“Will we get in trouble for using these?” I asked.
“If Hart has a problem with it, she should come up with something better.”
“What happened to the cameras she was going to install?”
“She’s working on those,” Camila piped up. “I stopped in to ask after... you know. She said it’s taking time because she must choose an approved vendor that has passed background checks on all its workers. She can’t have just anyone walking around a dorm full of kids. The one she hired is backed up on jobs, but they’ll be in to install them in a few weeks.”
“That’s something at least.”
“Ember.” Clay tossed me the second alarm in the pack. “That’s for Eli. The alarm is insanely loud. We tested it in the forest. If anything, it’ll alert his entire floor if they try his room next. The guy will either be scared off or someone will come running.”
I clutched the small chunk of plastic, metal, and wires to my chest. I loved him so much at that moment, I bordered on the edge of blurting it out. “Thank you. This means a lot to me. We’ve been freaked out for days.”
“We can’t have that,” Clay said. He stepped back, dusting his hands and admiring his handiwork.
“As a reward,” Cassius threw in. “Blowjobs all around? Cam, go to the library or something.”
Camila saved me a reply and smacked him over the head with a pillow. Although, I did follow them back to their room and showed my appreciation.
The next week brought the first days of December and the ticking countdown to winter break. Two weeks off for those going home to presents, lights, trees, movies, and families looking forward to seeing them.
“Are you going home?” I asked.
Falling in behind a group of students, Camila and I lazily tromped to breakfast. We were quite a pair in plaid pants and thick sweaters. Winter was making a fool of the sun and dropping temperatures to stay-inside-and-watch-Christmas-movies weather.
“No, my brothers and I stay on campus every year. Hart makes it fun, so I don’t mind.”
My eyes flicked off her face, catching the peeking glance from one of the girls ahead of us. She saw me and turned around.
“Eli and I will be here too. I’m going off campus next week to buy mini-trees, presents, and lights to make it— What are you staring at?”
The girl jerked. She whispered to her friends and the group picked up the pace.
“They’re staring at me,” Camila said.
“You? For what?”
“I forgot that you deleted your social media accounts. You remember what I was working on for Leo?” She took out her phone and handed it to me. “It worked.”
I paused to read... and read... and then scrolled down and read some more.
“Oh my gosh, Camila. This is amazing.”
“Thank you.” She smiled—not