Privilege 5 - Pure Sin by Kate Brian

her breath.

    ". . . acting crazy . . . ," Rob said.

    "She's just under a lot of stress," Soomie defended.

    "So are the rest of us," April put in, clearly hurt and pouting over it. "You don't see any of us freaking out."

    "She really hasn't been sleeping at all," Maria added. "The other night I woke up at three A.M. and she was in the bathroom, scrubbing her hands. I mean, what's that about? It's like she's suddenly gone all OCD on us."

    "Weird," Ariana agreed, swallowing back a new thump of dread. She was right about the imaginary blood. She knew it. She tilted her ear toward the group behind her.

    ". . . know I love the girl," Conrad was saying, "but this is unacceptable."

    "He's right. We have to look out for Stone and Grave's larger interests," Palmer said.

    "You guys, what're you saying?" Soomie asked fretfully. "You can't mean--"

    "And then her mom called at six o'clock this morning," Maria said, drowning out Soomie's words. "I mean, the woman knows she's not sleeping, so she calls at the crack of dawn? What's that about?"

    Ariana's fingers curled into fists over having a vital bit of the conversation spoken over, but she knew it didn't really matter. Because she knew in her heart of hearts what the execs were talking about. They were talking about removing Lexa as president of Stone and Grave. They were saying that if she didn't get her act together, she was going to lose her position of power.

    Which meant that, as Lexa's best friend, she would lose any power she had in Stone and Grave as well--before she ever even got the chance to find out where that power could take her. What are you doing right now Reed? Ariana wondered, gritting her teeth as she stared down at the smudged photo in the newspaper, which was

    , tucked inside her government text. What are you doing right now? Are you having brunch with your friends? Is Noelle there? Are you still dating that Boy Scout Josh Hollis? What are you thinking? Do you ever even think about me? About what you did to me? About where I am right now , because of you?

    Someone dropped a heavy book on the other side of the stacks, and the slam brought Ariana back to the present. She heard someone curse under their breath as she looked around at the brightly lit Atherton-Pryce Hall library. The room was warm, thanks to a charming wood-burning fireplace in the corner, around which several students were gathered in plush chairs, their books splayed open across their laps. The sun streamed in through the skylights overhead, casting its beams along the spines of the classic, leather-bound books all around her. Ariana took a deep breath and sighed. Where she was right now actually wasn't that bad. Not bad at all.

    It was what she was dealing with that scared her. She looked up, across the three tables that separated her from Lexa. This morning Lexa appeared to be just fine, all cuddled into her white turtleneck sweater, poring over her history text with Conrad. Every now and then, Conrad would run his hand over her hair and look at her with concern, whisper something in her ear, kiss her cheek. He was taking care of her, which was a plus. But Conrad had no idea exactly what he was dealing with--nor did Ariana want him to find out.

    Lexa was dangling precariously over the edge of the deep end. The slightest mishap could push her in at any moment, and the splash would take out not only her, but Ariana as well. After what had happened the night before, Ariana knew what she had to do. She had to stick to Lexa like glue. She had to make sure that she stopped any future budding breakdowns before they could truly blossom. Otherwise, she was going to have to do something drastic. Something she didn't even want to think about.

    "Hey. There you are."

    Suddenly Palmer's arms enveloped her from behind. She slammed her government book closed over the newspaper, her pulse suddenly fluttering at an alarming rate. If Palmer had noticed that she was staring at an old sports section