Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Book 1 In Trinity Academy Trilogy)

Close Encounters

After spending the entire day in The Closet with Stella I decided to ditch dinner and head straight for our dorm. I had to avoid Seth for as long as possible, because as soon as he started asking questions my whole plan would fall apart. I was so exhausted from trying on dresses that I didn't even realize the door to my dorm room was already open when I got there. So when I turned on the lights and saw Seth perched on top of my bed, I wasn't exactly ready to defend myself. "I don't even want to know how you got in here." 

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable?" 

"Its been long day, Seth." I whined. "Can we do this later?"

"We are doing this right now." He said, slightly raising his voice. "I thought we decided to not have any more secrets between us, but you've been avoiding me all day and I don't know why. And don't get me started on the fact that you completely disappeared last night and returned this morning with a broken hand."

"It's not that big of a deal!"

"Then why don't you tell me who did it?"

"Why does it matter? Do you want to beat them up? Do you think I can't defend myself so I need you to protect me?"

"Protecting you is sort of my job." 

"Not anymore." I reminded him. "Mission accomplished, remember?"

"Why do you keep pushing me away?" He stood up and began to corner me against the wall. "Why do you insist of suffering silently instead of letting me help you?" At this point, my back was pressed against the wall and Seth was only inches from me. There was no escaping this confrontation. 

"My Mom told me never to let anyone see me cry." I whispered. "I have to work twice as hard as you in order to keep my rank, because I'm constantly having to prove to people that a girl can be just as tough as any guy. If I show weakness, even for a second, even something as simple as crying, then I'll ruin everything I've been working so hard for."

"That's not true. Everyone knows how amazingly talented you are."

"Didn't you hear the things they said about me when everyone found out the truth about us? Suddenly it was 'Seth must of helped Alexis with her rank' and 'the only reason Alexis wasn't suspended is because of her brother'.  Everything that I had worked for, all of my accomplishments, were all erased because I decided to fall for you."

"You've never let other's opinion of you stop you before."

"Maybe it's not about letting you protect me, but about me protecting you."

"If something happened last night you need to tell me." Seth pleaded. Red Hoodie could be anyone. Seth could be unknowingly feeding information to him, and I couldn't risk supplying him with any more. This was something I had to do alone, something I had to do for my sister. And for once, it couldn't involve Seth. 

"I punched my hand through the glass box of the fire extinguisher. I got caught up in the fighting and wasn't able to meet up with you in the auditorium." 

"That's it?" He asked, sounding disappointed. He backed away from me giving me some space to breathe. 

"I didn't want to say anything because it's sort of embarrassing and I can't deal with any more hits to my reputation." 

Seth nodded, seeming to accept the lie I fed him. "Sorry for breaking into your room." He apologized. I shrugged in understanding. "And I'm sorry for what I'm about to do." He threw me onto the bed and jumped on top of me. He grabbed my broken hand and yanked on it slowly. I prepared to scream but he covered his other hand over my mouth. "What really happened last night, Lex? I'll break both of your hands if I have to." He threatened, pushing back my broken fingers. My body lurched forward in pain. "I don't want to do this, but you gave me no choice. Did you really expect me to believe that fire extinguisher bullshit? You can do better than that."

I kneed him in the crotch and he rolled off of me. "You can't just break into a girl's room and attack her!" I yelled at him, shoving him backwards as he grabbed his crotch in pain. "That's not what a normal boyfriend does!" 

"And normal girlfriends don't kick their boyfriend in the balls." He gasped for breath.

"We have a seriously fucked up relationship." I sighed, falling backwards onto Mackenzie's bed. Seth grunted uneasily and plopped down besides me. 

"Are you going to tell me the truth?" Seth asked quietly. 

"I need you to take off your shirt." I replied.

"Excuse me?" I ignored him and pulled of his shirt myself. Then I began to feel around his skin for a bug that could have been implanted without him knowing. "What are you looking for?" He muttered. I pressed my finger to his lips to shut him up. Underneath the skin behind the back of his neck I found a small bump. I grabbed a swiss army knife from a compartment besides Mac's bed and handed Seth a towel to put in his mouth. He bit down on it as I started to cut into his skin. I cut a small rectangle around the bump then dug my fingers into the opening. Seth's body tightened when I pulled out the micro chip. I smashed the chip against the side table and stepped on it for good measure. It crumbled to pieces onto the floor. "Are you going to tell me why the hell that was in my neck?" 

"Do you remember how Figaro told us about there being a Mole?" 

"Are you saying the Mole planted that on me?"

"I had the same thing planted into my wrist." I explained. "That's how they were able to track down me and Veronica at the lake house."

"None of this makes any sense. Why would they put a tracker on me? How did they put a tracker on me?" 

"Maybe they wanted to track you since they knew you'd always be close to me." I suggested. "The point is that they have the power to do this. If the Mole could get close enough to you to implant a tracker that means they could be someone we know."

"Why would the Mole still be a threat with the Brass Bloods behind bars?"

"I think the Mole is working for more than one person. Which means someone else knows about the Interface besides Carlos Montana, someone powerful enough to turn one of us against the Academy."

Seth nodded, soaking in all the information I was giving him. "But you still didn't explain how you knew the Mole was still a threat."

"Because they attacked me last night." I inhaled deeply. "I couldn't see who it was, they were wearing some sort of dark covering over their face. All they know about the Interface is that I know where it is."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wasn't sure who to trust. I can't go to Dean because it could be someone on the X Team. I can't go to Figaro because it could be a school administrator. And I can't go to our friends because..."

"It could be one of them."

"You knew you could trust me, so why didn't you tell me sooner?" When I didn't answer Seth continued, "There's no reason you should have to face them alone. We can do this together." 

"I don't want you getting hurt!" I yelled, my heart pounding in my chest. "The Interface is not your problem, it's mine. And if you get hurt, because of it....because of me...I'd never be able to forgive myself."

"Your parents decided to put the Interface inside of you. You were never given a choice. I'm choosing to get involved, that is my decision and you can't do anything to change it." Seth said, taking both of my hands in his. "I care about Veronica just as much as I care about you. The three of us are a team, and a team sticks together. So all I'm asking is...what's the plan?"