(unedited)
If we're still alive,
My regrets are few
If my life is mine,
What shouldn't I do?
I get wherever I'm going,
I get whatever I need.
"Help, I'm Alive"- Metric
I decided to visit Skylar the next day.
Nathan told me she had regained consciousness, which meant I could talk to her. I still had a feeling her injuries were somehow related to Kaden and Ashton's case but without really knowing what happened with both, I couldn't make a solid connection.
The question that bothered me the most, though, was who had been murdered? If it had been a long time ago, I had no chance of guessing, but I doubt that's the case. If it had been a long time ago, why was Ashton bringing it up now? But, I didn't really want to think that it had been recent, that a couple days, weeks, months, ago one of Elite had knowingly killed someone.
"Hi, I'm here to see Skylar Blaire," I told the receptionist. Skylar was staying in a section of the hospital where you had to be on a visit list to get in. There were even guards blocking the halls.
"What's your name?" she asked. I considered lying, and saying I was Vanessa, or Keira, or someone who I knew for sure would be on the list, but that probably wouldn't work. If they asked for identification, or something like that, I was screwed.
"Elena Evans." I had no idea whether or not I was permitted to see Skylar. I had a feeling it was not.
My assumptions were confirmed by the pitying smile on the woman's face. "You're not on the list, dear," she said.
Looks like I'll have to wait for Ashton, then.
"Okay, thank you." I took a seat on a chair at the back.
"You have to be on the list to get in," one of the guards told me.
I nodded. "I know."
"Do you need to call someone?" the receptionist asked.
I shook my head. "No, thank you."
I ignored the puzzled looks they shot me, aimlessly going through my phone instead. I spent fifteen minutes losing lives on a game I couldn't concentrate on and exploring photos I didn't remember taking. Ashton should've been here by now; he had said he was coming after school.
"Elena?" I looked up to see Mr. Sullivan looking at me, a cardboard tray of coffee in his hand.
I nodded. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I came to see Skylar, but I'm not on the list so I'm waiting for Ashton," I said.
Mr. Sullivan glanced at the receptionist. "Add her to the list," he instructed.
"Name?" she asked.
"Cameron Sullivan."
She frowned as she typed into her computer. "Only family members are allowed to add people."
"Special case," he said.
A moment and a couple clicks later, the woman looked up. "Alright, you can go in."
"Thanks," I said as we walked down the hall. "Why are you here instead of Daniel?"
For a second Mr. Sullivan looked stricken, but he recovered quickly. "I'm giving him hourly updates." He stopped abruptly, almost making me crash into him and pushed open one of the doors.
I walked in behind him to find Skylar sitting on a simple bed that looked a lot more comfortable than the average hospital mattress, a multitude of machine around her, though I don't think any of them were plugged in. "Elena?"
I gave a small wave. "Hey."
"What are you doing here?" she asked as Mr. Sullivan handed her a cup of coffee.
"Careful, it's hot," he told her.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know."
I raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two of them. Skylar caught my look and leaned back. "I need to talk to Elena," she said. "Alone."
"No. I- Daniel," he corrected quickly. "-doesn't want me to let you out of my sight." What, did he think I was gonna hurt her or something? If he really believed that, why had he even let me into her room in the first place?
"Can you pick up some food for me? The hospital stuff is gross," she said.
He hesitated, but still shook his head.
"Please?" She pouted, and I watched in a slight, shocked awe as our English teacher turned to complete putty in her hands.
"Fine," he said with a sigh.
I was almost certain that if I hadn't been in the room, they would've kissed. Though, if I hadn't been here he probably wouldn't be leaving anyway. He gave me a cautious look -what did he think I was going to do, really? - and walked out.
"So you're dating our English teacher," I said slowly once he was gone.
Skylar glanced at me for a brief second, then looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't on Daniel with his brother," she said, giving me an offended look.
"Okay," I drawer out slowly. "So why is Mr. Sullivan here all the time, but not Daniel?"
"You can call him Cameron, you know?" she told me. "Daniel's just... Busy."
I raised an eyebrow. "Too busy to visit his girlfriend who's in the hospital?"
She winced slightly as she caught on to the problems in her lie, but quickly covered it up. Quick enough that if I hadn't specifically been watching for her reaction, I wouldn't have seen. She nodded.
"How long are we gonna keep this up for?" I asked.
She blinked at me. "Keep what up?" A false look of confusion.
"Come on Skylar, I'm not dumb," I told her.
"I never said you were," she replied.
I sighed. "It's not like it's even that bad." A little strange, I guess. But not horrible. Mr. Sullivan- Cameron- didn't look much older than us and it was Skylar's last year. "He's what? Twenty-five? And in a couple months he won't be your teacher anymore."
She stared at me. "That's the most positive response I've ever gotten," she said, finally dropping the act.
I shrugged.
"He's twenty-three, by the way," she added a moment later.
I blinked. Most of the teachers at Blaire Academy were thirty, or older. They were experienced at teaching; it was what something Blaire Academy was known for. Not that all the students listened to them, but they were still supposedly some of the best in the country.
Not that Cameron -Mr. Sullivan? I wasn't sure what to call him anymore- was a bad teacher. He was just pretty young. He had started last year, which meant he must've been straight out of college when Mr. Blaire hired him.
"Did you meet him before he was a teacher?" I asked.
She nodded, smiling a little. "We met two years ago. I snuck into one of his dorm's parties and we hooked up." It was weird picturing Cameron in college, at a party, even though he was only five or so years older than us. I knew all teachers probably had a life, but I couldn't picture them outside the classroom.
Skylar's grin widened. "I still remember how he threw a fit and almost had a panic attack the morning after when he realized I was underage."
"Well, no shit, it was illegal!" Sixteen and twenty-one. Yeah, if I had done that and Kaden had found out, the guy would most likely be behind bars by now.
She shrugged. "It's not like it would've mattered in a couple years."
"How'd he get the job at your dad's school, then?" Did Skylar's parents know about her and Cameron? And they were okay with it?
"Mom and Dad don't know," she said quickly, as if she has read my mind. She paused. "Though, I think Mom might suspect something. I told them I met Daniel and that I was doing Cam a favor." She glanced at the door, then lowered her voice slightly.
"He needed it, you know? His parents died when he was nineteen and they left him and Daniel with enough money for college, but not much else," she told me.
"How many people know... About you guys?" It was a secret for sure; I hadn't heard anything about it before I met the Elite. They never interacted at school, though Cameron had always seemed a little more comfortable with the Elite than the other teachers.
"Daniel. Ash. Nate. Jace. Keira. Vanessa. And now you," she said. "You tell anyone and I'll ruin you, though."
Weren't they going to already if I didn't make Ashton fall in love with me?
"I won't. You guys should brush up on your acting skills though," I told her. Their pretending bad been kind of awful, even if Skylar had been unconscious for most of it. Daniel had been way too unconcerned for the boyfriend and Cameron had been way too concerned for the brother.
She shrugged. "It's not like we've ever needed to pretend. Cam said Ashton brought you to the hospital. We hadn't expected it."
Yeah, I hadn't either. He only brought me because Nathan told him to and Nathan only told him to because there was a note addressed to me.
"Does he know what happened?" Cameron had seemed concerned, but not angry or vengeful. Maybe it wasn't in his personality; I had never seen him angry, even when people in class were being annoying. But even so, if someone had tried to kill your girlfriend I don't think it would be taken so calmly.
"No," Skylar said, her voice sharp. "And you won't tell him. He has enough to worry about."
I raised my hands in surrender. "I think he deserves to know, but alright, it's none of my business." I waited a couple moments for her to calm down before continuing. "I actually wanted to ask you about that. What happened?"
She sighed, tugging at one of the wires on the machines beside her. "I have no idea."
"Aren't there any cameras at school?"
"Not in that stairwell. I meet Cameron there when he has a prep period or lunch break, so I looped it." She grimaced. "Dad was furious when he found out."
"How many people know?"
She gave me a curious look, maybe wondering why I was asking so many questions, but answered anyway. "Cam, obviously. Maybe some of my friends. I don't remember if I mentioned it."
It was looking more and more likely that someone in the Elite had been the one to try and hurt Skylar. And it had to be related to Ashton's murder case. I doubt two members of the Elite had homicidal tendencies all of a sudden.
"And in the hospital?"
"Bastard got me while I was sleeping. And I'm not stupid enough to believe it as an accident."
"Methanonel is a calming drug, right?" I think Raine and Kaden were completely against it for some reason, but I had never gotten hurt enough to really need it.
She snorted. "Yeah, but no one needs that much."
"And the cameras never caught anything unusual," I muttered.
It had to be someone in the Elite who drugged Skylar. And I was pretty sure Skylar hadn't killed someone too. I don't think she would drug herself and fall down the stairs to make herself seem innocent, or whatever it was that could've possibly been accomplished with her actions. That is, if whoever had hurt Skylar and whoever Ashton believed had killed someone was the same person.
"Do you know who pushed you down the stairs?"
Was maybe what had happened to me at Vanessa's house also related? But that didn't make much sense. I hadn't known the Elite for very long. I didn't have anything to do with any of them, not really. Was it just some kind of twisted prank to make me paranoid? Or was it related to the note I had gotten? Like a warning?
Skylar laughed bitterly. "If I did, do you think they'd be walking free right now? They shoved a plastic bag over my head and choked me with it then shoved me down the stairs before I even noticed them."
A plastic bag, over the head. Like what happened with me. Only I wasn't choked. I was shoved into a pool and left to drown.
"Look Elena, I appreciate the effort, but my parents, the police, Ashton, and our private detective have all gone over this," Skylar said, interrupting my thoughts. "As much as we all hate it, it's doubtful that we'll ever find out who did this."
Something in the way she said everything made me wonder if she knew, or had a feeling that one of her friends, someone she trusted, might've done this to her. But before I could even decide whether or not I should ask, the door swung open and Cameron walked in, a plastic takeout bag in his hand.
"Hey babe," Skylar said. The almost scandalized look Cameron gave her was comical. "She know."
He gave me a cautious look, but approached Skylar and gave her the food, as well as a quick, and thankfully chaste kiss on the lips. "Hi. Miss me?"
She grinned. "Of course."
Weird didn't even begin to describe watching their relationship. I didn't really mind it, it was none of my business, and it was nowhere near the worst thing I possibly dealing with, but it was still strange. "I'm gonna go," I said.
It was doubtful that I would get anything else out of Skylar if Cameron was in the room. I could wait until he was gone, but I had no idea how long that would be. The couple ignored me as I slipped out of the room and headed back to the waiting area. As I turned the corner, I heard two very familiar voices, arguing.
"-car's here," Ashton was saying.
"How do you know what her car looks like?" Jacen demanded.
"What are you guys talking about?" I interrupted. The receptionist, as well as the guards, let out quiet sighs of relief as the guys stopped and turned to look at me.
"Why are you here?" Jacen asked.
"Visiting Skylar," I replied.
Ashton glanced at the guards. "How'd you get in?"
"Cameron got them to let me in."
They stared at me blankly.
Correction, fake blankly.
"You know, Skylar's boyfriend," I said pointedly.
"You know?" Ashton asked. Jacen, apparently having lost interest in the conversation, wandered away.
I raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't exactly hard." I glanced at Jacen, who had taken a seat in the corner. "I thought you hated him." Even though you guys are freakishly alike.
"I'm supposed to babysit him for Keira," Ashton grumbled. "Is Cameron still with Skylar?"
I nodded. "They were making out when I left."
"Go sit beside Jacen," he said, with a slight grimace. "I still need to talk to you." Then, without waiting for my reply, walked down the hall. The guards didn't try to stop him, apparently already knowing who he was.
I chewed on my lip, debating whether or not I should actually listen to Ashton and stay, or just go. I wanted to know what he wanted to talk about, but I didn't particularly feel like sitting with Jacen until he got back. In the end, curiosity won out.
Like it usually does.
I sighed and took a seat next to Jacen, who was tapping away on his phone. He looked up. "Talk, huh? Looks like things are getting serious."
And just my luck. Jacen was being the jackass version of himself, and his mocking tone was seriously making me reconsider my decision to stay.
"Shut up." I didn't have the energy to think of anything more creative. "At least I don't need to be babysat."
He snorted, the comment not affecting him like I thought it would, and didn't reply. For once, I wasn't really bothered by the lack of response; I was too busy wondering whether or not the boy sitting next to me had possibly killed someone. And almost killed Skylar. And tried to drown me.
I studied him for a moment. He didn't look capable of murder, but I didn't know Jacen that well. Maybe not even at all. Some days, he was nice, and I almost even liked him. Other days, he was just a complete and total ass.
A flurry of commotion at the entrance made me stop and look away. A group of doctors wheeling a stretcher, and several machines and trays walked into the room, most of them shouting at each other.
"She's not responding," one of the doctors yelled. "She's comatose."
Jacen looked up from his phone. "I know her," he said, then looked back down, as if someone being comatose was no big deal.
I stood, trying to look past the doctors to see who was on the stretcher. I got glimpses of pale skin and light hair. The girl looked familiar, but I couldn't place her with a mask over her face and a multitude of doctors and machines around her.
"Who was that?" I asked Jacen, sitting back down.
He didn't look up. "Olivia Tunclet. Ashton's old girl."
-- ♡ --
Cameron Sullivan ---->
Teaser: "Jenna Tunclet's one of your patients, right?" I asked. He gave me a suspicious look, but nodded slowly. "Do you know what happened to her sister?"
PS. This chapter's awful, but I promised I'd update early. I'll edit this later. :3