Sin Ten

Sunday morning greeted me with a light rainstorm, warm wool socks, a fresh cup of coffee, and an extremely hungover roomie that could only moan and groan as she rolled over in her bed.

Lex had given us both a ride home from the party, risking his interior for Jade. It was very thoughtful because she had spent the last hour vomiting in the toilet upstairs at a frat house. In a classy way, of course.

Gratefully, Lex didn't take the time to drill me on the strange man at the party, either. Other than his original inquisitiveness and a little bit of irritation when I shook Trent's hand, he seemed to be regular Lex for the rest of the night. The exchange wasn't brought up again.

Rolling over to face me, Jade croaked a vow, "I'm never drinking again."

"Singing my song from freshman year, Jade. You should pay me royalties for that one."

She furrowed her brow and brought her blanket up to just below her eyes. "How did we get home last night? I don't remember."

"Lex brought us. He also got you the water and ibuprofen that's on the side table next to you. I should probably make you some toast or something if you're going to take it, though."

She opened one eye tentatively, seeming pleased to find that the overcast sky only cast a soft light into the room. I was writing an email to Lenore on my laptop and hadn't turned the light on just yet. "Lexington? Lexington brought us home? LEXINGTON WAS IN OUR ROOM?!"

Her hangover didn't seem to steal any of her rage or might. Gotta admire that.

"Did you miss the list of favors that I just gave you which he did for you?"

"He's bad news, Ellie. I've told you this. I don't need his favors."

"Well you would be waking up in a frat house right now without them, so you might wanna check the attitude. Why do you keep saying he's bad news? Is there a story or something that I should be aware of?"

She opened both of her eyes to glare at me from her deathbed, seemingly taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "To be fair, they're rumors. I don't know anything about him personally but he's become some of the campus lore in and of himself. I don't know what stories are true and what aren't, but the rumors going around aren't nice."

I paused, remembering my own experience with rumors before spitting back, "Are rumors ever nice?"

Noticing the venom in my tone, Jade removed her claws from the next statement, "I just like you, Ellie, and this campus has some shit - and with that girl getting attacked here at the beginning of the year… we're all a little on edge. Ya know?"

My fingers froze on my keyboard while I took a steadying breath. "Yeah, I think I heard something about that. What happened, exactly?"

"Well, exactly, no one really knows. She was a sweet girl. In my department, actually - a fashion major. She was good friends with Andi, too. No one has come forward with any details about where she went or what she was doing out. No one is admitting to dating her or anything. All we know is that she was found behind Kresky Hall, badly beaten. I think she's still in a coma."

I swallowed hard past a lump in my throat. "That's horrible. Were there any frat parties or anything going on that night?"

Finally sitting up from her bed, Jade walked to the kitchenette and popped a piece of bread into the toaster before walking back and picking up the ibuprofen and water on her side table. "I'm not sure, but I don't remember anything like that being associated with the attack. It was a while ago now. I know the sororities were questioned. It was during rush week and everyone assumed it was a hazing incident."

I pondered my next question carefully. Not wanting to seem too interested I feigned interest in my laptop for a beat. "What about that secret society? Is that just a rumor?"

Jade paused, looking at me thoughtfully while the silence seemed to expand, wrapping around us like a lilting melody until her bread in the toaster popped up making us both jump in surprise. We both gave a nervous chuckle. "The secret society thing kinda gives me the creeps. It might not if it were a well-discussed rumor - but it's something everyone wonders about but no one will talk about it. It's like a dirty secret." She took a moment to butter her toast before turning to me. "Ellie, I don't know if it's real, or fake, but there's a reason no one talks about it. Be really careful bringing it up with anyone else."

A chill ran up my spine at that moment because I certainly knew something about the secret society, and Jade isn't the only person I had brought it up to. It was also a topic I had brought up with Lex.

Everything I know about the man screams for me to be extremely careful in his presence, but my gut is saying otherwise. My entire body sings when he's near me. There's a connection between us that goes beyond chemistry, but I don't know if I should trust it. I don't know if I should trust him.

Jade finished her toast before excusing herself to take a bath. She has puke in her hair, so it's a necessity at the top of her list. I finished working on my email to Lenore. I wasn't able to schedule a private room for a phone call until later this week, so we agreed to stick to emails while we covered our bases. I wrapped it up and sent it her way, making sure to outline the weird conversation I had just had with my roomie.

Len,

I only have a couple of new developments on my end. I haven't had the chance to check into the reporter on the news piece just yet. I've had an exciting weekend of recon and alcohol.

One thing to bring up is that Trent is here. You may remember him in such films as How my Highschool Became my Hell, What's wrong with Genvieve, and How the Rumor Stole my Sophomore Year.

Yes, I saw him. Yes, he recognized me. Yes, he made a scene, and no I don't know how much damage he's done to my investigation thus far. He also knew who my sister was, so I had to be careful. My best bet is to try to avoid him.

I met some more people at the frat. Unfortunately for them I definitely can't take them off of my suspect list just yet. They seem like nice guys but I can't trust them, and I haven't found out enough information to keep them out of the suspect pool.

My roommate and I just finished talking about Renee's case. Thankfully she brought it up in passing so I didn't have to arouse suspicion by being the one to broach the topic. She said that the sororities were suspects due to the fact that it was during rush week - which means I should probably look into the female side of the Greek system a bit further. Which Brooklyn (Lex's sister) is a big part of.

Also, my roommate and I had a super uncomfortable exchange about both Lexington and the Secret Society. She thinks Lex is essentially the devil and if I bring up the secret society I'm going to end up 'sleeping with the fishes or something. I'm obviously being dramatic a little bit here, but the hesitance she showed in talking about the society undoubtedly made me uncomfortable.

Either way, that's my update. What's yours?

I switched over to my 2120 reading and pulled out my highlighters and colored sticky tabs. I'm known to be meticulous in how I arrange my studies. Some might say obsessive and they aren't wrong.

I find that highlighting and using color-coded sticky tabs that correlate with my super impeccable outlines from my class notes to be the perfect way to keep everything in place and controlled. It's calming for me for some reason. I'm not sure if that reason is that I like pretty colors, I really like studying, or maybe I just really like the way the highlighter sounds as I pull it across the pages. Either way, it takes me away from the email to Lenore, the conversation with my roommate, and the lingering weirdness from last night's party. About two hours and six chapters later, I hear a ping hit my inbox. It's Lenore.

Hey Sexy Biatch,

Updates on my end are few. I asked Jamie to keep me posted on his research for his article, and told him to text me immediately with any mention of Sin Society. I'm a little more interested in your updates, however. I've already added them to my notes - but some of this information is making me more than a little uneasy.

First things first, I am super nervous about Trent and the possible implications of him being present there. Not only is he clearly at the top of the suspect list since your sister personally made the rest of his high school existence awful - and you did by default. If he is the one guilty, this would immediately put you in the crosshairs. Not to mention the fact that if he blows your cover to anyone else you're going to be a target for whoever is responsible. Plus, wasn't he basically obsessed with you?

Aside from the obvious issues, I know that Trent and what he did to you had a lot to do with some of your….challenges and how you deal with stress. I want an immediate promise that if you feel yourself slipping into old habits or you start feeling out of control - you call me immediately. This situation is hard enough as it is without that concern hanging over your head. Have you told your mother about this yet? I love you and just don't want you to forget that even with Renee in the hospital, you have a support system.

Onto Sin Society, be careful digging around - but keep trying to integrate with the in-crowd. The one thing I gleaned from Jamie's research for his article is that a big part of getting invited to a secret society is who you know and how valuable you'll be to them in the long run. Start name-dropping where you can. Doesn't even have to be legitimate connections and make sure you won't be figured out if that's the case.

Do you want me to come out over fall break? Are you spending time with your parents? I've got miles on my Amex. Lemme know, boo.

Love you! Let's have a call on Thursday if that works.

Xoxo

Len

After reading through Lenore's thoughts I had to face some tough truths I hadn't considered. College is stressful on its own and I keep piling things on. Renee is in the hospital, my parents are being shit heels, I'm keeping up with a secret identity in a new place, and my support system is across the country. Now, with Trent and his bullshit bubbling to the surface like a bloated corpse, it's extra important that I keep on top of myself.

I know that I've made some huge strides since I got out of treatment a year and a half ago, but my ability to compartmentalize only goes so far. Doubt is starting to slowly trickle in like an insidious fog wrapping my mind.

I close my laptop, put my materials on my desk and pull my running shoes from the closet. The day is still dreary but the rain has long since subsided. It's perfect for a hoodie and a run. After lacing up my trainers, I grab my phone and my headphones and head for the door - hoping that a little solitude is all I need to get my mind right.