Privilege 3 - Perfect Mistake (3 page)

"It's true," Ariana said, handing Lexa a tissue from the marble counter. "It doesn't seem like it now, but you're going to get through this."

"No. I'm not." Lexa was wide--eyed. A single tear sluiced down her cheek. She wiped it away. "We had all these plans. . . . We were going to spend Christmas in Paris with my parents, spring break volunteering in the Dominican Republic. And what about the Crystal Ball in December? And the spring formal? We were supposed to go together. I had it all planned out."

"So you'll go with someone else," Ariana said decisively. "Someone better."

"Who's better?" Lexa blurted.

Ariana didn't have an answer for that question. For her, there was no one else.

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"I mean . . . did he find someone better?" Lexa asked, pacing toward the bathroom stalls. "Is that what this is about? Did he meet someone over the summer?" She glanced at Ariana, and for a split second, Ariana was sure she was going to accuse her of stealing him out from under her peep--toes. "You were hanging out with him that first night. Did he mention anything? hrxyone?"

"No," Ariana said truthfully. He hadn't, in fact, even mentioned Lexa while he'd been flirting with Ariana.

"Then I don't get it," Lexa said, throwing up her hands. "I thought everything was fine."

"What did he say when he broke up with you?" Brigit asked. "Did he give you a reason?"

"No." Lexa shook her head and shrugged. "That's just it. Not a good one anyway. He said something about the two of us growing apart. He definitely didn't seem that distant the other night when we sneaked down to the boathouse together."

Ariana tasted bile in the back of her throat.

"I can't believe all the things I said to him." Lexa sniffled and looked up at the ceiling. "How much I missed him and how I couldn't wait to see him . . ." She started to cry in earnest. "I feel so stupid."

Ariana's heart went out to Lexa as a pair of sexy, teasing blue eyes flitted through her mind. She knew how it felt to be intimate with a guy one night and be completely dropped by him the next. To have your heart torn out. And Lexa was feeling that way now. It didn't matter that the boy who had hurt her was the boy Ariana wanted. What mattered was that her friend was in pain.

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Maybe she could help. Maybe, if she played it right, she could help heal Lexa's broken heart, help her forget about the guy who'd hurt her. Which would mean she wouldn't care when Palmer moved on to someone else--namely, Ariana.

"Don't feel stupid, Lexa," Ariana said in a soothing voice. "If anything, he's the idiot. You don't need to be with a guy who doesn't appreciate you."

"She's right, Lexa. Boys suck," Brigit said, pulling Lexa into a hug.

Lexa pressed her face into Brigit's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her back. "They so do."

Ariana placed her hand on Lexa's back and moved it around in what she hoped was a comforting way.

"Don't worry. We're here for you," Ariana said. "We'll help you avoid him or trash his room or hook up with his best friend or do whatever it is you want to do to get back at him." Lexa laughed. She turned her face so that she could see Ariana. " There's the Briana Leigh I know and love."

Ariana blinked. She wasn't quite sure how to take that. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing . . . just . . . back when we were little you were always the instigator. The plots, the pranks, the raiding the boys' dorms," Lexa said, grabbing another tissue and giving her nose a quick wipe. "I don't know. Y just seem . . . different. Less . . . crazy. Not that that's a bad thing," she

ou added quickly. "It's just something I noticed."

Ariana's whole body tensed. Damn tliat Briana Leigh and her over--the--top personality. And damn Lexa for being here and knowing that

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Briana Leigh had that personality. If Lexa hadn't been at APH, Ariana could have just been herself and no one would have known the difference.

"I guess that's what losing both parents will do to you," Ariana said in a flat voice, going for the guilt, figuring it would change the subject.

"Your parents are both . . . ?" Brigit's eyes were wide with pity. Ariana looked away.

"Omigod, I'm so sorry. I'd heard about that, but I.. ." Lexa trailed off. "I'm such an idiot. Forget I said anything."

"It's fine." Ariana gave her a small smile as Lexa took a deep breath and moved to the sink to splash her face with water. Her fingers were balled into fists, which she quickly released. "I guess I could loosen up some."

But how the hell was she supposed to do that when she was in love with a guy who basically belonged to Lexa? When she was living in the same room as a manipulative, murderous wench? Before Ariana knew it, her fingernails were digging into her forearm.

"Ana? You okay?" Lexa asked, glancing at Ariana's arm in the mirror.

Ariana cleared her throat and quickly tucked her arms behind her back. "I'm fine," she said. "Loosening up even as we speak."

Liar. But you'd better figure out a way to chill, Ariana, she told herself. Before Lexa starts to get suspicious.

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PERKS

Kaitlynn laughed in her sleep. It was one of the quirks Ariana used to find endearing about her. Precious. Now, as Ariana sat on the edge of her bed in her flimsy, white eyelet nightie, her bare feet flat on the glossy wood--paneled floor, the short laughs and occasional giggles made her tiny arm hairs stand on end. What was the girl dreaming about? What made a conniving, scheming psychopath laugh in her sleep?

Ariana sighed. All she wanted was a normal life. A second chance. To be free of her past and all the mistakes she had made. Free of all the people who had tried to stifle her and tell her what she could and could not have. But Kaitlynn was not going to let that happen. She was going to be here in this dorm room every day making damn sure Ariana was never able to put these things behind her. Never able to move on.

Suddenly, Kaitlynn turned over onto her side, her back now facing

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Ariana. A quick sizzle of possibility raced through Arianas veins. Her fingers reached for the feather pillow at the head of her bed. She had tried to do it once before and failed, but this opportunity was so much more convenient. Kaitlynn was dead asleep, mere footsteps away. All Ariana had to do was bring the pillow down over her face and hold it there. A minute or two of struggle and this could all be over. She could be free.

Her fingernails dug into the five--hundred--thread--count pillow case. Her jaw clenched.

Just do it, Ariana. She deserves it. She deserves it for everything she's done to you. Everything she did to Briana Leigh.

Briana Leigh.

Kaitlynn laughed again, and Arianas grip loosened. She couldn't kill Kaitlynn. Obviously. If "Lillian Oswald" turned up dead, there would be an investigation. It would take the authorities about two seconds to discover that Lillian did not exist. Another two to run Kaitlynn's face through some database and learn who she really was. Two seconds more for them to turn to the roommate and discover her true identity as well.

And then it would all come to light. How Ariana had faked her own death. How she had murdered Briana Leigh Covington and sunk her to the bottom of Lake Page for the authorities to find in her place. How she'd assumed Briana Leigh's identity so she could attend APH. Ariana would be back at the Brenda T. before she could say "guilty as charged."

Ariana sighed. She placed her pillow back where it belonged and

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looked around the broad expanse of her dorm room. There were only four rooms on the top floor of Bella, each with a stunning view out its plate glass windows. Ariana and Kaitlynn's looked out over the campus and the thick green trees surrounding it. Their private suite consisted of a large bedroom, a bathroom, and a lounge area. The bedroom was outfitted with two dressers, two desks, and two walk--in closets. The bathroom boasted both a sunken tub and stall shower, and connected to the quaint lounge on the other side, which contained several bookshelves, a pullout couch, and a small flat--screen television. Each of the other three suites was exactly the same, except that Lexa and Maria had a bay window with a window seat and an unparalleled view of the river. Soomie and Brigit had chosen the room that looked north toward Washington D.C., and Tahira and Allison, Ariana's former roommate, were on the south side, facing the playing fields and gymnasium.

At least Ariana had snagged a better view than those two. Allison had been her roommate at Cornwall Hall during Welcome Week and a bitch to Ariana from day one. When it came to Tahira, Ariana had decided she didn't like the exhibitionist girl the moment she'd met her. The girl was everything Ariana detested--loud, conceited, brash, and braggy. But if Ariana had to live across the hall from her, at least she could take comfort in the fact that she'd be living in a superior room.

Kaitlynn rolled over onto her back and snorted. Ariana's lip curled in disgust. Her fingers curled into tight fists. She had to get out of there before she snapped and did kill the girl. She pushed her feet into

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her cashmere slippers and padded out into the hallway. At the center of the tower was a common--area bathroom, probably built in case the girls didn't want to invite visitors to use their own. Ariana shoved through the door and flipped the light switch. The fluorescents overhead blinked and crackled to life, winking in and out until they finally settled on a weak yellow glow. Apparently this room wasn't used very often. With its cracked ceramic tile and plain white walls, it looked as if it hadn't been renovated in twenty years, unlike the rest of Wolcott, which was updated, freshly painted, and pristine.

Ariana walked to the nearest mirror. She took a good look at herself in the dim half--light and saw the fear reflected in her ice blue eyes. The uncertainty.

"Y can't let her do this to you," Ariana said to herself. Her voice was quiet but firm. She stared into her own eyes and forced the fear out.

ou "You've worked too hard. This is your life. Your life. She can't have a piece of it. You can't let her."

Ariana heard the sound of door hinges squeaking. Her heart vaulted into her throat and she whirled around. There was a creak out in the hall. The unmistakable sound of careful, tiptoeing steps.

Kaitlynn?

The fluorescent lights buzzed and started to wink in and out again. Ariana cursed under her breath. If Kaitlynn was going to stage a sneak attack, she had to be ready. She looked around the unfamiliar room for a weapon, but there was nothing that wasn't nailed down. Soap dispenser, hand dryer, mirror. All bolted to the walls. The footsteps were getting closer. Ariana's eyes fell on the silver garbage can next to

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the sinks. She was just stooping to pick it up, when the door to the bathroom swung wide.

"There you are," Palmer whispered.

Ariana glanced up at him over her shoulder. She realized in a rush how she must look, half stooped over in her short nightgown, one hand tipping back the base of a refuse container.

"I just checked your room and your bed was empty, so I . . ." He paused and squinted at her. "What're you doing?"

It was a fair question.

"I . . . um ... I thought I saw a scrap of tissue sticking out from under the can and I was going to throw it away, but I guess it's just these awful lights playing tricks on me." She carefully replaced the garbage can and stood up. Her fingers felt grimy, so she washed them quickly in the sink, taking a moment to breathe and let her adrenaline subside. "So ... I heard you and Lexa broke up," she said, glancing at Palmer in the mirror.

"Yeah." He stepped closer to her from behind.

His black hair was mussed and product free. He wore a pair of blue oversize cotton shorts with a white running stripe down the side and a wrinkled white T--shirt. His feet were entirely bare. Ariana's skin tingled as she realized he'd sneaked out of bed and risked getting caught, just for her.

"So . . . what're you doing here?" she asked.

Palmer smirked. They both knew exactly what he was doing here. Ariana thought of Lexa. Of how Lexa would have killed for Palmer to

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have made the same effort for her. She felt sorry for the girl and exhilarated to have been chosen over her, all at the same time. Then Palmer closed in and ran his hands down the lengths of her bare arms.

Ariana's heart stopped beating. Screw Lexa. She and Palmer were half--dressed and alone in the middle of the night in an obviously unused room. What Lexa didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Ariana turned around and her hip bones met his. Without hesitation he pulled her into a deep, passionate, searching kiss. Ariana's hands were wet but she buried them in his hair anyway. He pressed her back against the cold ceramic sink, kissing her more and more deeply until her back was arched so far she had to brace her hands on the sink behind her to keep from falling.

Finally he pulled back. His eyes searched hers as if desperate to memorize them. "I've been wanting to do that all night."

Ariana's lips hummed. "Glad you finally did."

Palmer took her hand lightly in his and tugged her toward a small wooden bench near the door. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap sideways, looping his arms casually around her waist, as if this was something they did every day. The familiarity of the gesture made Ariana's heart swell. It was as if they were already an established couple.

"So, what do you think of Privilege House?" he asked with a smirk.

"If this is one of the perks, I like it," she replied.

"Thanks for talking me into keeping my mouth shut earlier," Palmer said, running his hand up and down her thigh. "I don't think

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I could have handled it if the blue team had ended up living here. I might have had to punch something."

Ariana smiled. She had helped him. He appreciated her. "You're welcome," she said.

He reached his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his for another kiss. Before long, sitting sidesaddle across his legs became quite uncomfortable, and Ariana maneuvered around until she was straddling his waist, her knees pressing awkwardly into the hard bench. He tried to adjust himself, to pull her even closer, but her knee banged into the wall behind him. She let out a quiet yelp as pain radiated through her leg.