All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1)(41)

‘A crime? No, that doesn’t make any sense. That wasn’t you. That was your father,’ Nana replied.

‘They thought I had poisoned a boy named Gable Arsley.’

‘Gable Arsley! That sounds like a made-up name. I’ve never heard of such a person.’ Nana waved her hand to dismiss me.

‘He was my boyfriend,’ I said. ‘You met him once.’ I stood to leave. Nana seemed agitated and I didn’t want to end up with another slap across the face.

‘Annie?’ Nana said.

‘Yes.’

‘Did Leo take that job at the Pool?’

I was surprised that she remembered. My grandmother’s mental health was more and more of a puzzle to me. I sat back down. ‘Not yet,’ I replied. ‘We’ve all been kind of occupied here.’

‘Good, good. Because I’ve been thinking about it,’ Nana said. ‘I’m not sure it’s such a great idea.’

As I had nothing better to do, we debated the merits of Leo taking a job at the Pool for a while. No new ground there. Then I really did start to feel tired, so I told Nana I had to go.

‘Have a bar of chocolate, darling,’ Nana said. ‘And be sure to share it with someone you love.’

There was nothing in the world I wanted less than chocolate and I knew the police had confiscated our entire supply anyway. Still, I went into the closet and pretended to retrieve a bar for Nana’s sake.

Friday night, Scarlet was allowed to visit, and this was a welcome distraction. While I appreciated how concerned Imogen, Leo and Natty had been for my health, their solicitude made me feel like an invalid. I needed someone to behave normally around me.

‘So, what’s been happening at Holy Trinity?’ I asked after Scarlet had made herself at home on my bed.

Scarlet laughed. ‘Are you kidding? You’re the only thing that’s been happening. You and Gable.’

‘That’s just great,’ I said.

‘Seriously, it’s all anyone can talk about.’ Scarlet crossed her legs. ‘With my inside information, I’ve basically been the most popular girl in school.’

‘Congratulations.’

‘Yeah, I’m sure I made a lot of lasting friendships in the last nine days,’ Scarlet said. ‘You’ve got a ton of competition now.’

I thanked Scarlet for taking Natty to and from school. And then I thanked her for telling Win to go to his father.

‘Win? I had nothing to do with that. Win went to his father on his own,’ Scarlet said.

‘But you must have had something to do with it,’ I insisted.

‘We talked about you, of course,’ Scarlet said. ‘But he didn’t tell me he was going to his father and I didn’t ask him to. I thought about it – oh, don’t look so surprised, Annie! Your silly best friend does think things through on occasion. I thought about it, but I didn’t do it because I wasn’t sure if it would potentially make things worse for you.’

‘So why did Win do it then? We barely know him.’

Scarlet rolled her eyes. ‘I’m sure you can come up with a reason.’

This was annoying to me. I didn’t like owing Win anything. I especially didn’t like owing Win after the conversation I’d had with his father.

‘Enough with the furrowed brow! It’s not some great mystery. He likes you, Annie. The only thing he wants is his lab partner back. And maybe a thank-you. And maybe a date to Fall Formal.’

I sighed.

‘Oh, poor Annie, the really cute new boy likes her,’ Scarlet teased me. ‘Her life is so, so tragic.’ She flopped dramatically on the bed.

‘I was in a reformatory, you know,’ I reminded her.

‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘I was only teasing you.’ Her big blue eyes filled with tears. It was easy to make Scarlet cry. ‘I’m so sorry about everything that happened to you. It’s really terrible. I can’t even imagine. I was just trying to make you laugh.’

I did laugh. Her expression was sweet and apologetic.

‘When I came in the room, I couldn’t believe how weak you looked. Natty had warned me, but . . . Was it horrible?’ Scarlet asked.

I shrugged. I had no interest in rehashing my time at Liberty for Scarlet or anyone else. ‘I got a tattoo.’ I pushed down my sock and showed her the bar code on my ankle.

‘That is very hard-core,’ Scarlet replied.

I pulled my sock back up. ‘How’s Gable doing?’

‘He’ll live, I guess,’ Scarlet said. ‘Chai Pinter heard that he had to have skin grafts on his face. The Fretoxin made parts of his skin fall off or something.’

‘Oh God.’

‘Well, Chai isn’t always the most reliable source. I don’t even know where she’s getting her information half the time. I think she makes most of this stuff up. What the principal is saying is that Gable won’t be back to school until next term at the earliest. He’s in a rehab facility somewhere upstate,’ Scarlet said. ‘He really did almost die, Annie.’

‘Do you think I should send a card?’ I asked. ‘Or go visit?’

Scarlet shrugged. ‘Gable was horrible. He was horrible to you. And sick Gable is probably even more horrible.’ She shrugged again. ‘But if you must, I suppose I could come with you. You shouldn’t go alone.’