Page 82 of The Secret Girl (Adamson All-Boys Academy 1)
Two people in hooded sweatshirts attacked me tonight. There was a noose, hanging from a tree. Part of me wants to believe it was all some sort of elaborate prank, but … the rest of me wonders if I just slipped through death's fingers.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Dad asks, and Ranger and I exchange a long look. As if he can sense how tongue-tied I am right now, he turns to my dad and tells his version of the story.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Ranger adds after he finishes, glancing over at me as he lifts his shirt and shows my father the wound on his chest. “But I think the same thing that happened to my sister is happening to your daughter.”
“My daughter?” Dad starts, looking over at me. I cringe and shrug, digging my fingers into the pockets of my baggy pants. He's probably got the wrong idea, but I don't care. Tonight's been … awful. Just awful.
“Yeah, well, my secret may have slipped a bit …” I start, and Archie sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He's got a big, stately Roman nose. I inherited some things from him—namely his stubbornness—but I definitely got most of my facial features from Mom. “But does that really matter? Have you been listening to what we've been saying? Some psychos tried to string me up to a tree.”
“Mr. Woodruff,” Dad says, dropping his hand from his face and sighing. “Could you please step inside for a moment, so I can speak with Charlotte privately?” Ranger's eyes narrow, but he nods briskly and turns away, storming back into the building with his giant combat boots, and his blood-soaked sweater. My heart aches strangely as I look after his retreating back, turning slowly to face my father. All I want right now is a hug from him. From anybody, really. But Archibald Carson is the last person in the world that would ever offer me one. He's just not the touchy-feely type. “I've been speaking to May Emille, the headmistress of Everly Academy.”
My eyes widen, and my lips part.
“You're sending me away?” I choke out, knowing I'm probably being irrational. Dad looks at me in just such a way that there's no doubt about that. My irrationality, that is. He better not be serious about the rest of it.
“She's willing to take you midyear. I've already spoken to the board, and based on the previous incidents, they're willing to transfer the tuition gift that comes with my position from Adamson to Everly.”
“Mom's gone, and now you want to bail on me, too?” I ask, feeling this hot, itchy sensation take over my skin. “I lost all my friends when we moved.” Tears are coming now, but I know they're from more than just this conversation. What happened tonight was totally fucked up. Could it have been just a cruel prank? Sure. But Jenica died at the end of a rope, didn't she? My mortality is looking me straight in the face, and I don't like the way she stares. “Friends I've had my whole life. You dropped me in the middle of some dark forest in Connecticut, and threw me to the wolves.”
“Charlotte,” Dad starts, and there's no sympathy in his voice, just pure frustration. “Based on what you're telling me tonight, it's not safe for you at Adamson. Sending you elsewhere is a given.”
“One of my attackers tonight was a woman!” I snap back, throwing my arms up. I'm just done with this conversation. I guess I'd sort of expected Dad to hug me, tell me he was just glad I was okay, call the police. But not this. “We're at a camp, in the middle of nowhere. Maybe this isn't just an Adamson thing? I'd rather not leave, thank you very much.”
Besides, I've just started making friends with the twins. And … maybe I'm a tad attracted to them. Or Spencer. Or even … well, definitely not Church. No way.
“This isn't a debate, Charlotte,” Dad tells me as I gawp at him.
“I'm not starting all over again,” I blurt, rubbing my hands over my face. “Besides, if this shit can follow me to the middle of the woods, who's to say it won't follow me to Everly?”
“I've heard what you had to say, but I'll be making the final decision,” Archie says, looking up and out across the lake. “Get inside and don't leave the building without me or another teacher beside you. I'm going to talk with Ms. Emille and campus security.”
“Somebody just tried to hang me from a tree limb!” I shout, but Dad remains impassive, grabbing my elbow and steering me inside. He parks me on a chair in the corner, and I'm just too frustrated to say anything else. My hands are shaking, and I'm fuming.
