Page 10 of Half Truths (Secret Society 1)
On the way to my apartment, Hailey made it a point to tell me all about the buildings we walked in front of.
“This is the beginning of Millionaire’s Row,” she stated as we crossed the street.
“Oh. This is where I live.” I turned around in a full circle. “Let’s just walk the whole thing. Once I see my building, I’ll know. I think I made a left at this light when I left earlier.”
“How’d you come to live here?” She eyed me sideways.
“My dad owns one of these buildings.” I paused, feeling like a privileged asshole again and added, “He bought the land forever ago and built it during the recession.”
“Interesting. So he lets you live here for free? No rent owed or anything?”
“No rent owed. I mean, unless you consider getting a degree in a major I don’t want rent owed.”
“I guess. Still, you’re a lucky girl.” She shrugged a shoulder. “A lot of the hockey players live here too.”
“Do you make it a habit of going to their apartments?” I shot her a wry look.
“No.” She blushed deeply. “I just . . . I’ve seen them around here.” She bit her lip and paused briefly. “I hooked up with one of them. It was a long time ago and honestly, I wanted to hook up with his roommate, not him, but whatever. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t hook up with the roommate.” She glanced away quickly. “Anyway, the cloaked people meet around here sometimes too.”
“Cloaked people?”
“Yeah, some of the societies walk around wearing cloaks. Some red cloaks, some black cloaks, depending on which you belong to.”
“Isn’t that . . . attention calling?” I frowned. “Another thing that doesn’t seem secretive at all.”
“You don’t get it,” she said. “The fact is, they’re part of this world that nobody is allowed to unless they’re invited. No one is going to look and try to see who’s behind it.”
“I guess.” I slowed down when we got to my apartment building. “You seem to know a lot of information about these secret groups.”
“Like I said, I’m nosey.”
“You want to come up?” I nodded toward my building.
“Um.” She glanced up and down the sidewalk. “Not today.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, raincheck. I should probably make sure all my things are ready for class tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks for walking me.”
“Sure.” She smiled. “And be careful out there. Especially around here. You never know who’s watching you.”
My heart seemed to stop beating as she walked away. Why would she say that? Who would be watching me? The cloaked figures? I thought of Lana and where her investigating may or may not have landed her. A shiver rolled through me. I’d tread carefully in search of truth.
Chapter Four
I was at the library, trying to see what else I could find about Lana, when I decided to search the newspaper archives for my brother’s accident. It took a lot of scrolling, but when I finally found it, it wasn’t front and center, the way I’d expected. It was an article on page two. Page two. The story front and center was of the new hospital that was affiliated with the university and was on the other side of town. On the right of that, there was a small picture you could barely make out, with the words “Mexican Business Man’s Son Involved in Car Wreck”—page 2. They’d reduced both my father’s accomplishments and my brother’s life-altering accident into a short, boring headline and a page two article.
“This is bullshit.”
“Shh.”
My attention whipped to the person beside me. I was full-on ready to tell her to go to hell when I remembered where I was. I cringed and mouthed an I’m sorry instead before going back to the archives. Reading the article with the lack of facts and details made me even more frustrated than I was when I started, so I decided to quit while I was ahead. I’d come back to this tomorrow. For now, I’d promised Hailey I would swing by The Bar tonight, so I packed my things up and headed there instead.
* * *
“What’s your poison?” Hailey asked from across the bar.
“Honestly? I don’t really have one.”
“Come on, Mae.” She cocked her head, giving me a look. “Even girls that look like Cher from Clueless have a weakness.”
“First of all, I’m brown.” I raised an eyebrow. “So if I had to look like anyone from Clueless, it would be her friend with the braids.”
With a naturally olive complexion and dark features, I was closer to that than Cher. Despite the fact that most of my life I kind of wished I was a blonde girl from the valley, I’d grown to accept my natural tan and almond-shaped eyes and more importantly, be proud of my Mexican roots. My mother was French, but the only thing I seemed to get from her was her height and haughty attitude. Everything else, I got from my handsome father. Most of the Bastón kids did, except for Lincoln, who had my mother’s green eyes and fine features. Features he often broke on the ice playing hockey and off the ice getting into fights.
