Page 99 of Colton

I’ve been trying to reach Avalon the entire day. She texted me to say she’s doing okay and will call me when she’s ready. And, of course, in true Avalon fashion, she even apologized. How many times do I have to tell her not to apologize to me for anything?

My worry hasn’t lessened, though. All I can think about is Avalon, and how terribly she must be doing. I’m sitting in my office, the paperwork long forgotten, and a glass of whiskey in my hand. I’ve been drinking since Sophia left my office, and I don’t know what to do.

“I’m here,” Artemis enters, then closes the door. Her expression tells me nothing, but news travels fast around this place, and although she’s not the one to pay much attention to gossip, I highly doubt this hasn’t reached her ears. “What do you need me to do?”

“You promised you’d find the owner of the website.”

I don’t raise my voice — I don’t need to. The statement is absolute, and for a moment, I think she flinches. She steps closer into the room, shrugging off her leather jacket, tossing it over the chair where she takes a seat right after, then reaches for the bottle of whiskey. She doesn’t take a glass, and merely sips from the bottle, taking a big swing.

“It’s so difficult,” she says with a small exasperated sigh. “No matter who I threatened, where I looked, or who I bribed, no one seems to have a name to give me. The people who are involved have no idea who the actual Sinners and Saints person is, and at this point, it’s a ghost chase.”

“That’s not good enough,” I say, my teeth clenched together. “How could someone evade you? You pride yourself on your ability to find a needle in a haystack, yet you can’t do this?”

“It’s not that simple!” She defends. “Whoever it is, they have such a tight security wall around the damned website, it’s next to impossible to get the exact coordinates of the dorm where it mostly operates. Sophia let it slip and told me there’s a hidden room, which I found, but by the time I was there, absolute crickets.”

“Are you telling me you won’t be able to find who this is? The same person who broke into Maxwell’s house, his safe, and found every piece of information I needed?”

“You’re not listening to me,” she says with a huff. “It was easy to break into a house when I knew whose house to break into!” Her voice starts rising, and my brow twitches in irritation. “Look, I’ll find out who it is, but you need to calm down.”

“I’m calm.”

Artemis lifts a brow. “If you grip that glass any tighter, it’ll break in your hand. I get it, this will end up terribly for you, but—”

I cut her off before she can finish that sentence. “I don’t care about what happens to me,” I say, my voice low. “It’s about how this will affect Avalon. She’ll have to come back to the Academy to get her diploma, and she’ll be forced to be scrutinized by students and employees alike. I’m doing all of this for her sake.”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” she says, then takes another swing of the whiskey. “Cover for me at the academy, and I’ll go back home. I have more resources there, anyway. We’ll figure it out.”

I feel like a sitting duck. The worry is gnawing at me, and it’s making me unable to think clearly. I never knew it would be possible for my brain to be this fucking useless, especially in such a dire situation.

With a wave of my hand, I dismiss Artemis. “Go, and return with results.”

“I will,” she nods, the confidence returning, and somehow, it makes me slightly more at ease. It’s not enough to undo the myriad of emotions inside of me, but it’s something. Avalon won’t need someone as ineffective as me right now. She needs to know that someone’s in her corner, and I’ll always be.

Artemis leaves the office, and the scent of whiskey lingers in the air. I take off my glasses, rub my eyes, and feel a headache coming on strong. And when I finally start to get my act together, a simple text message is enough to throw me off track.

‘My office, tonight.’

The headmaster of the Academy changes with each generation. Mainly, the five families take turns, and right now, the headmaster is Steven Elsher, Clyde’s father.

The man rarely spends any time at the Academy itself, perhaps four weeks in total over the course of one academic year. Unless something happens that requires the board to come together, he doesn’t bother with smaller issues. It’s me who’s handling everything, and to be frank, I’m severely underpaid for everything I’ve been doing.

However, given the fact that he’s here right now, and that he’s commanding me to see him, I can only imagine how angry he must be feeling for everything that’s happening. This would be the second scandal this school year involving a staff member and a student, which damages the school’s reputation.

Fuck, this is just what I needed right now.

An old man with an ego the size of this Academy telling me every day he’s disappointed in my leadership skills. The man never yells or screams, but isn’t shy about openly insulting those he deems beneath him, and I’ve no doubt he’ll try to use his subtle words to go after Avalon, too.

Well, he can certainly try.

But I’m not messing around when it comes to Avalon, and if he so much as tries to suggest she take the fall for all of this, his dirty laundry will be aired. Unfortunately for him, I know way too much. He’d be a fool to risk such sensitive information leaking to the public, which would ruin his reputation, too.

Now, all I can do is sit around and wait until tonight. Because within the next few days, I’m going to Avalon, and I’m bringing her back.

38

“Come on, Ava,” Mom sighs. “You need to eat something, sweetheart.”

She sits beside me at the kitchen counter, slowly taking my hand in hers, and giving it a firm squeeze. She’s been asking why the hell I’ve come home earlier than anticipated, and what had happened, but I’ve not been able to bring myself to admit it.