Echoes (Dance with My Demons #2)

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Avery

The three of us head back upstairs, joining the tail end of the crowd as guards start leading everyone away to classes.

People glance back at us, me flanked by Theo on one side and Grey on the other—disbelief, confusion and fucking dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Someone will come fetch you this evening," I hear Grey say to Theo as we're separated by the guards.

"See you later, Avery," he says to me, ignoring Grey, giving my hand a quick squeeze.

I watch as a dozen students head into a nearby classroom with Theo while Grey stays by my side quietly.

"Ready?" he asks, nodding his head toward Charmaine inside the room.

I nod, waiting as Theo disappears from sight. "Let's go."

Class goes oddly quick, mainly because Grey can't take his eyes off me the entire time. He winks at me, giving me boyish grins, and it feels like my worlds have started to collide in the best way possible.

I think I have emotional whiplash but it's worth it.

When the bell goes for free time, Grey launches himself from his chair, offering me his hand.

"I know you probably want to go see him, but I really need you to come to the library with me," he says.

The thought and consideration from him touches me and knowing I'll be able to see Theo tonight, puts me a little at ease. I nod, grabbing his hand as we leave the classroom last behind everyone else.

Entering the library, I'm immediately hit with the smell of lemons and bleach. A few familiar faces are hanging by the tables and I glance at the shelves, noticing the usual dust is gone.

"Hey… the library has been cleaned," I gawk in amusement.

Grey grins at me. "I organized it. They did a good job."

"Who did?" I laugh, knowing full well that the Lilydale staff wouldn't have bothered.

He nods his head toward a few people in the back. "Leighton and a couple of others. We decided to give it a clean for tonight. Who knows what's on the floor ?"

My cheeks blush as he looks at me knowingly. I playfully slap his arm, laughing as we join the others.

"Satisfied?" Leighton asks Grey. "We even managed to do the carpet."

I gaze down, noticing how much brighter the floor looks. I spare a quick thought for whoever was tasked with that, particularly since the aisles have definitely seen some things…

"It's good," Grey nods. "Food will be set up at nine sharp. Make sure to add another chair to the table tonight. We'll have a newcomer attending."

They appear surprised but don't ask questions. Damon is nowhere to be seen, so, naturally Grey takes charge, dishing out orders for tonight's meeting. It's surreal seeing it in action after only ever seeing it already set up.

The group works together confirming plans, assigning roles, and by the time free time is finished, I'm actually excited.

Stepping out of the library, I'm mid-laugh at one of Grey's jokes when his face darkens. I pause, following his line of vision to find Mr. Whittingham waiting by the hall entrance doors.

"Ms. White," he drawls out with a sneer. "You failed to return to my office."

Grey steps closer to me, shadowing my body. "Fuck off, Arthur. She's not your slave."

"She's my student," Whittingham snaps back. "And how I choose to discipline them is none of your concern, Hawthorne."

I cringe at the word student , hating the way it rolls off his tongue. It's an insult to everyone here. We know what we are, but his words are a stark reminder that we are nothing more than dollar signs to him.

"You won't be disciplining her ever again," Grey warns. "This ends now."

Mr. Whittingham's gaze shoots over to me, anger flashing in his eyes. I can see the realization in his gaze, his stipulations and warnings having gone unnoticed.

"You can keep away from that crowd you seem to have grown attached to. Otherwise, I'll ensure they are promptly removed from Lilydale as well."

"We'll see about that," he snarls at Grey.

I reach up and grab Grey's arm when I notice him start to shake from rage. My movement catches the attention of Whittingham, who looks at my hand with a scowl. He doesn't say anything, turning around, and disappearing in the direction of his office.

"Fuck," I whisper, gazing up at Grey. "What do we do?"

He relaxes, the dark demeanor vanishing instantly. Smiling down at me, he turns around to face me. "Nothing. It's just an empty threat, babe. Don't let it bother you."

Clutching my hand, he pulls me into the hall as students sit down for dinner. I spot Damon at his usual table, immediately giving Grey a brisk nod when their eyes meet.

Despite his reassurances, I can't help but feel like it's not an empty threat.

Sure, Mr. Whittingham doesn't have the power when it comes to them. But they can't protect me twenty-four-seven.

And inside, I have the niggling suspicion that we've just started a war.

I walk into the library, hand-in-hand with Grey, my eyes immediately scanning the Cirque des Morts crowd for obsidian eyes. Frowning, I look at Grey when I don't find Theo.

"He'll be here," he mutters quietly to me, giving me a smile. "We're just a little early."

I return the smile, looking around until my eyes land on Damon in the corner. He's talking heatedly with Jillian, who looks uneasy.

The two of them glance over at us as we approach, their conversation dying off. Damon gives her a final nod before Jillian sighs, heading off to join a crowd of people near the food table.

"What was that about?" Grey asks warmly.

Damon's gaze flickers to me for a brief second before returning to his second-in-command. "Capello. It didn't go as planned."

"Vivian is vulnerable right now," I interject, feeling sorry for the girl.

Sure—she's made my life hell ever since I arrived. Her piece of shit boyfriend assaulted me, she stole my file and plastered it around the hall to expose me… but still, despite it, I feel a little bit sorry for her.

"That's called the consequence of her own actions," Damon answers. "Perhaps if people listened the first time, they wouldn't make stupid mistakes."

"I know," I say in agreement, nodding. "I don't forgive her for what she did. But we're all facing battles here. And that's exacerbated by her boyfriend's death now."

My eyes shoot heatedly over to Grey, who looks at me with innocence.

"What?" he mouths.

I shake my head. "You know what," I snipe back.

Damon watches our exchange closely. "You told her."

It's not a question, just a definitive observation. Grey nods casually at him.

"Oops," he offers unapologetically.

Damon shakes his head, suddenly pausing to look behind us. His face drops as his eyes darken slightly. I instinctively turn around to see what has his attention, face lighting up when I spot Theo entering the library with Jemison.

"Hey," I say brightly when he reaches us.

"Hey, you," he answers, giving me a brief smile before glaring at Damon.

My heart races nervously. Did Grey clear this with Damon beforehand? I have to assume so, but then again, I never see it coming what they do next.

"Ashwood," Damon greets lazily with a sneer. "I see that you are joining us this evening."

I quickly look at Grey for reassurance, noticing the smirk on his face.

Still can't fucking tell…

"You knew, right?" I ask Damon, unable to help myself.

His light green eyes flicker over to me. "Obviously."

I let out a sigh of relief—even though it might only be temporary. We still have the whole evening to deal with. I can already see the other members of the society looking at us curiously. While it's now been confirmed that Damon knew in advance, it's clear that they didn't.

"Is this some fancy tea party or something?" Theo murmurs lowly, eyes scanning over the set-up.

The usual curtains have blocked the aisles, and I still remember my confusion and bewilderment the first time I attended a meeting. I'm not sure what's going to be more awkward—the meeting itself or the afterparty.

"Funny," Damon spits out, giving Grey a knowing look. "Take a seat at the table. We're about to begin."

Grey leans down to whisper in my ear. "Sit next to me. Ashwood can sit on your right."

I nod, turning to Theo. "I'll take you over."

Grabbing Theo's hand, I lead him over to the long table, sitting down. He takes a seat next to me, glancing around with a blank expression.

"They really do have control, don't they?" he muses quietly so only I can hear.

I pivot my body to face him, lowering my voice. "Yeah. It's a bit crazy."

"Crazy is what we all do best," he says. "Explains a lot."

A smile appears on my face at his blasé attitude. If anyone is going to be unimpressed or unthreatened by the situation, it would be Theo.

"Everything here is confidential," I relay, stating the obvious. "I'm not sure why they wanted you to come, but let's just roll with it."

Theo looks at me, eyes flashing. "You, Avery. It's because of you."

"I…" Pausing, I shake my head. "I'm sure that's not the only reason."

"You're the reason, Avery. For all of us."

"What do you mean?" I breathe out.

He leans down, brushing his lips against my ear. "You're my only reason for anything. And I think you're theirs, as well."

Snapping back, I gaze at him shocked. "Definitely not. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. We've just unfortunately found ourselves in the midst of it."

Theo smirks at me. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

Before I can respond, Grey brushes against my left side as he sits down, reaching under the table to grip my thigh.

"What are you talking about?" he asks curiously, but with a hint of demand.

I swing my head to look at him. "You," I tease.

His eyes narrow in suspicion but he doesn't say anything as Damon takes his position at the head of the table.

"There's no time to fuck around with pleasantries today," he starts with a frustrated tone. "To address the elephant in the room, we have a new guest."

All eyes fall onto Theo, followed by me. I can practically hear their thoughts, wondering what the hell is going on. One minute I was banished because of my involvement with Theo, then I came back, fighting with Grey for all to see, and now I'm here again—with both of them. As usual though, no one questions Damon's decisions, eventually ripping their attention away from us back to the man at the end of the table.

"Whittingham is doubling down, as are the other staff members," he sneers. "We've also made contact with Hallman's replacement who is not cooperating."

"Not cooperating?" Byrone asks. "How so?"

Grey laughs. "Someone else got to him first."

My eyebrows furrow as I try to keep up with the information. I haven't run into the newcomer yet, and while I'm not surprised Damon has met him, I'm baffled as to why someone is already making enemies.

Even in my first week here, I knew immediately who held the power. From the moment I was cornered by Damon, it was obvious that it would be a death wish to defy him. I didn't even know back then what I know now about the society—he just exuded that authority and darkness.

"It's a work in progress," Damon interjects after Grey. "There's about to be some changes around the facility. I do not anticipate it going smoothly."

"Does that affect our plans?" Jillian asks. She looks exhausted, still uneasy and on edge. I have to wonder what happened during her interaction with Vivian to unnerve her.

"No," Damon answers firmly. "We just need to ensure we are two steps ahead. For now, we are going to temporarily pause the grouping system overhaul."

I raise an eyebrow, looking at Grey. I still don't know what the deal is with the system.

"What do you need us to do?" Leighton asks casually, resting his elbow on the table.

"Keep monitoring the cameras and feeds. We need the access points available at all times. Also, bring Rian Thatcher into line. I can't have him messing up any of our plans."

Grey squeezes my thigh under the table, tapping his fingers against my leg. "Also, in the meantime, it's likely that Whittingham is going to continue to try to overpower us. He's still hounding Avery for information and has resorted to extreme measures. If you notice her absence or any unusual behavior with the staff directed at her, report it to us immediately."

Theo snaps his head to his left to look at Grey. "What extreme measures?"

I give him a sheepish look, already sensing his anger. "I'll fill you in with more detail later."

"This is where you come in," Grey mutters at Theo, jaw clenched. "I need you to stay with Avery during free time and keep her out of sight of the staff."

"Easy done," he answers confidently. "And I assume you'll stay with her during class time."

Grey nods. "Jillian, we need you to set up a live stream on Damon's laptop pinpointing the Eastwood and Westwood corridors, as well as Whittingham's office. If possible, we also need a direct link to the rooms underground."

"The morgue?" I ask, baffled.

Next to me, Theo laughs under his breath. Grey narrows his eyes on us, fighting back curses.

"There's other rooms down there as well," he says dryly. "I'm sure Ashwood has seen them."

I blink slowly, trying to figure out what he means. I can't tell if it's a jab or a genuine statement.

Theo nods though. "I've been past them but never inside. It's usually closed off."

"Isn't everything closed off?" I mutter.

Damon scoffs. "Of course. But this is a conversation for another day. We'll meet again in a few days as I expect there will be more developments. Report back to us with any new updates. That is all."

Chairs scrape back on the carpet as people stand, but I remain seated, turning to Grey.

"I thought you said that they were empty threats," I ask with worry.

He grins at me. "I'm sure they are. But let's err on the side of caution for now. Wait here for a moment, I need to talk to Ashwood about something."

I frown, looking over at Theo, who just nods, standing to follow Grey.

They disappear into an aisle, the curtain swinging closed behind them. I realize I'm stuck alone at the table with Damon, who's sitting with his arms folded.

"That was a quick meeting," I mutter, making conversation.

He glances over at me. "Time is irrelevant. It's the topics that matter."

I nod. "I guess so," I say awkwardly. "Do you ever eat or participate in the afterparty?" Tilting my head, I motion toward the food.

Damon cocks an eyebrow at me in amusement. "Is that your way of making conversation or are you genuinely curious?"

"Both," I admit. "You put on these events to reward everyone but I never see you reap the benefits."

He smirks. "You're usually too busy in the aisles to take notice of what I do, Avery."

My cheeks flush and I turn away to look at the wall of black curtains. "That's true. You should unwind though. You seem stressed or something."

"I'm not stressed," he replies. "I'm focused. There's a difference."

"I'm just saying," I smile weakly at him. "Doesn't hurt to look after yourself as well."

Damon shakes his head slowly. "You don't win wars with weakness, Avery."

Before I can answer, Grey stalks out of the aisle, my eyes turning to find him. I watch sadly as I spot Theo heading out behind him, leaving through the library doors.

"Come with me," Grey says, holding out his hand.

I take it, brushing past Damon as I follow. "Where's Theo going?"

He doesn't answer me, instead pulling me into an aisle. It's empty except for us, and he drags me to the end, pushing my body against the wall.

Covering my mouth with his, I kiss him back for a few seconds, before breaking the kiss. "Grey…"

"Ssh," he says, silencing me. "Trust me."