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His eyes are empty. Devoid of kindness, light, of any kind of human warmth – and so dark it’s unsettling. If eyes are supposed to be the window to the soul, Adrian’s soul is looking pretty hollow from where I’m sitting.
People only lie when they have something to hide.
“You’re not like your classmates, are you, Ms. Davis?”
“You know, it doesn’t matter how good your life gets. How far removed you think you are from the past,” she tells me quietly, “When you grow up like we do, some things just stick with you. You learn to see through the bullshit earlier than you probably needed to. And you see people. Especially the ones who are never as nice as they seem.”
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s all just beginning.
“Does anyone know how many calories are in a line of coke? I can’t afford to wreck my diet.”
And he’s got dimples.
His looks, his smile, his wit, his goddamn dimples – they’re meant to be disarming. I realize this now.
Something flashes through his eyes. Excitement or anticipation or – Curiosity. That’s what it is.
“Not right now. You’ve just become the most interesting thing on campus, Poppy Davis.”
I don’t do well being cornered.
“I told you on Friday. You’re the most interesting thing on campus,” he answers easily. “So, I did my research. I wanted to learn more about you.”
But he’s looking at me the same way he did Friday night – like he’s curious.
I think he’s curious about me.
His eyes narrow, his voice lowers. “Right now, I don’t know what I want to do with you, Poppy. You know something you’re not supposed to know.”
“No…but these are my eyes,” he says. “The eyes never lie. Did you know that the human iris is more unique than a fingerprint? All these little patterns and shadows you’ve so accurately drawn here? Those are mine.”
He shuts the door behind him, and it takes exactly ten seconds – one for each fading footstep – to realize that I don’t believe him.
I take a deep breath. I am calm. I am zen.
His smile drops. Because I am not holding a Swim Your Way to Victory, Adrian! sign. There, in big, swirly letters, my sign says: Adrian Ellis is a killer
You wanted to humiliate me, I want to say. Did you think I wouldn’t try to drag you down with me?
But it’s an important lesson – learning to sacrifice.
