Chapter 13

The silence in the office after Sabrina’s plea was heavy.

Like a luxurious curtain, deceptively soft but suffocating when it fell upon Kendall.

Her heart rattled in her chest as her mouth went dry, her body frozen in place as all eyes shifted to her. The accusation hung in the air, unspoken but deafening.

She swallowed. “I… didn’t ask her to do anything…” Her voice was too weak to sound believable.

Sabrina gasped, soft and wounded. “Ken. You said you’d admit it. You promised.”

Kendall’s eyes shot nervously between Sabrina and her father. “What? Me?”

“Yes,” said Sabrina, her voice soft, her eyes glimmering with sadness and betrayal. “You said you felt trapped, like you were in a prison. You begged me to talk to the Headmaster because you couldn’t stand being cooped up anymore. I begged you to make do with the campus mall, but you said it was beneath you to share your space with the other kids.”

Kendall felt like she’d been thrown into a dream. No, more like a play she’d never auditioned for. A play with a very twisted script, one where her lines weren’t enough to salvage her remaining dignity.

Kendall looked to the Headmaster, who wouldn’t meet her eyes, and then to Mr Sinclair. His expression remained unreadable, but his gaze on her was sharp, assessing.

Kendall was stunned. Forget that he’d saved her, she still didn’t know this man. He was a stranger, so why on earth did his blatant displeasure affect her so deeply?

He didn’t need to yell. He didn’t even need to speak. The weight of his disappointment crushed her without a word.

Sighing, Sabrina gently took Kendall’s hand, holding it in hers.

“Kendall has high standards, Dad,” she softly explained. “So, please understand her. She can’t hang out with just any other kids, they make her uncomfortable. She’s my best friend, and she needed my help to get out and have some fun, so I helped her. I just… didn’t want her to hate me.”

“You didn’t want her to hate you?” Lucien questioned, narrowing his eyes. “Sabrina, you’ve broken the rules of the school.”

Sabrina bit her bottom lip. “But… Kendall says those rules don’t apply to kids like us. She said they’re for poorer schools. And I believe her.”

Waves of horror washed constantly over Kendall as she felt more and more trapped in her own body. Heat filled the inside of her uniform, making her skin prickle.

Sabrina’s hand in hers felt like a handcuff and a gag at the same time. She couldn’t move away, but she couldn’t seem to speak up either.

How could Sabrina throw her under the bus like this? Kendall had trusted her. She’d never imagined that Sabrina would pin everything on her.

“You will never step foot out of this campus during school hours again,” Lucien muttered furiously. “I don’t care if it’s class time or not, you remain on campus. For all future excursions, you will not go unless I give my permission.”

Sabrina gasped. “Dad—”

“Sabrina. Don’t make me cancel your cards.”

Fear slithered into her eyes. Immediately subdued, she stilled. “I’m sorry, Daddy. It won’t happen again.”

Her father stared at her with narrowed eyes for a long while, and Sabrina put on her most innocent expression.

Lucien finally stood up, and Kendall felt the shift in the air again. It grew colder, heavier. He looked at Sabrina first, gave her a final glance of sharp disapproval, but said nothing. Then he turned his head slowly to Kendall.

His eyes held no anger. Just silence.

And in that silence, Kendall felt her composure crumble. Because the lack of blame was worse than the blame. The unspoken judgment. The silent confirmation that he believed it. All of it.

He turned to the Headmaster. “I trust you’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes, Mr. Sinc-c-clair,” the man stammered.

Lucien walked toward the door, his coat flaring slightly behind him. He didn’t look at Kendall again.

And just like that, he was gone.

The door shut behind him.

And that was Kendall’s second time meeting Lucien Sinclair.

The Headmaster cleared his throat. “Ms. McCarthy, we’ll speak privately.”

She nodded slowly, barely hearing him over the sound of her pulse. Righting his suit, the man rushed out after Lucien to give him a respectful send-off.

The door shut, and they were left alone.

Sabrina instantly released a giant sigh of relief. “Oh, my gosh! Thank goodness!”

Kendall turned to her, but before she could even say a word, Sabrina surged toward her and snatched her into a tight embrace.

“Oh, my gosh, Ken! Thank you so much!”

Her sense of betrayal was instantly woven through by confusion, and Kendall stood stiffly in Sabrina’s arms.

Pulling away, Sabrina looked at her with teary-eyed gratitude. “Thank you so much, Kendall. You literally just saved me!”

Kendall stared at her. “Why… why did you tell them I made you do it?”

Sighing, Sabrina shook her head. “It was the only way to make sure my dad didn’t punish us both. Especially you. I needed to show him that we were both remorseful, so he wouldn’t come after you. I’m just so grateful you let it slide.”

Kendall frowned in puzzlement. “How? I don’t get it—”

“Don’t worry about it, Ken!” Sabrina said with a cute bounce. “I mean, we won’t be able to go out anymore, but at least we won’t get punished by my dad. Aren’t you happy?”

Staring into the grey eyes before her, Kendall sighed. “I guess.”

“Yaay!” Sabrina hugged her again. “I’m so grateful to have you as a friend, Ken. I knew you’d understand, you always do. That’s why you’re my only friend.”

Being held in the warm embrace of the only friend she’d ever successfully made, Kendall felt herself slowly melt into the hug.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around Sabrina.

It was okay, wasn’t it? Sabrina hadn’t had a choice. She’d had to do it to protect them both. The thought deeply comforted Kendall, and she even sympathised with Sabrina for having such a frightening man as a father.

Kendall hadn’t had a clue, at the time, just how often this would repeat itself. How deeply she would become…

Entangled.

Not just in Sabrina’s stories. But in the guilt. The need to be understood. The irrational fear of losing the only person who claimed to care about her and called her a friend.

Later, she'd replay this hug in her mind a hundred times, wondering why it felt like safety… when it had been a noose.