Privilege 5 - Pure Sin Read Online Free PDF

floor. Wind whipped through the window across from the open door, where jagged broken edges of glass stuck out in all directions.

    "What happened?" Ariana asked, taking a step into the room. Lexa hovered in the doorway.

    "I wouldn't come any closer, miss," the janitor said over his shoulder. "There're glass shards everywhere."

    "Some freshmen decided to play baseball in the dark. Apparently they didn't know their own strength," Maria said wryly.

    Suddenly one of the shards fell loose from the pane and crashed to the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces.

    "I think . . . I'm going to--" Lexa gasped.

    Ariana turned around. Lexa was as pale as milk. A second later, she fainted dead away.

    "Lexa!" Maria cried, rushing over to her friend. Ariana ran to the bathroom and came back with a cool, wet towel. She placed it on Lexa's forehead. A moment later, her friend's green eyes fluttered open.

    "Kaitlynn?" Lexa croaked, pointing limply to the window, where the janitor was sweeping up the last shards.

    Ariana's heart crashed to her knees. The broken window. The shattered glass. This was how Kaitlynn died. Ariana fought the urge to curse aloud. This was not good. This was very, very not good.

    "She must be disoriented," Ariana said to Maria, who had a panicked look on her face. "Lexa, are you okay?"

    "Lex, what happened?" Maria asked, grabbing her friend's hand.

    Ariana forced herself to breathe. Lexa could not lose it now. She simply couldn't. Not when everything was finally going Ariana's way.

    "Do you have low blood sugar? Y didn't eat very much at dinner," Ariana said before Lexa could answer. She stared at Lexa, silently begging

    ou her friend to keep her mouth shut.

    "I think we should take you to the infirmary," Maria said worriedly. The janitor finished taping up the window and left the three girls alone in the room.

    Slowly the room began to warm up, and color returned to Lexa's face. "No, I'm sure Ana's right." Lexa struggled to sit up. "Besides, I'm fine now. I swear," Lexa said, as Maria opened her mouth to protest.

    Ariana forced a smile for Maria's benefit. The two girls helped Lexa into her bed and pulled the covers up tight around her chin.

    "Are you sure you're okay? I can get you some food or call the nurse," Maria said, laying her hand across Lexa's forehead.

    "Seriously, guys, I'm fine," Lexa said, waving Maria and Ariana away from her. "Thanks, but I just need some sleep."

    "Do you want me to stay?" Ariana said uncertainly, her hand on the doorknob. "Or you could sleep in my room if you're worried about . . . the window."

    Lexa shook her head. "I'm fine. Now shoo!" She closed her eyes and snuggled down on her pillow.

    Ariana hesitated for a long moment and glanced at Maria. Maria shrugged, so Ariana exited, shutting the door quietly behind her. Once in the hallway, she sank to the floor and clutched her arms, drawing blood where her fingernails dug into her skin.

    Sure, Lexa said she was fine. But people who were fine didn't faint at the sight of broken glass. And if Lexa wasn't fine, she could take everything Ariana had fought so hard for away with one ill-timed breakdown. The next morning, Ariana watched from her window as the weak November sun lit the facades of Atherton-Pryce Hall's redbrick buildings. Down below, Maria headed out in gray sweats and a pink fleece jacket, her toe shoes slung over her shoulder, walking briskly toward her early-morning workout in the dance studio. Once Maria turned the corner around the dining hall, Ariana went to the mirror on the back of her dorm room door. She mussed her hair a bit, trying to make it look as if she'd just woken up, then cinched her white silk robe and headed for the room Lexa and Maria shared at the end of the hall.

    Everything's going to be just fine, she told herself as she padded silently along the thick carpeting. She just needs a good talking-to.

    She paused in front of the closed dorm room door, took a deep breath, and