Briar Preparatory Academy

Paved with Good Intentions

Celeste POV

It's been several hours since Joe left after we argued. Something set him off. What could be so wrong in his head that he would be able to say those things, do those things, without feeling any emotion? I sigh and lean my head back against the hard wall. I am sitting on the cold, concrete floor with my arms tied. I am locked in this concrete room, but my mind is a million miles away.

As I sit here in silence, the sounds of Kate and Seth screaming reverberate in my head, echoing in my soul. This is my fault. It's all my fault.

I snap my head up look at the door as it bangs open. Joe comes in, followed by Carl, Butch, and then Jasper. I follow Joe with my eyes, staring daggers at him the entire time. His eyes meet mine and a flicker of emotion flashes across his face. His eyes soften for a split second, but then they harden and dart away from me. He walks and leans against the wall across from me.

"Hello, darling." Jasper says with a cold, fake smile.

I simply glare up at him. He does not deserve a response.

"So I've heard you aren't letting up on this whole 'silent treatment' ordeal." He continues, choosing his words carefully.

"Yeah, for some reason giving you priceless information that would allow you to kill my friends and destroy my home doesn't really appeal to me." I snap back at him, narrowing my eyes.

"Ah yes. Your friends. Your school. Tell me Miss Blackwood, is it true that your friend Kate was the one who assembled and created the security systems around the school?"

"I don-"

"Don't you dare lie to me Celeste."

My eyes flicker to meet Joe's for a split second, but he quickly looks away.

"I see." Jasper says to me, I know at this point if I open my mouth to say anything, I won't be able to play him and lie for much longer. After going almost 4 days on only an hour or two of sleep and little to no food is weighing me down. Exhaustion drags at me.

"I think it's my turn to ask a question Jasper." I say to him carefully and slowly, deciding to step out and take a risk (as if I haven't taken enough already).

"So tell me, why do you want to see the death of my school? Why did you choose me?" I snap at him quickly.

"That is none of your concern."

"Oh. I believe it is." I cock my head to the side.

"Celeste you have all the answers! You are just too stupid to connect the dots!" He yells at me.

I stumble up from where I was sitting in the corner and walk slowly over to Jasper, my arms still tied behind my back. I see Carl and Butch tense up and step forward when I approach Jasper.

Jasper puts his hand up in a stop position and they both freeze. Joe stands directly behind Jasper, facing me, his eyes tracing my every move.

"Then tell me, Jasper, tell me the entire story." I say him. I am standing directly in front of him, and he towers over me a good 6 inches, I look up to meet his eyes, and he is staring daggers at me. He pauses for a moment, contemplating my offer.

"Carl, Butch. Put her in the chair." Jasper tells them coldly and sternly.

Carl comes up behind me and grabs my tied wrists, yanking me back and slamming me onto the ground. Butch grabs the chair and sets it in the middle of the room and pulls out zip ties from his pocket. Carl grabs my shoulder and yanks me up, sitting me in the chair. Carl takes a few zip ties from Butch and attaches my wrists to the back of the chair Butch gets on his knees and leans over to zip tie my ankles to the legs of the chair. He leans over to attach my ankle...