Break Out (Supernatural Prison Trilogy Book 3)

by Aella Black

  “What are you working on?” I asked, nodding at his laptop.

  “Just trying to catch up on all the research I missed. If we’re going to reverse climate change, we’ve got to act quickly.”

  If anyone could do it, he could. Dad’s expert knowledge in climatology was more in demand than ever.

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. So… food, or no?”

  “Nah, I’ll be good until dinner.”

  I smiled. Of course he’d forgotten. “I’m not making dinner tonight.”

  “You’re not?” He looked up, puzzled, and then I saw the light go on. “Ah, date night, huh? I think I changed my mind. Maybe I don’t want you dating the mayor’s son.”

  “Dad…”

  He winked. “What time is he picking you up again?”

  “Six. I’m going to go work on some homework.” I left him to his work in the garage and went into my room, where I deposited my backpack onto the floor.

  Checking my phone, I saw I had a message from Birdie.

  Call me.

  Dialing her number, I lay on my bed and waited for her to pick up.

  On the third ring, she picked up and began talking immediately. “Phoebe, I wanted to tell you that I made the cheer team!”

  I laughed. “Wow. Congratulations!”

  “Thank you. I’m excited about it. They said I’m going to be a flyer.”

  “A flyer?”

  “Yeah. The one who flies in the air during all the stunts.”

  “That is perfect for you! You can tell your bird friends ‘hi’ while you’re up there,” I joked.

  She laughed, and it was one of the sweetest sounds in the world.

  “Have you talked to Rocky lately?” she asked.

  “Yup, just yesterday. She’s still adjusting, of course.” We all were. “But she started teaching at a wrestling studio, and she loves that.”

  “Yay!” Birdie said.

  Yay, indeed. I’d wanted Rocky to live with me after we left Lansing, but her parents had apologized profusely and they were attempting to reconcile.

  Tex had a girlfriend already, and Cal went back to impressing friends at parties with how much alcohol he could drink without going down. They just thought he was a heavyweight. Cooper was back with his mother, and they were both beyond happy to be together.

  We weren’t allowed to talk about our powers… or the prisons. And why would we? No one would believe us anyway, and we had no desire to relive the horrors we experienced by talking about them.

  Still, sometimes we needed to. For the most part, our families didn’t fully understand what we went through, so we often chatted with each other. It was the best therapy any of us could have.

  “What are you up to today?” Birdie asked.

  “Xander’s taking me on a date. It’s going to be our first official one.”

  “Awwww.” Birdie practically melted on the other side of the phone. “Have fun!”

  “Will do,” I said.

  We chatted a bit longer, and then I worked on homework until five-thirty.

  Time to get ready.

  I’d never been on an official date before, so I wanted to look just right. I curled my hair, put on a little more makeup than usual, and dressed in a black dress. Cathy told me you could never go wrong with a little black dress.

  When the doorbell rang, I rushed out of my room. Dad beat me to the front door.

  Xander stood on the other side of it, dressed in a light blue button-down shirt that made his eyes look even more incredible than usual.

  “I believe this is the part where I intimidate you,” Dad said, not offering to let him in.

  “And I’m supposed to look nervous.” Xander tugged on his shirt collar like he was nervous when he clearly was not.

  Dad laughed and stepped aside. “Come in,” he said. “Good to see you.”

  Xander’s gaze caught mine, and his eyes lit up. I noticed the bouquet in his hand. It was an explosion of purples, whites, pinks, and yellows. He handed them over to me. “A step up from the last ones I gave you, huh?”

  I stared at the flowers, touched by the gift and his words. “These are just as beautiful as the weeds you picked. To me, anyway.”

  He laughed. “Good to know. I can bring those every day.”

  Dad rolled his eyes. “I’ll take those.” He lifted the flowers from my hands. “I’ll put these in some water. You two enjoy yourselves, and remember, home by midnight.”

  “Yes, sir.” Xander took my hand and led me out to his car. He opened the door of the Tesla for me, then paused. “You look beautiful,” he said.

  Heat rushed to my face. “Thank you. I hope I’m dressed right. Where are we going anyway?”

  “It’s a surprise. But first, dinner.”

  He drove me to an Italian restaurant where we talked about anything and everything—as long as it had nothing to do with Lansing. A part of me worried that once we were out of prison, Xander and I would discover we had nothing in common. But the opposite occurred. We reminisced and laughed about our childhood crushes for one another, both wondering why neither of us made the first move. Sharing friends and classes helped, too.

  After dinner, we hit the road to our surprise destination. At a stoplight, Xander turned to me. “My parents are presenting the bill next week. In a closed-door session, of course,” he added with a wink.

  “That’s good news.” It was a massive understatement.

  Xander’s parents had been doing everything in their considerable power to make sure what happened to us never happened again. To that end, the bill would not only protect all existing supernaturals, but it banned further genetic alterations as well.

  They had been so grateful to him for the hint he’d dropped during their first visit to Lansing. According to them, it was what started the ball rolling and eventually led to our freedom.

  My hands twisted in my lap. “Do you ever… worry that the SCC will come for us again?”

  Xander shook his head. “Not really. Mom and Dad say that, without Fletcher, the organization is pretty much done.”

  “Good to hear.”

  “It is,” he said with a smile. Then the light changed, and he turned back toward the road. “For now, let’s just enjoy being reckless teenagers.”

  I gave him a sideways glance. “Reckless?”

  His smile turned mischievous. “Oh, yeah.”

  My heart sped up. “What exactly are we doing?”

  “You’ll see,” he said, still focused on the road.

  “Um, is this Marcus-approved-home-by-midnight kind of reckless?” I asked.

  “It is. He helped me pack.”

  Pack?

  Xander had issues with people controlling him, and I guessed I had problems with surprises. Too many unknowns for too many months made me a little more suspicious than I liked.

  But this was Xander. I had nothing to worry about.

  We took a turn into his neighborhood. My eyebrows shot up. “We’re going to your house?” I asked.

  A smile played at his lips, and I really wanted to kiss them. “You’ll see.”

  And soon, I did. Both kiss him… and see the surprise.

  Xander had prepared a campsite in his expansive backyard, complete with a firepit to make S’mores. Once, we’d talked about things we’d like to do if we ever got out of prison. This was on both of our lists.

  He also told me he only wanted to go camping if it were with me. Because we were still an entire senior year away from graduation, he’d improvised.

  The stars were out in full force when we arrived, and we wasted no time roasting marshmallows for our dessert. Thermoses filled with the most delicious hot chocolate I’d ever tasted were ready and waiting for us. Perks of having a chef on staff, I supposed.

  It was perfect.

  Everything was perfect.

  Tonight, Xander had arranged a first date to remember.

  It certainly had been a year to remember.

  One filled wit
h more suffering and loss than most people experienced in a lifetime.

  And yet, for all that I’d lost, it still felt like I won.

  The End

  I hoped you enjoyed the conclusion of the Supernatural Prison Trilogy! If so, I’d be so grateful if you would take a few minutes to review it on Amazon.

  Also, if you haven’t read the free story about the day Xander was taken to Leavenworth, check out my new website at aellablack.com. You can also find out what’s coming next!

  About the Author

  Aella Black is the new pen name for an author who may possibly have multiple personalities based on her predilection for a plethora of pseudonyms. She likes alliteration (obviously) but works hard to limit it in her everyday conversations.

  She loves dogs—who doesn't love dogs?—and wants to save the world one rescue at a time. When she's not world-saving, Aella feeds her other obsession: books.

  Writing them, reading them, smelling their musty old pages or brand new out-of-the-box pages. She happens to love the electronic pages too, since a whole host of stories can be transported easily wherever she goes.

  Aella hopes you'll want to take her stories with you wherever you go. To find those stories, follow her anywhere and everywhere…