He snickered. “Her tits sure aren’t. Apparently one of her new implants popped in the middle of the night.”
“How the fuck is that possible?”
Elijah shrugged. “I dunno,” he said. “But she should’ve known better. Should’ve gone to my parents instead of that place in LA.”
His parents owned and operated the Schoenfeld Wellness Club in Royal Falls. It sounded like some sort of hippy retreat, but ‘wellness’ was actually code for ‘cosmetic surgery’, and every second woman in town had had their nose, eyelids, or tits done there. Or more.
I stole another glance at Laney. Insecure girls and women probably hated girls like her. Naturally beautiful with perfect bone structure and big, mesmerizing eyes framed with dark lashes. No surgery, tattooed makeup, or injections needed.
“What are you looking at, babe? You’re not checking out that new girl, are you?”
A lilting voice on my left made me grimace. I turned to see Talia Bartlett standing there on the lawn. She was shivering from the frigid fall air as she looked up at me with what I assumed was meant to be an inviting look on her face. Instead, she just looked constipated and blue-lipped, probably because she was freezing.
I didn’t feel sorry for her. She could just put on her fucking blazer and a scarf if she was so cold, but she’d obviously decided to try to impress me and the other guys by leaving it off and only wearing the white girls’ uniform blouse—in a size too small, of course—and the pleated tartan skirt, hiked up so far that her entire ass would be visible if she bent down even half an inch.
“I was looking at my brother,” I replied, upper lip curling as I regarded her with cool disdain.
I couldn’t stand try-hards, and Talia fitted into that category perfectly. She was rich, but her family was new money, and they never stopped trying to prove that they could fit in with the rest of us by constantly flashing their designer labels, jewelry and cars in everyone’s faces.
It might impress some people, but not me. Money was fucking great, considering all the power and influence it could buy you, but to be honest, I’d trade everything in my bank account and move to a bleak shit-hole like Silvercreek in a second if Adam and I could have our sister back.
“Oh. Why didn’t I hear from you all summer?” Talia asked, batting her long lashes.
“Huh?” I was barely listening. Still staring at Laney.
She was walking away with Katrina and Adam now, skirt swishing enticingly as her hips swung. A sudden gust of wind picked it up for a second, giving me the briefest glimpse of her smooth ass and thighs. She let out a little shriek and started giggling as she yanked it back down, and I saw her whipping her head around to make sure no one had noticed.
I quickly lowered my gaze back to Talia, not wanting to give Laney the satisfaction of knowing she had my attention.
Talia crossed her arms. “I tried calling and texting all summer, but you never got back to me. Where were you?”
I rubbed my jaw. “On vacation.”
Not true. My father had offered to take me and my brother to South Africa, where he’d been working on some new business deal, but I chose to stay home. I had shit to do here. Stuff to arrange.
“Well, you still could’ve texted me back.” Talia pouted. Then she ran a teasing hand up my left arm. “I was hoping we could pick up where we left off. You know…”
I did know.
We hooked up a few times near the end of our junior year, but I had no interest in her anymore. She was one of those girls who could never be authentic, not even when it came to their own pleasure. Instead of knowing what she wanted and asking for it—or demanding it, which could be hot as fuck—she acted like some sort of wild porn star, always moaning crazy-loud, begging to swallow my cum, and constantly saying she wanted me to put it in her ass.
It was a total turnoff. Hardly any girls our age were actually genuinely interested in guzzling down cum and getting fucked in the ass. They just wanted to impress the guys they were with, hoping they’d pick them over all the other girls, so they put on these big performances and claimed to be into everything they assumed most guys fantasized about. They kept up that act for as long as they could, pretending to be one of the ‘cool’ girls who craved threesomes, daily anal, and facials, even if it did absolutely nothing for them in reality.
It was fake as fuck.
“You better get to class, Tal,” I said, glancing at my watch. “Don’t want to be late on your first day back.”
Her face fell, but she took the hint and sashayed away to her friends, who were standing a few yards away. I could hear one of them muttering something under her breath about me being a douchebag.
Kairo nudged my arm. “That was cold.”
“Too bad,” I said with a shrug. “I told her I was done with the whole thing four fucking months ago. You’d think that’d make her realize I don’t want her, right?”
“Yeah, well… you know what she’s like.” He frowned and leaned closer, so the other guys couldn’t hear us. “What’s the real story with you and that new girl, anyway?”
“Real story?”
“C’mon, man, you didn’t sleep with her. Something else happened between you two. I can tell.”
I blew out a harsh, annoyed breath. Kairo had always been more perceptive than the other guys. More emotional. That was why Lindsay started dating him when she was still alive, and also why I didn’t mind so much. If any of my other friends tried to get in her pants, I would’ve beaten the shit out of them. They just wanted to get their dicks wet.
But not Kairo. He was actually a pretty decent guy compared to the rest of us.
“There’s not much of a story there,” I said, scratching my cheek. “I met her once. She was a fucking bitch. Tried to cause problems in my family.”
“Guess you don’t need any more of that,” Kairo replied, thin lips tightening.
“Exactly. She doesn’t belong here.”
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“What do you think?” I said, smiling humorlessly.
He cocked a dark brow. “Are you sure? Is she really that bad?”
My eyes narrowed, and I straightened my shoulders. “Yeah. She is. But don’t worry. She won’t be in town much longer.”
I was going to make damn sure of it.
3
Laney
The first half of my day zoomed by. Homeroom for first period, then English, history, and biology. Now it was time for my first lunch in the incredible RFA cafeteria.
I grabbed a veggie burger, sweet potato fries and some sort of fruit smoothie, and then I headed to a small table with Trina and Adam, who’d met me outside the cafeteria doors after biology. It was one of the only classes I didn’t share with Trina throughout the week.
During homeroom, I’d compared our schedules, and apart from bio, we only had one other different class—I had chemistry on Thursday last period while she had art history. That meant she was right by my side for most of the week.
I felt so lucky to have already made not one but two awesome friends on my very first day, and it was even more fortunate that I didn’t have to sit alone in the vast majority of my classes.
And speaking of classes… I got the shock of my life when I walked into my first one earlier. It was sheer luxury. Comfortable ergonomic chairs that could be calibrated to fit each particular student’s body, gorgeous varnished wooden desks with outlets for laptops or tablets, and real flowers in planters on either side of the windowsills.
Even the bathrooms were luxurious. Black and white marble everywhere, gold fixtures, and perfume dispensers so everyone could pretend they peed Chanel No. 5 or Armani Code.
I literally had to pinch my arm to remind myself that for the next year, this was my life. Not a dream.
“Mmm!” I made a strangled sound of bliss as I chewed my first bite of lunch. It was the best veggie burger I’d ever eaten, bar none.
I didn’t even know why I was surprised to discover that. After seeing the la
vish layout of RFA, I was already starting to get accustomed to the academy having the very best of everything.
“I’m guessing that means you like the food,” Trina said with a grin.
I nodded. “Do you guys mind if I just ignore you and concentrate on this burger for the rest of my life?”
Adam laughed. “Don’t you dare,” he said, jokingly flicking a napkin toward me. “Anyway, how are you finding your first day?”
“It’s been hard, but really good at the same time,” I replied.
The classes were a lot more challenging than anything I ever experienced at my old school, but the teachers were far more engaged with every student because the class sizes were smaller. I was really enjoying it so far.
“That’s good. What are you planning on doing after you graduate?”
I hesitated. “Hm… I’ve always wanted to study political science. I’m still pretty set on that, but I haven’t really thought about which colleges to apply for yet.”
His brows rose. “You haven’t?”
I shrugged. “Before now, I was just going to apply to the closest place to home that would give me a scholarship.”
Adam and Trina exchanged wide-eyed glances. I could tell they were shocked by what appeared to be a lack of ambition on my part, but was really a lack of opportunity.
Before I received the scholarship to RFA, I didn’t have much hope of getting a full-ride scholarship to any of the elite universities, unless I got really lucky. Silvercreek High didn’t have any college counselors to help with our applications—instead there was just one guidance counselor who was always busy dealing with all the ‘bad’ kids. It didn’t leave much time for students like me to discuss our futures. We were basically on our own.
On top of that, a lot of space in the top universities was taken up by legacy students, who essentially had a leg up for being lucky enough to be born into the right family. It was also pretty well-known that monetary ‘donations’ could get average or even low-performing students into certain schools, provided the donation was large enough. That left even fewer spots for regular students.
Sometimes I honestly wondered if the whole system was rigged for people like me to fall behind and stay behind for our entire lives.
“Most students here start planning that stuff in junior year,” Adam said. “Like me. I’ve already picked out all of my college options.”
Trina jumped in. “We have specialized counselors for all that stuff. Maybe you should go see one?”
I nodded. “Ms. Flores said she’s going to help me out with it.”
“Oh, cool,” she said. “I like her. She’s nice.”
Adam nodded. “Hunter saw her too. He’s already narrowed it all down to Alton, and once he gets his early admission application essay in, he’ll probably be accepted. We’ll know by early December.”
“Wow. Alton is a good one.”
That was an understatement. Alton University was one of the top Ivies, and it always ranked somewhere in the top three on every single college ranking chart, even the worldwide ones.
Trina’s lips tightened. “I’m sure your dad’s money and networking ability won’t hurt his application,” she muttered, obviously still annoyed about Hunter’s crappy attitude earlier. “Not to mention the fact he’s graduating from RFA.”
I thought Adam might be offended by that, but he simply chuckled. “Normally I’d agree with you on that, but he’s actually doing it properly. Dad offered to make all the calls to ensure his acceptance, but he said no. He wants to get in on his own merit. He’s even applying under just his first and middle names. No last name, in case they recognize it and decide to suck up to our family based on that.”
I raised my brows. “Wow. That’s pretty cool.”
Even though I didn’t like Hunter much, based on how cold he’d been toward me so far, I had to admit I was impressed by his attitude toward the college issue. He could’ve taken the easy route, greased by money and power, but he was choosing to make it on his own, just to see if he was actually good enough.
It might seem like a low bar to the rest of us who didn’t have a choice in the matter, but for someone like him, raised with all that money and privilege, it probably wasn’t an easy decision.
I liked to think that I’d never use wealth and influence to smooth my path into college if I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but who knows? Maybe I would. Maybe I’d be a whole different person.
“Yeah, I think I’ll actually do the same thing.” Adam nodded slowly. “Anyway, fuck all this college talk. It’s our first day back. Let’s talk about something else.”
Trina arched a brow. “Maybe we should tell Laney about the secret history.”
“Yes!” Adam replied, eyes lighting up.
My forehead crinkled. “The secret history?”
“Of RFA,” Trina explained. “There’s a lot of rumors and mysteries involving this place. Stuff you probably wouldn’t hear about on the internet or anywhere else outside of Royal Falls.”
“Why?”
“Duh, they cover it up. They need to maintain our shining reputation,” she replied. “Most of it’s probably bullshit, anyway. Urban legends and whatnot. But it’s all interesting, and kinda creepy too.”
I leaned forward, dropping the delicious fry I’d just been about to munch on. “Okay, I’m intrigued. Urban legends are totally my jam.”
Trina smiled. “You know about the history of the school, right?” she asked. “Like how it used to be a university?”
My brows shot up. “No. I didn’t know that.”
“Oh. Well, it was built about two hundred years ago, back when Royal Falls was still establishing itself as, um… what’s a non-douchey way to describe it?”
“A bastion of wealth and privilege for the most elite Americans?” I said, waving my hand around with a joking air of snobbery.
She grinned. “Yeah. That. Anyway, the plan was to keep everything pretty sequestered. Keep all the families and their businesses right here their whole lives, so the town would always thrive and prosper. That meant we needed a school and a college. Otherwise the kids and young adults would go off to other cities for their educations, and they might decide to stay away.”
“Uh-huh.”
“This campus was originally Royal Falls University, all the way up to 1988. The old RFA was on the other side of town. Nowhere near here.”
“What happened to it?” I asked, brows knitting.
“It burned down. Just an accident. Nothing suspicious. But when it happened, the town council decided it was time for a change. It was almost the 90s, and obviously the world had changed a lot since the town was built back in the 1800s. Transport and communication was much quicker and easier, so it wasn’t as hard to keep people tied to the place, even if their colleges or companies were on the other side of the country.”
“Like my dad, for instance,” Adam cut in when Trina paused for a breath. “His companies are based all over the world, but we still live here and contribute to the town economy.”
“Yup,” Trina said with a nod. “So anyway, they decided we no longer needed a university. People could attend colleges all over the world, and they’d still return in the end. It’s a great town, after all.”
“So they closed the university and turned it into the new high school campus?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“In the early 90s, they were actually going to expand it and make it a full K-12 institution. They started to add some other buildings, but they changed their minds halfway through. That’s one of the things we have to tell you about.”
“And show you at some stage,” Adam added.
I leaned even closer. “Go on.”
“I don’t know if you actually saw any of this, because it’s all the way down in the woods near the lake, but there’s a bunch of half-finished buildings there. They were designed to look like the rest of the campus, so they look freaking ancie
nt. But they’re not. They’ve just been abandoned and neglected for thirty years, so parts of them are crumbling, and other parts have been swallowed up by the woods.”
“Are we allowed down there?”
“School rules say no, and there’s a perimeter thingy blocking it off, but everyone sneaks down there at some point anyway,” Trina said. “Anyway, here’s the deal with that whole thing: it’s meant to be haunted.”
I snorted with amusement. “Haunted?”
“Yup. Or a site for Satanists to perform rituals in,” Trina said, rolling her eyes. “I know how ridiculous it sounds, but the rumors have been around forever.”
“Why?”
“People always sneak down there for hookups or parties, and over the years, a few of them have found some pretty weird shit,” Adam said.
Trina nodded. “Yeah. Like red symbols on the walls. Candles. Little bits of weirdly-designed jewelry. Stuff like that which could be literally anything, or just a prank, but it winds up getting spun into a big story.”
“You’re forgetting the girl,” Adam said, nudging Trina’s side.
She slapped her hand down on the table. “Oh! I can’t believe I forgot that!” she said. She lowered her voice. “All the way back in 1995, some students supposedly found a body there.”
“Supposedly?” I said, brows furrowing.
Trina nodded. “There’s nothing about it online. No records anywhere, as far as we know. But yeah… rumor has it they found a girl. She was naked. Strangled.”
“Apparently it also looked like she’d been kept somewhere for days and tortured before she was killed,” Adam added.
“Shit. That’s horrible.”
“She was the first-ever RFA scholarship student, too, if the rumors are actually true,” Adam said. He stuck his hands out in a mock-strangling gesture. “Better watch out, Laney. You could be next…”
Trina elbowed him. “Don’t be a dick!”
“I’m just kidding,” Adam said. “Don’t worry, Laney. I’m pretty sure it’s not even true. Just a scary story to freak out all the freshmen.”
I sat back and put my hands on the table, fingers interwoven in a pyramid shape. “So the school is haunted and filled with murderers. Is that the gist of what you’re telling me?”
Savage Prince: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Royal Falls Elite Book 1) Page 5