Lush Trilogy

by S. L. Baum

  THE LUSH SERIES – YA Dystopian

  LUSH

  HUSH

  CRUSH

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  Thank you so much for downloading the LUSH Trilogy.

  SL Baum

  *A special thank you to all my Beta Readers (my Al’s Group and my FB Group) – those wonderful sets of extra eyes, and all with massive brain power. You’ve helped so much in getting this book ready to be put out there for all to see. You are invaluable to me!

  *I would also like to thank my editor for this novel: Andrea Harding at Express Editing Solutions.

  READ A CHAPTER FROM – A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones – book one) – YA Paranormal Romance – Now available for all your reading devices.

  chapter one

  A NEW BEGINNING - AGAIN

  “Emily Johnston?... Is Emily Johnston here?” This teacher was clearly annoyed. I could tell by the scowl on his face. His eyebrows almost met in the center of his forehead when he squinted that way and there was a vein pulsing at his temple. I wished Emily Johnston would raise her hand or this guy would give up and move on to the next name. I glanced around the room to see where Emily might be and felt the burn of sixteen pair of eyes glaring at me.

  “Oh crap!” I whispered. “Here,” I mumbled aloud. “Sorry... Spacing...,” were the only other words I could manage to utter.

  Why did it always take me so long to remember a new name? Well good job, “Emily,” nothing like calling attention to yourself on your first day of classes, I admonished myself. I’d choose the name next time. This was the second time Catherine had picked a name that just wouldn’t stick in my brain. Emily... Emily... Emily... I silently chanted in my head.

  And Seventeen! Why did I have to be seventeen again? I hated not being considered an adult. High school was interesting the first time, but I hated repeating it. I put my foot down about the grade though, I’m a senior. One year was all I could bear to put in this time. Well, less than one year, it was getting close to the middle of October already. We tried starting me out as a sophomore once, but I could barely pull off fifteen. I’m seventeen, I’m a senior in high school, and my name is Emily.

  You are Emily Johnston, I told myself. Emily is an average girl, of average height. She has a slight, athletic build. She could be a gymnast or a swimmer. She has dark, almost black, hair that falls just below her shoulders, most days it is pulled back into a low pony-tail, and her eyes are the palest blue. Some people find the eyes quite startling. I try not to hold eye contact for too long. I am Emily... and she is me.

  I looked down at the book as Mr. Duncan placed it on my desk. I hadn’t read that one in forever. Did I like it? It took place in a jungle... guy goes crazy... I tried to remember all the details.

  “You can copy my notes if you want. We just started the book last Thursday. You didn’t miss much.”

  “Thanks, that’d be great.” I turned to the girl sitting at my right and smiled.

  “I’m Summer.”

  “Emily,” I offered.

  “Yeah, kinda figured that,” Summer teased.

  “So embarrassing,” I cringed, replaying the moment in my head. I couldn’t believe I had called attention to myself that way. I hated first days, first weeks. It always took awhile for me to settle into my new life.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Summer tried to reassure me.

  I sat at my desk and tried to tune-in to the teacher’s voice and tune-out the various distracting sounds around the room. I could hear a few kids to the left of me snicker at my “space out.” Some girl, two desks in front of me, was filing her nails and the rhythmic scrape of the emery board was roaring in my ears. The tiny squeak of a dull pencil on notebook paper, from behind me, was driving me crazy. I shook my head and pushed all the extra sounds into the background and concentrated on Mr. Duncan’s voice only.

  It was a very long hour.

  When the bell rang, releasing us from first period, Summer exited the room alongside me, matching my pace. It made me a bit nervous. I usually kept to myself.

  “So, your uncle is the new doc over at the medical center. My mom is a nurse there,” she smiled warmly.

  “Clairvoyant?” I asked.

  “Small town,” she answered. “What do you have next? I can tell you where to go.”

  Summer was trying to be helpful, to ease my transition into this new school. She had a sincere face, I found myself liking her already.

  “Trig – with Peterson,” I read to her from my newly printed schedule.

  “I have Calculus, right next door. Walk with me.”

  Calculus was not my strong point. I’d tried it the last time. The equations were some form of cruel torture, like a constant dripping of water onto my forehead until my brain was ready to explode. Trig was as far as I was willing to test my math skills this time around.

  We walked down the hall and Summer pointed in the general direction of each of my classes. It turned out we had four of our six subjects together. With less than two hundred students in all of the high school, each grade level averaged fewer than fifty students. I would have no choice but to get to know these kids extremely well. Why couldn’t I have five hundred students per grade level again? Then I could sink into oblivion and no one would notice. Why did James have to pick Telluride anyway? It was such a tiny town.

  “Well, see you in an hour,” Summer chimed as we arrived at our separate math classes.

  I watched as she walked through the adjacent doorway. Summer Paxton was a cute girl. Her short brown hair was pulled into two tiny pony-tails. She was dressed neatly, in the unofficial uniform for this high school, jeans and a t-shirt. I was glad I’d picked a similar outfit. I needed to blend in as much as possible. I envied her ease, but she’d said she had lived in Telluride since the age of three. I had been here for three days.

  Four days ago I was with my family, in a vehicle, driving to Colorado. It was beautiful. I’d give Telluride that. During the drive I was awed by the fall colors in full display on the trees - with their brilliant deep jewel toned leaves. Everywhere I looked, out the window, vibrant colors stared back at me. There was gold, amber, and garnet splashed across the mountainside with the evergreens continuously peeking through. Their deep emerald green a constant in any season. The peaks of the mountains were white with snow, pearl white I’d say, keeping with the jewel theme. Did the snow ever melt from up there? I suppose I’d find out next summer.

  I wondered how long we’d last in Telluride. We couldn’t stay in one place forever. For now, I was seventeen and lived with my Uncle Jason, who was twenty-nine, and my Aunt Rachel, who was twenty-five. Jason had recently finished all his medical training and Rachel was a designer. I was Emily, a high school student. Oh yeah, we had moved to Colorado from Canada. That was our story and we were sticking to it.

  I drove straight home after school. Home – that word would never again mean what I believed it should. Home was a house now, whatever house we found in our new city or town to suit our needs. This was our one vice, the one place where we didn’t follow the rules and try to blend in. We lived well. We liked a big, strong, beautiful looking, well constructed house. We also needed space, lots of space. After living together as long as we had, there were times when each of us needed to get lost, at home. James and Catherine, aka Jason and Rachel, seemed to need it less than I did. They gravitated toward each other without ever being fully aware of it.

  Home was now in Mountain Village, an extension of Telluride, a twenty-or-so minute drive or a ten-plus minute gondola ride from the center of town. We bought an eight thousand square foot house overlooking one of the ski trails. The trail was
called Galloping Goose - the thought of a goose galloping made me smile. I had never skied before and was actually looking forward to learning the new skill. It was even part of the curriculum at school. When there was snow enough on the ground, and I was confident enough in my abilities, I could ski out of and ski back onto our property. But the white blanket of snow would not arrive until late November.

  I parked my SUV in the garage and entered the house with a smile on my face. I could hear Catherine humming... as she poured... (I inhaled deeply through my nose) ...lavender tea into a mug.

  “Hello, Rachel, how was your day today?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

  “Fine, how was yours, Emily?” She matched my tone.

  “Ugh, why did you pick Emily? I spaced it in first period and everyone was staring at me.”

  “You’ve had weeks to prepare for this. You will be fine.”

  “When do I get to be Charity again?” I whined. I knew I was being unreasonable.

  “When everyone who knew Charity is dead,” she said plainly.

  “I think they all are by now,” I whispered as tears welled up in my eyes. The mood in the room had suddenly changed.

  “Next time, I promise,” Catherine soothed and then crossed the room to hold me in her arms as I cried.

  I sank to the floor. My legs had turned to rubber and were unable to hold me up anymore. Catherine followed and I rested my head in her lap. The frustration of change and the memories I’d tried so hard to suppress consumed me. Visions of my “original” life flashed before my eyes, but they were just illusions. I tried not to think about the past. There was nothing I could do to change it. I had the future in front of me and I needed to make the best of it.

  “Sorry, Catherine, I don’t know why I do that so often.” I stumbled over the words as I tried to force myself to stop crying.

  “It’s okay dear,” she soothed. “I picked out a location for the boutique today. It’s right on Colorado Ave., the main drag, same as the high school. You can meet me there tomorrow after school to help me remodel and redecorate. We need to paint right away.” Catherine changed the subject and tried to brighten the mood. She was the perfect aunt, mother, and friend.

  “I’ll be there,” I promised Catherine and then excused myself to my suite of rooms. I needed to lie down and watch a movie, an action picture. My three favorite genres were romance, action, and sci-fi. I absolutely hated horror. I could never stand to watch as people were sadistically injured and killed. Tonight it was fast paced, mind blowing action that I needed.

  I did my homework while the movie played on my extra large, wall mounted, flat screen. The surround sound made me feel as if I were in the room, with the hostages, in the bank, as the bomb exploded. I jumped, startled by the debris flying toward me on the screen. I could never seem to get over how much things had changed since I was a little girl. Everything was bigger, brighter, and louder now. Except computers, they got smaller as the years passed. I loved it all... hi-def DVDs, MP3 players, laptop computers, cell phones. I’m a technology junky.

  I fell asleep sometime after two a.m. - once I had watched the requisite number of car chases, fight sequences, and explosions to push my memories back into the corners of my mind, where I needed them to stay. I woke early and went downstairs for a cup of the coffee I could already smell brewing in the kitchen.

  “Morning, James, or should I say Jason,” I yawned as I poured myself a large mug of coffee, then added tons of vanilla creamer. I guess it was coffee flavored vanilla creamer at that point, but that’s the way I like it.

  “Morning, Emily,” James smiled at me. “It’s not such a bad name. You’ll get used to it soon, you always do, and you know you can always call me James at home.”

  “I know. How was your first day at the medical center?”

  “Good, I met Summer Paxton. She came in after school to pay a quick visit to her mom. She told me that you guys will be seeing a lot of each other. Really small school... Sorry, that is the one thing I seriously overlooked. Guess we all should have known though, looking at the size of the town.”

  “It is less than one square mile,” I mused. “Summer seemed really nice, for a teenager. When is my birthday again? I hate being seventeen.” I grabbed my purse to answer my own question and fished out the well paid for driver’s license. “February tenth,” I sighed. “I guess I can live with that. It’s only four months away. What’s your plan for today?” I asked James, trying to lighten my voice, willing myself into a good mood.

  “Same as yesterday. I’m still getting to know my way around the center, and the urgent care facilities. They tell me that business really starts picking up once ski season hits and the populations of the town skyrockets. So until that time, I plan on taking it easy and just enjoy spending time with my two best girls. There are so many trails for hiking and ranches with horses for horseback riding. There’s a lake nearby that is supposed to be just breathtaking. We need to do some exploring.”

  He really looked handsome when his face lit up that way. His jet black hair fell into his eyes as he studied a trail map on the kitchen counter. He loved the outdoors which is another reason he and Catherine were so well suited. She always seemed drawn to water and could spend hours exploring her surroundings. When she wasn’t doing that, she was busy creating.

  Catherine designed clothes and was happiest when she had a boutique to showcase her work. I planned to arrive at the boutique promptly when school ended, so I could help her get it ready to open. I owed them that much. I don’t know where I would be without the love and support of these two people, who had once rescued me when I was alone and broken. They took me in and became the family that I needed. They mended my spirit and were a constant source of strength.

  “Why do you keep working, James?” I asked. “We have more than enough money. You could stop anytime you want. We could just live like the super rich and travel the world. If we moved every few months no one would ever suspect anything about us. It might be safer.”

  The question had popped into my head so many times over the years.

  “Catherine and I tried to be nomads, before you joined the family, but neither of us found happiness in that lifestyle. A person needs a place to call home. At least I do. As far as work goes, I like helping people. Being a doctor is all I have ever wanted in life since the age of twelve. I am not completely happy unless I am doing it. Plus I think that one of the reasons I am on this earth is to use my skills to heal. Catherine creates, I heal... you have a purpose too, we all do.”

  “I guess I understand. Have a good day, James. I’m going to get ready for school now. Thanks for the pep-talk. I’ll be fine. Love you,” I called back over my shoulder as I ran upstairs to prepare myself for another day of high school.

  “Love you too, Charity. Be safe, nothing dangerous today,” he warned as I walked into my room.

  Ha, safe... he knew me too well. When I was alone, out on my own, I took risks I shouldn’t. There were a lot of trails to get lost in out here. I was looking forward to it.

  I drove to school with the radio cranked up as loud as my ears could stand it. I sang along to one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs. Another day, another town, another high school... but every day was the same. I stayed in the driver’s seat after I parked and waited for the song to end. When I finally forced myself to exit the vehicle, I immediately spotted Summer. She was standing in the parking lot with a blonde girl and two guys.

  “Hi, Summer,” I called out, greeting my new friend.

  “Hi, Emily!” Summer waved me over. “This is Rusty, Burke, and Delilah.” Summer introduced her three friends, when I reached her side.

  I recognized each of them from several classes yesterday. Summer was holding hands with Rusty, a tall, lanky guy with a shock of unruly red hair. He had that free spirited skater look that was so popular. Delilah, a head shorter than Summer, was a petite version of a runway model. Her long blonde hair was styled to perfection, expertly applie
d make-up, and a funky outfit completed her look. She definitely stood out in this crowd. Burke was the muscular athletic type, a typical high school jock. I’d seen him a hundred times before. He looked sincere though, not the usual smug face I was used to seeing on a jock. From the way he kept looking at Delilah it was obvious he was completely smitten with her. She wasn’t quite as taken with him it seemed.

  “Hi, guys, it’s good to meet you,” I greeted them nervously. I wasn’t used to the friendly small town thing. I usually tried to disappear at a school. I was pretty good at it too.

  “Emily’s uncle is the new Doc over at the medical center. He works with my mom. I met him yesterday,” she explained to the group. “I haven’t met your aunt yet,” she turned to me.

  “Aunt Rachel is opening a boutique, down the other end of Colorado Ave. I’m headed there after school, to help with the set up of the shop. Lucky me,” I told them.

  “You ski or board?” Burke directed his question to me.

  “Neither, but I do want to learn to ski.”

  “I’ll teach you. I’ve lived here all my life and started skiing before I was three. It’s easy. I prefer to snow board though. I’ll teach you that too,” he smiled, happy to offer his services. “I already promised Dee I would teach her when the time comes, you could join us,” Burke continued, smiling at Delilah – aka Dee.

  It sounded like he was trying to cinch the instructor’s position with her by making it a group thing.

  “I’m Delilah. I moved here last school year and just caught the end of ski season, but didn’t get to try it,” Delilah explained.

  “Where did you move from?” I asked her, grateful that I wasn’t the only new girl in school.

  “LA, my parents were tired of the big city thing. This is a really huge change for me. I’m used to malls and clubs and beaches. Where did you live in Canada?” she asked me, seemingly well informed of my back-story already.

  “Oh, an incredibly small town there too. So, this is not so different for me,” I lied convincingly. I was awfully good at it. I’d had years of practice.