by Maya Nicole
I hadn't had the intention of entering her house or even making my presence known, but she had a pull over me I couldn't explain. Ever since I'd kissed those soft pink lips of hers, I'd wanted more.
When I had walked around the townhouse to the small backyard, I saw her through the sliding glass door at the front window, peering out. The front of the house had nowhere to hide a spare key, but the back had plenty. It was easy to find.
"Did you forget the other reason why we're doing this?" Morgan put his hand on my shoulder. "Maybe we're due for a trip to see your sister."
I shook my head and headed back toward the large sliding doors that spanned the entire living area of the house. I didn't want to think about my sister and didn't need to see her to remember why my father was so hell bent on finding Robert Kline and making him pay. "I'm going for a swim."
Riley claimed to not even know Robert, and while that might have been true, he was still her father. A father wouldn't just let his daughter suffer, would he? He'd come to save his little girl if we pushed her enough. My own father was certain of it.
"We need to tread carefully with this girl." Morgan shoved his hands in his pockets and followed me inside. "That includes keeping your lips off her."
"Wait a fucking second. You kissed her?" Blake was pissed. I was pissed at myself for having no self-control. "When?"
"At the yearbook retreat." I headed toward the elevator, but Blake stepped in front of me. "And Monday after class." Plus, I thought about it multiple times while jacking off and in my dreams. Oh, and anytime I saw her.
"I thought we agreed not to take things there. I mean, shit, she is cute as hell, but we can't... I mean, can we?" Blake put his hands on his hips and then a grin spread across his face. "Maybe we should take it there. I bet she's a virgin."
"We?" I clenched my fists and resisted the urge to punch him in the gut. We might have been close, but that didn't make them immune to getting the beat down if it needed to happen. "I'm not sharing her."
"Then stop fucking kissing her." Blake stepped out of the way. "We'll go see your sister. I'll put a call in for us."
"I don't need to see my sister."
"We're supposed to be proving we're ready." Morgan's reminder felt like a kick to my balls. "We need to keep our eyes on the prize."
I pressed the button and the elevator dinged open. They followed me inside and we stood in silence as it descended to sea level. We stepped out into the cave and started removing our clothes.
"She has a knife that looks an awful lot like a siren's." I had considered not telling them about it because I wasn't one-hundred percent sure it had been real. It couldn't have been real.
"Excuse me?" Morgan's eyes went wide as he folded his pants and put them on a bench. "How?"
"I didn't get that good of a look at it, but I swear I saw abalone insets on the hilt. She had her fist pretty tightly wrapped around it." I rubbed the back of my neck. "That would be impossible though."
"I'd have to see it." Blake stood at the edge of the platform. "It's doubtful it's real."
I stood next to him. "I hope you're right." Because if it was real, we needed to worry about where she got it.
Morgan was practically vibrating standing on the edge of the platform. "We can't go this long again. It hurts to shift."
Our house sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and in the cliff was a hollowed-out section with boats and jet skis. With a push of a button, the cliff opened to the wide-open sea. There was also an exit under the water for us to swim through.
"Stop being a guppy." Blake dove into the water, his body instantly morphing as soon as his fingertips hit the surface.
Morgan whooped and dove in after him.
Even if I did want to kiss Riley more, she would never accept this world. Humans could never know of our existence, which was the entire purpose of some of us being on land in the first place. With tritons being entrenched in the human world, we could squelch any discovery of our existence.
I dove off the platform and the change ripped through me, my legs burning as the connective tissue grew. Morgan was right about it being uncomfortable. Freshman year we could only go a day without changing.
With swimming practice three days a week, the urge to shift was strong. Only true tritons from an elite bloodline could manage to keep the human appearance for as long as we could, and even then it took years of training to work up to a solid week of being bipedal.
Blake and Morgan stared back at me under the water with their amber-colored eyes. Our eyes were similar to a feline's which allowed for quick adjustment of the pupil underwater.
I swam toward the exit of the cave and then we were free. My mind and body became relaxed as we raced out to sea.
Chapter Seven
Riley
After the night I had, I knew I would be struggling to focus all day. It didn't help that Blake was in my first three classes. If Jax was willing to break into my house and scare me half to death, how far were Blake and Morgan willing to go?
"Do you hear that?" Blake scooted his chair over so he was closer. "That's time, ticking away. Tick, tick, tick."
I clenched my teeth and refused to look up from the response I was writing. I had been trying to ignore him and was reaching my limit. I hadn't gotten much sleep and felt like my head was going to explode.
Blake snatched my pen and held it away from me when I tried to grab it back. I grunted out my frustration and reached into my bag to grab another pen. As soon as my pen hit my paper, it was snatched from my grip.
"Ms. Williams." I raised my hand. Once I had her attention, I gestured to the thorn in my side. "Blake is taking my pens."
A few heads turned, but most of the class was focused on the short answer prompt we were answering from the reading the night before. Reading I had skimmed because dealing with police and a broken door took time.
"He took your pen? What grade are we in?" She crossed the room so she wasn't talking across it and gave Blake a pointed look that said he was disturbing her normally peaceful class. "Give her back her pens."
"She said I could borrow them." Blake's frown was almost believable. "I can't help that she's PMSing and changed her mind."
A few females gasped around the room and one of the guys in front of us shook his head and shot Blake a sympathetic look.
Mrs. Williams rubbed at her eyebrow. "You are eighteen years old. Give her the pens."
I sat up straighter in my chair as she walked away and Blake threw them onto my desk. "Six hours, Kline."
He grabbed his own pen and started writing without another word. My hand shook as I picked it up and tried to finish conveying my thoughts. It was hard to concentrate when his words echoed in my ears.
The sounds of the clock ticking didn't help. It was a constant reminder that time was running out and I didn't have what they wanted.
At the end of the period, Mrs. Williams asked me and Blake to stay behind. I didn't want to hear the ridiculous lies Blake was about to spin. He liked to bullshit.
"What's going on with you two?" She leaned against her desk as we both stood near the front row of desks. "Every day this week there has been something and it's becoming a disruption. Blake, starting tomorrow, you're going to sit elsewhere."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do I have to change seats? She's the one causing the issue."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and stayed quiet. It was a lost cause where he was concerned. Anything I said would be contorted to a new story that met his needs. He had shown just how good of a manipulator he was over the past week.
"You are changing seats because I want you to." She moved around her desk and straightened some papers. "You are seniors. You need to start acting like it. Now, if there's nothing else, I need to get ready for my next class."
Blake stalked out of the classroom, pushing open the door harder than necessary. I jumped as it hit the wall outside.
"Riley. Is everything okay?" Mrs. Williams sat in
her chair and laced her fingers under her chin. "I'm always here to talk or I can request Mrs. Miller pull you out of next period."
"I'm fine." I stuck a fingernail in my mouth and then shook my head, realizing I was about to bite the nail off. I had stopped biting my nails ages ago. "I think moving his seat will help."
She looked at me with her lips pressed in a line. "Just know that my door is always open."
I thanked her and left the room, glancing at my phone. It was becoming an obsession, checking my phone for messages or emails. I needed to find out what the Tritons knew about my mother.
The second the door shut, my phone was plucked from my fingers. I didn't even have time to try to grab it.
"You shouldn't be alone with a teacher in a classroom. People might get the wrong idea." Blake turned and started to walk away with my phone before he turned to walk backward. "I'd totally be down to watch that though. Mrs. Williams is top of the line MILF."
"You're disgusting." I grabbed my phone back and, thankfully, he let me. Our fingers brushed and he stopped my retreat by grabbing my wrist.
He looked down where he touched my skin and cocked his head to the side. "Do you feel that?"
Did I feel the heat from our connection? Of course I did. Anyone would have a reaction when someone touched them unannounced and without provocation.
"Stop touching me. I didn't give you permission."
He let me go and smiled. I hated when he smiled because it made him look like the sweetest person in the world. His teeth were shockingly white against his brown skin, and I couldn't keep my eyes off his face.
"How about this." He followed me as we headed to our next class. "You tell us where to find your father and I'll stop touching you."
I stopped and he bumped into me. He grabbed my arms and steadied me. I wrenched my body away and turned to poke him in the chest.
"I don't know." I punctuated each word with a stab of my finger. "Why do you care anyway?"
He took my hand and then placed his over mine on his chest. "You wouldn't understand."
I scoffed and yanked my hand from his, the loss of contact causing me to shiver. He noticed and smirked. "You do feel it."
The bell rang and I slipped into the classroom, wondering if I should just call it a day and ditch.
Waiting for your reckoning is never easy, and as the day drew to a close, my insides twisted into a painful knot. It felt like I'd eaten a bad street taco. I only wished that was what caused the tightness in my belly.
I tried to distract myself by working on a layout, but instead, watched Jax sitting in front of me. He hadn't even looked at me as he entered the room and took his seat. Today, he didn't try to get Tory to move, which was a change from the norm.
My shoulders were so tense they were practically touching my ears, and I checked my phone under the table for the hundredth time, waiting for something to happen.
It was seventy-one hours and forty-five minutes since the demand had been issued.
Jax stood from his seat and walked to the front of the room. I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white. Tory glanced over at me but didn't say a word as she looked between me and Jax.
Jax asked Mr. Garcia something and then left the classroom. I let out a breath, my hands loosening on the table.
"What was that about?" Tory whispered.
I shook my head and then my eyes widened before I dropped to the floor like I was picking something up. Tory didn't say a word as I crawled under the desk and reached as far as I could under the back and yanked Jax's backpack to me.
She shook her head and a smile played at the corner of her lips. She turned back to her computer. I unzipped the front pouch and scrunched my nose at the condoms and then rummaged inside.
I probably had less than a minute until he came back from the bathroom. I brought a bottle of pills out of a small compartment in the front pocket. There was no label, and they looked like pain relievers. I opened the lid and Tory made a noise of disapproval.
I tapped one out into my palm, shoved it in my pocket, and replaced the bottle and his backpack. I had just scooted my chair up to the desk when Jax came back in the room.
Sweat beaded his brow and I wondered if he had just used one of his condoms. I knew what went on in the bathrooms outside the science wing during seventh period. Everyone except the adults did. If he had just fucked someone, that was rather quick.
"What are you doing?" Tory scooted her chair close. "What was that?"
"I don't know." I clicked out of my files and shut down the computer. "But I'm going to find out."
The bell rang and Jax left like there was a fire under him. He was probably lying in wait like a hunter stalking its prey right outside the classroom door.
I steeled my resolve and left the room. I looked in the breezeway between the building I was in and the next over and saw nothing out of sorts. I walked cautiously to my locker, bracing myself for the inevitable.
I opened my locker and a white piece of paper was inside. I needed to tape something over the vents so they couldn't shove anything else through.
Time's up.
It didn't seem like anything could be worse than them inserting themselves into my life and Jax breaking into my house. They were psychopaths, and I realized that I was going to have to get concrete evidence for any adult to do anything.
Ivy rushed over to me as I was closing my locker. From the panicked look on her face, what she was about to tell me was what I had been waiting for all week.
"Just tell me." I raised my hands in frustration and they smacked against my legs as I let them fall. I didn't know what could be worse than breaking into my house and getting away with it.
"It's your car."
I pushed past her and she jogged behind me as I speed-walked to the parking lot. I came to a stop at the gate, seeing the crowd surrounding my car with their phones out. As if knowing I had arrived, the crowd parted as I walked toward them.
"I feel sorry for her."
"All the dolphins are dying."
"I heard a whale washed up on shore this morning."
"Her family are murderers."
The words assaulted my ears and I bit down on the flesh just below the inside of my lip. My eyes stung as I held back the tears that wanted to escape. I unlocked my car and slid inside.
Fuck them.
Even as I revved the engine, students continued to block my car that was now smeared with some kind of red substance that looked like blood. That wouldn't have bothered me.
The word murderer written across the white hood did, though.
I laid on my horn and they finally moved out of the way as I slowly backed up. By some miracle, I made it out of the parking lot without hitting anyone. If I had seen the Tritons, I would have run them down.
Too embarrassed to go to a carwash, I headed home and pulled to a stop in the driveway. I put my head on my steering wheel and turned off my car.
This was only the beginning.
I checked every single window and door in the entire house after washing my car and calling to cancel my dance lesson. I only had four lessons left on my account before I needed to pay for more. The thought saddened me, but I was more concerned if the power was about to be turned off.
I locked myself in my bedroom since the security system was no longer functioning thanks to my mother not paying the bill since June. I had even removed all of the little metal keys on top of all the door frames.
I opened my nightstand drawer and stared at the gun I had moved from my mom's room. I had no clue how to use it, but I felt safer with it next to me.
YouTube showed all I needed to do was flip the safety, aim, and fire. I could at least use it as a threat. It was easier said than done, but it would have to do.
I sat at my desk and opened my laptop. The pill I had taken from Jax's backpack sat in a baggie and I examined it again. There was a trident symbol engraved into it. There were no pharmaceuticals on the market with such a
marking, but there was an illegal drug that was a different color with the same symbol.
I slammed the screen shut in frustration and picked up my phone. I had refused to look at it after the strawberry jam that had been dumped on my car. I was sure social media was in a frenzy over it.
I pulled open my texts and my breath sped up. I wanted to throw my phone out the window, but I needed to be proactive and try to stop whatever they were going to do next.
Jax: It's only just begun. You know what you need to do.
Me: Get a restraining order?
Jax: What for?
Me: How'd you get in my house?
Jax: I wasn't in your house.
He was definitely smart and wasn't about to admit in writing he broke in. I set my phone down and changed into an oversized t-shirt before crawling into bed. I stared at the chain of texts and bit my lip.
Me: I know your secret.
The message was read, but he didn't reply.
Good. Let him sweat a little.
Chapter Eight
I had never been so happy for it to be Friday. Had my mom been home, I would have asked her to call me in sick. The last thing I wanted was Saturday detention for an unexcused absence.
I sat in the guidance counselor’s office, staring across the desk at her as she tapped her pen. "Your teachers and a few students have expressed some concerns over what has gone on this week."
I looked down at my hands folded in my lap and my cheeks puffed as I exhaled. "You could say it's been a rough week."
Most of my classmates didn't say or do anything per se, but they stared. A lot. They were just as guilty becoming bystanders instead of allies. I had been guilty of the same, telling myself it was none of my business and fearing the bullies would come after me. This was a rude awakening.
I didn't even want to think about what social media looked like. I had stayed off all the apps all week. The last thing I needed was another thing to worry about.