by Mae Doyle
“Sophia, I heard them called the devils. That’s ridiculous, right? Who came up with that stupid nickname?”
She sighs and stabs a piece of salmon so hard that I think her plate is going to slip off of her lap. “Okay, Kiera. Did the headmistress tell you that you just happened to luck into a spot here at Meyer’s Grove?”
I nod. “Yeah that’s exactly what she told me this morning. My aunt and uncle must have been thrilled for that spot to open up, let me tell you.”
She eyes me for a moment. Across the quad there are other students laughing and enjoying their dinner, but my food feels like a rock in my stomach right now.
“Okay. Well, the student didn’t just leave, right? They were asked to leave, which is weird, because that’s not something that happens here. Once you pay for your spot and as long as you can keep your grades up, you’re good to go for the entire four years. I mean, you have to pay each year, but if you have the money and the grades you have the spot.”
“So he didn’t have the money?” Sounds crappy to me, but I kinda get it. It’s clear to me that Meyer’s Grove cares about appearances, and both grades and money are going to have a huge role in that.
Sophia shakes her head. “No, he had the money, but your aunt and uncle had more, so you got the spot. I think that he was kinda on Decker’s shit list for a little while now, and when she saw the chance to get rid of him and get more money, it was a no-brainer for her.”
“Oh, that sucks. No wonder they don’t like me. Were they all friends or something?” It stinks, but at least now I know why the guys hate me.
“Um, the guy they kicked out? His name is Roman Reed.”
I raise my eyebrows at her. “Reed. Like Asher Reed?”
She nods. “The one and the same. It’s his cousin, so he’s pretty pissed that you got him kicked out of here. I heard that his parents threatened to sue the school, but apparently there’s something in the fine print of the contract to go to school here that says that you can lose your spot for any reason at the discretion of the headmistress.”
I feel sick. “I didn’t sign any contract,” I tell her. “My aunt and uncle just made it clear that I was going to be coming here and that I didn’t have any say in the matter.”
“You wouldn’t have, don’t worry. But I guarantee you that your aunt and uncle did, and that they’re paying out the ass for you to be here.” She shrugs, like it’s not a big deal, but it is. I hate conflict, and knowing that I’m the reason that someone isn’t studying here any longer turns my stomach. It also makes it very clear to me why Asher and his friends hate me.
I let those thoughts sink in for a moment, but before I get the chance to tell her what I’m feeling, she waves at a group of students coming across the quad to me. “It’s my friends. You ready to have your friend circle widened?”
I’m not. I want to ask her more about what happened, but her friends cut a beeline towards the two of us. At least now I know why Asher and his friends hate me, but that doesn’t give me any info on how I can get them to hate me less.
***
At least the new few days of school pass really quickly. I catch the devils watching me across the quad from time to time, but since I spend most of my time with Sophia and her friends, they don’t approach me. Tonight’s supposed to be a big party down at the grove, and I’m nervously standing in front of the mirror in my room when someone knocks on my door.
“Just a minute!” I call out, twirling once more to check out how I look. I wasn’t even convinced that I wanted to come to this party, but Sophie and her friends can be very demanding when they want something. Even though a night in my room, curled up with a book and a hot chocolate sounds like my perfect way to end the first week at school, I’m going to go with them.
This is my chance to reinvent myself and make sure that I have some great friends. It may be uncomfortable at first, but my mom and dad had always told me that you won’t grow and change if you don’t experience some discomfort. I used to hate it when they told me that, but now…
Now I find that I’m clinging to it.
Damn, I miss them.
Squeezing my eyes shut to stop any tears that are threatening to fall, I put on a grin and throw my door open. Sophie said that she’d be by in a bit to pick me up so that we could walk together, so I’m fully expecting her to be outside my room.
It’s Asher. And Parker, Luca, and Caspian. My stomach drops as soon as I see them, but I also feel a strange longing start to turn my stomach. I shouldn’t be attracted to these devils who hate me so much, but there’s something about them that I have trouble ignoring.
It sounds cliché as hell, but they really don’t make them like this back home in West Virginia.
My voice catches in my throat and I swallow hard, just looking at them. None of them move until Asher leans forward and holds out an envelope to me. When I don’t take it right away, he hits me with it, the sharp sting of the smack pulling me back to reality.
I don’t want to take it, but my hand seems to move by itself. “What is this?” I ask, frowning.
“It’s papers for you to sign saying that you’re going to transfer schools,” he tells me, locking me in place with his gaze. I swallow hard, trying to look tough, but inside I’m a twist of emotions. My core is tight and throbbing and I can feel myself getting wet between my legs.
What the hell? He’s threatening me and I’m turned on and want him? Something’s wrong here.
“I’m not leaving,” I tell him, holding the envelope back out to him. “My aunt and uncle sent me here and this is where I’m going to be, okay?”
“It’s not okay.” Luca takes a step forward, and for a moment, I think he’s going to hit me. But that’s ridiculous, right? Guys don’t just go around hitting girls, not in a school like this. I’m not in West Virginia any longer. That sort of thing doesn’t just happen.
Luca continues, making me shake my head to focus at him. “You don’t belong here, you little white trash skank. Our friend did, and your aunt and uncle took his spot from him. Now you need to be a good little girl and give it back, do you understand?”
“Maybe she’s not a good little girl.” Parker grins at me, allowing his eyes to rake up and down my body. “Maybe we’ve got it all wrong, guys. Maybe she’s a bad little slut, just like we hoped. Is that it?” He asks, reaching out and tracing his fingers down my arm. “Are you just a dirty little whore?”
“Stop it!” I cry out, jerking my arm back from him so that he can’t touch me. He laughs, his grin splitting his face and making him look even more handsome.
This is some fucked up thinking that I’m having, but I don’t know how to stop. I’ve never met guys like the devils. I didn’t even know that they existed. I’m sure that I look the part of what they’re calling me, but they’re wrong.
“I’m not like that at all,” I tell them, “and I’m sorry about your cousin, but you need to back the fuck off and leave me alone. Trust me, I’d much rather be back home than ever have had to meet any of you. Assholes.”
I step back to close the door, but Caspian kicks his foot forward to block it, not even flinching when I slam the door shut on his shoe. “Listen, I have a proposal.” He’s talking to me, but I can’t tell that what he’s saying is for the benefit of his friends, also. “You took Eric’s spot, and that’s a real dick move, but you can make it up to us, how about that?”
I shouldn’t agree to anything that they ask for, and I know that, but I also want this all to end. Handling conflict is not my strong suit, and I feel myself relax a little. Even as I consider listening to what he has to say, I can hear my mom’s voice in my ears.
Never make a deal with the devil.
But what about four of them?
“Okay,” I say, drawing out the word a little, “what do you propose? I want to hear it.”
Caspian laughs a little. “You want us to leave you alone? I bet that you’re a virgin, aren’t you? I know that I wouldn’t mind getting a
piece of that sweet little ass. How does that sound, white trash? You let us fuck you and we’ll back off.”
My whole body starts to shake and I swear, I feel my blood start to run cold. “No,” I whisper, shaking my head.
“No, you’re not a virgin?” Asher pipes up, cocking his head to the side as he looks at me. “I wouldn’t be surprised, guys. I bet she’s a dick-sucking queen.” He grins at me. “Aren’t you? You wanna show me what you can do?” My eyes follow the movement of his hands as he drops them down to his pants and starts to unbuckle his belt.
Even when I open my mouth, I can’t get any words to come out.
“Looks like she’s ready.” Luca leans forward so close that I can smell his cologne. “But who gets first dibs?”
“It’s me, asshole, and you know it,” Asher growls. “It was my cousin she got kicked out of school, and I think that she owes me, don’t you?”
Laugher down the hall made the devils turn to look. My heartbeat pounds in my ears as I open the door a little and slam it hard on Caspian’s foot. He yelps and pulls his foot away, giving me time to slam the door shut and lock it.
I lean against it, my heart pounding. They can’t get me when the door is locked. There’s no way that they can get in here now.
One of them raps lightly on the door, but I don’t move. They know that I’m standing right here, but there’s no way that I want to let them know how scared I am. They terrify me, but I don’t want to let them know that.
“You’re ours, white trash, and don’t you forget it.” It’s Asher’s voice, and it makes me shiver.
The past few days I’ve been imagining that maybe we could all get along. Maybe everything on my first day was just a misunderstanding. He has a honey voice that I long to hear call my name, but that will never happen.
I didn’t know that by coming to Meyer’s Grove that I’d be putting myself in this situation. I never would come, but it’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter. Tears sting my eyes and I slide down to the floor, leaning back against the door while I cry.
I miss my parents. They wouldn’t let this happen to me.
Chapter 7
After a while, there’s more banging on my door, but I drop my head between my hands and ignore it. I have a pretty good feeling that it’s not the devils coming back to torment me more, but I can’t be sure. The door is sturdy and safe against my back, and I honestly don’t want to move. Moving means that I’m going to be on my own.
Moving means that I’m not going to have anything to hold onto if the devils come back.
“Kiera! What in the world are you doing in there? Are you in the shower?” It’s Sophia, and I can’t help but lift my head from my hands when I hear her jiggle the lock. “Get over here and open the door so we can all go to the party! I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing!”
My body feels like it’s on autopilot as I stand up and unlock the door. She pushes it open, grinning at me as she walks into my room, but the smile slides off of her face as soon as she really looks at me.
“What’s going on? Kiera, are you okay?” Her hands flutter down my arms and she links our fingers together. Outside in the hall I can hear other students leaving the dorm to go to the party, but I don’t think that I can put one foot in front of the other right now.
“I’m okay,” I tell her, swallowing hard. It’s a lie, and I can tell that she can see right through it as soon as the words are out of my mouth. She gives me a hard look and I crumple. “It was the devils,” I whisper. “They are really pissed about me taking the place of Asher’s cousin.”
“Oh, Kiera,” she says, throwing her arms around me and pulling me close. “I really hoped that they would leave you alone, but that’s terrible. What did they say to you?”
I don’t want to tell her what they said, but she’s my best friend right now and the only person I can really trust. Even if I called my aunt and uncle, I don’t think that they would do anything to help me. I can imagine them telling me to suck it up and make sure that I don’t cast their family in a bad light, so I swallow hard and tell her.
Her eyes grow hard and dark as she listens, and when I’m finished, she shakes her head. “That’s insane, Kiera. I’m so sorry. Do you want to stay in tonight? I have some chocolate stashed in my room and we can watch a movie together instead of going to the party.”
That sounds amazing, and honestly, it’s all I want to do, but I shake my head. “No, I think that we should go. I want the devils to know that I’m not afraid of them.” Even though I am.
She sighs and loops her arm through mine. “Are you sure?” Even as she asks the question, though, I pull her towards the door. If we don’t go now then I’m sure that I’ll back out. I’m not known for walking willingly into social situations, but I don’t have a choice.
If I don’t, then the devils will know that they won and I’m sure that they’ll make my life even worse than it is right now. If I go, though, I can show them that I’m not afraid of them.
Sophia and I are two of the last students out of the dorm, and we cut across a quiet quad that’s lit only by the moon. There are a few lamps scattered around campus, but I’ve never seen them on, so I’m not sure if they are just for looks. The grass is a little damp from rain earlier in the day, and it’s easy for us to follow the tracks of students who walked ahead of us.
“So, tell me about this party,” I say to my friend, trying to lighten the mood. “Is there music? Dancing? Food?” I’ve never been to a real high school party before, and I’m honestly a little excited. My meeting with the devils casts a shadow on the night, but I don’t want them to be able to ruin my excitement.
“It can get a little crazy,” she admits, throwing a glance at me to gauge my reaction. I do my best to keep my face neutral so she doesn’t know that I’m nervous. “There’s sometimes games, and sometimes people split up and go off into the woods, but I’ll keep an eye on you. I won’t let the devils get to you, okay?”
I nod.
“I’m not afraid of them. They’re probably just a lot of talk, you know? There’s no way that they’ll be able to force me to do what they want me to. And besides, I have two more years here until graduation, and I’m not going to live my life living in fear of running into one of them.”
Damn, I sound brave as hell. Sophia grins at me, and for a moment, I actually believe what I’m saying. That is, until we take a small footpath in the woods, which opens up into a clearing. This must be the famous grove that the school claims as a part of its name.
There’s a huge clearing with a stage at one side. Steps that are carved into the ground and laid with stones lead down to the stage, and wooden benches are set around the stage so that people can sit and watch the action. On the stage I see the devils. All four of them are looking around at the crowd, obviously keeping an eye on people.
They may be looking for me, and the thought gives me chills.
There’s a small building on one side of the clearing, which I immediately guess must be for props and costumes, otherwise the school would have to carry everything in each time they perform. The strange thing about all of this back here in the woods is that I never saw it on the map.
“Is this not included with information about the school?” I ask Sophia. “I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t on the map or in the brochure.”
She shrugs and nods. “Yeah, it’s our space on campus. This is where we come and perform rituals and ceremonies, but the school doesn’t recognize it as a part of Meyer’s Grove.”
That’s probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard. “What does that mean, that they don’t recognize it as a part of the school? We’re still on school property, aren’t we?”
“Oh, sure, we are. They just look the other way whenever we’re out here. It’s kind of part of school history, that the students are able to have ceremonies without interruption.”
Ceremonies? My skin crawls a little and I shiver, wishing that I’d brought a sweater or somet
hing to wear. It’s warm enough out, but the way Sophia is talking is making me nervous. “Care to elaborate on what kind of ceremonies?”
And rituals? I’m beginning to see that there’s a lot more to Meyer’s Grove than I thought at first, and I’m not sure that I like it.
“Later,” she whispers, then turns and waves to the two girls walking over to us. “Hey, Lila, Clementine! You guys remember Kiera?”
The two girls smile at me. They’re twins, and I know them from my history of the world class. If I ever need tutoring, they’re the ones I’d ask for help. Not only are they gorgeous, but they’re incredibly smart and friendly. Their dad is an archeologist, and they love nothing more than going on digs with him when school’s on break.
I mean, really? I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. When kids from my old school were on break, they would flip burgers to make some pocket money, not jetset halfway around the world to dig up old bones.
“Hey, Kiera,” Lila says, bumping into me with her shoulder. “How was your first week? You like it as much as your old school?”
There’s no comparison, and I want to tell her that, but how do you articulate the fact that this school is way nicer than mine, the teachers actually care, and the books are new each year and not held together with duct tape? I know that I blend in with the clothes my Aunt Serafina bought me, but I can’t help but feel like I’m a fake here.
Instead, I grin back at her. “I miss my friends,” I tell her, even though I don’t have many friends to miss. “But this place is amazing. There’s really no comparison.”
Lila laughs, and her sister interrupts her. “I’m going to get drinks, you guys want something? Beer? Punch?” Sophia asks for a beer, but when Clementine turns to me, I ask for a water.
“Not a big drinker? That’s cool, I’ll drink yours for you, okay?” Clementine quips. Sophia giggles at me and walks off with Clementine to get our drinks, leaving me with Lila.
She starts chatting about something her dad is doing right now in Africa, but I can’t help but tune her out. Normally, I’d think that she was really interesting, but right now I can’t tear my eyes away from the devils. They’ve spotted me and have left the stage. Groups of students move away from them as they cut across the clearing towards me. I feel my heart begin to pound and I suddenly feel like I’m going to be sick.