The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  I closed my eyes, trembling, and curled into a ball.

  Chapter 3

  Party pooper

  Ophelia

  “O, some dude has a package for you and he won’t give it to any of us. He’s British and snotty and mean. You have to sign for it. Oh, and Jake’s just arriving too.”

  “Great,” I groaned and rolled over when I felt my sister’s fingers on my arm.

  “O, Jake’s here for you and some British dude has a parcel.”

  “Wha—who?”

  “You fell asleep after school. Are you feeling okay?” She ran a hand over my forehead.

  “Yeah.” I sat up, wiping away the drool. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just sleepy. Who’s here?”

  “Jake. Some British guy with a parcel.”

  “Did today happen?” I groaned. “Did Jake ask me to the party?”

  “Yeah, dummy, get up.”

  “Shit. That means it wasn’t just a nightmare.”

  “What?” She furrowed her brow.

  “Nothing. Tell him I’ll be down in like two minutes.” I rubbed my eyes, feeling the room spin slightly.

  My sister got up and left the room. “You’re acting weird.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s been a weird day. Did Mom and Dad say anything about the principal?”

  “Yeah, Mom told him if no one saw you move, it would be pretty hard to prove you did it. She said it was likely lightning. Whatevs, dude. Let's go.”

  “Okay. That’s weird too.” I got up and glanced at my mirror and then turned away from it to change into my bathing suit. I threw on a pale-yellow skirt and a white terry-towel hoodie over it. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom, slipped my flip-flops on, and walked down the stairs, anxious and frightened.

  It all got worse when I heard my dad talking, “You are an incredible player, son. It was a real privilege to watch the games this year.”

  His eyes left Jake’s for half a second to nod his head at me. “O, package for you at the front door.” He pointed at the door and went back to bromancing Jake. “The coaching even seems better this year.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Jake’s eyes lit up when he saw me. I blushed and glanced down, hurrying to the door.

  At the door, I inhaled sharply when I saw the face of the man standing on the porch. He sneered until he caught sight of me and then his eyebrows lifted and his face softened. “Hello, love.”

  “Hi.” I wanted to touch him. I reached out my hand.

  He laughed. “Easy, Ophelia. I need you to sign here for this package. It’s a special delivery.” He backed farther away from the house, taking it with him as though to lead me to the porch.

  Foolishly, I stepped outside to where he waited.

  “Just sign here.” He dazzled me with his dark eyes.

  “Okay.” I barely winced when it stabbed into my fingers as I grabbed it. His eyes were mesmerizing. He took the pen back. I wasn’t certain if I’d signed or not. I snatched the small box but my eyes never left his face.

  He leaned in. “You’re in danger. I need you to come with me but stay calm.”

  “Okay.” I nodded.

  “No, seriously.” He laughed. “I need you to hear me. They are coming for you.” His dark eyes were dazzling and yet menacing.

  Something pulled me back and I inched into the house. He took a step forward but didn’t come in.

  A shiver from the evening air blew over my arms, giving me a chill. I blinked at him. “Who are you?”

  “Better question is, what are you?”

  “What do you mean?” I stepped back again, clutching the box.

  “Have strange things been happening all day?” He tilted his head, examining me.

  “Leave me alone.”

  “Can’t, love. Things are going to get weirder than just some broken windows at school.”

  “That was the lightning,” I muttered and closed the door quickly and pressed my back against it. He was part of the Ouija board problem. He was probably a ghost. I ran up to my room before anyone in my family could see. I tossed the box onto the bed and dropped to my knees against the rough carpet. I tore open the top of it to find bubble wrap.

  Anxious, I swallowed as I peeled back the layers of bubble wrap. My trembling fingers touched something cold and hard inside the plastic. I lifted it from the box, disappointed and yet fascinated.

  A snow globe.

  I had officially lost my mind. My birthday was in a couple of months. Someone had obviously sent the snow globe for my graduation, and I was acting like it was a bomb or the lost ark.

  I raised an eyebrow at it. Inside the globe, a blonde woman in a long-sleeve red dress stood at a window within a stone room. The windows of the room revealed a snowy forest. I tilted it upside down and glitter filled the room, making the water sparkle.

  It was pretty.

  Through the swirls of sparkly water, the woman turned toward me. Her bright-blue eyes glistened and her lips curled up into a smile. She reached a long slender finger toward me.

  “Ophelia.” Her whisper floated in the air around my face.

  I dropped the snow globe back into the box and closed the lid. My breath was ragged and my skin crawled with goose bumps.

  Slowly, I got up and moved away from the box, creeping backward until my back hit my closed closet door. I shut my eyes for a second. “No. This isn’t happening.”

  “O, let’s go!” my sister shouted up the stairs.

  “Coming.” I turned and ran from the room, wondering if anyone noticed the frightened look on my face.

  “What was in the package?” Abbey asked casually.

  “Some snow globe.”

  My mom frowned. “That’s weird.”

  “My grad gift maybe.” I glimpsed at Jake.

  “You guys played amazingly last game. Jake, how many scholarship offers did you get?” My dad sipped his coffee and leaned against the counter.

  Jake blushed. “I got four offers. I’m taking Notre Dame. I never imagined I would get it.”

  I couldn’t believe how humble and sweet he seemed.

  Abbey came into the kitchen and her golden hair and bright-blue eyes reminded me of the woman in the snow globe. She pointed at the clock.

  “Right.” I cleared my throat. “Uhm, Dad, we should be going.”

  “Going?” He laughed. “Oh right. I forgot you guys were going out. You kids have fun, and we’ll see you when you get home, girls.”

  My mom kissed me on the cheek. “We'll be at the movies when you get back. We're going to the late show.”

  “Night.” I walked to the door, wishing I could crawl back under the rock where I had hidden for eighteen years. I didn’t know what had changed to make Jake notice me or Maria be nice to me. I was terrified they were going to torture me at the party. The sweet smile on Jake's face and the annoyed look on my sister's, reassured me. Abbey would never hurt me.

  Jake stepped in front to get the door for me and Abbey.

  Suddenly, as if I were Cinderella, I was living a dream. The dream I had wished for every day.

  He put his hand on the small of my back and walked out of the house after me.

  “You—uh, look pretty.”

  “Thanks, you do too.” I cringed at my stupidity and tried not to notice the way the heat from his hand on my back made my whole body blush.

  I climbed in and unrolled the old truck window when I saw my sister stop walking and point at our car. “I’m going to bring our car, O. I will meet you guys there.”

  “Okay.” I wished she was coming with me. Her leaving was a little like I was about to have pigs’ blood dumped over my head.

  I couldn’t talk. I was dying inside from a nervous breakdown.

  Jake climbed in and sat in the seat, not starting the truck, but seemed to be building up the courage for something. He took a breath. “I’ve liked you forever. You make me really nervous.”

  I started to laugh.

  He turned, seemingly heartbroken.

  “No, s
orry. I didn’t mean to laugh.” I put a hand up. “I feel the same. I thought I was the only one. I feel like a moron around you. You make me nervous. Look, my hands are sweating.”

  His hurt face split into a huge grin. “Oh God, you scared me. I didn’t think a girl like you would ever like a guy like me.”

  “Girl like what? I know they call me emo and say I cut myself. I don't, by the way.”

  He started to laugh. “Who? The mean girls who have been with everyone? So what? No one listens to them anyway. They turn on each other regularly.”

  I swallowed hard and watched the way my right knee trembled.

  He put a hand on my bare thigh, sending sparks across me. “O, I’ve liked you forever. I’m not even kidding. I mean, you're the kind of girl who is too cool to date a guy from high school. You just always seemed so distant, like you didn’t want me to see you.”

  “I'm not too cool. Too nervous is more like it. Before yesterday, it was like no one could see me.” I had never spoken truer words. The twins and I had always blended into the background.

  He leaned in, taking the air and replacing it with his warm breath. “I see you.” His soft lips brushed mine, gently.

  But my first kiss, as romantic as it was, wasn’t enough.

  I responded to his kiss and met him more than halfway.

  I wanted more of his kiss, his breath.

  I wanted him to cover me, pin me against the truck door, and run his hands up my bare legs.

  I moaned into the kiss and then pushed him away. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s cool.” His eyes were wild with passion and life, something I had never seen before. He laughed a throaty chuckle. “We should go.”

  “Yup.” I bit my lip, stopping myself from telling him to drive down a dirt road and take everything. I would give him everything he wanted. I knew what he wanted. I could feel it in the air. Touching him only made it worse. His emotions and feelings crept into my mind with every touch of his fingers.

  My breath was still too big for my chest as we parked in the driveway of Lance’s parents’ house. I didn’t know Lance any more than I knew any of them. They were the popular kids. They tortured the nerds and dorks while ignoring the rest of the insignificant nobodies, like me.

  I went to open the door to the truck, but Jake’s hand reached over and hauled me to him again, wrapping around me. His huge hands crushed me into his chest. He squeezed and pulled until I was in his lap. His greedy fingers rubbed my back, wanting more. More skin to touch, more than just a kiss.

  I pushed hard against his chest. “Wait.”

  He smiled. “Your eyes are different colors,” he spoke breathlessly.

  “Yeah.” I giggled apprehensively. “This is too fast for me.”

  “Me too. We don’t really know each other, though I’ve seen you every day.”

  “I think we should go in.” I felt like I might explode.

  “Okay.”

  I leaned in for a soft kiss but his tongue forced its way inside my mouth. I tried to pull back, but his hands were too strong. His hands were lifting up my skirt.

  “Wait,” I said unconvincingly as his mouth found my neck. His lips burned a trail down my throat.

  His hands slid around to my stomach. They started their progression to my breasts. He moved quickly, skillfully.

  I pushed against him and shouted, “STOP!”

  He froze. His lips looked ridiculous, frozen in the position they had been on my throat. His eyes were half closed, creepily. One of his hands formed a cup just in front of my breast. I backed up against the steering wheel.

  “Jake?” I whispered. He didn’t move, even to breathe. I didn’t know what to do. A panicked scream rose in my throat.

  I glanced around the truck but no one was there.

  My trembling fingers fought with his huge hand clinging to my waist to free myself from his embrace. I struggled to climb away. I kicked my legs and pushed against him violently. Once my body hit the seat, I slid until the cold metal of the door touched my back.

  “Jake! Jake, please stop it. I was just scared. It was going too fast. Jake! Please move again.” I put a foot out to tap his body gently. He remained in the position, perfectly, like a model at the wax museum.

  Tears streamed down my cheeks as I reached a wobbly hand out to his arm. He was frozen, completely. I squeezed his rock-hard bicep and pulled my hand away quickly.

  “Jake,” I whispered again into the silent cab of the truck. The sun had started to set.

  RUN!

  “Who’s there?” I turned, searching for the faces as the whisper filled the truck. “Who are you?” I asked, terrified.

  RUN, OPHELIA! RUN HOME! DON’T STOP RUNNING! YOU AREN’T SAFE!

  I opened the cab of the truck and leapt from it. My flip-flops slapped against the hard pavement as I fled from the driveway of the huge house and the truck with the frozen boy.

  Panic made my heart race as I ran through the downtown core. The small town along the Maine coastline was tiny enough that downtown consisted of about four blocks. My feet ached from the flip-flops but fear and heartache pushed me on. I raced until I reached the only small lane that could be considered an alley. I didn’t notice the shadows begin to take form around my feet.

  I leaned my back against the cool brick wall of the local hardware store. I didn’t know what had happened to Jake. Why had I run? Why had the voices told me to run? Where was my sister? I pulled my phone from my pocket but sparks flew as my fingers met it. I slumped onto the ground between two huge dumpsters and clutched my knees in my arms.

  I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice the white-blue eyes watching me. I didn’t notice the dark shadows separating into fingers, trying to reach out to me.

  My skin shivered from the cool air brushing against the sweat beading on it. I’d been hot all day. I felt like a freak, wiping my hands against my forehead.

  Something changed in the air around me. Suspense hung there, coating my skin like mist. Something moved but I saw nothing. I heard the mist whisper.

  I gulped and waited for whatever it was to show itself. The thumping in my chest started to drive me nuts.

  Suddenly, a huge animal lunged at me from the black empty spaces between the walls of the unlit alley. I put my hands out and screamed. Something pulsed from me. The huge wolf with the pale-blue eyes stumbled back. I screamed again.

  RUN!

  I scanned around in the direction of the voices, but instead of belonging to the mist, they had taken a shape. A huge ball of light separated into six smaller balls. As the light dimmed, six girls stood in the alley. Each held their hands out, their faces identical to mine.

  Where there should’ve been eyes, bright-blue lights shone from their sockets as they made a panicked face and screamed at me in unison. RUN!

  Their voices filled the air. I scrambled to my feet, nearly losing my balance.

  RUN TO THE HOUSE AND STAY INSIDE!

  I rounded the corner of the hardware store and didn’t stop until I was on my street. I raced across my lawn and bolted up my front steps. My shaking hands were barely able to grip the door handle, but I finally got it open. I shot inside the house and locked the door. I didn’t know if the beams of light could get in. I pressed my back against the door and began to sob.

  A knock at the door startled me. “Ophelia?”

  “Jake?” I asked weakly.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No, I feel really sick. I need to go to bed.”

  The door handle rattled above my head. “Ophelia, let me in.”

  I shook my head as if he could see me.

  “Jesus Christ, I just want to talk.” He sounded angry.

  Trembling, I wiped my face and waited for him to leave.

  “Come on, open the door.” His hands quivered the door handle again. “Oh my God! What is that? Let me in. LET ME IN!”

  He began to pound on the door. I jumped back from it and watched the handle shake.

>   “SOMETHING’S OUT HERE!”

  I grabbed the lock and threw open the door.

  He leapt in, knocking me to the ground. I screamed as he pinned me to the floor. The huge wolf with the pale-blue eyes lunged toward us. Its wide-open muzzle bounced off the open doorway as though it had hit a glass wall.

  Jake scrambled off me and dragged me farther inside the house. He lifted me from the floor and held me in his arms tightly.

  “WHAT THE HELL! WHAT THE HELL!”

  I tucked my face into his chest, squinting away from the wolf at the door.

  Jake’s arms wrapped around me. “What the hell was that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He put me on the couch. Jake stepped toward the open door.

  “No, Jake—no, stay here. Don’t go over there,” I whispered, putting my hands out and not taking my eyes off the doorway. A cool breeze blew in, making the door creak. My heart was in my throat, watching him take another step toward it. He peeked around the open doorframe.

  “I don’t see it,” he spoke in a low voice.

  I could feel it though.

  I could hear it whisper in my mind.

  It wanted me.

  It called me a witch.

  It said I was its favorite.

  Suddenly, Jake jumped back. The huge wolf growled, filling the entrance. Jake grabbed the door and swung it hard. It slammed, shaking the entire house.

  His chest rose with his breath.

  I had covered my eyes with my hands and was peeking through the spaces between my fingers.

  He turned to me. “What the hell was that?”

  “A wolf?” I answered almost like I was asking a question.

  “Yeah, I get that it’s a wolf, O, but what the hell is it doing in town? Why’s it chasing us?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He turned the lock on the door. “Why couldn’t it get past the doorway? It bounced on nothing.”

  “I don’t know, Jake. Why did the windows blow out of the classroom? Why did that weird guy bring me that weird snow globe? Why did you freeze in the truck? What is going on?”

  He turned to me, confused. “What? I froze?”

  “Lance’s driveway. We were kissing and then you froze.”

  “I never froze. I looked out the window and when I looked back you were gone.”