Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1)

by Scarlett Haven

  It’s hard not to have a crush on a guy like Estaine.

  Seriously.

  “I like you, Phoenix,” Teagan says. “I consider you my friend. But Estaine, he’s been my friend for a long time. Don’t break his heart.”

  “I won’t,” I say. “At least not on purpose.”

  “And talk to him, okay?”

  “I will,” I say, knowing that she’s right. I can’t avoid him forever. “I promise.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  I nod once.

  And my stomach is already in knots thinking about it.

  Friday, August 25

  Lie.

  The school counselor sits in front of me with a file sitting out in front of her. I wonder what the file says, but mostly I just want to get out of here.

  Ms. Kribs leans forward in her chair, her grayish, blonde hair falling onto her desk as she looks at something in my file.

  Seriously, could she not read this before I came in here?

  I roll my eyes, but keep my mouth shut. I want this to be a one-time visit.

  “Let’s talk about your future,” she says.

  “What do you want to know?” I ask.

  “Where do you want to go to college?”

  “Berkeley,” I answer.

  She nods. “Good school. I see that both of your parents went there. You have excellent grades, a good attendance record and a great resume—surf club, soccer team, and even some volunteer work. I see you’re taking French this year. How is that going?”

  “Meh,” I say. “It’s my second year taking the language, but I don’t feel like I’ve learned that much. I think I could probably ask where the bathrooms are, and order food, but that’s about it.”

  “Learning a second language would really help your application stand out more,” she says.

  “You have my file, and you’re talking about my parents, so you obviously know who my dad is,” I say. “I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting in to an Ivy League school.”

  “Phoenix Black would definitely not have a problem getting in,” Ms. Kribs says. “But Phoenix Underwood might.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say, letting out a frustrated growl. “It’s not fair. I am Phoenix Black. And I’m really hoping this whole terrorist thing will be behind me by then.”

  “You’ve got to be prepared.”

  “Look, it doesn’t matter. If I want to go to Berkeley, I can get in,” I say. “Phoenix Underwood or Phoenix Black. It doesn’t matter. And I really have no desire to learn French. Maybe if I ever planned on moving there, but I don’t.”

  “Fine,” the counselor says, letting out a sigh. I’m sure she’s used to dealing with spoiled, rich kids. “Let’s talk about why you’re here. It must be hard pretending to be somebody you’re not.”

  I shrug, trying to act nonchalant. “It’s... whatever. I’m fine as long as my family is safe.” I stand up from my chair. “Are we done here?”

  “We’ve hardly even talked,” Ms. Kribs says.

  “And yet, I have nothing else to say to you,” I say.

  Yeah, I know. I’m being rude. But I really, really don’t want to be here and she is the one forcing me to. This sucks.

  “Okay,” she says. “You can go. But if ever it becomes too much, or you need somebody to talk to, come find me or call me. I will come night or day.”

  She slides a card across her desk and smiles at me, making me feel even worse for snapping at her.

  I grab the card. “Thank you. And I didn’t mean to be rude... I just... thanks.”

  I get up and quickly vacate the room.

  As I am leaving her office, my phone vibrates.

  TEAGAN: Come hang out the football field!

  ME: K. Be right there.

  I put my phone away and then walk over to the fields. Earlier today, I heard there was going to be a mock football game. Basically, it’s where the team splits up and plays against each other, just for fun. I don’t think the real season starts until after Labor Day. When I looked on the schedule, I saw that our first official game is against West Raven. I happen to know that Brooks plays for West Raven, so I’m not sure which team I will be cheering for. Well, obviously East Raven. On the inside I’ll cheer for West Raven.

  When I get to the stands, I’m surprised to see that they’re nearly full. I spot Teagan as she waves to me, and I walk up the bleachers and sit by her, Penelope, Samantha, and Zoey.

  “What took you so long? The game is about to start,” Teagan says.

  “I had to talk to the school counselor,” I say. “About college and my future.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Ugh... she does that to everybody. Like, come on. Most of the kids here have known where they were going to college since before they were even conceived. Our parents plan this stuff.”

  I want to argue, but maybe she’s right. I am going where my parents went.

  “So, tonight we’re all hanging out in the student lounge,” Penelope says, excitedly. “At least, until curfew. After curfew, we’re going to the docks.”

  “I’ll come,” I say.

  Because, seriously. It’s Friday night, we don’t have class all weekend, and I desperately need to unwind and have some fun after the stressful week I’ve had.

  “She’s definitely coming,” Teagan says. “Tonight, she is going to stop avoiding Estaine.”

  “Why would you avoid him?” Zoey asks.

  “Seriously. He’s definitely the hottest guy here,” Penelope says. “If I knew he would give me the time of day, I’d totally be going for it.”

  “Estaine doesn’t date,” Samantha says. “I don’t think he’s ever even shown interest in a girl.”

  “There was that one girl freshman year,” Zoey says. “But they totally didn’t date long. She dumped him. Seriously, she was an idiot.”

  “I heard she is pregnant,” Samantha says.

  “I saw that on her Instagram,” Penelope says. “She does a weekly update of her baby bump. I want to be like, girl, you’re sixteen. Nobody wants to see your baby bump.”

  I laugh at the three of them.

  Samantha, Zoey, and Penelope have been friends since before East Raven Academy. I think their parents are friends and they grew up together. You can definitely tell. They’re so close, and I’m jealous of that. But they love to gossip. I can imagine their moms, all sitting around the country club gossiping about the other rich ladies, and then I imagine them doing the same when they’re older.

  “Back to the point... why are you avoiding the hottest guy in our school?” Samantha asks.

  “He likes her,” Teagan says. “He even stopped by our dorm room last night, wanting to see her.”

  “Oh, my gosh! What did he say?” Zoey asks.

  All three of them are sitting on the edge of their seats.

  “Well, he called her beautiful,” Teagan answers.

  Zoey lets out a girly sigh, and Samantha and Penelope both squeal as they look at me.

  “Why the heck would you avoid him?” Samantha asks. “Seriously! This is Estaine Rinaldi. ESTAINE! And you’d have to be blind to not think he’s attractive. You have to stop avoiding him, and date him.”

  “And then you can tell us if he’s a good kisser,” Zoey says. “Because we’re all dying to know.”

  “Yes. We want lots of details,” Penelope says, nodding vigorously.

  “I’ll stop avoiding Estaine,” I say. Because I seriously can’t stand to avoid him any longer. I need to tell somebody the truth. It’s literally going to bust out of me if I don’t talk to him. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to date him or kiss him.”

  In fact, I happen to be very interested in another guy. A guy who happens to be just as hot as Estaine. And we have this crazy, instant attraction thing going on. I’d be crazy not to at least try to date Brooks, no matter how complicated it might be. I’m already hiding so much from my friends and I definitely don’t want to hide my “love life”.

  Eventually,
I will tell them.

  “You’d be an idiot not to date Estaine,” Teagan says. Penelope, Samantha, and Zoey all agree, but thankfully they change the subject.

  While we’re at the game, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I discretely pull it out to read. I don’t want another incident where people see me texting “Mom” or “Dad,” because my parents are supposed to be dead. I also don’t want them to see me text Brooks.

  BROOKS: Counting down the minutes until I can see you.

  Heart.

  Melting.

  I didn’t even realize it was possible to like a guy as much as I like Brooks. Just seeing his name on my phone gives me butterflies.

  ME: I can’t wait. It’s been such a long week.

  BROOKS: It has been for me too. My English Lit teacher HATES me. So school has been ridiculous.

  ME: Why does your teacher hate you?

  BROOKS: It’s kind of a long story... but let’s just say it involves a water hose, fish, shrink wrap and her car.

  ME: Hmmm… now that sounds like a fun story. I haven’t been here long enough to make my teachers hate me.

  BROOKS: So what are you doing? Can you video chat?

  ME: Football game... so, no. Basically I’m texting you, listening to my friends gossip and not at all paying attention to the game.

  BROOKS: Will you pay attention when I’m playing?

  ME: YES. But only because I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my eyes off of you.

  BROOKS: Good.

  ME: I’m nervous. I’ve been avoiding my friend, Estaine, all week. Tonight, my girl friends are forcing me to talk to him.

  BROOKS: Why have you been avoiding him?

  Umm…

  ME: Just stupid drama.

  The crowd around me cheers, and I look up to see that Estaine made a touchdown.

  Cool.

  BROOKS: Estaine doesn’t normally hang out with girls.

  How does he know that? I thought Brooks and Estaine weren’t friends.

  ME: He doesn’t. We’re friends, though. So we hang out.

  BROOKS: Should I be jealous?

  ME: Nah. Like I said, I’ve been avoiding him, so you definitely shouldn’t be jealous. I talk to you every single day.

  BROOKS: If you didn’t, I would sneak on campus and force you to talk to me :P

  ME: Am I going to have to get a restraining order?

  BROOKS: Only if you suddenly stop texting me.

  ME: Not gonna happen.

  “Phoenix, what do you think?” Teagan asks.

  I look up and see that all four of the girls are watching me.

  “Um... what do I think about what?” I ask.

  “Who are you texting?” Zoey asks.

  I lock my phone. “Just my cousin.”

  Lie.

  Uh, why don’t I just tell them the truth? Has this whole experience just numbed my conscience? I now just lie without even thinking about it. I don’t want to be a liar. I’m about to open my mouth and just tell them the truth, when the crowd starts cheering loudly again. I look out on the field and see that Estaine has the ball again. He gets tackled to the ground, but everybody still seems happy.

  I so do not understand this game.

  And really, who are we cheering for? Both sides are East Raven Academy.

  My phone vibrates in my hand, so I look at the screen, expecting a text from Brooks, but it’s not. It’s from Charlie.

  CHARLIE: Holly and Frank are here. KILL. ME.

  I laugh out loud, making all four girls look at me.

  “Sorry. It’s my…” brother… “cousin. He just sent something funny.”

  I text him back.

  ME: This is the first time I’ve been genuinely happy to be nowhere near you.

  Holly and Frank Bennett are Charlie’s grandparents. They’re my stepdad’s parents.

  And they are cruel.

  Oh, not to Charlie. They love Charlie. And they love Rick. It’s me and my mom that they despise. They treat us like absolute garbage, for no reason, and I have to resist the urge to smack them across the face every time they visit.

  Really, I’m not a violent person, but these people bring out a violent side of me that I never knew existed.

  CHARLIE: Your mom bailed a few hours ago. She went out to get milk. I don’t think she’ll be coming back home until they leave.

  Good for Mom.

  Mom has tried so hard to impress her in-laws since she and Rick got married, but it’s all been in vain.

  “Phoenix, who do you think is cuter—Dawson Rowland or Austin Vanderbilt?” Zoey asks.

  “Who are they?” I ask.

  Zoey’s mouth falls open. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “Austin is number 83,” Teagan says, pointing to the football field.

  I look and immediately recognize the guy. He’s the head prefect I met on the first day here.

  “Ah, red Converse guy,” I say. “Yeah, I know him. He seems nice.”

  “And Dawson is number 37,” Penelope says.

  I look out on the field to try and spot number 37. I find him just as Sebastian’s team makes a touchdown. It’s obvious that Dawson is upset. He yanks his helmet off and throws it.

  “Dawson looks like he’s got a temper problem,” I say, as his coach yells at him. After a few seconds, he jogs over to his helmet and gets back in the game.

  “He does tend to get angry when playing football,” Zoey says. “But he’s really hot.”

  “I would never date a guy who gets angry like that,” I say. “If he gets that angry over a game of football, what else does he get mad over? I’m not about to become somebody’s punching bag.”

  “I didn’t think of it like that before,” Zoey says, but she, Penelope, and Samantha all look like they’re thinking about what I said.

  Good.

  “Where is Emma?” I ask Teagan.

  By the way she rolls her eyes, I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.

  “She and Bryce are fighting again. She made the dance team and apparently he’s changed his mind about supporting her,” Teagan says. “She is currently in her room crying, while Bryce is playing football.”

  “I really can’t stand him,” I say.

  “You and me both,” she says.

  Penelope, Zoey, and Samantha all stand up, announce that they’re going to get some snacks, and then walk down the bleachers. Teagan scoots closer to me in their absence.

  “So, you’re really going to talk to Estaine tonight, right?” she asks.

  “Yes,” I answer. “I’m tired of avoiding him.”

  “Good,” she says. “I really do think you two will make a good couple. You’re ridiculously perfect for each other.”

  I should tell her about Brooks now.

  And I plan to do so.

  But, then I think about how Estaine and Jason reacted when I told them that I had talked to Brooks at the bonfire, and I just can’t handle somebody else telling me that I shouldn’t date Brooks. At least, not without them giving me a valid reason for it. So I don’t tell her. I just let her think that Estaine and I would make the perfect couple, because that’s better. Besides, no matter what she thinks, Estaine is not interested in me. Like, at all. We’re friends.

  Still, my heart beats faster when I think about talking to him later tonight. I’m going to tell him the truth. It could be the best, or worst, decision of my life.

  9pm.

  The moment of truth.

  Everybody is hanging out in the student lounge. I’m sitting by Teagan as she talks to a sophomore girl I’ve never met before, but I’m not paying attention to their conversation because I am too nervous.

  When the football game ended, Estaine found me in the stands, told me not to run away tonight, that he was going to talk to me, and he told me to meet him here. And so, I’m waiting for him to arrive.

  I’ve tried to imagine how this conversation is going to go. In my head, it’s gone a lot of different ways, both good and b
ad. The bad being, he doesn’t believe me when I tell him the truth. Why should he believe me? I’ve lied so many times to him, how can he even trust that I’m telling the truth? To be honest, if I were in his shoes, I’m not sure I would believe me. But I hope he does. I so hope he does, because I need somebody on my side. Somebody besides Uncle Matty and Jake. And technically, they’re being paid to be on my side.

  I know that none of this is my fault. It’s not even my dad’s fault.

  Stupid terrorists.

  The door opens, and my heart rate accelerates as I watch Estaine walk through the door.

  This is it.

  The moment of truth.

  I watch him look around the room until his eyes land on me. He starts making his way over and I swallow hard. When he reaches me, he doesn’t say a word. He just grabs my hand and pulls me from the crowded room. I glance back at Teagan as we walk through the door, and she is smiling at me.

  I am pulled through the door, but Estaine still doesn’t say a word. He just keeps walking, holding my wrist, and he pulls me farther and farther away from the student center, until I can’t even see the building anymore. Then he stops and looks at me.

  “Are you ready to tell me the truth?” he asks.