I nod.
“Good,” he says, running a hand through his hair.
I walk over towards a nearby tree and take a seat. I pat the ground beside me. “This might take a while.”
He walks over and sits beside me. I pull my knees against my chest and take a deep breath, trying to decide how to tell him.
“First thing you should know is that what I am about to tell you is dangerous, and you can’t tell anybody,” I say. “If you do, you could be in danger, along with me and everybody at this school.”
“That sounds scary, Phoenix,” Estaine says.
“It is. So, I need you to promise,” I say.
He nods. “Okay. I promise.”
That’s all the encouragement I need.
“I’m not Phoenix Underwood,” I say. “I am Phoenix Black and my father is Tommy Black. I was sent here after being kidnapped by a group of terrorists. It sounds scary, I know. But they didn’t have me long before the secret service rescued me. To be honest, for that whole time, I was passed out from the drugs they gave me, and didn’t even know I was kidnapped until they told me, when I woke up in the hospital the next day.”
“Tommy Black... secret service,” he says, I guess trying to wrap his head around it. “Wow. Your dad is... congress...”
“Yeah,” I say. “And he’s alive. So is my mom. And Uncle Matty isn’t really my uncle. Jake isn’t my cousin. They’re actually secret service agents. They’re living on campus. When I said I had a family emergency, it was them.”
“I don’t know what to say. This is all just... crazy.”
“You know the shooting that happened at that Texas school?”
He nods.
“They were looking for me. The secret service left some false trails, and it lead them to that school,” I say. “It’s my fault those people are dead.”
Estaine stays quite for a moment. So long that I think I’ve completely scared him away. Truthfully, I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to be my friend. Being my friend could, potentially, be dangerous, and the last thing I want to do is put anybody at East Raven Academy in danger.
“You know it’s not actually you’re fault, right?” Estaine asks.
“In theory.”
He scoots close to me, until our shoulders are touching. “Phoenix, you’re in an impossible situation. None of this is your fault.”
“So, you believe me?” I ask.
“Why would I not believe you?”
“Because I’ve been lying so much.”
“I know you’re not lying now,” he says. “Despite what you may think, you’re actually not a good liar.”
“Trust me, I know I’m not.”
“It makes so much sense now. All of it. Why you’ve been avoiding me, why you reacted the way you did when I saw your dad was calling,” he says. “I was fully prepared to come out here and end up hating you.”
“I was trying to prepare for you to hate me,” I say. “But I don’t want you to hate me.”
“I don’t,” he says. “I feel like I know the real you now, and I really like the real you.”
“So we can still be friends?” I ask.
“There is nothing that could make me not want to be your friend,” Estaine says.
I lean my head over on his shoulder, feeling so much relief. This definitely turned out better than any scenario that I imagined. “You know, I haven’t told anybody else besides you. I mean, my family knows, obviously, and the secret service. So, this is kind of a big deal. A huge deal. I’m pretty sure if I told Uncle Matty and Jake, they would freak out, possibly threaten you, and pull me out of school.”
“Then we just have to make sure they don’t find out,” he says. “I promise I won’t tell anybody, because I want you here.”
“You do?”
“Of course. East Raven was boring before you.”
“I doubt that. My life was pretty boring until I came here,” I say. “I mean, besides the whole getting kidnapped thing. All I ever did was hang out with my stepbrother and his friends. Last year, one of Charlie’s friends felt sorry for me, and asked me to homecoming so I wouldn’t have to go alone.”
“I doubt that was his reason.”
“No. He literally told me that he didn’t figure anybody else would ask me, so he asked me.”
“I can’t believe you said yes,” he says.
“I said no. But then I realized I kind of did want to go to homecoming. Charlie was dating some girl at the time, and I knew if I didn’t go with his friend, I wouldn’t be able to go,” I say. “It was fun, even if the guy was a really bad dancer.”
“I’m a great dancer,” Estaine says.
This surprises me, so I lift my head and look at him. “Seriously?”
He laughs. “No. Not at all.”
“I’m not a particularly good dancer, either,” I say.
“Well, that’s perfect then. You and I will go to homecoming together and we can suck together,” he says.
“Definitely,” I say.
I think he’s joking about going to homecoming together. If he’s not, it probably would be for the best, anyway. I don’t think I can exactly bring Brooks to my homecoming, even if he’s convinced I can go to West Raven for his. I would have fun with Estaine.
“By the way, what is up with your t-shirt tonight?” Estaine asks me.
I look down to see which one I’m wearing. My t-shirt is white and in black letters it says, ‘Got to have fries on Friday.’
“You don’t get it?” I ask. “It’s kind of a spoof from that video that went viral years ago. The Friday song by Rebecca Black. But it doesn’t matter what day it is, because every day is a fry day.”
“You are one weird chick, Phoenix,” Estaine says.
“I know.”
11pm.
Story of my life.
Estaine and I got to talking, and didn’t realize that it was a few minutes past curfew, so we both run back to our dorms—and I get detention. The amount of time you get in detention is based on how late you are for curfew. I was ten minutes late so I have to do twice that amount. Twenty minutes on Monday.
I walk to my dorm room, thinking how much Monday is going to suck.
I have never had detention before. I’ve never been late for class, never acted out of line, nor did anything worthy of detention. The fact that I’m in trouble for being late for a stupid curfew, makes me mad. Why do we even have a curfew? My mom never gave me a curfew before.
When I open the door, Teagan is sitting up on her bed.
“Oh, my gosh! Tell. Me. Everything,” she says.
“I got detention for being late,” I say, sitting down on my own bed.
She waves me off. “I’ve already had detention twice this year for being late. It’s not a big deal. I mean with Estaine. Tell me everything that happened.”
“Oh,” I say. “We just talked.”
“About what?”
“Stuff. Life,” I answer.
“Are you dating now?” she asks.
“No.”
She frowns, obviously disappointed.
“He did say he wants to take me to homecoming, though, I’m not sure if he was being serious,” I say.
She lets out a squeal. “I knew it! He’s so into you!”
“Shut up, he’s not,” I say.
“But you like him, right?”
“He’s my friend. And he is super attractive,” I say. But I’m kind of into somebody else. “Right now, I kind of just want to be his friend. And I’m pretty sure he feels the same way as I do.”
“Okay,” she says. “I get it. You guys want to go slow.”
I have a feeling that Teagan never does anything slow.
“Slow isn’t a bad thing,” I say.
“You’re right. Some of the best relationships start out with being just friends,” she says.
“Have you ever dated somebody you were just friends with first?”
“Nah,” she answers. “I’m too imp
atient. I meet a guy, fall in love within a week, and it’s over within a month. Story of my life.”
I think about Brooks and wonder if I am moving too fast with him. We met and had some kind of crazy instant attraction thing, but do we even have anything in common? I guess I will find out Saturday.
Tomorrow.
Oh, my gosh.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
I’m hanging out with Brooks tomorrow.
I need to talk to somebody.
I’m just going to tell Teagan.
“You and Estaine will probably get married someday,” she says.
“I’m sixteen, so I doubt that,” I say.
“I didn’t mean soon. I meant, you’re the kind of girl who will probably meet her future husband in high school, go to college together and then get married,” she says.
“Maybe,” I say. “I kind of like somebody.”
“Somebody besides Estaine?” she asks.
I nod.
“Who?” she asks, her eyes wide. “Is it Jason? He does flirt with you a lot.”
“Not Jason,” I answer. “He doesn’t exactly go to our school.”
“Oh,” she says. “So, somebody from your old school or something?”
“No... um...” I let my voice trail off before continuing. “Somebody from West Raven.”
She gasps. “No way! Who?”
“Brooks Remington.”
“Brooks! Oh, my gosh! He is absolutely the hottest guy at West Raven Academy,” she says. “But don’t get your hopes up. Brooks Remington doesn’t date.”
“We’re going out tomorrow,” I say.
She lets out another excited squeal and I’m thinking that we’re about to get in trouble because of all the noise she’s making. “Seriously, Phoenix, you are so incredibly lucky. Brooks Remington is completely unattainable by girls at East and West Raven, and you’ve managed to get a date with the guy. This is insane!”
“I didn’t know all that.”
“You’re going to be the envy of every girl at East and West. Like, wow,” she says. “But, that being said, I still think you’re perfect for Estaine.”
“What about Brooks?” I ask. “Is he a good guy?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. He doesn’t really ever date anybody, like I said. I heard he was in love with some girl that he knows back home, but I’m not sure if that’s true. I think some girl might have made it up because he rejected her. But, I also know that Estaine and Brooks hate each other. Like, the only time I’ve ever seen Estaine lose his temper, it was over Brooks.”
“I wonder why.”
“I don’t know. But I’d be careful with Brooks,” she says. “I don’t think Estaine is quick to make an enemy. As you’ve probably already seen, he’s friends with everybody.”
“Yeah, I did notice.”
“How fair is it that you come here and get the attention of not one, but two hot guys?” Teagan says, shaking her head. “I’m pretty sure that every girl is going to hate you when they find out.”
“Well, then, I guess they don’t need to know about Brooks,” I say. “For now, anyway.”
Teagan suddenly stands up and points at me. “Oh, my gosh. You weren’t texting your cousin during the football game, were you?”
“It was Brooks,” I say.
“I knew it! You were smiling entirely too big for it to have been a text from your cousin,” she says.
“I like him a lot. And I’m so nervous, because we had this crazy attraction when we met,” I say. “And we’ve been texting and video chatting, but what if we hang out tomorrow and have nothing in common?”
“I doubt that,” she says. “I’ve had my fair share of awkward first dates, but never with a guy I’m really into. If you’ve been texting and talking to him, then I think everything will be fine. And if it’s not, then cheer up, ’cause you’ve still got Estaine.”
She starts laughing, so I throw my pillow at her, which only makes her laugh harder.
I think everything is going to be okay tomorrow.
At least, I hope so.
Saturday, August 26
I already like you, so...
I am a nervous wreck.
I’ve been staring at my closet for the past thirty minutes, and still haven’t made a move to pick out an outfit.
Dating is stressful. Nobody told me that dating was going to be like this. I pictured all the romance and the cute moments, but not the stress of having to pick out an outfit. I never imagined the stress of a first date.
My phone goes off, so I step away from my closet to check the message.
BROOKS: I get to see you today, and I am ridiculously excited.
I smile.
Ah, seriously. Could he be any more perfect?
ME: Would you think any less of me if I admitted that I’m super nervous?
BROOKS: Why are you nervous?
ME: First date. Remember? I’ve never had a boyfriend...
BROOKS: ...
BROOKS: Seriously? TODAY is your FIRST DATE? Like, ever???
ME: Yes. Seriously.
ME: I mean, if it’s a date. I’m not sure what you consider a date. We’re hanging out.
BROOKS: It’s a date. It’s definitely a date.
BROOKS: And don’t be nervous, because I already like you, so...
He.
Already.
Likes.
Me.
Why did my heart suddenly go from 60 to 110?
“It’s too early to be smiling.”
I look over at Teagan, who has one eye open.
“I told Brooks that I was nervous, and he said this... Don’t be nervous, because I already like you,” I say, reading off the screen.
Teagan is now smiling. “Okay, maybe I can make an exception for smiling this morning. Oh, my gosh, Phoenix. That’s huge. And you are so incredibly lucky.”
“I know, but I’m freaking out. I have no idea what to wear!”
She gets out of bed. “Okay, calm down. I’m going to pee and then I’m going to pick out something for you to wear.”
“Okay,” I say, trying to take a deep, even breath.
While I’m waiting for her, I text Brooks back.
ME: I think I might really like you, too, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that.
BROOKS: Kinda. Your poker face sucks. But that’s okay, because it’s one of the MANY things I like about you.
ME: What if you don’t like me after today?
BROOKS: Trust me, it’s not possible.
Isn’t it, though?
That is my fear... that he will change his mind.
I already like Brooks a lot, and I’m scared that once he knows the real me, he won’t like me anymore.
Should I tell him who I really am?
I mean, I probably should. It’s only fair that he knows the truth. And that he knows that two guys in the secret service are going to be watching us from afar today. And if it makes him not want to date me, it’s better to know now, rather than later, right?
Or maybe not.
The bathroom door opens up and Teagan walks over to my closet. She looks inside for two seconds before pulling out a white sundress that I’ve never worn before.
“Wear this,” she says. “With your dark skin tone and your dark hair, you’ll look like a total knock out.”
“Thanks,” I say.
“And leave your hair down.”
I nod.
“And no lip gloss, because despite what most girls think, guys don’t like lip gloss. Besides, it’s really gross kissing with lip gloss on,” she says.
“You think he’ll kiss me?” I ask.
“Duh,” she says.
I sit down on the bed again, feeling a little nauseous.
First date and first kiss... all in one day?
“Oh, my gosh. You’ve never been kissed,” Teagan says.
“Nope,” I answer. “Definitely never.”
“That’s actually really sweet,” she s
ays. “Everybody is nervous for their first kiss. Of course, most people are a bit younger than sixteen...”
“Hey!”
“I was fourteen. It was, like, the day before my fifteenth birthday,” she says. “Funny story, but Jason Thorton was actually my first kiss. He kissed me at the docks after curfew one night.”
“No way. You two dated?”
“Gosh, no way,” she says. “We just made out. A lot. We still do sometimes, but only when I’m bored.”
I shake my head at her.
“What? He’s a good kisser,” she says.
“Right,” I say.
“Anyway, my point was, first kisses may be scary, but they’re magical. Especially since you like Brooks so much. It will be perfect. Don’t stress about it, or even think about it until it happens. And trust me, once you kiss him, you’ll want to do it again.”
“Obviously, since you can’t keep your lips off Jason Thor Thorton.”
She rolls her eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“Too late, you can’t take it back,” I say, standing up. “I’m going to put this on.”
I walk into the bathroom to put on my dress. When I do, I look in the mirror at myself.
I do look good.
Girly.
Pretty.
Teagan was right.
She’s always right about this kind of stuff.
I step out of the bathroom to show her.
“You are so gorgeous,” she says.
“Thanks,” I say.
“If Brooks doesn’t fall head over heels in love with you when he sees you, then he’s an idiot.”
11am.
This boy.
I’m meeting Brooks at the front gate of the school, mostly to avoid anybody seeing us. I had Uncle Matty and Jake drive me there, and now they are currently parked off to the side. They are going to follow us around all day and make sure we don’t get shot by terrorists. What a perfect first date...
Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1) Page 11