by Rebel Hart
But secretly, I did wonder if I could bring myself to open up to him. I am still fiercely attracted to him, and there aren’t many parts of the day when he isn’t taking up at least some portion of my brain. I worry it might be some kind of Stockholm syndrome, so I am grateful for the space to sort it out.
I fire through track practice, leaving all the other girls in the dust. Though the nightmare I’ve been through took up a lot of time, putting me out of practice, I have a new fuel out on the track. Now running is a mission to escape everything I have been through. I tell myself if I run fast enough, maybe it will all be so far behind me that I won’t see it at all anymore.
Every slam of my foot to the ground is the crushing of another memory. Each mile behind me puts me further into the future. Every pained breath in my lungs washes out more of Emmett. I am taking it one day at a time, but at this rate…everything will be behind me in no time.
The other girls can’t even touch me now. No matter what hell they’ve seen in their lives, I doubt any of it holds a candle to what I’ve experienced. Emmett and I are connected in that way now. The strange isolated privileged life of wealth he’s known makes him so different from everyone else around him. And now I feel different too.
As I’m finishing up, I can’t help but think how happy I am that Coach Granger is back. I don’t pry into his personal life to ask what pulled him away, but I suspect the Elites had something to do with it. Maybe he was the only person they couldn’t sway, so they caused some kind of trouble in his life that forced him to be away.
“Good work out there today, kid,” Coach Granger beams, patting me on the shoulder.
“It’s good to have you back,” I tell him, swinging a towel over my shoulder as I head for the locker room. “Is everything okay? You were out for a pretty long time.”
His stare grows distant and stern. “Just some trouble at home,” he answers lightly, with a strange unease about him. “It’s funny,” he remarks in a way that doesn’t sound amused at all, “I had just mentioned to some people I know how worried I was about you right before everything happened.”
“Before what happened?” I ask cluelessly.
“I heard you were absent for a bit yourself while I was gone,” he continues. “According to the other girls on our team. If I didn’t know any better…I’d think someone wanted me out of the way for something.” He lets the idea hang there, studying me carefully.
“I wondered the same thing myself,” I reply gingerly.
We exchange a knowing nod before he walks away. I think we both know better than to say too much more about it right now. But that brief conversation told me everything I needed to know. He was the only person in the school who would have my back over the Elites. And that’s exactly why they made sure he was gone during the final stages of their plan. They knew I would go to him in desperation.
But what I really want to know is…could he have helped? Is that why they needed to make sure I couldn’t confide in him when I needed it the most? I don’t want to know what they did to make sure he’d be gone. I’m just glad those days are over. And that now I know he's a safe haven for anything that may come up in the future. Hopefully none of us ever have to be so careful again.
I walk across the black, cracked pavement navigating around cars that are coming and going from the painted white spaces. I have started parking closer to the building now, despite the assigned parking. No one seems to care now that the Elites are out of the way.
Much like my home has become more comforting to me than ever before, long walks like this are more precious. I close my eyes and lean my head back, feeling the warm sun on my face. Relishing in the freedom to come and go as I please without worrying who is waiting for me around the corner.
It’s well into fall now and I have to wear a hoodie when I’m not running. I curl into the warmth and comfort of it around my skin. All of these small things have become so big after wondering if I would ever live to see another day.
Suddenly, I think I catch a glimpse of Lily in the distance, but she disappears around the corner before I can even think about catching up to her. I hope when the time is right, things will be easier to mend with her now. But I’m giving her the same space I requested of Emmett.
I wonder when Emmett will come back to school. And when he does, if he’ll be different. He has to be. Everything is different now.
A few days later, I see Lily sitting alone in the lunchroom. The social dynamics of school have changed completely now. All of the Elites have still been absent, including Emmett.
Still dealing with the aftermath of all their families have been implicated in and Thomas’ death. At least for a little while, none of us have to worry about being seen talking to the wrong person. Everyone is much more relaxed. The laughter echoing through the rooms sounds less menacing. Kids seems to be talking about normal things again now that they’re not terrified and wrapped up in the game of the Elites.
I take the opportunity to approach Lily’s table, thinking maybe things will be different between us now. I stand there for a moment, my tray in my hands, trying to read her receptiveness. “Mind if I sit?” I ask finally, after she tries to ignore my presence.
“Go ahead,” she answers, not looking up from her sandwich as she takes another bite.
I slide in across from her and start picking at the food on my tray, cutting my eyes up to her every few seconds. “I guess you’ve heard about everything that’s happened?” I question her carefully.
“Thomas Jameson is dead,” she replies curtly.
I nod, hoping she’ll say more from there. “I’m surprised you didn’t come talk to me when you found out. It’s big news after all.” But we fall back to silence. “So, did it help your situation at all?”
A smile curls across her lips, giving me hope. “Actually…I got a call from Julliard a few days after it happened,” she gushes, still holding back from being too warm with me. “I’ve been accepted on full scholarship. They claimed the rescinded interest was a mistake.”
“Lily, that’s amazing!” I shriek, wishing things would go back to the way they were before between us. “And the other schools? Did you hear from any of them?”
“That’s what’s funny about it,” she continues, turning cold again. “Julliard was the only one to call.”
“I guess that is a little funny,” I nod cluelessly. “But good…because that’s the only one you cared about, right?”
She looks back down to her tray, spitting out a bite of food in disgust before going quiet yet again. I am completely lost as to why she still hates me or why she’s being weird about the school calling.
“Come on, Lily…the Elites are gone. There’s no reason to be angry with me anymore. It’s not like they can punish you for being friendly to me now. We’re free,” my eyes light up optimistically, but she seems unconvinced.
“The only person left who has the kind of sway to turn things around with Julliard like that is Emmett,” she proposes in an accusatory tone. “And the only person who knew Julliard was my top choice was you.”
“What are you getting at?” I cut my eyes upwards and shake my head. Refusing to believe that Emmett would do anything nice for anyone. Especially after the way he has tried to keep Lily and I apart.
“What happened with you and Emmett?” she sneers. “You two must have got awfully close for him to want to do something like that for me.”
“There’s nothing going on with us,” I defend bitterly. “I didn’t even know about any of this until you told me. I had nothing to do with it, I swear.”
“Well…that’s hard to believe, but I sure hope it’s true,” she bites back. “Emmett is a monster. I would hate for the Elites to get taken down just so you can become the new Vivian.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I snap, the tremor in my voice sounding too defensive. “I could never be like her! I can’t believe you’d even suggest something like that.” I watch her tear away pieces of a roll only to throw
them down again, forming a tiny pile of torn crumbs. “A lot has happened, Lily. I wish I had you to talk to during some of it. You probably could have helped.”
“I doubt it,” she murmurs. “I don’t want to help anyone but myself from now on. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“I don’t understand why you’re still being this way!” I force myself to lower my head and speak in a hushed pitch, to avoid screaming so loud the entire cafeteria hears me. “The Elites are gone! Sure, maybe Emmett will still be around, but he hasn’t been at school since his dad died. And if you do think he took care of the Julliard thing…don’t you think that proves maybe he’s different than the rest of them?”
I think to myself that it’s a good sign that he would do something like that for Lily even while I’m not giving him what he wants. Maybe he does stand some chance at being redeemed. But I don’t dare try to argue that to Lily right now.
“I knew it,” her eyes cut into me. “I knew you were going soft for him. He got to you, didn’t he? Buttered you all up to make you think he wasn’t like his dad and sister? Don’t fall for it, Ophelia. You’re only going to get hurt.”
“I’ve already been hurt plenty,” I quip back. “You have no idea.” I study her to see if there is any hope of this conversation turning with a positive spin, but she seems dead set on keeping me as her enemy for some reason. “Look, if that’s how you want to be…I’ll leave you alone. But I hope you come around someday. I’m not with Emmett. We don’t even speak anymore. And even if I do ever get ‘buttered up’ as you say…I could never be like Vivian.”
“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” she answers coldly. “I know all about who your father is.”
My blood runs cold. “What the hell do you know about my father?”
“I know he was one of them, and I heard he’s back,” she thunders.
The words of the police officers ring through my ears. If my father is still around, I don’t want to know anything about it. I don’t want to be held responsible for not reporting it or being faced with the choice of what to do with that information. As much as I want to pry into what exactly Lily knows, I want even more to protect myself and stay blissfully ignorant for as long as I can.
“I have to go,” I quake, rushing up from seat without bothering to grab my tray. “Take care of yourself, Lily,” I offer sincerely as I bolt from the cafeteria.
“You too, Ophelia,” she calls out menacingly as I flee.
My chest burns as I race through the halls, looking over my shoulders in paranoia. Lily’s words echoing through my brain with each step. He’s back. What did that mean…he’s back? What could possibly be left for him in Jameson? Surely, he was smart enough to know it’d never be safe here for him. He got his revenge and took out Thomas Jameson. Why wasn’t that enough?
Unless…with Emmett’s rise to power as the new alpha of Jameson…he latched on to work his way back up the top, taking back everything he lost and then some. Could they still be working together?
Why would Emmett do that for Lilly? Was that some sort of peace offering? An attempt to show me he’s changed now that he’s free from his father?
Lily’s accusations rest sour in my gut. How could she ever think I would be anything like Vivian? I think back to what they did to her freshman year. How they took her in, treated her like a friend. All so they could humiliate her at the homecoming dance.
That was the same Emmett. Not too different from the way he declared his love for her in the schoolyard right after we had sex. Lily once had the hots for him too and even considered Vivian a friend. Was it just history repeating itself with me? Only the torture tactics intensified with age?
But maybe Emmett really was just always doing what he thought he had to. Looking tough and cool in front of his friends, because if he didn’t they’d destroy him. And make sure his father made his life more of a living hell than he already did.
Emmett said I would understand more if I gave him a chance. If I knew more about what his life had been like. But opening myself up to his side of things only opened me up to more manipulation. More risk of harm. And I just don’t think I can do it again.
I make my way down the mostly empty halls, trying to keep my breathing under control. I go to get my things for my next class out of my locker. I stop for a moment, smoothing my thumb across the metal of my lock. I want everything to be open like that. To have all the answers so I can be free from worrying and not knowing who to trust. The moment I was freed from the Jameson’s, I was thrown into the crashing waves of the mind fuck that lingers after.
I shrug my shoulders and slam the door shut, jumping at a figure that appears suddenly behind it.
It’s Emmett. He has dark circles under his eyes and his hair looks damp from sweat.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I gasp, feeling uneasy with his disheveled appearance.
“Come with me,” he barks, not bothering to explain before taking me by the hand and leading me into a janitor’s closet.
I try to pull away, but he’s too strong.
We shuffle in between shelves filled with chemicals and boxes of supplies. A cascade of mops and brooms clatter in the corner as we accidentally bump into them. He quickly turns me around, placing his hands across my shoulders in urgency.
I start to squirm to pull away, but I sense an urgency in him. He’s looking over his shoulder in fear as footsteps echo beyond the door, but he seems to breathe more easily when he hears the unrecognizable voices of two girls laughing and talking about normal things.
“What’s going on?” I shriek as he pushes me into the closet, locking the door behind us.
“Shhhhh, please,” he’s panicked, looking around with his palms suspended midair as he tries to quiet me. “Keep it down. I know I’m being watched.”
I have never seen him so vulnerable and afraid. I don’t want to buy into it, but a big part of me also just wants to take him into my arms like a scared little child.
Emmett’s grown up in a life of privilege. He’s never had to want for anything. He’s intelligent, selfish and dangerous. He harbors a caged-in resentment toward everyone, and I am all too familiar with the violence he can inflict when he’s angry. He’s nothing like an innocent little child. But for some reason, as I look at him now, all I can see is a lost little boy. And I want to hold him.
“By who?” I answer in a more hushed tone to appease him.
“I don’t know, but I need your help,” he explains in terror. “Bernadette is missing.”
“What do you mean she’s missing?” I respond with a bored and dismissive sigh. “She’s probably just hiding out somewhere. She doesn’t have her precious Elite gang to back her up anymore and she can’t stand to be on her own.”
“No, she hasn’t been home,” he insists frantically. “I’m worried someone’s taken her.”
“Who!? Who’s taken her?” I put my hands to his shoulders trying to calm him down. But I quickly stop myself from getting roped in. “Why are you coming to me with this? I told you I don’t want to see you, and I definitely don’t want to get dragged into another mess like before.”
His muscular arms are tense beneath my touch. I realize this is the first time I’ve seen him in at least a week. It catches me off-guard instantly. Erasing all the work I’ve done to run him away. To sweat him out of my system.
Strands of his dark wavy hair hangs in his eyes, damp with sweat. His magnetic gray eyes burn into me, pulling me back into my undeniable attraction for him. I bite my lip, wishing it would go away. I thought I was past this.
Thankfully, his mind is nowhere near any of that. He is completely lost in panic, saving me from my desires.
“You’re the only one I can trust,” he heaves. “Will you please come with me? Can we go back to your place? I’ll explain everything.”
I look into his eyes, paralyzed with uncertainty. I don’t know if I should believe he really needs my help or if this is some kind of trick. It’s fun
ny that he thinks I’m the only one he can trust, while he is the last person on earth I feel like I can trust.
“Okay,” I sigh, against my better judgment. “You can come with me to my house, but my mom and Brendan are home, and they’re not going to be so easily charmed by you after what happened last time. You try anything and they’ll kick you out.”
He nods urgently, desperate to agree to whatever I ask if it means he finds some kind of sanctuary. He clings to my hand as we walk. He’s afraid in a way I’ve never seen before, and I’m terrified to hear about what has him so shaken.
Prologue
BOOK 2
I’m walking hand in hand with Emmett Jameson. Something I never thought I’d do again.
Torture. Humiliation. Assault. Threats on my life. Taking me hostage. Constant emotional manipulation and abuse—these are the things he has put me through. Not to mention he worked alongside my estranged biological father to plot the murder of his own father. Can’t forget about that one. But there is also this intense attraction and sexual energy between us. A primal connection that keeps drawing us together no matter how hard I try to forget about it.
I swore that I never wanted to see or talk to him again—pleaded for him to let me go and leave me alone. But now the tables have turned, and he’s the one who’s afraid. Holding my hand like a scared little boy, and tugging me down the street to my house.
Emmett Jameson is drop dead gorgeous with thick, dark lashes, stormy gray eyes, and plump, pink, kissable lips that are always tormenting me with a faint smirk. His face has a slight crookedness to it that somehow only makes him more charming and irresistible.
My former friend, Lily, had just informed me my father is still hanging around town, scaring me into a frantic race towards my next class—anywhere away from her newfound hatred for me and the looming threat of my father’s lingering presence—when Emmett appeared, scared out of his mind and begging for my help.