by A. M. Brooks
“That’s so fucked up after everything her family has done,” I shoot my mouth off, resentment pushing to the front. “You know what he was like when she left, and now, you’ve invited all those memories back.”
“Ci,” Matt’s voice lowers and deepens. “What happened was horrible and tragic, but they didn’t ask for this either. Despite what you and Silas think, Kelly has always been my friend, too. Hell, she was an original, so, no, I’m not backing out of this because Silas has his head up his ass. You will drive her to school today, and if I hear otherwise, you can kiss your social life goodbye.”
The finality in his voice eats at me. I glare daggers at his back as he walks out the door. Matt may be my uncle, but his perception is seriously skewed if he thinks for a minute that I’m going to be welcoming to the princess. As if my thoughts summon her, just like a demon, heeled shoes hit the wood floor. It’s a train wreck I can’t keep my eyes off as more and more of her comes down the stairs. Bare legs followed by a dress of all things and a denim jacket. It’s a sexy as hell combination. Since running into her last night I haven’t been able to get over the fact that Saylor is beautiful. Not in the made-up and fake way either. She’s short, sexy and sassy, making her a deadly combination in my book. My mouth drops for a second, and heat flares in my gut when I also remember who her parents are and all the reasons I hate her. “You look ridiculous.” She comes to stand in front of me, a small dose of embarrassment flashes in her eyes but disappears quickly.
“Luckily, I don’t care what you think,” she sasses back and that thread of anger coils tighter in my stomach. A dull flush heats the back of my neck. My eyes rake her up and down, until she grips her fingers together to keep from fidgeting. A thrill zips through my body, knowing I make her nervous. She should be. She should be fucking scared to enter into my world.
“Maybe not, Princess, but you should damn well care about protecting your ass and your family. The idea is to blend in. To hide. If anyone has any idea who you are, you could be found like that.” I snap my fingers in front of her face, bringing those brown liquid pools back to mine. She’s breathing harder, and I know my words are affecting her, even if she won’t admit it.
“What good is it to save you if you plan to destroy the whole operation by standing out? As if your hair wasn’t enough.” My lips form a sneer when my eyes dart up to the purple waves around her shoulders. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen, yet somehow she makes it look natural. They’ll never find her, but she still needs a healthy measure of fear.
“I just wanted to feel like myself today.” She shrugs, giving me a challenging look. Her expressive eyes are not as innocent as her words.
“Princess, being yourself is what got you here,” I remind her, and, sure enough, an ice bucket of reality hits her head, instantly dousing any fire she had in her. Seizing the moment, I step closer to her, ignoring her sugary, sweet scent, forcing her head to fall back, and our eyes hold. “Here’s the deal, at school and out there, you’re under my watch. Keep your head down, don’t draw attention, and don’t talk to me. I don’t exist to you, got it?”
“Got it,” she grits out between clamped teeth. A nice red flush sits high on her cheeks while her nostrils flare. If she could breathe fire, I have no doubt my little dragon would right now.
Smirking, I check her shoulder with mine while walking past her to the door. “Let’s go,” I call out. Half a second later, I feel her behind me, a silent shadow, trailing in my wake. Glancing down the street, I notice Silas’ truck still sits in the driveway, and I can breathe easier, knowing he hasn’t seen her yet. Except for that first night when Matt dropped her off, anyway. It took half a bottle of Jack and two hits of a blunt in order to calm him down that night. And he’s usually the calmer one of the three of us. Just having to bring her to school feels like a betrayal of our friendship.
She’s silent during the drive across town. I don’t engage, and she doesn’t dare to open her mouth. My music blares through the speakers, effectively eating up the space and silence. Whether she hates it or loves it, Saylor remains quiet. As we get closer to the school, my muscles start to loosen, and the tension lessens. Without hesitating, when we’re a block away, I slow down and pull off to the side. Her raspberry lips part in question when she turns to look at me.
“Out.” The command rolls off my tongue. Confusion, sadness, then anger flash across her features. Saylor’s face is an open book, and each emotion sends spikes of pleasure through my veins. A horn honks behind us before she moves, hesitantly, to grab the handle and open the door. The minute her feet hit the pavement, I grin and snap my gum. “Better hurry, Princess,” I call to her, right before the door shuts in my face. Laughing, I drive off, watching her frozen frame in my rearview mirror.
The student parking lot is crowded, like always, when I maneuver my truck to the back, pulling in next to Kai’s car. The only car, for that matter, in a line of all trucks. Some people have their tailgates flipped down and are chilling while waiting for the warning bell. Others cross the lot to head into the school. I’m in no hurry, so I flip my own tailgate down. In seconds, Kai and a few other kids we go to school with make their way over. Everyone wants to talk about the parties this weekend and our win over one of our rivals, the Mountaineers, football team last Friday. Kai gives me a knowing look, while I keep my eyes focused on the entrance. Silas could get here at any moment, and, of course, the Princess is taking her sweet time walking here. My mind begins to spin and pictures her walking on her own. She wouldn’t get kidnapped, right? I grimace and contemplate if I need to go back for her or not. With just a sweatshirt and jeans on, I’m not freezing, so she won’t die of hypothermia or lose any toes and fingers to frostbite before she gets here. My eyes jump from one direction to the other, waiting.
“Didn’t hear from Si yet this morning, did you?” Kai questions, flipping his hair back from his face.
“Nah,” I reply, shaking my head, “his truck was still in the driveway when we left.” Kai grunts in answer, before turning back to join the conversation around us. His eyes flick, every once in a while, to where I’m staring, but he’s better at hiding it than I am. We’ve been on edge about this day for a week, though, it feels like it’s been years in the making.
Time continues to pass and looking at my phone is starting to annoy me. “The bell’s gonna ring any second,” Kai says, while sitting straighter then hopping off my tailgate. My eyes dart around the crowd that is gathering and shifting toward the doors.
“Let’s head in,” I tell him, lifting my chin toward the building. Kai’s eyes roll, but he follows my lead anyway. Right before my feet hit the curb, a flash of purple catches my eye. I feel Kai tense next to me and hear his intake of breath. Saylor has no idea she is suddenly the object of everyone’s attention. More than a few heads turn to watch her walk by. She passes us with her eyes down, ears covered with her headphones, and hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket.
Kai moves from my side, with an extra jump in his step, until he lands right in front of Saylor. I notice the way her body freezes, and her hands jerk inside her jacket. Ready to fight or run, Princess? My lips pull into a thin line, while I walk up to them.
“Hey there, Gossip Girl,” Kai’s voice carries. Saylor’s eyes dart up to look at him, and a small smile tugs at her lips. Until she sees me, that is, and then her eyes drop back down to her feet.
“I don’t know if I should be intrigued or frightened that you know a New York reference.” Saylor’s words slide past, quiet enough that only we can hear.
“Oh, I know many things.” Kai leans over, so his face is hovering in front of hers, and winks. My eyes narrow while my hand makes contact with the back of his head.
“Chill, bro,” Kai states, turning to me. His eyes invade my privacy, giving me a knowing look. I keep my gaze averted, passing it off as Kai being the flirt he is and chatting up the new girl, while I stand aloof and ready to play wingman if needed. My stare levels the c
rowd, before colliding with Bentley Rhodes’. His eyes flick from me and back to Saylor, before traveling from her head to her toes. She has his attention, and she doesn’t know it. When I see the smirk on his lips, my fists clench. He then leans over to one of his football buddies, nodding in Saylor’s direction. Two more sets of eyes flick over her while they talk. Fuck, of course, she’d gain his attention. Rhodes isn’t a bad guy. He makes our school proud every Friday as the team’s all-star wide receiver. He leads the team with the most points earned and is close to breaking a state record. It’s the baggage he carries that concerns me. He and Saylor are more alike than he realizes.
“Here are your new IDs and bank card for your new account.” Kai’s voice yanks my attention back to them, as he’s reaching into his back pocket and depositing the plastic squares into her hands.
Excitement flares behind her dark irises while she scans her new identity. My smile grows while her lips morph into a frown. “Ariel Waters? I thought I got to pick my name?” Her voice is barely above a whisper, while her eyes dart between us and the crowd. I’m aware some have stopped moving to watch us now, while others shoot looks over their shoulders, before continuing their way inside. Kai and I are used to the attention. We’ve had it since before we reached puberty. This school is our playground, and we know it. They all know it, too, which is why I avoid almost everyone like the plague. There is too much riding on my shoulders, too many innocent lives at stake for me to mess up. Aside from the guys, I don’t build connections. I observe and report, just as I’ve been trained to do.
“You took too long,” I answer her with a shrug. Her eyes snap to mine, red flags brush the edges of her cheeks, and the darkness inside me enjoys watching her feel defeated. “Besides, it’s a name for a princess, right, Princess?”
“Stop calling me that,” she grits out, her teeth slammed together, and her jaw locked.
Such a fighter. I let the emotion slide off my face and step into her, until my lips graze the outer shell of her ear. “It could have been worse. You could be Roxanne.” She sucks in a breath while I continue past her. A moment passes, before Kai joins my side. His eyes are glued to the door, and his face is blank.
“Not cool man,” he mutters, once we’re inside the building and heading toward the locker bay. I glance at him in my peripheral and shrug. I know he’s talking about the ID, but I don’t give a crap. My chest still tingles where it brushed Saylor’s shoulder. I got too close to her, and everyone saw.
“I don’t give a fuck if her feelings are a little hurt because she can’t pick out a name,” I clip out, “Si is our friend and that’s what matters. Not her or her feelings.”
Kai’s head shakes next to me and a few beats pass before he answers, “Yeah. Okay. It just didn’t feel right, though.” His shoulders shrug, and I fight to ignore the tightening in my chest. There is no reason I should feel guilty. The name isn’t that terrible. She’ll live.
After throwing my bag in my locker, we breeze easily through the senior wing, before dropping into desks. I have calculus first hour and dread it every day. If it were up to me, I’d be taking study hours and office assistance work with a late arrival built into my schedule. Unfortunately, my mom and Matt dictate what I need for classes, and insist, I be here every day, just in case. In my entire school career, the dooms day event they planned for has never happened. The school days would continue, whether I was here or not. My mom keeps saying it’s part of our training and that continuing to have some normalcy is good for me. Being born into Rogue automatically gave me status to help others. It was explained to me at an early age about the good things we do for families and individuals who need help. Every day is something new and the adventure of the unknown working with Rogue is both intriguing and exhilarating.
“One year left, Brother,” Kai mumbles under his breath next to me. I cock my eyebrow at him. He’s scarily perceptive and has a really freaky way of being able to read Silas and myself. He shrugs, in response, while a lopsided grin pulls at his lips. If I comment, I know I’ll get a smartass remark from him about being superior at reading people due to the Chinese blood flowing in his veins. The first day I met Kai, he introduced himself with both his first and last name. Kai Liu. What first grader does that? One who wants you to know his last name literally stands for kill and destroy. He became Silas’ and my best friend after that, and it’s been just the three of us for the past ten years. Matt and Jason, Silas’ dad, took notice of our friendship early on. It didn’t take long after that for Kai’s family to be inducted into Rogue. His family is another safe home in our town. I want to take over for Matt and my mom someday, just like they did for my grandparents. Kai and Silas are on board already, too. For Kai I think it’s the possibility of danger that intrigues him while Silas is cataloging all the changes to technology and policy he wants to make.
“Thank fuck for small miracles,” I mumble back, before yanking out a textbook. Unlike other schools across the country, who are supplying their students with Chromebooks and the latest technology, our school insists on keeping it old school with massive textbooks and a blackboard. As Matt likes to say, more teens with technology, the riskier a chance we could be discovered by anyone paying attention. I always wonder why other students never question it. It’s been brought up at a few parent-teacher meetings, but it’s always quickly squashed by our current principal.
A commotion at the door in my peripheral pulls my attention. Silas slips into class, right as our teacher, Mr. Nelson, goes to close the door.
Silas smirks while Nelson huffs. “Try to be on time tomorrow, Mr. Montgomery.”
“Yes, Sir,” Silas responds. The sarcasm in his voice slides right over Mr. Nelson’s head, and I bite back a grin. Kai is already turned sideways in his desk, facing our pissed off looking friend.
“You saw her already, didn’t you?” Kai prods. He always knows the right buttons to push when necessary. Silas’ head rises, and their eyes clash right before he turns to look out the window. The only acknowledgement he gives is the slight tilt of his chin.
Kai turns to me, nodding his head in Silas’ direction. The mask he’s worn since we were little, the face he gives the world when he doesn’t want them to know he actually gives a fuck about something, is firmly in place. His shoulders tense because he knows I’m studying him. To an outsider, Silas may look like a moody teenager who didn’t get enough sleep, who dropped his Pop-Tart, and who realized his gas tank was on low all in one day, but we know better. When you’ve been friends since elementary school, you pick up on the things others wouldn’t. When you’re trained to study human behavior and dissect their cues, there is no mistake that my best friend is royally pissed off and hurt. Years of resentment simmer right beneath the surface. A sense of justification fills my chest. I don’t care if I hurt Saylor’s feelings, or if she cries herself to sleep, after her first day, when she realizes she has no one in her corner. It will be bros over hoes any day.
Saylor
Well, that could have gone better, I think to myself, sighing in frustration. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. Hot, angry, violent tears. I’d love nothing more, right now, than to wipe that smirk right off Ciaran’s face from earlier, preferably with my fist. He’s made it more than obvious, he won’t be my welcoming committee, and fine, I can deal with that. But his blatant disregard for even the smallest piece of me that I wanted, I can’t handle. It’s a name, yes, but it was something that was supposed to be my choice. It was my decision, something I will be stuck with for maybe the rest of my life. Now, I’m named after a land-loving mermaid, who wants to be a human princess. No disrespect to that Ariel, it was actually my favorite Disney movie when I was younger. It just isn’t what I wanted. New hair, new town, new home and a name that doesn’t fit me. Princess. I can hear the way his voice rolls around the vowels and deepens when he says it.
The buzz in conversation continues around me, and I’m determined to tune it out. I’ve done the ‘new girl’ thing, so t
he whispering and eyes roaming me up and down, sizing me up, doesn’t faze my anymore. Pushing my shoulders back, my fingers spin the combination on my locker, until the door pops open. So far, I’ve made it through two class periods, and things continue to go smoothly. As I grab my book for third hour, I’m so far in my own head that I jump when a body lands right next to my locker.
“Hey!” she says, when my gaze turns toward her. My head whips to the side, looking around.
“Me?” I ask, not sure why her smile gets bigger.
“Duh.” Her gray eyes sweep over my face. “You’re new, right? I’m Winter, yes, like the season. I saw what happened outside. You were talking to Kai and Ciaran, right?”
My eyebrows raise. “You usually introduce yourself like that?”
Her shoulders lift as a soft chuckle leaves her lips. “You always avoid saying hi to people?”
“If I can,” I throw back, enjoying some banter. Almost every person so far today has either smiled politely or politely acted like they were ignoring me as they shuffled on past. “Winter?” I ask, and she nods her head, her long black curly hair bouncing around her shoulders.
“My parents clearly weren’t very creative.” She shrugs again, and this time, I crack a smile.
“I’m Ariel Waters.” I try out the new name and hate how it sounds coming out of my mouth. It’s foreign and not at all me.
“Guess your parents weren’t very creative either,” she jokes, only she has no idea how close to the truth she is.
“They definitely weren’t,” I agree, frowning at myself, thinking of the lengths Ciaran went to, to pick out my new identity, and wondering how Kai fits into all of this. He had actually seemed friendly, making jokes and smiling, while Ciaran stood off to the side brooding.
“Although, I do agree with Ciaran, it’s better that any reference to a song about a materialistic girl who will only love a guy to elevate her status,” she says, and my face pales.