by A. M. Brooks
“It will get better,” Winter promises. “You have me and Jamie, Addy, and Ella.”
“Are those the other girls we sat with at lunch today?” I question, suddenly feeling bad I didn’t make more of an effort. I can tell from the side-eye that Winter is throwing that she is thinking the same thing.
“Yes,” she answers with a laugh. “Let me know if you need a ride again. Okay. Where am I bringing you to anyway?” She scrunches her nose.
My head turns toward the window while I rattle off directions. Her head whips to look at me, before glancing back at the road. “Are you kidding me? You live with Ciaran and didn’t say anything?”
I scoff. “Like I want people to know that. It’s complicated. My family knows Matt. It’s the other reason why I’m here.” My shoulders sag.
“Well, holy fuck. I was wondering, but now it all makes sense.”
“Can we not talk about it right now,” I request quietly.
“Yeah,” she nods in agreement, but I can still hear her wheels turning. “I was very young when I entered Rogue without any other family and I grew up idolizing what my foster family does. Matt reached out and offered me a position once I was old enough. He thought I acclimated well to my situation here. To answer your question from before, it’s my job to talk with new hidden children when they come in. All of them. Little, big, if they’re new, I’m their first stop. I explain the rules and help them figure out school life.” Her eyes cut to mine, and she has my full attention.
“What rules?” I ask, my throat sounding scratchy.
“You asked me if everyone is hidden, and I said no. Which is true. To help us blend better, we’re expected to follow some rules. We’re not supposed to form relationships with each other. We can’t date each other or non-hidden people. It sounds harsh, but it gets messy. You can’t tell who you really are, so, essentially, you’re lying to everyone. Why would you want a relationship built on lies?”
“Can you tell me who else is hidden?” I have a few guesses.
Winter shakes her head. “I can’t unless you’re breaking a rule. There are under twenty-five of us here, though, if that helps. Just like you, we have new identities and everything. Matt keeps the electronics and internet use to a minimum. Once you’ve been here and, essentially, prove you aren’t going to compromise yourself, you’ll get internet. It’s still monitored, though. Most of us live with a host or adopted family. You’re the first person in direct care of the Jakobes. If I was you, I’d keep that under wraps.”
I nod in agreement. “I was already planning to.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on with you guys, but that was not cool. I don’t care about policy right now. You’re my friend, and Ciaran can suck it.” Winter laughs, and I laugh with her.
“Will you get in trouble?” I wonder. I do not want to be on the other side of Ciaran’s wrath yet again.
Winter shakes her head. “Nope. I can handle it.”
Before I’m ready, she pulls up in front of the house. It looks empty. Ciaran’s truck is not in the front or even by the garage.
“Thank you,” I tell Winter, before unclipping my belt and getting out.
“See you, Babe,” she shouts and waves, before pulling away from the curb. I watch her drive off, before glancing up and down the street. An eeriness settles around me, as I turn and book it to the house.
Silence greets me. Pulling my headphones from my pocket, I put them on and head up to my room. My bag falls to the floor before I drop to the bed. My eyes close from exhaustion. Events from today play across my eyelids. My stomach cramps reliving Silas’ accusations and the emptiness I felt from Ciaran. Turning to my side, I pull my legs to my chest and hug myself. I’d give anything to go back in time and change what happened and stop my dad from stealing that money. Renewed anger consumes my body. I choke back the sob that wants to escape; squeezing my eyes tighter, I breathe in and out through my nose. I’m not alone here. Ciaran may run the school, but I am not the only hidden student. Screw him and his rules.
Ciaran
Turns out keeping her head down is something the demon princess is actually good at. It’s been four days, and she still hasn’t ratted us out to Matt, like I expected her to do. Thanks to Winter, Saylor now has a new ride to and from school every day as well. She leaves, comes home, and then locks herself in her room all night. I know she’s eating at least. Every day some of the leftovers of her weird tropical fruits go missing from the fridge overnight. That’s probably the only reason Matt hasn’t intervened yet. Saylor has followed all of our rules to the T. Gone are the skirts and heels, too. Since that day, she looks like a shadow, moving around in all black. Hoodies and sweatpants that swallow her whole. If it wasn’t for the hair, she would be unrecognizable to others. I could pick her out in a crowd anywhere. No matter how dressed down she gets Saylor would stand out to me which is irritating. She avoids me and that makes me happy. Except at lunch. The only time our paths cross is in that box-sized cafeteria. She ignores everyone around her, except Winter and Reed. She sneaks glances at him, studying him to the point that a line of concern etches across her forehead. If he notices her, which I know he does, then he doesn’t let on. He’s following the rules. Unlike Rhodes, who openly glances at Saylor, and keeps attempting to make conversation. Points for Princess, though, she keeps blowing him off, which, for some reason, appeases me.
“You should quit staring,” Kai says under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.
“I’m surveying,” I answer back, really not giving a crap.
“You both did enough damage.” Kai looks between Si and myself. “Try to play it cool, alright?”
“I’m not looking. I’d rather shove a ball point pen in my eyeball and wiggle it around, before looking in Trash’s direction,” Silas grunts out. I eye him. It still bothers me he didn’t tell us he ran into her at the lake or what happened there.
“Relax, Kai,” I say. “Everyone, besides Rhodes and Winter’s freak table, are ignoring her and keeping their distance. Mission accomplished.”
“We aren’t supposed to isolate her, Dick,” Kai bites back. “Just do our job and make sure no one pays any attention to her.”
“Same thing.” I shrug, before bringing my Gatorade bottle to my lips.
“It’s still not on the news anyways,” Silas point out.
“Yeah.” Kai turns to me. “Matt say anything about that to you? That’s not normal.”
I shrug again. Matt frequently checks the news but hasn’t resorted yet to checking online. Fear that their names or anything related to a missing family in New York will trigger a hack. “Not yet,” I respond again. My gaze shifts over to Saylor right when she throws her head back laughing. It’s the first real emotion I’ve seen from her since she got here. She looks happy, and I want to wipe that smile off her face.
“I’ll reach out again,” Kai responds, even though I’m only half paying attention. Kai is our tech guru. A name he made for himself when he “accidentally” hacked into a government server with my video game counsel when we were thirteen. Silas’ hand fists on the table. He isn’t watching her, but he heard her laugh, too.
“You both need to get a grip.” He shoots off, head flying back and forth between the two of us. My gaze turns to Silas who is openly regarding me, waiting for my direction. My eyebrow lifts, challenging him to make a move first. I’m not happy she’s here either. I know the pain it’s causing my friend. Silas made a critical mistake the other day, though. We do not engage unless forced to. We do not make friends with them. We do not acknowledge them. Matt only requires us to act if their lives are in danger. Calling Saylor out for bumping into him and calling her trash put a huge bull’s-eye on her back for almost a week.
“Fine,” he concedes, leaning back in his chair. “I’ll lose the nickname. It won’t be hard to pretend she’s invisible because, to me, she may as well be. She’s nothing.”
“Do we have that covered now?” I turn to Kai whose mouth,
if possible, frowns further.
“I give up.” He throws his hands in the air, before getting up from the table. I watch as he makes his way out of the cafeteria toward the lockers, eyes flicking one more time over the purple head only feet from me.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask Si, before looking back to him. His jaw ticks.
“Why are you so concerned?” he questions back. “Yeah, I saw her. Didn’t know it was her at first. There was an empty truck, and Beth wanted to ride my dick. Didn’t know it was her in the other truck until after.”
“That’s it?” I ask, my jaw clenching slightly. I remind myself that I don’t care. I just need a story to answer for in case the demon Princess quits being such a good girl.
“Yes,” Silas grits out. I nod, before standing and grabbing my trash. I need out of this small space. The cafeteria has got to be the most poorly designed room in the entire school. It’s made to look open concept, but it’s so packed with tables and students, it would make a claustrophobic nauseous.
Walking past her table, I notice her body stiffens, and I grin, but my eyes are on a different prize this time. “Hey Rhodes,” I yell for him, and, as expected, he stops and looks around. Good thing Kai already left. “Good luck tonight. Keep your head in the game.” I slide my gaze to Saylor, before walking around Bentley’s frozen form and heading off in my own direction. If he’s smart, he’ll listen to me. Tonight’s game is a big deal. Winner goes to the State Championship. I also have some money riding on his win.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully, and, once again, I silently curse Matt and my mom for keeping me here.
“Hit the drive thru?” Silas asks, rounding to the other side of my truck before getting in, and I nod.
“Better hurry before they close,” Kai throws in, grinning.
I take off down the main street of town, passing and waving at a few people here and there. Tonight’s the game of the year, and this place is about to shut down completely. The whole town is expected at the game tonight. A quick check in my rearview mirror, and I can see that Matt is already at the shop. He’ll be running surveillance from there, while we handle the in-person at the game. Adrenaline spikes in my veins. Most of the people in town are oblivious to what we do to keep them safe. With the media coverage and a spike in audience attendance, we’re all on edge. Purple hair floats in my mind, and my jaw clenches. If she’s smart, she’ll stay home tonight. It’s bad enough that so much attention will be on Rhodes already. Not that anyone should recognize him. He’s been in Rogue and under our protection for the past nine years. My mom reconstructed his nose after I broke it, in order to help change his physical appearance, and his hair has darkened on its own. Someone would have to look really close to recognize him.
After grabbing some burgers, fries, and drinks, I head back toward the field. The lights are already flipped on, and a few die-hard fans have already crept to their reserved seats in the stands. The sun has started to sink, giving the sky a pink and orange glow, that quickly fades into blue. Matt said to expect overcrowding tonight. With that in mind, I swing my truck into the last row, closest to the nearest exit, yet still allowing us to survey the whole field and the visitor stands. We get out, and Silas pushes down the tailgate. Kai jumps in and positions his backpack. It’s sporting a hidden laptop that is taking photos of everyone entering through those gates tonight. Silas leans against the hatch, one leg crossed over the other. I can see his eyes moving rapidly over the cars already in the lot, the three yellow buses lined up in the front, and the cars that never left the building. He’s cataloging the layout and license plates. His mind is a jumble of letters, numbers, and codes for him to remember it all. Shaking my head, I climb all the way in and take a seat on top of the cab. The added boost allows me a visual of the whole crowd that is starting to form a line to get in. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call Matt.
“We’re all set,” I tell him, my eyes scanning entrance to entrance and back again.
“Looks like a nice night,” he acknowledges, giving me a code that he’s all set on his end, too. Everything on Kai’s end must be working. All the licenses Silas pulls are also checking out.
“Make sure you keep an eye on Ariel tonight.” Matt’s voice is gruff when he says her name. My body stills, and anger sweeps in.
“Not happening,” I answer back, a new bite in my voice.
“Wasn’t a question,” he answers back, before hanging up the phone. I glance at the blank screen like it’s laughing at me. My jaw ticks in frustration. Matt knows this will piss Silas off, and, obviously, he doesn’t care anymore.
The announcer’s booth fires up the sound system; AC/DC’s “Back in Black” blasts through the air, right as our team takes the field. My gaze almost becomes frantic as it bounces over the now full stands and over the players lined up on the side of the field. Shiny black and silver uniforms look dangerous. The growling savage bear, on the front, claws at the school name. My eyes drag over the student section, looking for those offensive purple locks, only to come up empty. One whole row is blocked with a sign meant for the other team. I chuckle and read it out loud, “Tell your girlfriends you’ll be free next weekend.”
“At least they’re more creative this year,” Kai responds laughing. Silas cracks a grin, but it vanishes in an instant. The air crackles, and the wind sends shivers down my spine. I know, without even having to ask.
“She’s here,” I say, even though it’s obvious. I can feel it. The change in the surroundings and the tight punch in my chest.
Silas looks to me then back to the vehicles, doing his check again. Kai sighs, but doesn’t turn around. He just checked her identity on his laptop.
My head snaps up, right as she steps into the ticket line, along with Winter and one of the other girls from their lunch table. She’s smiling at something Winter says. I know she can sense she’s being watched from the hard line of her back. The purple head looks casually around. If it weren’t for the way her fingers grip the edge of her jean jacket, I’d swear she was only taking in the crowd. My lip curls when she finally finds me. That dark, curious look in her eyes draws me in. I pin her in place, conveying a message between her and me only. She better, if she knows what’s good for her, go in, not cause a scene, and go straight home afterwards. Her chin lifts in acknowledgement. I tilt my head studying her. Her mouth is set in a firm line, a pink tinge sharpens her cheek bones. Her eyes stay wide open, watching me, the color deepening to almost black. I wink at her just to mess with her more. Her mouth drops open in surprise, before smashing back together. The urge to laugh sits on my lips.
“No fucking way,” Kai breathes out, looking back to his screen, while scrambling to get to his knees.
I break eye contact with the demon to look at what he’s showing me.
“Is that who I think it is?” I take the phone and switch the angle mode. It’s blurry, but the height and shaggy hair is unmistakable.
“What?” Silas asks, his eyes still on the not crowded parking lot. His body tenses again, preparing for a fight.
“The fuck is he doing here?” Kai questions.
“Who?” Silas barks out, turning to face us.
“Anderson,” I mutter, my eyes tracing over the screen again.
“Reed?” Silas says his name, his face paling. “He never goes to these things.” Kai and Silas stare at the screen transfixed. My eyes flick back up to the crowds. The stands are too full to support all of the spectators, so many of them are lined on the outsides of the fence. I find Saylor, right away, leaning against the fence, her arms propped on top. The girls around her chat and laugh. She only has eyes for the field, though. My jaw ticks, and I keep moving over the spectators. Twelve people down from her, Reed slides up to the fence. Everything slows down. The crowd and the noise become a low buzz in my ears. Reed turns to look at Saylor, at the same time she looks at him. She waves and seems confused when he looks away again. Only I caught it. He may not have waved back, but his he
ad inclined. He acknowledged her. It was a barely there gesture, and if you didn’t know Reed, you’d miss it.
“Interesting,” I mutter, slinging my eyes back to Saylor, who is completely oblivious, while she cheers for the team.
“What do we do?” Kai asks. My poor friend looks unhinged and confused, like he was just told his answers on his calculus test were wrong.
I shrug. “It’s a free country, and he can be here.”
“But why is he here?” Kai’s gaze darts from the screen to the crowd and back again.
“Who cares,” Silas mutters, leaning back and finally sitting on the tailgate. “As long as he watches and doesn’t do anything shady, it’s fine. Maybe little Reed finally got tired of sitting in the shadows.”
“That’s creepy and fucked up,” Kai interrupts.
“It is what it is,” I tell them both. The clock on the score board runs out finally, signaling the end of the first quarter.
“This is going to be a long game,” Silas states. His words hang in the air, with all of us in silent agreement. Too many of the hidden are here. One in particular continues to hold my attention, making this even more dangerous. I can’t get sidetracked.
“Don’t forget we have that meeting after the game,” Kai reminds us.
My eyes close, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. “Who’s up tonight again?”
“You,” Silas grunts. “But I’m ready to go, if you want.”
“Nah,” I exhale, “I need this one.” My body is packing enough extra energy to unload on a few tonight. The need to hit something is strong. The bones in my fists crackle from the tension.
When the final seconds count down on the clock a few hours later, I’m practically bouncing in place in the truck bed. Sure, the game had been good, our team barely scrapping by, only it wasn’t the game that had me on pins and needles. Every time Saylor moved, Reed moved. She laughed, and he watched. She yelled and cursed when our team lost the ball, and Reed couldn’t keep his eyes off her, studying her, those empty eyes of his cataloging all her responses. Tension was thick. It took everything inside me not to advance on him and start the interrogation process. For the past thirteen years, Reed has never done something so out of character, and it doesn’t sit well with me.