by Ruby Vincent
“Ooh, good tip. So what’s up with you, kid? You liking your new school?”
Cold gray eyes flashed across my mind. “It’s good, but did you know that R—”
I cut myself off. Olivia would have told me if she knew about Ryder being here. She wasn’t the one I needed to ask.
“Did I know what?”
“Did you know that... I have my own bedroom and bathroom? It’s great, Mom. Bigger than our whole apartment.”
“Sweet, baby. I’m going to have to come up and bunk with you.”
“I thought the drive was too long,” I teased. I felt the tension slowly leak from my body as my sweat cooled. I was fine. I was safe now.
“It is, but it turns out I miss you, so what can you do?”
I chuckled. “I miss you guys too. Hey, can you put Adam on?”
“Sure. Give me a sec.”
I sank back into my pillow.
I came to Evergreen for a new life and it was what I would have. The girl who experienced that pain would only exist in my nightmares.
No one, not even Ryder Shea, would bring her back.
I WOKE EARLY THE NEXT morning and went through my routine. Curling my hair, putting on my makeup, finding the perfect accessories. I finished up, gathered my things, and headed outside. I was crossing the quad when I heard a shout.
“I told you to keep your fucking hands off!”
I slowed down. A small crowd was forming in front of me, surrounding two boys. One was red faced and panting, while the other was grinning away. Both were wearing yellow uniforms for sophomores.
“Hey, dude,” the smirky one said. “It’s your girl who can’t keep her hands off of me.”
Red Face became Purple Face. He launched himself at the other boy and they fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
I was rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do other than watch. A shadow fell over me and I turned just in time to see Ryder bearing down on me. All of the Knights were. I tensed until I noticed they weren’t looking at me.
The four of them walked around and I twisted to follow them. The circle around the fight broke apart the moment they strolled up.
“Boys, boys,” Ezra said, a smile on his face. “That’s enough of that.”
To drive his point home, Maverick bent down and grabbed one of the boys by the collar. He hauled him to his feet like he didn’t weigh a thing. Red/Purple Face struggled in Maverick’s hold while the other kid scrambled to his feet and came after him again. Jaxson stepped into his path.
“Slow up, playboy. Ezra said you’re done, so you’re done.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with you!” shouted Smirky.
“Actually, it does, Shawn,” said Ezra. “Your father owns the largest medical supply company in the country, while Tobias’s mom owns a quarter of the private hospitals. You two aren’t going to ruin that business relationship with a girl both of you won’t remember five years from now.”
I was in serious danger of being late to class, but I couldn’t look away. Was I seeing the Knights in action? Well, some of them anyway. Ryder was just standing there.
“Fucking hell, I won’t remember,” Tobias spat. “I won’t have anything to do with this piece of shit!”
Ezra shook his head. “That won’t do. This is how it’s going to work. Shawn is going to stop being an asshole, and you’re going to handle your issues with your girlfriend with her. Both of you are going to shake hands right now and make up.”
Shawn bared his teeth. “How about this instead? You four fuck off and—”
Ryder moved so fast I would have missed it if I blinked. He grabbed Shawn around the neck and kicked the back of his knees. One second he was upright, the next he knelt in the dirt, crying out as Ryder forced his head down.
“Ezra, I don’t think he heard you.” Ryder’s words were calm and unhurried. “What was it they were going to do?”
Ezra chuckled. “Stop being an asshole, handle their own shit, kiss and make up.”
Ryder yanked the kid’s head up. “And what do you say?”
The smirk was nowhere to be seen now. Honestly, I kind of felt bad for him. I knew what it was like to be on the other side of Ryder’s charming personality.
“Y-yes, Ezra,” Shawn stuttered out. “Sorry.”
Ezra stepped aside and pointed to the now still boy in Maverick’s hand. He had calmed down quick when Ryder sprang into action.
“Sorry, Tobias.” Ryder released him and Shawn wasted no time in scurrying away. Maverick dropped Tobias and he did the same.
The four of them fell back in line and sauntered off like nothing happened.
So that’s Knight business.
I don’t know how effective it was at solving the problem, but they had ended the fight. Another thing they did was show me how much power the Knights really had.
“LUNCH LOOKS GOOD TODAY.”
Sofia accepted her tray of steamed chicken lettuce wraps and sweet potato soup. She grimaced. “I’d give anything for something deep-fried and dripping with oil. I mean it. I’m not above sexual favors.”
I bumped her shoulder, before accepting mine. “Out of your stash already?”
She nodded, lips turned up in a pout. “I’d do something about it if we were allowed off campus. But no, they keep us trapped in here like prisoners.”
I looked around at the high ceilings, expensive tables, and five-star meals. Some prison.
“At least we’re going to have some fun tonight.”
“We are?” I asked on the way to our table. It was Friday which meant I had survived my first school week at Evergreen Academy—albeit barely.
“Oh, I forgot you’re not in the group chat. Tonight, the Diamonds are having a sleepover, and since I’m going, you’re going.”
The Diamonds. Why did that sound familiar?
“Hey, guys,” I said to Eric, Paisley, and Claire. “Are you going to this sleepover too?”
“I am,” Paisley replied, “but Claire isn’t.” She shot her an exasperated look. “She has to study.”
“We have a history test on Monday,” she explained.
“I should be studying too,” I admitted. “Ezra’s a beast. I got one question wrong on his practice test and he assigned me homework. He gave me homework! Can you believe that?”
Eric laughed. “The guy’s intense, but he’s all about being the best and taking over his mom’s empire. Every single part of his life has to be perfect, right down to his poor mentees.”
“Yep,” Paisley agreed. “That’s why no one works with him.”
I threw up my hands. “Thanks for the warning, guys.”
They erupted into laughter. “It’s not our fault,” Sofia said. “I thought you were staying away from the Knights.”
I grumbled under my breath. “Not easy to do when one insists on sitting next to you in homeroom, is your art partner, or the only way for you not to fail math.” I snuck a peek at the dais. “At least I don’t have to deal with Ryder.”
Apparently, I wasn’t so unlucky in life. Ryder was in the front class so we didn’t share any lessons. Even better than that, he hadn’t approached me—or even looked in my direction—since we got into it on Tuesday. I was right about him wanting nothing to do with me, and the feeling was mutual.
Ryder was leaning back in his seat, his head tilted toward the ceiling as his friends chattered around him. He looked lost in thought, so lost he didn’t move when a long-haired girl set his lunch down in front of him. She popped a kiss on his cheek before moving away and sitting down at the table just before the dais, but Ryder’s silver grays stayed fixed on the ceiling.
I wonder what thoughts go through the mind of the devil.
“Staring at Ryder again?”
I jerked. “What? No!”
Sofia gave me a knowing look. “Don’t worry about him. He’s not going tonight, but you are. You can do math tomorrow.”
I could fight her but she would only use the password I had
given her the day before to burst into my room and drag me out. “A party does sound fun.”
She squealed and threw her arms around me.
We got back to our lunch and the topic changed to classes and homework. The day passed quickly and soon the final bell was ringing my freedom. I hurried out of Tamaran’s social studies class and beat it for my locker. I wanted to get back to my dorm and figure out my outfit for the sleepover/party.
I wasn’t invited to many—any—parties back home in Wakefield. I didn’t want to mess up on my first one.
“Valentina?”
I skidded to a stop. Spinning around, I saw Scarlett waving at me from the doorway of the art studio. “Can you come in here for a second?”
“Sure.”
I walked over to her and she stood aside to let me pass. The room was empty but it looked like a horde of people had stepped out only seconds ago. Smocks were on the floor and open jars of paint on the easels.
“Do you need help cleaning up?”
Scarlett shook her head. “That’s sweet, but I have little helpers for that.” She pointed across the room at my spot. “I wanted to see you because I looked over the painting you did of Maverick and... yikes.”
I choked. “Scarlett, you’re a teacher! You’re not allowed to say that.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes danced as she smothered a laugh. “I haven’t been much of one or I would have helped you out sooner. I can see you didn’t take art in your old school.”
“No. It was optional at Joe Young and with dance as an elective; I signed up for that in a second.”
She put her arm around my shoulder and drew me to her side. Together we moved over to my easel. “Well, you have to take it here and at the Evergreen Junior Prep school. A lot of these students had me already, and I don’t want you to be at a disadvantage. I can work with you after school if you’d like.”
“Really? That would be great. Thank you.” Evergreen truly was a great school. No teacher at Joe Young would have given up their afternoons for me.
Scarlett waved away my thanks. “I have to make sure you do Maverick justice. He made an incredible painting of you.”
“He did?”
“Yep.” Scarlett dropped her arm and went over to Maverick’s station. The painting Maverick had refused to let me see was hiding behind the white cloth.
I froze when she ripped it off.
“Wow...” was all I got out before words deserted me.
Incredible seemed too small a word for the job Maverick had done. In the painting I was hunched over the canvas, my face screwed up in concentration. Maverick had gotten every detail down to the wrinkle between my eyes and the way I chewed my lip when I was thinking. The eyes of the girl staring back at me sparkled with a light mix of gold paint, and I wondered if I really looked this beautiful or if it was just how he saw me.
“He’s good, isn’t he?” There was a note of pride in her voice. “So how about Tuesdays and Thursdays after school?”
I already had tutoring with Ezra on Mondays and Wednesdays, but one look at Maverick’s painting told me I wasn’t on his level. I needed to up my game if I was going to ace our art project. “Tuesdays and Thursdays it is.”
I said bye to Scarlett and headed out. Maverick’s painting took over my thoughts as I got my things out of my locker and made for the freshman dorm. Maverick wasn’t full of himself like Jaxson, a taskmaster like Ezra, or a sadist like Ryder. Of the four Knights, he seemed the most chill—content to paint and dodge questions about who he was.
It’s like I thought when I first saw him. He’s mysterious. He’ll make me work for it, but if I dig deeper, maybe I’ll meet the guy who creates such beauty.
I clutched my backpack tighter. Hold on. What was I thinking? I didn’t sound like an art partner, I sounded like a girl with a crush. But did I have a crush on Maverick? I couldn’t remember the last time I had one of those.
I crossed the quad and let myself in through the dorm’s entrance. You don’t have time for crushes even if this was one. And you definitely don’t have time to crush on Ryder’s friends. Maverick seems okay but I can only imagine the things Ryder has said about me to him.
My eyes lit upon the elevator and the sign taped to the metal doors.
Out of order.
Veering off, I made for the staircase instead.
It was just a painting, I thought as I climbed the steps. There’s no reason to read into—
“Ahh, yes!”
A moan promptly ripped me out of my thoughts. What the fuck?
I slowed down as the moaning got louder. Rounding the corner, my eyes popped when they landed on the people in the stairwell. I recognized the girl instantly. She was the one who brought Ryder his lunch. Even with her face screwed up like that, I could see she was pretty. Her legs were wrapped around his waist while he pressed her up against the wall.
There was no mistaking that bald back of the head. That was Ryder, and that was the girl’s panties hanging off her ankle.
I didn’t give a thought to them seeing me. I darted up the stairs and ran past, not stopping until I was safely in my dorm with the electronic lock clicking into place.
I JUMPED WHEN THE DOOR flew open. “Sofia, I almost burned myself!”
She laughed as she plopped down on my bed. “Sorry. You ready to go?”
“My hair’s done.” I set down the hot iron and gave my curls one last fluff. “I haven’t picked out my outfit.”
“I’ll handle that.”
I caught a glimpse of her in the mirror. Sofia had gone for matching silk lavender shorts and a tank top.
“Sof, tell me if I’m right. Is the reason no one takes the stairs because students like to take advantage of the fact that there are no cameras in there?”
She shot me a look over her shoulder. “Got it in one. They monitor the cameras all day and night, and will report us if a boy comes into our rooms, or we go into theirs. So people end up screwing in the stairs.” She sighed. “It’s shameless, but I’ve had a few late-night hookups in there too. You do what you gotta do.”
Necessity or not, I did not want to see Ryder handling his business ever again. I think I would be putting in the next complaint about the broken-down elevators.
“Ooh. This one for sure.” Sofia pulled out a pink cotton tank and pink plaid shorts. She giggled. “You have to wear the matching bunny slippers too.”
I accepted my outfit and tossed her a grin. “Don’t think I won’t. I’m shameless too.”
She lost her smile. “Wait, no. I was kidding.”
Laughing, I darted away and snatched them from the closet. I was halfway to my bathroom when she tackled me. We collapsed on my bed in a shrieking heap.
“Put them back!”
“Never!”
I was laughing so hard I thought my sides would split open. It was hard to imagine I could be happier than I was right now.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU wore the shoes,” Sofia mumbled under her breath.
I was right behind her as we stepped onto the ground floor. “I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t.” I poked her in the back. “Anyway, I spent so much time fighting you off; I never got to hear more about this sleepover. Who is throwing it again?”
“The Diamonds.” The words floated over her shoulder as she led me down the hall. “They are the last thing you need to know about this place and then my duties as student guide will be complete.”
“Goodness. You’ve been holding out more from me?”
She chuckled as we pulled up in front of the last door at the end of the hall. Music poured from the cracks, loud enough to vibrate the walls.
“It’s not as big as the Knights,” she assured me. “And despite what people have been saying, I don’t think you need to be worried about Isabella.”
My eyes popped. “Worried? About what? And what are people saying?”
She shook her head. “You really need to get in the group chat.”
&nbs
p; Sofia popped open the door and the noise drowned out my reply. About a dozen girls turned on us when we stepped inside. A few of them I knew from my classes. One was Paisley and I waved at her. A couple I had only passed in the hallway, and one—
The girl from the stairwell. She looked up and stared me right in the face. I stiffened, waiting for the hint of recognition, but her eyes just slid off me and she went back to talking to the girl next to her.
She looked good. Everyone here looked good. It was all slinky lingerie, spaghetti strap tops, and shorts short enough to show off their cheeks.
Sofia grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the desk/food table. I sucked in a breath at the spread. Cookies, candy, soda, chips, you name it. Every single thing banned from our diet was laid out before me.
“How did they score this?” I asked before I snagged a handful of Cheetos and shoved them in my mouth. The moan that escaped me was pornographic.
“Isabella gets special permission to leave campus on the weekends to train with her instructor. She brings back the best stuff. Why did you think I wanted to come tonight?”
Sofia disappeared about a quarter bowl of chips before pulling me away. We huddled into the corner between the wall and wardrobe. “Okay, listen up. Final lesson.” Sofia gestured with her chin. “You see those girls by the bathroom?”
I followed her eyes. Staircase girl was standing there with two other girls. The three of them were stunningly gorgeous, more proof this was some kind of admission requirement.
“The girl with the long black hair is Airi Tanaka. She moved here from Japan when we were in junior school. Her dad is a diplomat and her mom is the founder of Tantalizing Perfumes.”
“I know that brand,” I replied. “It’s like a hundred dollars an ounce.”
She nodded. “That would be cool enough if Airi didn’t have more going for her. She’s a world-class violinist, and I mean world-class. She turned down an offer to travel with the London Orchestra. She would have been the youngest in history to get the position.”
Wow. The girl I just saw being screwed against the wall was a talented musician. “Huh. Shame about her taste in men.”