by Wendi Wilson
I stood, pulling back the covers so I could climb beneath them. If I dozed off quickly, I could get a few hours’ sleep before I had to get up and get ready for school.
Then my doorknob jiggled, and I froze.
“December? Why is this door locked? Let me in, baby.”
I shook my head, the motion frantic and out of my control, the only part of me not petrified with fear.
“Gretchen left,” I mouthed, no sound escaping my lips. “She left me here. With him.”
A loud bang shocked me out of my fear-induced stupor and I jumped, my hand flying to my chest in an attempt to hold in my heart. The doorknob jiggled again, more violently than before.
“Open up December. I just want to talk,” he called out, his voice rising in a creepy sing-song pattern.
I didn’t respond, hoping he’d give up and go away. Maybe if he thought I was sleeping—
“December!” Another loud bang. “You let me in, you little slut. I’ve got something for you.”
He groaned, and the sound was utterly sexual, leaving no doubt as to what it was he wanted to give me. I wanted to yell, to scream no and tell him to go away, but my voice refused to work. The ability to speak was being held hostage by my fear, so I just stood there silently, praying he’d go away on his own.
A bang, louder than those before it, shook the door in its frame. It sounded like he was hammering his shoulder into it, trying to force his way in. My eyes flared as I saw the chair legs slip a little. My time was running out. I needed to move.
Grabbing my backpack, I shoved the tablet inside before running to the closet. I ripped up the loose floorboard, breaking a few nails in the process, and wrapped my fingers around the baby blanket. Another loud bang shook the door as I jerked the blanket out, and my stolen toiletries flew in all directions.
Shoving the blanket into the backpack, I left the bath products and headed for the window. It took some tugging, but I managed to get it to slide upward just as another crash sounded against the door. Without sparing the room another glance, I climbed through the opening.
Then I ran. I ran into the darkness, escaping the horrors of the Holt house. Heading toward the unknown.
I didn’t know what the catch was with the academy or what the future may hold for me there. But anything was better than what I just broke away from.
Anywhere was better than there.
Chapter 6
6
The sounds of laughter and light-hearted conversation woke me, and I sat up with a start. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get my bearings, and figure out where I was. The previous night came rushing back—the uncomfortable dinner, the fighting, Gretchen leaving, Todd attempting to bust through my door—and I remembered running to Sycamore High and hiding in the shed.
I tilted my head to the side, attempting to stretch out a kink that had formed in my neck. I’d slept at a weird angle, stretched out on the dirty floor with my head resting against the rolled up carpet I usually used as a chair.
I rolled to my hands and knees, then pushed myself to my feet. My whole body was sore from sleeping on the hard ground, my muscles tense from the fear, the running, and shivering all night in the cold air.
I looked down at myself, still wearing the baggy jeans and plaid flannel shirt from the day before, and attempted to brush off the dirt and smooth the wrinkles. I gave up rather quickly, realizing it was a lost cause. I looked like hell warmed over.
I twisted my black hair into a knot at the back of my head, grabbed my backpack, and pushed the door open. I stepped out without looking around and pushed the door closed behind me. There was no point in trying to be stealthy anymore. Thanks to Lauren, everyone knew I escaped to the shed and no doubt had their own ideas about what, or who, I did there.
And with any luck, I would never have to see any of them again.
Keeping my eyes glued to the ground in front of me, I marched to the school entrance and pulled the door open. The halls were still deserted. It was early, and most of the students liked to congregate in small groups outside until the first bell rang. Thankfully, no one followed me inside.
I stopped by the girls’ bathroom first, using the toilet before washing my hands and face with cold water from one of the sinks. I washed out my mouth, wishing I’d grabbed the toothpaste in my rush to escape my room as I scrubbed my teeth with my wet finger.
Deciding that was as good as it was going to get, I finished up and pushed open the door. A quick look around proved the hall to still be empty, but I could hear the chattering of students coming from another hallway.
I hurried down the hall, my long strides eating up the distance as I kept my head down in case I came across anyone. A large group of girls rounded the corner in front of me, led by none other than Lauren Blackburn. Panic seized my chest. I was so not ready for that confrontation yet.
Maybe she wouldn’t notice me. Maybe I could slip past them and, as self-absorbed as most of them were, they’d walk right on by and I could escape unscathed.
“Don’t see me. Don’t see me,” I chanted under my breath.
And they passed me without a backward glance.
I froze on the spot. I glanced over my shoulder and watched them glide down the hall, all giggly and chatty like they were on top of the world. My eyeballs bugged out, unable to believe that had just happened. I was used to being invisible, but after what happened the day before, I knew there was no way Lauren Blackburn would let me stay that way.
No. She’d bring me front and center, humiliate me, and stomp me into the ground just to prove she was better than me. To make our fellow students focus on my shame instead of her and her embarrassing freak out in class. For which she laid the blame solely on me.
There was a saying I’d read in a novel once that I never really understood. Even the sun shines on a dog’s ass some days.
As Lauren’s gaggle of groupies turned the corner, I finally understood it. Even in my miserable, wretched life, I could be on the receiving end of a little luck. I shook my head and moved my feet. I needed to get to Mrs. Karcher’s office before that luck ran out.
I passed through the reception area, the school’s secretary waving me through like she was expecting me. I shuffled up to the principal’s office door and rapped my knuckles softly against it. A call to enter sounded from inside.
I looked up as I stepped into the space, opening my mouth to apologize for the early intrusion. The words stalled on my lips as my eyes landed on the tall blonde seated in front of Mrs. Karcher’s desk.
“December, it’s so nice to see you again.”
“Mrs. Greenly,” I gasped.
“Please, I asked you to call me Celeste,” she said, a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. “Come in, dear. I assume we have a lot to discuss.”
I shuffled further into the room, a little dumbstruck by the fact the Celeste was there. I had planned to talk to Mrs. Karcher, to tell her I’d decided to take the scholarship, and have her contact Celeste for me. I never thought she’d be there, waiting in the principal’s office like she was expecting me.
“So, December, have you made a decision about attending Oberon Academy?” Celeste asked, breaking me from my dazed state.
I slid into the seat next to her as Mrs. Karcher took her chair behind the desk. My eyes flipped back and forth between them, noting their matching patient smiles. It was obvious they were both hoping I’d agree, yet they were trying not to pressure me into it.
“Yes,” I blurted out before I could change my mind again. “Yes, I‘d love to.”
“Excellent,” Celeste said, her smile widening to show off a row of pearly white teeth. “We just need your foster parents to sign the consent forms, and we can get you enrolled. How does today sound?”
My heart stuttered at the mention of consent forms. Hope drained out of me, leaving me boneless and saggy in the chair, a frown pulling down my mouth.
“You don’t want to leave today?” Celeste asked, her smile faltering.
“No. I mean, yes. I mean…I want to leave today, but I don’t think my foster parents will sign the forms.”
“Why not? Won’t they want what’s best for you?” she asked.
A bitter laugh erupted from me before I could stop it. Celeste arched one perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow and waited for me to clarify.
“They won’t want me to leave. If I’m not there, they won’t get the money.”
“What money?” she asked.
“The money they get from the state that’s supposed to go toward my needs. You know, food, clothing, necessities…” I said, my words trailing off.
“But they don’t spend it on you?” she inquired, her tone soft.
I gestured toward myself, waving a hand from my head and to my feet. Celeste’s intense blue eyes focused on me, taking in my ratty hair, my tired face, my dirty clothes, my worn out shoes, then back to my face again.
“Isn’t that what you had on yesterday?” she asked.
I teetered on the edge of becoming defensive, but the pure concern etched on Celeste’s face calmed me. She wasn’t trying to make me feel self-conscious. She only wanted to help me.
“Yes,” I said.
I made the decision, at that precise moment, to be completely honest with her. Something in her eyes drew me in, wrapped me in warmth, and compelled me to open up. To give her every detail and everything would be okay.
“Todd is a Lox addict,” I mumbled, my eyes dropping to my lap. “He uses the money to get his fix, then he comes home and…makes…advances toward me.”
To their credit, neither of the women audibly reacted. They both remained completely silent, waiting for me to finish. I met Celeste’s eyes, seeing a tightness that wasn’t there before.
“Gretchen is jealous and blames me. She…isn’t very nice.” I took a deep breath before continuing, “Anyway, I can normally escape to my room, and Gretchen distracts him enough so that he forgets about me.”
“But?” Celeste nudged when I didn’t continue right away, and my gaze dropped back to my lap.
“But last night, he was bad. He made it completely obvious what he wanted. I went to my room, as usual, and they argued for hours. Gretchen left,” I said, fighting against the stinging in my eyes. “She left me…alone with him.”
“December,” Celeste said softly, pulling my gaze back up to her face, “did he hurt you?”
I shook my head with a sniff and said, “No,” before telling them what happened and how I escaped before Todd was able to bust into my room.
“Where did you go?” Mrs. Karcher asked, speaking for the first time since I entered the office.
I slid my eyes to her, heat rising to my face. “The shed on the edge of the lawn.”
She nodded, no surprise evident in her eyes. Like she knew I’d been using the shed and had never intended to stop me or even mention it.
“I’m sorry, December,” she said, her eyes solemn. “All this time, I had no idea.”
“It’s okay,” I responded with a shake of my head. “You had no way of knowing. I’ve never told anyone any of this.”
As the words left my mouth, my brow wrinkled with confusion. I never intended to tell a soul of what transpired in the Holt house. It was embarrassing and terrifying and I just wanted to leave that place and never look back. But somehow, Celeste, a stranger I’d only met briefly, had gotten me to open up and share all the gory details with just a word of encouragement.
It was strange.
“Well,” the woman in question said, rising to her feet, “let’s get on with it. The sooner we get those papers signed, the sooner we can get you out of there, for good.”
“Okay,” I said, not at all convinced any of it was going to happen. They didn’t know Todd and Gretchen.
“Maurelle,” Celeste said, and it took me a second to realize she was speaking to Mrs. Karcher. “Can you please get them in here for a parent conference?”
“Of course,” my principal said, picking up her phone.
I watched as she dialed the number like she had it memorized, the ever-present fear inside me squirming to take hold again. Gretchen must’ve answered, because Mrs. Karcher began to speak.
“Mrs. Holt, this is Principal Karcher at Sycamore High School…Yes, fine, thank you. I need to see you and Mr. Holt in my office, please…No need to worry—”
A snort blew from my nose, unbidden, and I slapped a hand across my mouth. Gretchen Holt had never worried about me for second, of that I was one hundred percent sure. She was worried about her image and her paycheck. That was it.
Then, Mrs. Karcher’s voice changed and something happened. I couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but I felt it, like a wobble in my center of gravity. She still sounded the same, but there was a slight edge to her voice, nearly undetectable, that made me feel…entranced.
The bubble popped as she dropped the phone back to her desk. The world snapped back into focus, and I looked around, a bit bewildered. What had just happened?
“They’ll be here in thirty minutes,” Mrs. Karcher said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Thank you, Maurelle,” Celeste said, tilting her head toward the other woman.
I looked back and forth between them, aware that something unspoken was happening and dying to ask what it was. But my mouth stayed sealed shut. The women were giving me a new lease on life, a whole new start. They could have their secrets.
I sat in my chair, my hands wringing together and my toe tapping against the floor as we waited. In half an hour, my life was going to change. I would either be leaving on a new, exciting adventure at Oberon Academy, or return to the Holt house to endure the wrath of Gretchen and the lascivious attention of Todd.
Either way, I knew nothing would ever be the same.
Chapter 7
7
I didn’t know how it happened, but an hour later, I found myself in the backseat of a car. A car! Only the richest people had the electric vehicles while the rest of us walked everywhere. I’d never even seen one in real life, yet there I was, cruising along the road, on my way to Oberon Academy with Celeste Greenly.
The woman must’ve had some kind of mystical powers, because not only had she convinced the Holts to let me go, she had done it in about three minutes. Todd and Gretchen had walked into Mrs. Karcher’s office, anger and suspicion rolling off them in waves. They were convinced I’d done something wrong and were eager to see me punished accordingly.
Their motives were clear…to me, at least. Gretchen was still angry and jealous over the attention Todd showed me, despite how unwanted it was. Todd was pissed that I’d escaped him. They stood as a united front, for once, ready to see me get my comeuppance for my supposed offenses.
At first, Celeste’s words of praise commending my academic pursuits only made them angrier. It was obvious they were disappointed that the meeting was not going as they had hoped. I was sure they’d deny her request to enroll me in the private school out of spite.
Then something changed. As Celeste talked about the academy, their faces smoothed, the angry scowls disappearing. They turned ambivalent, like they couldn’t care less where I went or what I did. The consent papers were signed without a word passing either of their lips. They got up and left without even looking in my direction.
Celeste hustled me outside and into the backseat of the shiny, silver vehicle. I couldn’t believe it had been so easy. I replayed the whole scene over and over in my head, trying to figure out how she’d done it. I didn’t snap out of my dazed stupor until we were well outside the city limits.
“December, honey, you can stretch out back there and take a nap. That’s why I put you in the back. You could use some rest,” she said, her voice smooth like honey, while she met my eyes in the rearview mirror.
She was right. I was tired. As if the previous twenty-four hours had finally caught up to me, I suddenly felt like my body was made of lead and my head was filled with cotton. A nap sounded divine.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and, using my backpack as a pillow, stretched out as much as the small backseat would allow. It was cramped, but my brain and body didn’t mind. I was asleep within seconds.
“December, we’re here.”
I sprang up, disoriented, and absentmindedly wiped some drool from my chin with the back of my hand. My eyes widened as everything came back to me, then I tore my gaze from Celeste’s face to look through the passenger’s side window. I didn’t even try to stifle my gasp.
Trees. There were hundreds of them, a huge forest, so thick I couldn’t see anything but darkness among them.
“What the hell?”
I sucked in a breath, snapping my eyes back to Celeste. I wasn’t sure what the school’s stance was on the use of profanity, and I didn’t want to break any rules before I even got out of the car. Celeste laughed, a tinkling sound that made me feel…alive.
“It’s quite all right, dear. Nearly everyone has that reaction when they see Alvaro Forest for the first time.”
“Alvaro Forest?” I asked, my eyes turning back to the glorious sight.
Trees in the city were scarce, and the ones that were around, were young and frail, having been planted after the arrival of the Zephyrs. These trees…they touched the sky, their huge canopies blocking out the sun. It was like a fairy tale.
“Yes,” Celeste said, answering my question, “named after Alvaro Dobbs, who purchased this land and protected it against logging companies. He also came up with a system to reduce the acidity of enough water to keep these trees nourished during The Great Famine.”
The academic side of me wanted to ask questions, to debate how that was even possible. It had to rain there, and the rain was toxic to trees and plants. How did Alvaro Dobbs protect the trees? It didn’t make any sense at all.
Before I could speak, movement on my left caught my eye and I turned my head, getting my first glimpse of Oberon Academy. And my jaw dropped open with yet another gasp, the forest all but forgotten.