Between (Tory's School for the Troubled Book 1)

by Katie May

  That minute? Longest damn minute of my life.

  The whispers began once more followed quickly by a boisterous laugh a few tables over. It was that laugh that set off a chain reaction, like a wildfire in the forest. Everyone began talking at once, hands moving animatedly and smiles on their faces. Only a few, Beau and I included, still looked scared.

  “What the everloving fuck—”

  “Language,” Aiden chastised, finally tilting his head up and shoving his sandwich into his mouth.

  “How can you be so calm?” I asked in disbelief. Fear was running rampant in my stomach, a vociferous mixture of dread and anxiety that threatened to choke me. What I had seen should not have evoked such calm, serene reactions from anyone. It was pulled straight from a horror novel—Psycho 101. A class I was sure Aiden excelled at.

  Tanner was the one who answered, shrugging his broad shoulders.

  “We’re used to it.”

  The words were like a bucket of cold water dousing me. Submerging me. Drowning me. I gasped for breath, struggling to take air into my lungs. Was that what dying felt like?

  It sucked ass.

  “You want a word of advice?” Aiden asked casually. He lazily took a sip from his coffee cup—probably spiked with vodka and the blood of his enemies—before meeting my eyes. He appeared calm, but there was a slight furrow between his brows. A crinkle that hadn’t been there previously. It was the only hint that something lurked beneath his apathetic front. Somehow, that damn skin crinkle demoted him from intimidating to approachable. It made him look…human.

  Not a word I would normally associate with Aiden.

  “What’s this word of advice?” I asked, only half-listening. The other half was planning an escape. A way out. This was…

  There were no words in the English dictionary that could possibly describe all that I felt about this hellish place. Had I somehow landed in the loony bin? That wouldn’t surprise me. I was one hit away from blowing. All someone had to do was light the fuse, and then…boom. An exploding Bianaca.

  A dead Bianaca.

  After all, you couldn’t survive such an explosion.

  “Keep your head down. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Aiden ticked off, using his fingers as a visual.

  “Oh…and don’t die,” Tanner added.

  Something occurred to me then, plowing me over like a semi-truck. I met Aiden’s icy eyes as revelation crested the horizon. For the first time, I could see. Or at least understand. His anger and aggression. His fear. That haunted, vulnerable look in his eyes.

  “Is that what happened to Josie?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Was she taken just like those other students were?”

  I knew I had crossed a line when he went ramrod straight, his hands curling into fists. His expression clouded over, gray storm clouds moving in front of the sun, before he jumped to his feet. In a matter of seconds, he was towering over me.

  I wanted to cower at his proximity, to retreat in on myself as I had done time and time before, but I forced myself to keep my chin up. To meet his eyes that were penetrating my scalp.

  Beau, beside me, stood up in alarm, but he was quickly restrained by Tanner. Beau may have been taller, but Tanner had considerably more muscle.

  “He’s not going to hurt her,” Tanner whispered, probably expecting me not to hear.

  I kept my gaze on Aiden, ignoring the struggle from behind me.

  “Don’t talk about shit you know nothing about,” he hissed, placing his hands on my shoulders.

  “Like Josie?” I asked, poking the bear. I was desperate for answers, desperate for some explanation that went beyond four simple rules. I had the distinct feeling that Aiden could offer me that. I just had to prod him enough times until he had no other choice but to answer me.

  His hand clenched, unclenched, before clenching once more. With a guttural scream, he released my shoulders and stormed out of the cafeteria. I watched his muscles flex as he walked away. Ran away would be a more accurate description.

  As soon as he left, I turned toward Beau. He didn’t need me to say anything. He had always been on the same wavelength as me, a product of our friendship.

  With a nod, he grabbed my hand and pulled me from the cafeteria. I was vaguely aware of Tanner trailing behind us, hands in his pockets.

  “Do you have anything in your room?” I asked Beau. He shook his head.

  We ran through the lobby, the same lobby I had first seen Tanner in, and out the front door. It was still raining, heavy torrents that instantly drenched my blond hair and clothes. Still, I did not let that deter me as I raced down the steep steps, past the fountain, and to the heavy gates.

  They reminded me of teeth. Heavy, keen teeth preparing to devour me whole. Goosebumps erupted on my flesh at the visual.

  Getting eaten alive by a school…not the way I wanted to go.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tanner called over the rumble of thunder. Beau, hand still gripped tightly in mine, merely glared at him. I could tell he felt the same as me: confusion, fear, and anger all battling for dominance.

  What type of sick, twisted school did our parents send us to?

  I would like to believe that Mom didn’t know, but doubt niggled my mind. The last few years had found us on a precarious ledge. One wrong move, and we would both topple over. I still loved her, but she wasn’t the mom I grew up with. She was…different. And not for the better.

  The stepfather, on the other hand….

  Anger thrummed through my veins, wave after wave of fire that settled in my core, burning me from the inside out. I wanted nothing more than to punch that smug prick until he bled.

  “You ready?” I asked Beau.

  His hardened eyes met mine before he nodded resolutely.

  Without preamble, we pushed open the gates. I had expected them to be locked, but they opened easily. Too easily.

  When had anything in life ever been this easy?

  Despite my misgivings, I took the gift for what it was and ran through the fence. Lightning struck overhead, painting the landscape in white light, and thunder boomed, the sound reverberating through me.

  I began to run in earnest, fear only spurring me on. Faster. I could run faster.

  Beau suddenly stopped beside me, the movement so sudden that I nearly face-planted into a mud puddle. His face was unnaturally pale, eyes wide. Terrified.

  And then I realized…

  We had just exited the front door of the academy once more. The fountain. The stone staircase. The distressed wood.

  The fence that was once more closed.

  “What the hell?” I whispered, tugging on Beau’s hand. He came, somewhat dazed, and together we opened the fence once more.

  Raced out.

  Stopped.

  We were back at the top steps of the academy, staring down into the manicured grass, thicket of trees, and that damn monster fountain.

  The closed gates taunted us.

  No. No. No. No.

  Tanner chuckled darkly from where he was leaning against the marbled wall, just under the archway. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest, amusement flickering in his dark gaze.

  “Welcome, Little Gymnast, to Tory’s School for Troubled Teens. Or…as we like to call it…Hell’s Academy.”

  10

  Bianaca

  I blinked at him wordlessly.

  The sky continued to fall apart around us, but Tanner held my entire attention. My mind was a hurricane of emotions, not one of them pleasant.

  But was there any storm that was?

  “What?” I whispered. His words replayed in my head. I tried to focus, tried to understand, but the meaning repeatedly slipped through my fingers. Half of me wondered if he was crazy while the other half wondered if I was crazy.

  “Well, it’s not technically hell—at least, we don’t think so.” His face turned contemplative. “We don’t really know where we are. Hmmm, I should probably ask Kace to
research this stuff. He’s smarter than me. Not as smart as Aiden but—”

  “Cut the shit, and tell me what’s going on,” I snapped. Trembling, I forked my fingers through my hair. My wet curls clung to my scalp, incapable of being tamed at the moment.

  Tanner didn’t spare a glance at Beau. His attention was fixed on me, eyes locking with mine in a silent battle.

  “Short story, little gymnast, is that none of us fucking know what’s going on.” He paused, straightening himself from the wall and stalking toward me. “Let me guess? You have a vague memory of being handed a pamphlet by someone you love, probably an authority figure, before being shoved into a taxi. Next thing you know, you end up here. Am I right? You barely remember anything else from the last few weeks besides that. Did I hit the mark?”

  His words paralyzed me, cementing my feet to the ground. The sheer absurdity of his statement combined with my own hammering heart made me suddenly dizzy.

  I staggered, only being kept upright by Beau’s hand on my arm.

  “I can see in your eyes that you know what I’m talking about,” Tanner said. “For me, it was my grandma. What about you?”

  “My mom,” I stuttered out. Her face flickered in my mind, that small, sympathetic smile she wore as she handed me the pamphlet. Her soothing voice. The gentle nudge on my back as she placed me and my luggage in the taxi.

  Forgotten.

  For the first time in my entire life, she made me feel forgotten. Unwanted. Unloved.

  I brought my fist to my forehead, attempting to regain some semblance of control. The more I tried to think about my acceptance here, the fuzzier the thought became. It continually trickled through a filter until I was only left with large, confusing pieces. Not enough to make sense of this puzzle, but enough to make my mind wander.

  I wouldn’t have believed him normally. A part of me refused to, clinging to the hope that there was some rational explanation.

  But one look at Beau’s stricken face confirmed my deepest fear: Tanner was telling the truth.

  “I can see the wheels turning in that pretty head of yours, little gymnast.” Tanner leaned once more against the pillar, propping his chin onto his hand. Was his nonchalance an act, or did he really not give a damn? “Care to share with the class?”

  “Oh fuck off,” I mumbled.

  “We don’t know for sure what, exactly, is happening. It could be an experiment. Could be hell. Could be something else entirely.” He leaned closer suddenly, hot breath stirring the hair by my ear. “Or, we could just be fucking with you.”

  I pulled away, body rigid.

  “What exactly do you mean?”

  “There are some drugs that cause hallucinations.” This was all said apathetically accompanied by a shrug of broad shoulders.

  “Drugs…” I whispered dizzily. I recalled Aiden stepping up to me in the cafeteria. Walking me back to my seat. He had stood so close that the heat he emitted was almost palpable. Was it possible he had done something to me? Placed a drug in my spaghetti?

  Beau had gone still beside me. His muscles flexed, jaw clenching.

  “You son of a bitch!” I pounded a fist into Tanner’s shoulder, but he merely laughed. The sound was not jovial.

  “I never said we did that,” he pointed out. “I’m just saying it’s a possibility.”

  My brain fired at a rapid pace, desperately trying to cipher through all the information I was given. Anger, blistering hot, pooled low in my stomach, threatening to burn me from the inside out. I had been so damn stupid.

  Trusting these men.

  Their sole purpose was to destroy me, to harm me, to ruin me. They would think nothing about putting drugs into my food. What better way to destroy someone than to contort their reality?

  Tears burned my eyes, but I willed them to remain in place. I would not give this asshole the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Seeing me broken.

  It was what they wanted, after all.

  “Did you drug me?” I whispered at last. Hoarsely.

  Damn it. Even my voice sounded broken, despite my best attempts at keeping it impassive.

  Tanner’s eyes flickered to mine, briefly, before resting on a spot above my head. The gate, I realized almost dumbly.

  I knew he was going to say yes. There was no other explanation for what I had endured. Magic like that didn’t exist. Even if I did maybe believe in ghosts and demons and angels, I sure as hell didn’t believe in magic schools and superpowers and mass conspiracies.

  Instead of answering, Tanner turned on his heel and walked back into the school. He held himself as taut as a bowstring, muscles upon muscles of barely suppressed anger and tension. Only when he was halfway down the hall did he turn back to look at me. His expression was tense, voice terse.

  “Don’t leave your room at night,” he said stiffly.

  “Is that a threat?” I asked, balling my hand into a fist.

  Tanner shook his head. “No. It’s a warning…and one I shouldn’t even be giving you.”

  Before I could inquire further, he had disappeared around the corner.

  “Son of a monkey anus bitch!” I screamed into the air. Beau placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me toward him, and I willingly burrowed myself into his warm embrace. “Did he drug us?” I whispered. “Did they do this to us?”

  A part of me willed him to say yes. I didn’t want to deal with any other alternative. The fear was raw, a wound that hasn’t quite scabbed yet. It permeated the air like a sickly poison.

  Beau didn’t speak, no surprise, but held me tighter. His soft lips brushed the top of my head.

  Suddenly, it was too much.

  Or perhaps it had always been too much. Either way, I couldn’t stand there another moment, in Beau’s arms, acting like I was okay. My head and heart pounded in tandem, and my thoughts whirled madly. It was impossible to sift through them all, to form a coherent understanding of what I witnessed.

  Ripping myself out of Beau’s arms, much to his protest, I raced down the hall. I heard him make a strange sound behind me, followed quickly by the slapping of his tennis shoes against the tiles. He abruptly stopped, and I knew he was letting me go.

  He understood me better than anyone else, and he knew about my need for space. This revelation from Tanner, whatever the hell it meant, demanded it of me.

  My breathing was heavy when I threw myself into my bedroom, locking the door tightly behind me. I remained still for a moment, merely panting against the wooden door, before I moved to my bed.

  Was what Tanner said true?

  Was I in some sort of hell? Or was this one of those paranormal schools I loved to read about in my books?

  Or was this something else entirely? A mere hallucination from the drugs Tanner had alluded to?

  They may have claimed that they believed me when I insisted I wasn’t behind Josie’s disappearance, but I knew their characters. Revenge ran through their blood, contaminating their lungs like some sort of pollution. Until I could prove without a doubt that I wasn’t behind Josie’s disappearance, they would continue to come after me.

  I thought back to the events in the cafeteria. The professors each adorning a plastic mask. The fear on the students’ faces as they were forcibly removed.

  Fear gripped my heart as understanding dawned on me.

  I had no idea what was true and what was fake. What was reality and what was some drug-induced hallucination?

  Turning my face into my pillow, I let out a scream. No one would hear it, and even if they did, I suspected no one but Beau would care.

  But Beau wasn’t with me at that moment. No one was.

  For the first time in forever, I felt alone.

  I allowed myself to fall into unconsciousness. Blissful unconsciousness.

  Tapping on the door woke me.

  I sat upright, stomach-churning, and peered around my room. Darkness clung to every corner, every crevice, every item, sheathing it like a thick blanket.

  I was somewhat surprised, and
perhaps a little hurt, that Beau hadn’t snuck into my room with me. I knew he was only respecting my wishes, but a part of me yearned for his comfort.

  The knocking began again, further rousing me from my sleep. Maybe Beau had decided to join me. The thought had me eagerly sitting up.

  “Beau?” I murmured, wiping sleep from my eyes. Throwing off my thin covers, I padded barefoot across the hideous blue and black dotted carpeting.

  It had never occurred to me that it would be anyone but Beau at the door when I opened it. The face staring back at me, however, was not that of my best friend. Instead, it was a familiar girl with wild black hair and crazed eyes.

  It took me a moment to place her name. Kelly. From the hall. She had been the younger girl getting bullied by those boys.

  My eyes traced her small, pixie features and the white nightgown she wore. Her hands hung limply by her sides, nails digging into the palms of her hands.

  “Between,” she whispered, casting a haunted look in both directions. Both were empty at this time of night…or morning, if my dorm room alarm was any indication. Three, to be exact.

  “Kelly?” I asked. The fog from my sleep had yet to fully recede, and I scrubbed at my eyes once more as if that would somehow speed up the process. “What are you doing here?”

  “Between,” she repeated urgently.

  I blinked at her.

  Before I could formulate any type of response, she shoved past me and entered my room, slamming the door shut. I opened my mouth, but she quickly put a finger to her lips.

  Shhh.

  Nodding to show her I understood, I perched on the edge of the bed. My heart ached for Kelly. She was obviously unwell.

  Was that why she was sent here?

  Was that why I was sent here?

  I was surrounded by psychopaths. It only made sense if I was one as well.

  I didn’t know what she wanted me to hear, but I decided to humor her, tilting my head curiously to the side and nodding at random times. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

  Whoops. Apparently, that wasn’t the reaction she wanted.