by G N Wright
“See you around,” Lincoln says calmly.
“Fuck you, superman,” she replies with rage but even I can see the friendship they have clearly formed between them, it should piss me off that I’m not included but I’m just glad he is letting more people in.
I laugh along with Jace at her anger and she turns to us.
“And fuck you both too!” she snaps and then storms away, and both my boys laugh but I am too mesmerized by her ass.
When she’s out of sight I return my stare to Linc to find him watching me.
“What's going on brother?” I ask him.
“I told you the only eyes on her should be ours,” he shrugs but then turns more serious, “at all times brothers,” he looks at me intensely and he doesn’t have to tell me again.
I turn and stride after Elle without another thought until I find her leaning against her locker texting. I don’t alert her to my presence and the crowded noisy hallways allow me to blend in next to her quietly.
I can see she is texting that Taylor chick who is begging her to come out at the weekend.
TAY: Bitchhh come on we are only 18 once, don’t leave me with these plastic prep bores. Club 319 is bomb AF trust me!
ELLE: Fine but we are getting ready at your house! I have no idea how to get ready for a club.
TAY: Yessss I knew having you back would be fun! Friday is going to be awesome! And don’t worry bitch I will have you looking so good the men will fall at your feet.
“Is that what you want little King? For men to fall at your feet,” I whisper next to her ear and she squeals as my unexpected presence scares her.
“Fuck me, River. Do you have to be so creepy?” she says as she puts a hand to her chest attempting to calm her no doubt racing heart but all I’m focused on are the first three words she just said.
Fuck me, River.
Fuck hearing that has me hardening in my pants. What I would give to have my little Ells beg me like that. Clearly, I got lost in my own imagination because when I look back to her she is just staring at me like she is waiting for me to speak.
“Sorry what?” I say and she shakes her head.
“I said what do you want?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” I smile, pushing my body into hers, “I want you.” I hear her intake of breath as she looks around to see if anyone is watching us. Ha, like I give a fuck if they were. Every fucker in this hallway needs to take note that this girl is off limits and not for the reasons I originally stated.
“I told you, Ells, now I know there is nothing in my way,” I nip her ear as she releases a little breathy gasp, “I will make you mine.” I pull back and smile in triumph as I take in her lust filled eyes and the blush dancing across her cheeks before turning and walking to class.
Chapter 28
ELLE
What a cluster fuck of a day. When I left the house this morning to go to my car and found Lincoln waiting for me, I should have known it wouldn’t stop there. Apparently, I am now the Rebels’ newest fucking hobby.
First and second period I had the joy of being surrounded by all three of them and when I slipped out to go to the restroom, I exited to find Lincoln had followed me there. When I raised an eyebrow at him, he just gave me his usual shrug.
Third period I rushed to class early trying to claim a seat next to someone to avoid Marcus’ flustering presence but he just towered over the person next to me for all of two seconds before they scrambled out of the seat for him. When I huffed in exasperation he just laughed.
I can’t even breathe without one of them being by my side and by the time lunch rolls around I am ready to fucking flip.
I rush from class and thankfully I am quick enough to avoid any of the Rebels as I didn’t share last period with any of them. I decide to grab some lunch off school grounds just for some peace and quiet. I keep looking around making sure I’m not spotted and then I get close to the exit and can taste the freedom when I feel hands on me.
“Not so fast, princess.” Jace grabs me just as I am about to make it to the door.
“Let me go”, I huff as I struggle against him.
“Ah ah, I’ve got orders to come get you,” he releases his hold on me but then before I know it I am being flung over his shoulder and carried towards the cafeteria despite my colorful protests.
He drops me right next to the table they usually sit at which is unusually not surrounded by their groupies and just as I am about to rage at him, Marcus grabs me by the hips and plops me down into his lap. I can’t contain the squeal of surprise that leaves me, and he smirks. I can feel every eye in here on us and it’s clear they are wondering what is happening here and they aren’t the only ones. I feel like yelling me fucking too guys, me too.
I fight to move off his lap when he grips my thighs to keep me pressed in his lap, I wriggle more trying to move and then I feel something hard against my ass and I immediately still, I turn to look at him and his eyes are dark and solely on me.
“Don’t tease me, baby,” he whispers.
Before I can speak, he addresses the room, “Everyone listen up!” It’s ridiculous how quick they quiet down for him and I roll my eyes.
“Elle King is mine,” he adds, and you could hear a pin drop alongside my racing heart at his declaration. My mouth hangs open in shock and he smiles before cupping my face and smashing his lips to mine. I am in total shock that I can do nothing but accept his kiss and I try to ignore how perfect his lips feel against mine.
When he pulls back, he winks at me and then speaks to the crowd again, “As you were,” he exclaims, and the chatter slowly starts back up. His face is so smug that it infuriates me as he grips my hips again.
I drag the knife from its usual spot in my boot and flick it open.
“Get your hands off me or you are going to be spending your lunch bleeding out,” I snap at him and he just smiles bigger before dropping me into the seat next to him.
I fume silently thinking of my next move when his breath hits my ear, “Soon you will be begging for my hands on you,” his voice is a whisper and it sends chills down my spine and I have to repress the shudder I want to let out.
Linc arrives with two trays of food and places one in front of me. I look at it and it's filled with foods I love. I give him a look and he just shrugs and sits across from me next to Jace who is already sitting across from Marcus smiling widely at what’s just occurred.
“I don’t see why I have to sit with you guys,” I huff out in frustration, purposely ignoring Marcus’ words and actions and focusing on the other two instead as I dig into my lunch.
“Aw don’t be like that, princess, we're family,” Jace winks at me.
“You don’t even know me,” I say pointedly, jabbing my fork at him before shoving food in my mouth.
“Well let's change that, what's your favorite color?” he asks with such childlike excitement that I can’t help but go to answer him.
“Green,” Marcus answers for me and my head snaps back to him. “Her favorite color is green,” he adds, staring at me intently.
I swallow thickly, he’s right it’s green like the forest or at least it was until that night. I shudder as the memories of the last time Marcus and I were in that forest assault me. Things were so simple then between us, just two childhood friends destined to be more. Chasing through the forest without a care in the world, I used to love watching the trees whip by us as we ran together. So pure, so innocent, so easy. Maybe if I spent more time paying attention to the more important things in life then I would have noticed Greg before it was too late.
“Actually,” I say in a choked whisper as I come back from my thoughts, I cough slightly to rid the raspyness of my throat, “It’s orange, now,” I say weakly.
When Cassie was born, they wrapped her in a beautiful orange blanket and placed her on my chest and for the first time since the attack I could breathe again. When I was allowed to take her home, I noticed a giraffe in the gift shop that was the same orange as the blanket and I just h
ad to buy it, it’s still her favorite cuddly toy now. Now it’s her favorite color too, we always end up buying orange stuff for her. Even her room is decorated in a delicate peach colored orange.
“I guess I need to get to know you again,” Marcus says.
“You might not like what you learn,” I reply.
He reaches out hesitantly before gripping my hand in his on top of the table, “Ells, whatever happened nothing will change how I’ve always felt about you. We may have lost our way for a while and I’m sorry for that, but we will find our way back. Pinky promise?”
He holds out his other hand towards me waiting for me to link my Pinky with his, it takes everything in me not to cry as I am assaulted with hundreds of memories of us as kids making the same silly gesture over so many things. I think back to the time he Pinky promised he would be all my firsts.
“Come on, Ells, follow me?”
“Where are we going, River?”
“To our spot,” he looks at me and holds out his hand and I take it.
We make our way to the large tree in his garden and he immediately begins to climb it and I follow him closely. Once we get to the little makeshift tree house Michael made for us, he gestures for me to sit on the balcony and he sits next to me. I can feel his nerves, but I don’t know why.
“Have you kissed anyone since our kiss, Ells?” he asks suddenly, and I look at him shocked.
“What? Of course not!” I squeal at him and then I panic, “Why have you?” I ask and he shakes his head and the panic melts away.
I take a deep breath before I continue, “I don’t want to kiss anyone but you, River,” I whisper.
“Not even Asher?” he replies, and he looks so serious.
I frown, “Ash and I are just friends, it’s not like that.”
“What about what we heard your parents say?” he asks.
“I am not marrying Asher Donovan,” I scoff in disgust at him for even saying something so ridiculous.
Marcus reaches out and captures my hand in his and it tingles under his touch.
“Ells, I want to be all your firsts. I’m gonna marry you one day and we will have kids and live happily ever after and I’ll even let you keep Asher as a friend if I have too. Pinky promise me there won’t be anyone else, only us. Give me all your firsts?”
He holds out his finger and I curl my own around it, “I promise.”
He leans into me and I do the same and just as our lips are about to touch, we are interrupted.
“Ells Bells? Marcus? You up there?” Asher’s voice shouts to us.
“Fucking Asher,” Marcus mutters to himself and I laugh before he shouts out to him, “Yeah, we’re coming, Donovan.”
We were just a couple of kids at the time, yet the love felt so real. I already knew then that I would never love someone like I love Marcus Riviera. I willed him to have all my firsts, but fate had other plans.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, River,” I say trying not to let the emotion I’m feeling pour out, I give his hand a squeeze before I pull mine back and go back to my lunch.
The rest of lunch goes by in a blur as we all sit silently in our own thoughts. I don’t think Linc or Jace knew what to say to make either of us feel better.
“I’ll drive you home after school,” Marcus claims out of nowhere and I flinch, yeah that is so not happening.
“Actually, I’ve got some shopping to do so I’ll be fine,” I try to sound as casual as possible but even I can hear how high pitched my voice sounds and Marcus narrows his eyes at me.
“Can I join you?” he asks in a pleading tone that I wish I couldn’t ignore.
“Linc already said he would take me,” I say as I look at Linc and give him a look that I hope he understands.
He stares at me for a few seconds before looking at Marcus, “Yeah, don’t worry, brother. I’ve got it covered.”
Marcus grinds his teeth before he stands abruptly and stalks away, I watch him go and then release a slow breath. I turn back to the table and find Jace staring between me and Linc.
“What’s going on here?”
I don’t hesitate to reach across the table and grab his arm, “Trust me, pretty boy, when I say you really don’t wanna know.”
The bell rings signaling the end of lunch before he can respond, and we all get up and head on our way.
I don’t see Marcus again until the end of the day and even then, it is only a glimpse of him as I make my way over to Linc’s car.
Linc is close behind me and I can feel him watching me as I stare after Marcus.
“Everything okay?” the same question he always asks me.
“Yeah, I just hate lying to him,” I say honestly.
“So, don’t,” he responds like it’s that easy and I turn my focus to him.
“Come on, Linc. You’ve only been giving the highlights of my life the last few years; you honestly think I can tell Marcus that?”
“I think you underestimate him.”
“No, I think you do. You underestimate the feelings a couple of kids could have formed for each other.” I turn and look back to the empty road Marcus left down. “If Marcus finds out it won’t just change him, it will destroy him and he won’t stop until he has burned down the world in vengeance,” I shake my head and climb into the car.
Linc gets in quietly and we both just sit there in thought until I break it.
“I really do need to go shopping.”
“Okay where to?” he responds instantly starting the engine up.
“North Side,” I say simply, and we pull out of the parking lot and head to the devil’s side of town in silence.
Linc insisted on coming with me of course, all part of his watch Elle at all times plan. I’d rage about it, but I know I don’t stand a chance at winning this one. Ash and Zack are both in agreement with him, even Helen who I thought for sure would be on my side, safe to say I’m outnumbered.
I hate shopping and if it wasn’t for Taylor, I would not be here, but she insists on dragging me to some club this weekend and I have no clothes that are club appropriate. Hence the shopping trip. I have already waved away two snooty sales assistants who looked down on me until I waved my black card in their face and told them I don’t need their help.
I am holding more hangers than I care to admit as I wave them at Linc and motion my head to the changing rooms. I slide behind a curtain and start trying them on. The changing rooms are quiet apart from the rustling of the clothes as I change so when I hear footsteps, they are loud. They sound close and past experience has my reaching for my knife quietly.
I grip it and spin towards the curtain as it’s pulled back and just as I am about to get stabby I see the last face I expected, “Mom?”
Looking pristine as always, Sarah King stares back at me before she looks around to make sure we are alone and pulls the curtain behind her enclosing us in the dressing room together. What the fuck?
“What do you want?” I ask her still brandishing the knife towards her, she eyes it with caution and what looks like pride.
“I came to warn you,” she whispers looking over her shoulder like she expects someone to bust in here and to be fair with Lincoln prowling around it’s a possibility.
“Yeah, you are about three years too late for that,” I draw sarcastically while checking an imaginary watch.
She ignores my obvious attempt to deflect her and moves closer to me.
“He’s coming for you Elle.”
“And I will welcome him with a blade directly into his cold heart.”
“Elle, I am serious you should have never come back here. You got away!” her voice raises slightly as she begins to pace back and forth in the small space muttering to herself, I have never seen her like this.
“Like you care you sold me to the devil!” I spit at her.
She stops abruptly, “No, the devil stole you and--”
I cut her off, “And you did nothing!”
“You don’t know what it
was like,” she tries.
“Do you know what it was like, what they did to me?” I rip the dress I was in the middle of trying on when she burst in here over my head revealing my scarred stomach.
“Do you know what it feels like to have a knife slice you repeatedly at the same time a monster rapes you? Tearing you apart in more ways than one?” I spit the words are her barely holding back my rage and tears.
“But you escaped,” she replies like that makes everything better and I laugh at her.
“Yeah no thanks to you! Someone who doesn’t share my blood sacrificed everything to save me. Sacrificed himself, his child, his everything all to protect me!” I am shouting now and no doubt someone will come back here to check on things any minute, but I don’t care.
I start putting my clothes back on eager to get away from here and just as I am readying to leave Lincoln pulls back the curtain with a grimace on his face taking in the scene before him. Clearly, he is pissed that she managed to get to me without him noticing.
“Come on, let's go” I say to him. I push past my mother and focus solely on him, but she grabs my arm as I pass her.
“I know what it means to sacrifice a child,” she says staring at me intently, her grip tight on my arm.
I yank my hand from her hard and level her with a look of pure disdain “Yeah? Which one, Sarah?” her eyes widen in shock, but I don’t stick around to say anything else.
I march to the counter and throw the dress down with my card as Linc stands close to me in such a protective manner that I can calm myself easily.
Fuck Sarah King and her shitty warnings.
Chapter 29
ELLE
The rest of the week was about as much of a shit show as my Monday was. The Rebels followed me everywhere. Lincoln drove me to and from school, Jace grabbed me every lunch and Marcus touched me any chance he got. It was getting harder and harder to ignore him.
Which is why I am now sitting in Taylor’s room gladly participating in what she is calling my makeover. I have never really had a girlfriend so not entirely sure what it entails but the pre drinks she made us have relaxed me and she is happily filling in the silences between us.
