Hillcrest Academy

by Cassie Pierce

  The feathers are soft beneath my fingers, as I stroke them up and down in wonder. Braxton shudders beneath me, and my hand stills.

  “Don’t stop on my account. Though, I am not sure my brother would like that,” he laughs, pushing himself to his feet and testing out his now completely healed wing.

  “I...I didn’t...I was just.....” I try, but words fail me. I have no words. Zero. None. I just basically felt him up. Christ....... What is wrong with me?

  Laughter tumbles out of him as he bends at the waist. His hand clutches his side as he looks up at me. “You should see your face right now,” he laughs, his words running together. “I was just messing with you Maci.”

  A smile breaks out across my face as relief swamps me. I mean...I did just feel him up, but it was by accident. Totally...one hundred percent accidental. My laughter soon joins his, and for just a moment all of the pain of today leaves me.

  Who knew that Braxton Lux had a sense of humor?

  That’s the problem though. Distractions don’t last long. When the laughter dies, the pain returns, and everything that Jaxon did to me comes roaring back. I push it back for now. There is a time and a place to deal with your shit, and the middle of the woods isn’t it.

  Later. I will break down later, when I can drown my pain in carbs and cry into my pillow. Right now, I just need to get out of these woods. Because at the rate that I am going today, something is going to eat me.

  Who knows....maybe big foot is real and waiting to make me his next snack.

  “Can you fly us back, or do we have to walk?” I ask, turning to Braxton. My eyes scan the woods, but all that I can see in every direction is trees...trees...and more trees. Geez. Where are we?

  “I can fly us. I think,” he says, rolling his shoulder and testing out his wing again. Great. That inspires confidence. Still, I have already almost fallen to my death once today. How much worse can it get?

  “Why did you bring me to a cloud anyway?” I grumble, stepping closer to Braxton. “I don’t have wings. Not the smartest choice.”

  “Noted. I just didn’t expect you to fall off. No one is that clumsy,” he says raising his brow.

  “Well. Newsflash. I am. I am that clumsy.”

  “Right,” he laughs. “No one I have ever met before is that clumsy. You.....I am starting to see that you fit into your own category. Now let’s go. Ryker and Ashlee are probably losing their minds. Not to mention Jaxon.”

  “Jaxon,” I laugh, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “If Jaxon gave a shit then why are you here and not him?” I challenge.

  A weird look crosses Brax’s face, but like his brother he is good at hiding his emotions. At wearing a mask of indifference. “Because I am the only one who could be. Besides,” he says, stepping up to me and picking me up. “Jaxon would feel bad if you died, and I love my brother.”

  Thanks....I think.

  I love his brother too, which is part of the problem....

  How can you love someone who isn’t willing to fight for you?

  Is that love?

  There are no more words as he stretches his wings and shoots into the darkening sky. I close my eyes, trying to block out the world around me. Then sleep claims me, and the last thought that filters through my sluggish brain is that I must trust Braxton.

  I fell asleep with him holding me miles above the earth. If that isn’t trust...then I don’t know what is.

  ∞

  The days that follow are a blur. I spend most of my time in my room, trying to hide from Hillcrest Academy’s new it couple. A match orchestrated by the high council themselves. It seems that the union of the Divine prince and the Fallen princess was all anyone could talk about.

  I avoided the Lux’s like the plague. Ducking into hallways when they would walk past me or skipping the classes that I knew we shared. My grades had taken a hit, but I didn’t care. I was counting down the minutes until graduation, and then I was leaving Hicksville USA, and I was never coming back.

  I was a total idiot to think that someone like Jaxon could love me. That I could be in love so quickly when I didn’t even know him. In the deepest part of my heart I understood that he was trying to protect me. It backfired. In protecting me, he ruined me.

  I even avoided Ashlee, the one person that I would have once turned to for comfort. Instead I focused on the bitterness churning in my gut, and the cruel fact that whatever fate awaited me would be mine to face alone.

  C.J. was the one bright spot to my endless night, and I found that our once rocky friendship had taken root. I even found myself saying some of her off the wall phrases, which is scary.

  Two weeks had passed since Jaxon broke me, and I was no closer to putting myself back together than I had been that day. It was raining out, a windy cold day that matched my mood almost perfectly. I had just eaten an entire box of chocolate chip cookies when C.J. decided to burst my pity bubble.

  “Alright Maci. That is it girl. I can’t just sit here like a knot on a log anymore! Get up! Shower!” she groans, pulling me to my feet. I whine, protesting the movement. It had taken me hours to get comfortable in that spot. I didn’t want to move.

  “Noooo,” I whine, but she isn’t having it. She starts to pull me to the door, and I will give her credit. She is stronger than she looks.

  “Maci. You stink like hog heaven! You are taking a shower!” she protests, pulling me into the bathroom and turning on the water. When I make no move to get in, she puffs out her bottom lip, a wicked smile lighting up her face.

  “Get in that water, or I am calling the boys!”

  I didn’t have to ask to know which boys that she was talking about. She wouldn’t.....except one look at her told me that she would. Groaning, I started to peel off my grimy clothes, not even waiting for her to leave the room.

  The warm water feels better than expected on my skin, and before I know it, I find solace in washing the events of the past two weeks down the drain. A few tears slip free, and I let them. Knowing that they will mix with the water. I promise myself as the water washes down the drain, that this will be the last time that I cry over him.

  Jaxon-freaking-Lux is dead to me.

  When I finally drag myself out of the water, my skin is ice cold. I stood there until I couldn’t stand it anymore, letting the bitter cold water numb my broken heart. I walk back to our room in nothing but a towel, frowning when C.J. holds out a pair of skinny jeans and a cute black sweater for me to put on. In her other hand, my precious high heels dangle.

  I have missed my shoes.

  I step forward, taking the offered clothes and putting them on without protest. Once dressed, I have to admit. I do feel better. “Thank you,” I whisper, and I don’t just mean for the clothes. I mean for everything. She has been my rock these last two weeks. Never leaving my side, except to go to class.

  A true friend. My only friend.

  “Don’t go thanking me yet. We are going shopping,” she says, grabbing her bag from the desk beside the door. The old me would have jumped at the chance for some retail therapy, but I don’t want to shop.

  “I don’t...” I start, but she interrupts me before I can say anything.

  “We are going shopping,” she insists, taking my hand and dragging me to the door. I nod, following her numbly through the dorm building and across the grounds. My hand flies to my chest as a weird ache settles there, and I get the strangest feeling that someone is watching me.

  My head swivels around, but the yard is empty.

  C.J. leads me to a vintage baby blue V.W. bug, and I laugh as I take a seat. Nothing about C.J. is ever what I expect. Like her car. I would have taken her for a truck girl, but yet again she doesn’t fit into any box.

  Until the radio comes on.

  Some cowboy blares through the speakers about love and pain and beer, and I cringe. Country music is like a diary for depressed people. She quickly reaches out, her hand changing the station to something more positive and upbeat.

  “T
hank you” I say, knowing that she loves her some country music. She nods, guiding the car onto the road and away from the campus. This is the first time that I really have a chance to see the town of Carson Hill.

  The first time I was too angry with my mom to really look, and the second time I was running away. It is a cute little town, kind of story book small town America. There is a Main Street of course, because don’t all small towns have a street named main. Tiny shops line the street, and people walk along the sidewalk greeting each other as they pass.

  We only drive for about five minutes before C.J. whips her car into a space in front of a little shop called Tilly’s. Tilly’s displays fancy dresses among other things in the window.

  “A dress shop? Why are we at a dress shop?” I ask, turning in my seat to look at her. She looks a little nervous, and her bangle bracelets jingle as she rings her hands together.

  “Cause you are going to that dance.”

  I open my mouth, but she cuts me off. “Let me finish. You are going to that dance to show that dumb-dumb what a dummy he is. You can be my date,” she smiles.

  I think about it, my eyes going back to the pretty black dress in the window. It would be nice to let Jaxon see that he didn’t beat me. That I am still here.

  “Isn’t that too scandalous for small towns?” I laugh. C.J.’s smile widens as she steps out of the car, jogging around to my side and waiting until I fall into step beside her.

  “Nah,” she giggles. “Scandalous is going to be seeing us in our dresses. Now come on. The dance is tonight. We need to hurry.”

  Two hours later, C.J. and I walk hand in hand out of Tilly’s boutique equipped with an armor that can take down any man. A sexy dress, and an even sexier pair of new shoes.

  We pile back into her car, driving like crazy back to Hillcrest so that we can fix our hair and makeup. I find myself smiling for the first time in two weeks, because there is nothing better than a good dose of revenge.

  Some say revenge is a dish best served cold, but tonight it is going to be a dish served smoking hot. The best part.....

  Jaxon Lux will never see me coming.

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 25~

  I can hear the music pumping from the speakers from outside. C.J. grabs my arm, stopping me as my hand reaches for the door. Her eyes rake over me, as she lets out a slow whistle.

  “The black was a good choice. That cut looks great on you,” she says.

  She isn’t wrong. I look good tonight. My tight-fitting black ball gown flowing like velvet over my body, hugging each curve along the way before ending in a simple train. One diamond clip holds my breast together, and the back swoops low. My hair is down, cascading over one shoulder in a swooping wave.

  “Thanks,” I say. “You look great as well.” And she does. She went for an all silver sequined number that stops just below her ass. She made it her own by pairing it with her Doc Martin’s. She looks badass.

  “Let’s go serve some humble pie Maci,” she laughs, throwing open the door to the ballroom where the dance is being held.

  Whoa! We did not have dances like this at my old school. We may have been a bunch of spoiled rich kids, but we didn’t come close to this. Strobe lights reflect off of every surface, and above us what looks like actual stars light up the room. A waterfall has magically appeared in the center of the room, and every so often couples will disappear beneath it.

  Even though I want to look, I refuse to scan the space for Jaxon. Let him find me. My eyes go to the dance floor, and before I can second guess myself, I pull C.J. in that direction.

  “Come on date. Let’s show them how to dance,” I say excitedly. I tug a laughing C.J. along behind me as the sea of bodies swallows us. I close my eyes, letting the beat take me away as hands and legs that I know do not belong to C.J. trace the lines of my body. I don’t shrug them off, instead I step closer.

  It is just dancing. I am down with that. My head drops forward as a hand skims my behind, and I decide that I better see who Mr. friendly hands is. My luck...he’s ugly.

  The face that belongs to the wondering hands is anything but ugly. It is just the last face that I want to see. Well...that’s a lie. I wanted him to see me. To want me...but I be damned if he gets to touch me after everything that he did.

  Rage bubbles to the surface as I turn my back to him, continuing to dance. I wonder if I ignore him, if he will go away?

  “Princess...” he growls, his front suddenly pressed against my back, lining up all the forbidden places. That just makes me angrier.

  “I am not your princess! I am not your anything! I came here to have fun! After everything that you have taken from me, can you just give me this?”

  His hands fall from my skin, and he steps so that he is in front of me. A million emotions play across his face, before he closes his eyes tightly. He nods his head, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss to my forehead.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispers, and I squeeze my eyes shut against the pain and hurt that try to drag me back under. When I open them.....he is gone.

  I stand frozen in the sea of thrashing bodies, momentarily paralyzed by pain. Then I am running.

  Away from this place, and this stupid dance. Away from the boy who keeps breaking me. Just away.

  I push through the double doors, gulping in cold fall air as I try to catch my breath. As I try to calm my heart. Tears threaten to fall, but I push them away. I will not cry. Not for Jaxon. Not anymore.

  “Maci?” she says softly, appearing behind me. I turn, trying to school the hurt on my face so that she won’t see. She will though. She has always been able to see.

  “Sorry,” I say, placing my hand on my chest. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you come out,” I laugh. Ashlee smiles, stepping into the lighted pathway. I frown when the light hits her, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

  She isn’t dressed. Well...I mean, she is dressed, but she isn’t wearing a dress. She must know what I am about to say, because she answers the question before I even ask it.

  “That’s because I didn’t,” she says, holing up her T-shirt with a smile. Ahh... So Ash didn’t go to the dance. That makes sense. Mostly. Except....it isn’t like Ash to ever miss a social event.

  “Then what are you doing out here?” I tease. “It is like thirty degrees.” I say, rubbing my arms in a lame attempt to draw warmth.

  “I was waiting on you,” she says, and her voice is off again. Cold and distant like before. Her eyes stare straight ahead, and she doesn’t blink. Not even once since she starts to speak.

  “Ash? Are you ok? You are acting weird,” I laugh, stepping closer to where she is. Her hands are locked behind her back, and she has a far-off look in her eye. A tear falls as she steps into me, her arms coming up suddenly and wrapping me in a hug.

  “I’m sorry M. I had to do it,” she whispers. A pinching sensation claws at my neck, and panic seizes me as my muscles lock up. Her arms come back, and that is when I see it.

  A syringe is in her right hand, and she stares at it numbly before tucking it into her pocket. My legs go numb as my vision begins to fade around the edges. Another shadow steps form the darkness, catching me as I start to fall.

  “Hurry up!” Ashlee snaps at the newcomer. “We need to get her out of here before he comes looking for her. Bianca can only distract him for so long. Move!” she orders. Whoever holds me grumbles a muffled reply, but I can’t make out his words.

  My head swings limply as he tosses me over his shoulder. I know that it is a he, because the shoulder is much too wide to belong to a woman. Then I feel the familiar shift in the air that only traveling by shimmer can cause as darkness drags me under.

  This is bad. This is so bad.

  ∞

  I wake with a start, my head pounding as I try to force my eyes open. A heaviness has settled over my tired limbs, making it hard to move. Dirt presses against my cold cheek, and I gag as some of it makes its way into my mouth. My hands are tied securel
y in front of me, and my eyes catch the faint red glow of Charon’s chains.

  Not that they need to use them on me. I can’t even access the shimmer.

  My eyes scan the space, confusion fighting panic for dominance as I take in my surroundings. Dirt is all around me. Above me and below me, it covers every visible surface of this place. A cave maybe?

  It is dark here, save for the torch’s that light the walls, giving the small space an eerie glow. I would almost rather prefer the darkness. That way I can’t see whatever I am about to face.

  It is cold here. So cold that small crystals of ice have already started to form on the tips of my hair. Great! So...if the cave monster doesn’t eat me, I will probably freeze to death.

  Awesome! Just awesome!

  How....how did I get here? I was talking to Ashlee.....

  Ashlee. She...she drugged me.

  My best friend drugged me. She had said that she was sorry before she did it. That she had to do it. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. She was apologizing for this.

  “Ash!” I call out in a loud whisper, scanning the space for her and coming up empty. My voice echoes back to me.

  “Ash! I know that you are here!” I demand, trying again to pull the damn chains that bind me loose. They don’t budge. Not even a little. I jerk my fingers back with a hiss.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Charon’s chains leave nasty burn marks.” He steps from the shadows, his eyes raking over me before he shakes his head. “They scar.”

  I blink, forgetting about the chains as the voice registers in my mind. It can’t be.....

  “Michael,” I whisper, betrayal and doubt slamming into me. Out of everyone, he is the last person that I ever expected to betray me.

  “Hello daughter,” he sighs, sneering the word like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He stalks forward, pulling a plain metal chair from the corner and sitting in front of me.

  “Why?” I cry, wincing as the chain sizzles against my skin. The smell of burning flesh tickles my nostrils, and I have to push down the urge to vomit. My skin raw and bleeding beneath the chains.