by Kat Cotton
Britney and Lucas walked with me to the elevator. Even though it took me forever to walk the distance, I refused to let them help.
“Mr. Norton shouldn’t have done that.” Lucas frowned. “He should’ve known better.”
“No. It’s fine. He has to try things.”
“While you be okay to get to your room?” Britney tried to move closer again.
I shuffled to the side. “It’s a short walk.”
They both still had that look of worried concern on their faces as the elevator doors closed. Once they could no longer see me, I slumped against the wall, longing for the privacy of my own room.
The elevator opened to an empty lobby. I just had to focus on my bedroom door, putting one foot in front of the other.
I’d only made it two steps out of the elevator when I heard someone. I wanted to sneak into the shadows out of view but wasn’t sure if I could in this state. I hobbled faster, hoping I could get in my door before they saw me.
Shit, Oscar.
I paused, not sure what to do since he stood between me and my bedroom door.
He flinched. Good. I’d rather him be afraid of me than attacking.
I walked faster, grabbing my swipe card out of my pocket but I walked like I moved through quicksand. As I tried to pick up speed, I stumbled, reaching out for the wall to steady myself.
Oscar sensed my weakness, the way that bullies always do.
“What’s wrong, poor girl?” He moved closer and flicked at my hair.
It didn’t hurt but I cringed at his touch.
“What’s up?” Blake appeared from around the corner.
My chest tightened. I couldn’t deal with one of them, let alone both.
Blake leaned against my door frame, blocking access to my room. I slumped against the wall. I just needed to get them to leave. No matter what it took.
“She doesn’t seem so feisty today.” Oscar moved even closer to me. “Probably got one of those poor people diseases.”
I tried to push him aside. “Leave me alone.”
“You never left me alone, did you?” He got right up in my face, grabbing my shoulders. “So, don’t expect any sympathy from me.”
I swallowed. I didn’t expect it but I’d hoped he’d act like a decent person for once in his life.
“Make her do it.” Blake snickered. “Make her do the freaky throwing thing.”
The hallway swam around me and my breathing became labored. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand.
Then the elevator beeped.
Saved.
Oscar and Blake wouldn’t want witnesses.
The elevator doors opened. If it was someone sympathetic, I’d call to them, otherwise I’d gather my strength to get to my room while Oscar and Blake were distracted. One friendly face, that’s all I asked for.
Ren.
My heart sunk. I was screwed, totally screwed.
My heart sunk further with each step he took. My gaze darted around, looking for an escape. If only there was someone else around. Or security. Weren’t there security cameras up here? Totally useless cameras.
“Ah, Cherry. Time for our session.” He smiled at me, ignoring Oscar and Blake. “I think the study room is busy so we’ll go to my room.”
Oscar’s jaw dropped. “But...”
Ren smirked, daring him to say more.
The two of us walked along the hallway, leaving Oscar and Blake behind us. Had this just happened?
I’d just been saved. By Ren Worthington.
Chapter 20
I slumped down in the chair, burrowing into my hoodie. Ren had a reason for helping me. And you could bet your bootie that reason wasn’t common human decency.
I had an obligation to him now and as much as I appreciated him saving me, I hated being obliged to people.
“Do you want something to drink? You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You’re just saying you’re fine.”
He picked up his phone and ordered me a coffee. “And a smoothie too. Freshly made.”
“You could’ve said please,” I said when he hung up the phone. “Manners never hurt anyone.”
He redialed the number. “Please.”
Okay. I hadn’t expected that.
Then he grinned. “It’s true, they really don’t hurt.”
“Maybe you should try it more often.” I chewed my sleeve, knowing I’d have to take my own advice. “Thanks. For saving me from your jerk pal, I mean. That guy has serious problems.”
Ren shrugged as though it was nothing. “Is there something wrong with you? Are you sick or something? You seem paler and weaker than usual.”
“Not sick. A bit of ‘or something’.”
He narrowed his eyes as though debating with himself over something. Maybe something that would cause me pain. I couldn’t shake off my mistrust.
“You aren’t going to pass out or anything? I could take you to the school nurse.”
“I’m fine. So, what did you want me to help you with?” I had to at least listen to his request.
Ren jumped up suddenly. I flinched, not sure what he wanted. He opened a drawer beside his bed and took something out.
“You remember Farran?”
“Of course.”
He showed me Farran’s ring. “I found this, in the woods. That story about him dropping out of school is bull. He never went anywhere without this ring. He’s dead, I’m sure of it, but no one wants to admit it.”
I almost gasped but stopped myself. That had been the last thing I’d expected him to say. When he’d shown the ring to Oscar and Blake, he’d bragged about having it. He didn’t just find that ring in the woods. There was more to this story. Ren’s face shone with sincerity, so convincing that I’m sure anyone else in the school would trust him completely. Anyone but me.
“So, how did you just happen to find Farran’s ring? Were you and your buddies messing with him? Don’t tell me you were out frolicking in the woods when you just happened to spot a nice, shiny ring.”
Ren sighed. “We weren’t messing with him. I’d taken Thunder out and stopped for him to drink in the stream. I heard a scuffle and went to check it out. There was no one around when I got there, just the ring.”
“Even if it’s true, how does that involve me?” I curled tighter into myself, no idea where this conversation was leading.
“I want you to find out what happened to him.”
That was not the favor I expected Ren to ask. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to hire a private investigator? What can I do to help? I don’t know anything about it.”
“It’s going to look strange, a private investigator snooping around, but you could do it without anyone suspecting a thing. After all, you hide yourself and no one will think it strange if you ask weird questions.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. Did people think I was strange? I didn’t want people thinking about me at all. I grabbed my hoodie sleeve between my teeth. I needed all the comfort I could get.
For Ren to ask me to investigate Farran meant one of two things. Either everything I’d believed about Ren was a lie. He was a decent guy who had really had found Farran’s ring in the woods. Or two: Ren was eviler than I ever suspected, and trying to play me like a violin. That made a whole lot of sense. He’d seen me in the math room. He knew I’d seen him with the ring. If people discovered Farran was dead, he’d look guilty as hell. The best way to divert suspicion from himself would be to pretend he wanted this solved.
No matter what his motive was, I didn’t want to get all caught up in this. I was caught up enough. Far better for me to untangle myself now.
I shook my head.
“If you don’t do it, I’ll do it myself.”
I jumped. No.
That’d be the worst possible outcome. If Ren investigated Farran’s disappearance, he’d put himself in danger. Danger that I was being paid to protect him from. A dead Ren did not
profit me one bit.
I pursed my lips, trying to work out how to stop Ren.
“I’ll pay you well. You could buy yourself clothes that aren’t full of holes, and a new hoodie.”
“This is my favorite hoodie.” I scowled at him, daring him to keep smack talking my clothes.
Sure, the cuffs on my hoodie were a bit frayed, not helped by me chewing on them, but I wouldn’t replace it with a new one even if I had all the money in the world.
“That’s beside the point. You need money. I have money.”
True facts. He could pay me to investigate, his father could pay me to protect him and I’d collect all the cash. I screwed up my face, though, not liking this situation but not disliking the financial potential either.
“I’ll do it on two conditions. You stay out of the investigation. I’ll do everything, you just keep doing whatever you rich kids do, I don’t know, go shopping and bully poor kids, that kind of thing.”
Ren nodded.
“And two, you call off Oscar and Blake. They stay away from me, actually they stay away from everyone. No bullying, no teasing, no unwelcome touching.”
“I think you're overestimating how much control I have over them.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m not. They’re your little minions.”
Ren tried to hide his grin but when his eyes sparkled like that, I found it hard to work out why I hated him.
“Do you think so?” He narrowed his eyes. “That’s awesome, you have to admit. I mean, I always suspected it but you can’t know those kinds of things until you get it confirmed.”
“Yeah, really. Why don’t you message Oscar and ask him to do something really stupid for you? Like, I don’t know, come to your room and wash your hair. I bet he’d do it. He’d be like ‘oh, Ren, your hair is so beautiful and shiny’.”
We both laughed then Ren frowned.
“Yeah, right. There’s one drawback. If he agrees, I’d have to let him wash my hair. That’d be disgusting. Also, I doubt he’d do a good job of it.”
“But it’d be hilarious.”
My drinks arrived. Ren opened the door and one of the school staff entered with a tray. He indicated for them to put it on the desk beside me. I picked up the smoothie, suddenly hungry and wishing we’d ordered some burgers as well.
“How much money are we talking here? Because I’m not cheap.”
Ren scoffed. “I agreed to your conditions and you want money too?”
“Hell yeah, I do, rich boy. I have to cover my time and expenses.”
I did a quick calculation in my head based on how much his father was paying me. If that had been a drop in the ocean then I could ask for so much more. I named my figure.
“Sure.”
What? He agreed that easily? I’d totally underpriced myself. I could’ve doubled, tripled that amount. And his cheapskate father should be paying a lot more too. Damn it. I had to start thinking in rich people’s terms. The kind of thinking where dropping a bundle of money on a parfait meant nothing.
“But I have a condition too,” Ren said. “You go to the school dance with me.”
I laughed. I laughed a lot. I almost fell off the chair, I laughed so much. Then I looked up and realized Ren wasn’t joking. Why would he want to go to the dance with me?
“You’re kidding, right? I don’t go to stupid school dances and if I went with you, every girl in this school would want to kill me.”
You could not stay under the radar being Ren Worthington’s date. That was about as far above the radar as you could get. Every single person in this school would be gunning for me.
Ren shrugged. “I have my reasons.”
“Are those reasons that you want someone like Angela Blackstone to rip my hair out of my head?”
“She won’t do that.”
He might think that but I knew Angela Blackstone and girls like her. They might not act violently in public but that didn’t mean they didn’t play rough. And it wouldn’t just be her either. Oscar and Blake would not like their best buddy being seen with me.
“Why me? Is this one of those dare things where you have to ask out the ugliest girl in the school?”
“You’re not the ugliest girl in the school.” He didn’t smirk when he said that. He didn’t even do that lip curl thing. He just looked at me as though he hadn’t said anything strange.
I ducked my head as my face grew warmer. It wasn’t that I wanted to think other people were uglier than me, just that people never said nice things about me. It made my nose twitch so I rubbed it with my hoodie sleeve.
He moved closer, as though he was going to touch me, then stopped. He still looked at me, as though waiting for my answer, as though this was a normal thing.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Yes, you do.”
I sucked in my lip, considering that. He knew I had a dress? No one in this school knew that except Britney and Lucas. How would he know that? Sure, he’d seen me in the store but I’d just been trying it on. There was no way Ren had bought that dress for me. That thought was too stupid to consider.
I shook my head, getting that idea unstuck. Surely not.
Maybe, because he’d seem me try it on, he’d assumed I’d bought it. In his world, girls probably didn’t try on dresses then put them back because they were too expensive.
“Well then, tell me why you’re asking me.”
Ren gulped and wouldn’t meet my eyes. For someone with such an overinflated ego, he seemed oddly nervous.
“Because I have to have a date for the dance and Angela Blackstone will be unsuspended by then. If I’m with you, I’m safe.”
“But I won’t be.” My skin prickled under his gaze. “You’re paying me to date you? Whoa, imagine if people found out about that.”
He turned away. “I’m not paying you to date me. I’m paying you to investigate and since you’re working for me, you should go to that dance.”
“If I’m working for you, that’s all the more reason we shouldn’t. It’s a breach of workplace relations.”
“Just go to the damn dance. It won’t kill you.”
I had to tell him no. I couldn’t do this. It went against all my life principles. Just because he asked me, didn’t mean I had to go. Refusing was totally an option. Until I glanced up and locked gazes with Ren. There was a whole lot of intensity in this room that needed to be gone.
“I’ll think about it.” That was the best I could do.
Chapter 21
Even though I’d told Ren that I’d investigate Farran, I had no idea what to actually do. I asked Lucas and Britney to help me search in the woods after training. Ren had given me a map of where he’d found that ring so that was as good a place as any to start.
Lucas and I lazed around the training room while Britney warmed up.
“Sure.” Britney did some fancy jump rope trick. “No. Problem.”
“And I mean investigate, not sneak off to... where are you guys up to in your relationship? Hand holding? Kissing? More than that?”
Yes! Bullseye! They both blushed. They’d definitely passed the kissing stage. I needed to know the details. Not for my own idle curiosity but to practice investigating. But Tarragon and Seth came into the room so I shut up. Teasing the lovebirds was one thing, doing it in front of others was just too mean, though.
“Show me your powers.” Lucas stood up and stretched, raising his arms above his head. His t-shirt raised, showing off his belly. Suddenly Britney’s feet seemed to get twisted in her skipping rope.
“Ah, I’m not sure...” After last time, I didn’t want to mess with things.
“It’s not going to be like that.” Lucas tried to grin reassuringly but it came out all loppy and lovestruck. “You don’t have to go into deep meditation or anything. Just try a few things. If anything goes wrong, we can stop.”
Britney stopped jumping. “We’re here for you if you need us.”
“I don’t know if they’ll work without a
n immediate threat. It might’ve been a one-off thing.”
“Only one way to find out.” Lucas grabbed one of the medicine balls from the store cupboard. “I’ll hold this, you try to get it out of my hands.”
“Those things aren’t light.” Probably lighter than Oscar but then I had no malice towards an innocent medicine ball.
I stood on the other side of the room, focusing on that ball, determined to lift it from Lucas’ hands, even just an inch. There was no point having powers if I couldn’t channel them whenever I liked.
Nothing.
Nothing.
I dug deeper.
Still nothing.
But, on the plus side, I didn’t feel any pain. No tight band squeezing my head.
I doubled my efforts, screwing up my face and squinting my eyes.
“You look constipated.” Mark came into the room, breaking my concentration.
“Shut up, Mark,” Lucas said. “We’re trying something here.”
Something jolted me. A tingling sensation passing from my head to my toes.
The ball lifted.
Not just the ball but Lucas too. He shot up in the air until he hung from the ceiling, gripping that ball.
I started to laugh but Lucas looked scared, really scared.
“Hey, buddy, let go of the ball.” I concentrated on lowering him but he stayed in the air, floating.
“I can’t.”
Bollocks. I hadn’t expected that to happen. I needed to separate Lucas from the ball but I had no idea how I’d done it in the first place. I screwed my eyes up tighter, picturing Lucas’ hands coming away from the ball.
The loud thud startled me. My eyes flew open. Lucas sprawled on the ground but the ball still floated above him.
Nope. It didn’t. The ball crashed onto Lucas’ head.
“Sorry. Sorry.” I rushed over.
“Well, seems like you’ve found your strength.” Mr. Norton stood in the doorway. “Now we just have to test what you can do.”
He set the others up doing exercises while he worked with me. He kept telling me to work from my core.
“Is this Pilates or a magic class?” I asked. “Because my core muscles don’t work too well.
