by Bria Berg
“I know my way around a kitchen.” She opened the refrigerator door and gasped. Aside from several water bottles, some sports drinks, a few bottles of beer, and some old take out boxes, there was nothing else inside. No fruits or vegetables, no dairy products or meats of any kind. “What do you guys eat?” she asked.
“We eat out a lot,” Milo said a little embarrassed.
“What if you don’t feel like going out?” Tessa laughed.
“That’s what delivery is for,” Ethan chimed in.
“It’s a miracle you guys look the way you do,” she mumbled taking out a water bottle.
“What do you mean?” Ethan probed, making her blush.
“I mean, you guys know what you look like.”
“No, I don’t think we understand,” Ethan teased simply because he liked watching her squirm.
Luckily, Tessa was saved from replying because the dealership called Milo’s cell phone then. Her cell phone was hopefully still in her car, along with everything else she left in it. He handed his phone to her, and she became more absorbed in the conversation taking place with the mechanic than she would normally have been. At least it kept her from having to look at any of the brothers.
“They are a little backed up because of the storm,” she said hanging up and handing the phone back to Milo. “He said the window won’t be fixed until Saturday. I’m going to have to get a rental.”
“We can take you to and from school,” Sam offered. “It would actually be easier to watch over you that way.”
“Are you sure? My house is ten minutes out of the way.”
“Absolutely, it’s not a problem,” he assured her.
The Chinese food came, and they ate it all. Tessa was starting to become more comfortable in front of the brothers, and they were growing to like her as well. The only one who seemed to be at all awkward was Milo. He was so friendly and kind when they had first met, but the more Tessa spent time with him, the more stand off-ish he was.
It was getting late, so eventually, Tessa stood up from her comfortable spot on the leather couch, and said she should be getting home. All three of the brothers took her home, so that they could place protections around her house. Hailey’s room light was on, and Tessa was more than relieved to know that her little sister was home safe rather than somewhere else, doing who knows what. Her mother’s light was off, and sure enough when she checked the garage, her car was gone as well.
The brothers checked around the house just as a precaution, but didn’t find anything that would be a threat, they did however, find that someone else already had protections in place inside the home. When they questioned Tessa about it, she had absolutely no clue as to who would do that. Someone else knew what she was though, that was for certain. It was most likely those protections that had kept the Elite cronies from finding her home already.
Tessa watched a bit skeptically as the brothers waved their arms around mumbling things under their breath. “Are you casting spells?” she tried not to smile as she asked.
“No,” Ethan smirked back. “We are calling upon the elements, and asking them to protect you.”
“This stuff just gets weirder and weirder,” she said.
“You have no idea,” he chuckled.
Once they were satisfied with their work, the brothers explained to Tessa that any other Gifted person besides them would not be able to enter the house unless invited. The other protections that had been placed before theirs shielded the house’s location to anyone with an ill will. Whomever placed those obviously knew and cared about her.
“We should get out of here before your mom comes home,” Sam said. “That would be a little awkward.”
Tessa laughed out. If her mother was home with all three Ricks brothers in her home, she’d be like a kid in candy store. “It would be awkward, but not for the reasons you’re thinking, but don’t worry, she’s not coming home.”
“What makes you so sure?” Milo asked.
Tessa’s shoulders shrugged as she said, “She is with her latest fling, if she isn’t home by now, she won’t be home.”
Milo was starting to understand Tessa’s home life a little better. From what he saw of her parents at the hospital, and then again with her mother at school, it was obvious Tessa had to grow up faster than she should have. He felt sorry for her that she didn’t have the same parental love that he had growing up, and part of him wanted to take her into his arms and show him what love is. It was those same thoughts however, that pushed him to distance himself from her even more. He was more than four years older than her, and she was still in high school, besides that, he was supposed to be protecting her, not making moves on the poor girl.
“Well, it looks like everything is good here then. We should go,” he said attempting to turn off his emotions. “We will be here to pick you up for school in the morning.”
After some quick goodbyes, Sam and Ethan followed after their brother, leaving Tessa alone. She went upstairs, and checked on Hailey. Her little sister was asleep with her music and light on. Her open laptop glowed on the bed next to her. Tessa moved over to her sister, pulled the blanket over her, and then went to shut the laptop when she saw her name written in the conversation box that was blinking. It was a message from Tyler Cowell. What was she doing talking to him? She bet down to get a better look at the words.
Hailey says:
I’m not her pimp dude, besides I’m like super tired.
Tyler says:
But you’re her sister, please I just want some time alone with her.
Hailey says:
I don’t know…
Tyler says:
Come on Hailey! I can hook you up with whatever guy on the team you want. I’ll tell them all how awesome you are.
Tyler says:
Hailey you there?
Tyler says:
You have no idea how bad I have it for Tessa.
Hailey must have fallen asleep during the conversation. Tessa was about to scroll up to see the rest of their chat when Hailey stirred. She quickly closed the laptop, and put it safely on the nightstand before tip toeing out of the room and shutting the door behind her.
Fury shot through her body as she thought about what she read. How dare Tyler go after her sister to get to her! How many times did she need to tell him it wasn’t going to happen? Maybe she should just accept one of his dates to prove to him that she wasn’t the girl he thought her to be. If she did, then maybe he would finally leave her and Hailey alone.
She went through her nightly routine glowering to herself the entire time, before she threw herself onto her bed. She lay there on her side, staring out the window, trying to stay angry rather than cry, when she saw movement in the tree. She sat up startled, but upon a closer look, she saw it was just a hawk, Sam’s hawk, Hero. The large bird stared back at her with more intelligence than a bird should have. For whatever reason, that knowledge comforted her as she rested her head back on her pillow. At least she had Milo, Sam, and Ethan, looking out for her, though in vain she hoped they never heard the rumors from school.
Chapter 18
Ethan had already left for school for early morning soccer practice, so Milo and Sam picked Tessa up at seven-thirty sharp, giving her just enough time to make a quick stop at her locker and go straight to first period. She preferred it that way so she didn’t have to linger at all in the hallways; the less time spent at school, the better. That’s how it was for the rest of the week as well. The Elite hadn’t tried anything new, but the brothers, especially Milo were always on the constant lookout. Maybe it was because she was usually in the presence of one of the Ricks brothers, but less people were bothering her and making snide remarks. That alone gave her reason to be grateful for them being there. Even Nicole was acting like more of a friend than she ever had to Tessa. On Friday in Chemistry, for the first time that she could remember, Nicole was actually asking Tessa questions about herself.
“Do you have anything planned this weekend?�
� Nicole asked while Miss Kelly was giggling about something Milo had said.
It bothered Tessa that it was always Milo who came to this class with her. Of course, Miss Kelly would most likely flirt just the same if it was Sam or Ethan, but the fact that it was Milo really irritated her. “Not really, you?” she said a bit sharply when Milo smiled back at Miss Kelly. Nicole’s face flashed in anger, and Tessa immediately realized her mistake. “I’m kidding,” she quickly remedied. “I know exactly what you are doing. Are you excited?”
This seemed to placate Nicole. “I’ve only wanted a nose job for my entire life, of course I’m excited.”
“Well I’m happy for you then, really,” Tessa said then added, “I really hope it makes you happier too.”
“Oh it totally will. You have no idea what it feels like to look in the mirror and see something you don’t like,” Nicole said softly.
Actually, Tessa had a pretty good idea of what it felt like, however, she felt a pang of sadness for Nicole that she had never felt for the girl before. Nicole had lived with her large nose for her entire life, true she could have embraced it, or at least acted a little nicer toward people; it’s not like it was the world’s fault she was born with it, but Tessa realized that was only her defense mechanism to not be hurt. Maybe she and Nicole would actually be friends when it was done, in the true sense of the word.
“Are you going to the dance next Saturday?” Nicole asked while chewing slightly on the end of a blue pen.
“I’m performing a dance number as one of the shows for the night, but that all. I’m not staying, nobody asked me,” she replied while lighting the burner underneath the beaker they were working on, and then asked, “What about you?”
Nicole gave Tessa a skeptical look. “Really? At least half of the guys here have slept with you, and the other half wish they have. I find it hard to believe you can’t find a date.”
Tessa froze. Her stomach clenched up in dozens of tiny knots as her lungs felt as if they were collapsing inside of her. Slight movement caught the corner of her eye, and she met Milo’s gaze. He had heard what Nicole said, it was clear by the surprised look on his face, and that made her mortification go even deeper.
Not at all fazed by Tessa’s reaction, Nicole went on, “Anyways, my nose won’t be completely healed by then, so I wouldn’t be able to go regardless.”
The beaker Tessa had since forgotten about suddenly exploded because the flame was too high. The chemicals sprayed out, catching fire in the process. Droplets of flames landed on Tessa’s shirt, and instantly ignited the soft cashmere on her arm, and down the side of her torso. While she watched the flames spread like a wildfire, she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Milo’s hands covered her at once, as she stared down in a shocked daze. The flames receded quickly and then went completely out altogether.
“Is she okay?” A frantic Miss Kelly squeaked somewhere in the midst of the commotion.
Milo scooped Tessa up in his arms, and carried her out of the classroom, ignoring Miss Kelly’s question. He took her straight to the nearest ladies bathroom, and after doing a quick sweep to make sure it was empty, locked the door. He set her down on the counter, and looked at the burned fabric. “Are you in any pain?” he asked softly.
Tessa blinked, and several tears leaked out of her eyes. “I don’t think I’m burned too badly.”
“Can I take a look?” Milo offered almost coming undone by her tears.
Tessa nodded.
He pulled out a pocket knife, and cut the shirt sleeve off at the shoulder, and then slowly and gently, peeled it away. The worst was on her forearm, where some of the material had melted slightly onto her skin. She cringed as he pried the fabric off, but didn’t make a sound. “This isn’t too bad, maybe second degree burn where the fabric melted, but this will help draw the heat out.”
He placed his hands so they hovered just barely touching her arm, and tiny prickles of ice covered her wounds. When he lifted his hands back, there was a glaze of ice over her arm. “Thanks,” she mumbled, with her arm already feeling better.
Milo glanced at her face a moment before focusing on her side. Tessa suddenly became aware that he was rolling up her shirt and sucked in a breath. With his pocket knife, he cut away the burned shirt, but when he made it as high as her bra, she gripped his arm. With her cheeks flushing a deep crimson, she said, “I don’t think it touched my skin up that high.”
Milo turned to throw the burnt material away and grinned from her reaction while his back was facing her. He really liked that he could make her blush like that, but then he quickly shook that thought from his head. After putting the same ice glaze on her side, he looked her over. Her shirt was half gone, and although many of the other girls at this school would have no problem walking around that way, he knew Tessa wouldn’t want to. He shrugged out of the blue sweater he was wearing and handed it to her.
Tessa’s eyes widened as she ogled him for just a moment before mumbling her thanks and pulling the sweater over her head. He was wearing a white short sleeved undershirt beneath his sweater, one that was tight enough to outline every bugle and crevice of his stomach and arms. Tessa snuggled into his sweater, savoring the scent and warmth of it. However, she knew all the rumors that would come if people saw her wearing Milo’s sweater. Sliding down form the counter, she said, “I have my gym clothes in my gym locker, I can wear my t-shirt for the rest of the day,” before unlocking the door to leave.
“Tessa wait,” Milo said stopping her. “Are you okay?”
She smiled and tapped her arm lightly. “Yeah, that ice thing you did really helped.”
Milo pressed his lips together before saying, “No, I mean are you okay?”
She knew he wasn’t talking about the burns as she met his eyes briefly before looking away. “I’ll be fine,” she shook it off and slipped out the door.
Tessa knew Milo was following her, and when she went into the girl’s locker room, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he followed her right in, but thankfully, he stopped at the entrance and leaned against to wall to wait. She changed slowly, getting a better look at her burns, especially the ones under her shirt. The pain was already dull compared to the initial hurt, and luckily there were not blisters, save for the nickel size blotch where her sweater had melted on her arm. The rest of it looked like a bad sunburn, and she hoped it would fade just as quickly.
When she was finished, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head before tossing what remained of her destroyed sweater into the trash can. She held Milo’s sweater tightly to her chest and inhaled his scent one last time before she’d have to give it back, and then left the locker room. She heard Austin Bell’s voice talking, and quickly halted her steps not wanting him to see her, and give him any more opportunities to ridicule her. Slowly, she peeked around the corner. Milo, Sam, and Ethan were all there, and Ethan was even holding her backpack that she had left in Chemistry. He was talking to Austin, while the other two brothers stood nearby looking somewhat bored, but that changed in the next instant.
“Is that Tessa’s bag?” Austin questioned Ethan.
“Yeah, she left it in her class so I grabbed it for her,” Ethan replied casually.
Austin looked at Ethan with a grin. “Are you hitting that?”
Ethan laughed out in awkward embarrassment, glancing quickly at each of his brothers. “Nah man, she’s a cool girl though, she’s a sweetie.”
Austin didn’t buy it. “Dude you totally are! Wait are you getting her for free?”
Ethan stepped back slightly as his eyes narrowed in confusion. Milo and Sam each had the same expression. “What are you talking about?” Ethan asked.
“You seriously don’t know?” Austin asked pulling his phone out. “You’re one lucky man,” he added while holding his phone up for all three brothers to see.
“NO!” Tessa cried dropping the sweater and running from out her hiding spot, but it was too late. The damage had already been done. The disgu
sted look present on all of the brothers’ faces said it all. Tears instantly burst from her eyes, and she ran, because that’s what she did, run. It was less painful and less embarrassing than facing problems head on. She knew exactly the picture was they had just seen, it’s the very picture that ruined her life.
It was a picture of her, stripped down to nothing but her panties, laying on a bed of red silk, with her blonde hair splayed out behind her like a fiery crown. Her eyes were open, slightly glazed, but with all the dark eye shadow and bright red lipstick applied to her face, they looked sultry. Her body was posed in a provocative position, legs folded together, while her back was arched and twisted with one arm above her head. Her other arm was placed to cover her breasts, although it wasn’t doing a very good job of covering them. There was a caption for the picture as well that read “I’ll make any of your fantasies come true for a flat rate of $500 an hour. Call me.” It also had her phone number on it that she had since changed, twice.
Ethan and Sam instantly chased after Tessa, while Milo grabbed Austin’s phone and deleted the picture.
“What the—” Austin began in anger.
“Do you have anymore?” Milo fumed.
“No,” Austin said. “But it’s not like every guy in school doesn’t have one that they could send me.”
“Delete them,” Milo warned dangerously. “And I suggest you tell your friends to do the same. If I see anyone with one of those pictures again, I can promise you can say goodbye to any scholarships you thought you had.”
Austin was so intimidated by Milo that he could only nod in response, before Milo took off to find Tessa.
Chapter 19
Tessa was fast, and that along with the many hallways and bathrooms she could have disappeared in, Ethan and Sam lost her. They knocked on all the ladies room doors they passed, before going in to check themselves, which they were doing when Milo caught up to them.
“She isn’t going to stay here,” Milo said tensely. “She’ll want to be as far away from this school as possible. We need to split up, and each take an exit. She can’t have gotten far since she’s on foot.”
