Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1)

by Scarlett Haven

  “I can’t imagine what your parents must be feeling. If anybody ever tried to hurt my baby girl, I’d kill them,” he says.

  “I’m sorry you have to be away from her,” I tell him.

  “I’ll see her soon,” Jake says. “I Skype with her and my wife every night.”

  “Yeah, but seeing them through a screen isn’t the same,” I say.

  “I know. But unlike you, I am allowed to leave campus. I’m going to see them every other weekend,” he tells me.

  Still.

  Only seeing your wife and child every other weekend has got to suck.

  “Still, I am sorry,” I say.

  “Don’t be. This is my job. This is how my wife and daughter can afford to eat and the reason they have a place to live,” Jake says. “This job won’t last forever.”

  “I certainly hope not,” I say.

  Because, seriously.

  Jake pushes himself up from the floor and holds out a hand to help me up. I accept it, because I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get off the floor now if I tried.

  “You got this, Phoenix,” he tells me. “Go hang out with your friends and have fun.”

  “I’ll try,” I say.

  Because, really, I will.

  I just wish I didn’t have to try so hard.

  11pm.

  East vs. West.

  Late that night, Teagan and I walk down to the docks to hang out. I promised Estaine that I’d be there, plus I kind of want to go. I want to see where everybody hangs out and I want to make friends.

  Estaine isn’t here yet, so I sit down at the bonfire while Teagan runs off to go talk to some of her friends. I’m thankful for the moment of solitude. I sit close to the small bonfire, wondering how they don’t get caught. Doesn’t security see the smoke? Or do they just not care that we all go off to hang out after curfew? Or maybe they don’t see it. Behind us are lots of trees, and beyond the lake there are more houses. Maybe they think the smoke is coming from one of the houses.

  I look across the fire, and I see a guy I don’t recognize. Teagan is pretty popular and I thought she had introduced me to nearly everybody here. I’d like to say that maybe I don’t remember him, but he’s not the kind of guy a girl would forget seeing. He’s standing by another guy I don’t recognize. He locks eyes with me from across the fire, making my heart jump.

  Crap.

  He totally saw me staring.

  I glance away, hoping I don’t look like a creeper.

  But a few seconds later, I look up and see that the boys are gone. So, they either left because they thought I was creepy, or they just didn’t notice me. I’m not sure which one is worse.

  Gah, now I sound like every other teenaged girl here.

  “Who are you?” a deep voice asks.

  I turn to the source and see the guy I had just been staring at.

  And oh, my, gosh.

  His eyes.

  Are.

  So.

  Blue.

  Be still my heart.

  He has dark hair, but it has streaks of light brown throughout it. He either dyed it, or he spent a lot of time outdoors this summer. I’d go with the latter, because he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would dye his hair.

  “Phoenix B... uh... Phoenix Underwood,” I say. “I’m new.”

  He smiles.

  Those dimples.

  Seriously.

  “I’m Brooks Remington,” he says, then nods his head towards his friend I completely didn’t notice was standing there. “This is my friend, Reed Livingston.”

  “It’s too bad you’re going to East Raven,” Reed says. “I have a feeling you and I would’ve been real good friends.”

  I look at him, feeling confused.

  “We go to West Raven,” Brooks says. “Don’t tell. We’re rivals.”

  West Raven? I didn’t even realize there was a West Raven.

  “But you’re at our party,” I say.

  “Nobody’s noticed us yet,” Brooks says. “We decided to crash.”

  “I don’t know how nobody has noticed you,” I say, then feel foolish for even saying it. I’m pretty sure my face is bright red, right now.

  “That’s my cue to find a hot girl and leave you two alone,” Reed says to Brooks, then walks off.

  And my level of mortification just rose to a new height.

  Could I be any more awkward?

  “What brings you to East Raven Academy?” Brooks asks. “I haven’t seen you before, and you don’t look like a freshman. Did your family go here?”

  “No. We’re from the West Coast,” I answer. “I mean... my family was from the West Coast. I live with my uncle in New York, now. ’Cause my parents are dead. That sounded really awkward, I’m sorry. And I’m definitely not a freshman. I’m a junior.”

  “I’m sorry about your parents,” he says, looking at me sympathetically. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “No, it’s totally okay. I was a baby,” I say. “I don’t remember them. And my uncle is kind of awesome, so it’s all good.”

  So elegant. I’m pretty much nailing this whole first impression thing.

  “Still,” Brooks says. “It’s got to be hard.”

  I just shrug and smile.

  “I wish your uncle had sent you to West Raven, instead,” he says.

  Me.

  Too.

  Wait, what?

  Seriously, I meet one cute guy and my brain turns to mush. I like East Raven Academy. I’ve already made friends, and I love it here.

  “Well, I wish your family had sent you here. But then again, you’d probably be a major distraction during class. I’d be staring at you instead of...” I say, my voice trailing off. I immediately want the words back. That was such an awkward thing to say.

  Brooks laughs.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I promise I’m not always awkward. Just, like, fifty percent of the time. Apparently you bring out the weirdo in me.”

  “I like your inner weirdo,” he says. “So, who is your family? Maybe I’ve heard of them.”

  “My uncle is Matty,” I answer. “Matty Underwood. You’ve probably never heard of him. My cousin Jake lives with us, too. They’re the only family I have.”

  I want to tell him about my real family. About my dad, and how proud I am of him for joining congress. How happy I am that he and my stepmom are pregnant. I’d tell him about my mom and stepdad. About Charlie, who has been my stepbrother since I was ten. I’d tell him how much I miss Charlie. About how we were separated for our safety. I’d tell him how much it kills me to be away from him.

  I hate lying. My whole life right now is a lie. And I just want to tell somebody the truth.

  ‘Don’t tell anybody at East Raven Academy anything. If word gets out that you’re there and the terrorists find out, they could kill a lot of people. Innocent people.’ Uncle Matty’s words run through my head, reminding me of exactly why I need to keep quiet. I’ve made friends here already, and I don’t want any of them dying because of me.

  “I don’t know any Underwoods,” Brooks says.

  I just smile, because what else am I supposed to say? If he didn’t know who my real family is, I’d tell him. My dad’s a self-made billionaire. My mom is an heiress to a large fortune. Her great grandfather started one of the biggest banks in the US. One that her brother, my uncle, now runs. My stepdad is a producer. He produces movies, and I’ve gotten to meet a ton of famous people because of him. I know he’d recognize the movies if I named a few. But I can’t do that.

  “We’re not that special,” I say. It kills me to say that, because I think my family is pretty special.

  “It probably won’t be long before somebody notices we’re here. I would kick myself if I spent the evening talking to a beautiful girl without getting her number,” Brooks says.

  I smile.

  One good thing about this is that I will know he likes me for me, and not for my family connections.

  I pull my phone out of my back po
cket, unlock it, and hand it to him so he can program his number. He does, and even takes a selfie with my phone, and hands it back. I look at his contact and see his picture.

  He’s so cute.

  “I texted myself from your phone,” Brooks says. “Because I don’t want to spend the next few days waiting for you to text me.”

  “You don’t look like the kind of guy who ever has to wait for a text from a girl,” I say, then put my arm over my eyes. “Can you just pretend I didn’t say that?”

  He touches my arm, so I move it away. “No. Because that pretty much made my day. I never, ever want to forget that you said that.”

  Why me?

  “I didn’t even ask if you have a boyfriend. I mean, you’re really pretty, so you probably do,” he says. “But I really hope you don’t. But I don’t want to make him mad by texting you.”

  “No boyfriend,” I say, grinning like an idiot. Why do I have to make it so obvious that I’m attracted to this guy?

  “Phoenix! Bae! What up?” An arm goes around me and I look over at Jason. Of course it’s Jason. He removes his arm as he looks at Brooks who is standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?”

  “Party crashing,” Brooks answers, and then winks at me.

  “You need to leave. Now,” Jason says.

  Brooks doesn’t at all seem affected by the threat. He just looks at me.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he says.

  I don’t say anything back as he walks off. He stops to grab his friend Reed.

  Jason turns towards me, making me focus my attention on him instead of Brooks.

  “He’s bad news, Phoenix,” he tells me.

  “Why?” I ask. “What’d he do?”

  “He goes to West Raven.”

  “So?”

  “They’re our rivals,” Jason says. “Trust me, you do not want to fraternize with the enemy.”

  “Oh, my gosh. What is this? West Side Story? It’s ridiculous. He was cool. I think I want to be his friend,” I say.

  “Don’t,” he says. “Promise me.”

  I can tell he’s not going to let this one go.

  “Okay,” I say. Even though I have no intentions of following through on the promise.

  Jason is obviously satisfied with my answer, because he walks off, leaving me there alone. I get up and start walking around, looking for people I know. I’m really disappointed that Jason ran Brooks off.

  As I walk past the boat dock I see a couple making out.

  The dock is old. Like, really old, and in need of some major repairs. Honestly, I’d be scared it would break. But even if I wasn’t scared of falling through the rotted wood, I would be scared of getting a splinter, but that doesn’t seem to faze the couple at all.

  Wait.

  Is that Emma?

  Uh... and Bryce.

  Gross.

  “I see they made up,” a voice says behind me.

  I turn around and see Estaine standing there. “Unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately, for me. I guess this means she won’t come to my dorm room crying tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” Estaine says. “The night is still young.”

  I roll my eyes. “Great.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re already sick of them,” he says. “You just got here. I’ve been listening to their drama for the past two years.”

  “I think I’m getting why Teagan didn’t room with Emma,” I say.

  “They roomed together freshman year and became best friends,” Estaine says. “But then the drama started with Bryce. Emma and Bryce broke up for the summer, after freshman year, and Emma promised Teagan that she was done with Bryce. So, they roomed together. But Emma got back with Bryce, and the whole year was... well, a lot of crying. So, Teagan refused to room with Emma this year.”

  “I don’t blame her,” I say. “I’m so glad they didn’t stick me in a room with Emma.”

  “No kidding,” Estaine says.

  “Hey, so, do you know a guy name Brooks, from West Raven?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” he answers, not looking too happy. “Why?”

  “He was here earlier,” I say. “I didn’t even know there was a West Raven Academy. But he was talking to me, and Jason totally flipped out about it.”

  “West Raven Academy isn’t a bad school, but they’re our rivals. I have a few friends who go there, and we pretend to hate each other at the games. It’s kind of fun,” Estaine says. “But Brooks... he’s bad news. You should stay away from him.”

  “Why? I mean, what did he do?” I ask.

  “Just stay away from him,” he says, but doesn’t answer my question.

  “Okay,” I say.

  Still, I can’t help but wonder what Brooks did that was so bad.

  And honestly, I’m not going to stay away from him.

  Monday, August 21

  We can fly to Vegas after school.

  My alarm goes off before five that morning, because, apparently, Uncle Matty and Jake want to torture me every day, even on my first day of school. But, I’ll take waking up early over them being my constant shadow. Besides, it would be hard to explain to my friends why I suddenly have a bodyguard.

  As I’m brushing my teeth, I look at my phone and see that I have a text from Brooks. I smile around the toothbrush and I read it.

  BROOKS: I can’t stop thinking about you.

  That one sentence makes my heart skip a beat.

  ME: I would say sorry, but I’m kind of not. I like that you can’t stop thinking of me.

  As soon as I send the text, I realize that it’s 4:45 in the morning and he’s probably asleep. And if I wake him up, he’s probably going to hate me.

  And why did I have to sound so flirty? Now he’s going to think I’m a creep. I want that text back.

  As I’m rinsing, my phone goes off again.

  BROOKS: This is pretty much the best way to wake up. (With a text from you).

  ME: Ditto.

  Ah, why can’t I stop smiling?

  Charlie and I used to make fun of girls at school who smiled a lot while texting. We would make up a fake conversation between the girl and whomever she was texting, and laugh. And now, I am one of those girls.

  BROOKS: Is there a reason you’re up before 5am?

  ME: Yep. Training.

  I slip my shoes on, grab the keys to my dorm, and head out the door. I’m half way down the hall when he texts back.

  BROOKS: Training for what? The Olympics?

  ME: Yeah, no. Not even close.

  Crap. Why am I training?

  ME: MMA. My uncle kind of forced me to start it, but I’m glad he did. It’s kind of fun.

  Yes. That is good. And kind of true. Jake and Uncle Matty are teaching me a lot of mixed martial arts. Forcing me. It’s not fun yet, but I have a feeling it could be.

  BROOKS: Can you fight better than I can? I might have to rethink this whole arrangement. I can’t be interested in a girl who can take me on in a fight.

  ME: Why? Scared I might bruise your ego ;)

  He doesn’t text back for a few minutes, which scares me. I hope I didn’t offend him. But just as I arrive at the gym, my phone goes off.

  BROOKS: Okay, that’s it. You are the coolest girl, EVER. Marry me. Today.

  ME: Sure. We can fly to Vegas after school.

  ME: I’m at the gym now, so I’ll talk to you later.

  When I put my phone and keys down on the chair, Jake and Uncle Matty are both looking at me.

  “Sup?” I ask.

  “Who are you texting?” Jake asks. He is smiling.

  “Just this guy,” I answer. “What does it matter?”

  “You’d better not let this guy distract you from training,” Uncle Matty says.

  “She’s sixteen. Don’t give her grief about her boyfriend,” Jake says.

  “Brooks isn’t my boyfriend,” I say.

  “Brooks?” Uncle Matty asks, then looks at Jake. “There isn’t a Brooks at this school, is there?”
/>   They know the names of all the students?

  “He doesn’t go here. He goes to West Raven,” I say.

  “How did you meet him?” Jake asks.

  Ah, crud.

  I can’t exactly tell them I met him when I snuck out after curfew.

  “I just... sort of ran into him on campus,” I say.

  “He was here?” Uncle Matty asks.

  “Yes,” I answer.

  “I didn’t see his name on the visitor log all weekend,” he says.

  Seriously?

  “Maybe he kind of snuck on campus,” I say. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “Not a big deal?” Uncle Matty says, his face turning red.

  “He was crashing the party, that’s all.”

  “Party? What party?” Jake asks. Now he looks mad.

  Uh...

  “It was nothing,” I say. “Just... a bunch of us hung out at the docks last night. Practically the whole school was there. Brooks and another guy from West Raven Academy came. We were just chilling.”

  “When did you hang out?” Uncle Matty asks. “You were at the mixer until curfew.”

  I clear my throat. “Um... it was... um... after the mixer.”

  That’s when they both lose it. Uncle Matty and Jake both start yelling at me. I can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but I do hear the words curfew, dangerous, stupid, and possibly the word expulsion.

  “I’m not going to get expelled. If they expelled me, they’d literally have to expel half the school,” I say. “It wasn’t even a big deal. The kids hang out at the docks all the time. You can’t expect me to not hang out with my friends. You guys are the ones who told me to blend in.”