The Other Side of Envy: The Ghost Bird Series: #8 (The Academy)

by C. L. Stone

  “He’s a teenager,” Pam yelled. “He’s paying his keep. You can’t yell at him just because you drank all the money.”

  “Usually she’s not here,” Gabriel whispered to me. “She stays out all night with him.” He rubbed his palm against my cheek. “They’ll calm down in a minute. If they don’t, we’ll get up and go. Maybe climb out the window.”

  There was another shake to the house. I stared at nothing, listening and wondering what he was doing. Hitting the walls?

  “I’m not spending it all. He can’t possibly make that much.”

  “You’re saying he’s stealing?”

  “I know he is. And if he’s making that much, he should be paying rent.”

  Gabriel grunted.

  Suddenly, there were footsteps in the hallway and the room shook again, enough that Gabriel’s glass vials on the table rattled. Someone was banging on the door.

  “Get up, faggot kid,” he yelled. “You’ve got that girl in there?”

  “Shit,” Gabriel said, and he scrambled up. “Stay here. Hide under the blanket.”

  I shoved myself under, embarrassed that I’d only kept on the bra and panties and that was it. If this guy walked in...

  I found my phone in the sheets. I tugged it close, letting the screen light up. Should I call someone? Kota? Gabriel didn’t say, so I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t as convinced they’d simply go to sleep at this point. The guy seemed too wound up.

  Gabriel went to the door, but instead of opening it, he pushed his back to it and then talked. “Go away.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do.” There was a shake, and the crack of wood. He was shoving himself against the door.

  “Go to bed,” Gabriel said. “You’re drunk.”

  “Pam!” The man shouted. “Tell your son to get his ass out here.”

  “This is your fight,” Pam said from what it sounded like across the house. “You should go to sleep. You got us kicked out of the bar already.”

  There was more banging on the door and more shouting. Gabriel kept his back to the door, but the more he held it closed, the harder the man outside pushed. The door was cracking.

  “That’s it,” Gabriel said. “Sang, let’s go.”

  There was a harder shove then. The door splintered at the handle and Gabriel fell to the ground.

  There was a man standing in the doorway. He was mostly in shadow, but he was bulky, with a shaved head and big arms.

  Gabriel hauled himself up and shouted, “Sang! Get out of here!”

  I did what he said, getting up, but terrified. I didn’t want to go for the door. The man stood aside, seeming more interested in Gabriel.

  Where else was I going to go? Climb out the window? Gabriel had mentioned it, but in the rush, I wasn’t sure that would be the fastest.

  Suddenly, the man stood aside, seeming to allow me access. His fight wasn’t with me.

  I fled, dashing around the man, hoping Gabriel would follow, and from the scuffle behind me, it sounded like he was trying.

  My goal was to get to the door and get it open so he could follow and make a clean getaway with me.

  I didn’t see Pam, but I was moving too fast, my eyes blurred with tears, scared. Was she leaving us to her boyfriend’s anger? Is this what Gabriel had to deal with?

  I got to the door, opened it, stepping outside into the cool night. I only then I realized I was still in my underwear and barefoot.

  I didn’t want to go back for my things. In my panic, I walked out onto the porch, but didn’t dare move further.

  Gabriel was suddenly at my back, pushing me down the steps. “Go!” he shouted.

  We ran together into the darkness, I stumbled at first, until Gabriel took my hand and lead the way.

  I looked over my shoulder. The man stood at the door, shouting, waving his arm. He slammed the door closed. The yelling continued but he wasn’t going to run after us.

  My heart raced, my eyes were wide and everywhere as we made our way through the night. I was holding onto my phone.

  I’d tell Mr. Blackbourne. Gabriel shouldn’t have to deal with a drunk man who wasn’t his parent yelling at him. Anger swept through me, for Gabriel’s sake.

  At least we’d escaped.

  RICH OR POOR

  Gabriel didn’t slow until we were nearly to the main road at the end of the neighborhood. He held onto my hand, pulling me along if I slowed. Finally, he stopped at the edge by the main road, looking up and down along the street.

  I shook where I stood, chilled by the cool November air, the cold ground under my bare feet and the fear still circulating through my body. The wind was damp, and the sky was overcast, threatening to rain but it hadn’t started yet. It promised to be a cool day.

  “Shit,” Gabriel said. “Forgot my phone.”

  “Here,” I said, passing him mine. I moved closer to him, trying to steal his body heat.

  He let me get close, using one hand to dial on my phone. He put one arm around me as he held the phone to his face. “Hey Victor!” He said into it quickly. “Come pick up Sang and me. No, the old man Pam is dating had a fit. No, Pam should be fine. He doesn’t want to actually fight, he just wants to yell and scream. I didn’t want Sang there.” After a few minutes, he hung up. He looked down at me, and then yanked at his ribbed tank shirt, pulling it off. “Here,” he said. “Wear this.”

  I wanted to refuse, but he kept pushing it at me, relentless. I pulled it on. He wore only his boxers now, and my legs and arms were exposed, but my stomach was covered. I guessed he didn’t want to go back for clothes either. I’d left my book bag with my clothes behind. Victor would help us, but my cheeks blazed as I thought about him driving up and seeing us like this.

  We stood there, arms wrapped around each other as we waited for Victor to arrive. I wanted to say something, but I was shaking too much, too cold to focus on what to say.

  Gabriel grumbled. “Shouldn’t have let you stay with me,” he said. “We should have stayed somewhere else.”

  “I wanted to stay with you,” I said. “We don’t get to spend time together often.”

  “I keep saying that,” he said. He pushed his face to the top of my head, his lips brushing against my hair. His palms rubbed up and down my back, trying to warm me. “I should talk to Mr. Blackbourne,” he said.

  “I did,” I said.

  “Huh?” he asked.

  He meant about spending more time with each other, right? I lifted my head so I could look at him. “I was talking with him before I came to see you today. I was telling him how I didn’t get much of a chance to see you. He said he’d make arrangements so we got more time together.”

  “Oh,” he said. “I meant I should talk to him about moving out of Pam’s house, especially if you’re going to be visiting more. I barely sleep there as it is, mostly because of Pam’s boyfriend. I stop by to check on her, but...” He sighed. “She likes to pick up real jackass boyfriends. I think she has a thing for bullies. She likes the drama. She thinks it gives her power to try to keep her thumb on and nag at a loud, obnoxious boyfriend.”

  “Oh,” I said, too cold to think of another response. I put my head down, closer to his body. We probably looked crazy, standing around in our underwear at the side of the road. I hoped other people were asleep and weren’t paying attention to us. I wasn’t even sure what time it was.

  “So,” he said quietly, still rubbing his hands along my back. “You wanted to spend more time with me? That’s how you ended up on my doorstep this morning?”

  I nodded against him. “Yes,” I said.

  He chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling through his chest. “You’re so crazy.”

  I giggled against him.

  A shining light down the road distracted my attention. I looked, spotting car headlights.

  Gabriel started toward it, but then pulled me back against a tree. “Just in case,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want it to be McCoy.”

  I stepped carefully around to hide behind the
tree, holding onto it and getting a few scratches from the rough bark. I didn’t want it to be Mr. McCoy. Or Volto. Or anyone other than Victor. I was too tired and stressed to run any more.

  A silver BMW pulled up and Victor hopped out quickly, looking right at us standing by the tree. “Sang?” he called out. “Gabriel?”

  Gabriel stepped out first, holding out his hands. “That was quick,” he said.

  I stepped out from behind Gabriel and did a short wave at Victor, happy to see him. At least we’d both sleep somewhere safer tonight. I wanted to talk to Mr. Blackbourne, too, about Gabriel moving somewhere else. Maybe tomorrow.

  Then I gritted my teeth, recalling everything else I needed to talk to him about. I sighed. Being part of this family was a lot of work.

  Victor’s wavy hair was a mess on the side, like he’d been sleeping. He had on his usual white Armani shirt and black slacks, though they were wrinkled, like he’d thrown old ones on. He eyed us, noting our half-naked state. He moved to the trunk of the BMW and opened the back. He pulled out another two shirts, just like the one he wore, and two pairs of slacks, one black, one tan. “Here,” he said. “Put these on. Why are you two naked?”

  “We were sleeping,” Gabriel said. He quickly reached for the tan slacks and one of the shirts, and passed the others to me. “We had to run out the door. I didn’t have time to grab her clothes. I tried, but after he started shoving when I reached for them, I just said fuck it and left.”

  Victor eyeballed us carefully as we dressed. The moment I had the shirt on my shoulders, Victor came forward, and started to button up the shirt for me.

  I grinned big, so happy to see him and willing to let him dress me. It was cute, and it made me feel safe.

  “I wish you’d have told me earlier,” Victor said. “You two could have slept at my house tonight instead of staying here.”

  “She wanted to stay with me,” Gabriel said, looking down at his clothes as he buttoned his pants. “She asked Mr. Blackbourne to stay with me tonight.”

  Victor looked at me, waiting for confirmation. I nodded, wanting to be honest, but unable to tell Victor the reasons behind it. Mr. Blackbourne said we should figure out where everyone stood, and while he said Victor was on our side, I didn’t really know yet, so I wanted to be careful.

  How much did Victor know?

  “That’s...nice,” Victor said. “But we need to be careful.”

  “No shit,” Gabriel said. He headed to the car and opened the back door. “Let’s get going.”

  Victor hurried around and opened the passenger door for me. I slid in while he ran around and got in on his side. He started up the car, and started the heat on full blast to warm the space.

  I put my hands near the vent to thaw them. I’d been in colder conditions living up north, but cold was still cold. I wanted to warm up.

  “You’re that cold?” Victor asked. He reached out as he drove, finding one of my hands. He pulled it into his, holding it and rubbing my fingers. His hands were warm, but I worried about him driving well with only one hand.

  “I’m okay,” I said, giving my hand a slight tug and smiling. “At least we’re out. And Gabriel shouldn’t live there anymore if this is what he has to live with.”

  “I agree,” Victor said, hanging on tighter to my fingers, not letting me go. “I think he should move in with me.”

  “No,” Gabriel said. “If I move in anywhere, it’ll probably be with Luke or Nathan and Sang. Probably with Sang.”

  “What’s wrong with my house?” Victor asked. “Then Sang can come over more often, because there’s two of us and it’s a big house.”

  “Hmm,” Gabriel said, although from his tone, he didn’t sound as interested.

  Victor looked at me, smiling. “You don’t look too bad in my clothes. I think you look better than I do in them.”

  I blushed. “Thanks.”

  “Does she need more clothes?” he asked, and then focused his eyes on the road. “Maybe we should take the day off tomorrow. We can take her to the spa and then out clothes shopping.”

  I sat up, looking at Gabriel. “You wanted to go, didn’t you?”

  “I think we need to get to school tomorrow,” Gabriel said, his tone dark.

  Tension sat thick in the car. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly. Gabriel slumped in the back seat, looking out the window. I wondered if he was embarrassed about what had happened. It wasn’t his fault. I’d been through worse with Nathan and the others and even my own family.

  Victor drove on in silence. I rocked my head against the headrest, closing my eyes.

  I must have slept for a bit. I woke just as we were at the gate of Victor’s yellow, three-story house in downtown Charleston. The estate stretched out for an entire block, and part of it looked like a fancy, sculpted park.

  The BMW rolled through the open gate, which then closed behind us quietly. I didn’t see anyone, but I knew there was security for the house, stationed in one of the outbuildings near the garage.

  Victor pulled up to the garage, parking his car outside of it, and hopped out. Gabriel scrambled out as well, and soon was at my door, opening it and urging me out.

  I did so quietly, feeling the need to stay silent since it was so late. Were Victor’s parents here? If security saw us coming in, they might alarm his parents that we’d arrived.

  No one seemed concerned about this. They simply moved quietly. I followed close to Victor and Gabriel as they threaded around a walkway and headed to the back door.

  Once we were inside, The hallway was dark. I squeezed tighter and reached for Gabriel’s hand, since he was close by.

  He held onto me, his thin fingers locking hard with mine.

  They headed to the stairs. I tripped on the first step but Gabriel steadied me as I hurried to catch up.

  On the third floor, Victor ducked down the hall to his bedroom. We followed.

  I hadn’t been to Victor’s home for a while. His room was clean, his piano in the center of the room, and the bed and other furniture along the edges facing it, like the piano was always on stage and everything else in the room was listening to it. A quiet, never-ending concert.

  The bed was unmade where Victor had been sleeping. The moment we were in the bedroom, and Victor had closed the door behind us, I yearned for the bed. After a frantic scramble and the long day behind us, I was exhausted. I’d be a mess at school in the morning, I was sure.

  “Do we need anything?” Victor asked. “Are either of you hungry? Sang, do you want some tea? Or water?”

  “I’m just tired,” Gabriel said. He rubbed a fist at his eye. “I can’t wait until we don’t have school again. Getting up in the morning will be a pain.”

  “We still worked when we didn’t have school like this,” Victor said.

  “That’s different,” Gabriel said. “We didn’t have to be somewhere exactly at a certain time every morning, when everyone else is getting up and going to work. Like people need to be at places at the same time for some reason.”

  Victor smiled and shook his head, glancing at me.

  I shrugged and smiled back. I couldn’t blame Gabriel for complaining. I wasn’t looking forward to going to school tomorrow either.

  I changed into one of Silas’s baseball shirts. The boys put on pajama pants and T-shirts.

  I was the first to crawl into bed and while I tried to wait on them, my eyes were closing on their own.

  I slept heavily, and at the same time, I sensed them crawling into bed. Their scents mixed, so I couldn’t tell who was on the right or left. My legs knocked into someone. I rolled over and slept again.

  Sometime while it was still dark out, a phone rang. I wanted to wake up, but my body wouldn’t move. Victor spoke, his voice husky from sleep. “Gabriel. It’s Kota.”

  Curses flew from Gabriel’s mouth. “Tell him I left my phone at my house, I know. I’ll grab it tomorrow morning on our way to school. I’ve got to stop by anyway for my books—”

  “No, not
that,” Victor said, talking in a hushed tone like he didn’t want to wake me. “Mr. McCoy is scouting out the neighborhood here. He wants you to take my car and drive around the city a couple of times and head to his house.”

  I was awake now, but remained still, pretending to be asleep. I wasn’t super worried about Mr. McCoy invading Victor’s house, especially with Victor and Gabriel right there. Also, someone in the Academy was following McCoy everywhere, plus Victor’s security team on patrol, so we were safe in the house. Why did we have to leave just because he was here?

  “You do it.”

  “Can I do it?” Victor asked to I assumed Kota. There was a long pause. “He said he wants you to take my car. It should be odd enough that you’re taking off so early in my car to make him curious. If he’s not following you, I’m to drive off in another car. If he stays here, Dr. Green is going to pick up Sang. He wants to know who he’s after.”

  Gabriel groaned and the blankets shifted. I flopped over, still pretending to be asleep so I wouldn’t get pulled into a car with anyone. They really needed to follow us this early in the morning? Was watching us sleep interesting?

  Victor got up, too, and whispered. “Sorry, Gabriel” he said. He shuffled, moving around the room. “Really, next time we get a chance, let’s take Sang to the spa. She likes it. We should take a day off.”

  “Yeah, she likes it,” Gabriel grumbled low. “Of course she likes it. You pay enough for it.”

  I tilted my head slightly, my eyes fluttering just enough to see without fully opening them. My breathing and heart stopped as I strained to listen.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Victor asked.

  Slowly, I tilted my head to try to see what was going on. Gabriel pulled clothes out of the closet, and stepped into a pair of jeans. “Nothing.”

  Victor walked over to stand in the doorway of the closet. “Really, is something wrong? I thought you liked the spa? Did she say something? Was she uncomfortable for some reason?”

  “You can’t keep throwing money at her,” Gabriel said, standing up fully. He held his shirt in his hand, balled in his fist as he used it to point at Victor. “I can’t keep up with that.”