by Eden O'Neill
That friend stayed at the door, watching as Royal and I pulled away. Ramses had waved a hand at me, pointing at me and telling me to text him in the morning. He’d wanted to make sure I was okay, and looking around, I spotted my phone. It was on Royal’s end table, a note next to it.
The screen was filled with more than one text, one from Ramses, of course, about checking in and then about a million from my dad. He griped about me taking off, telling me he’d come for me if I didn’t return, but since he couldn’t possibly know where I was, I rolled my eyes at that. He was obviously serious about me getting back to him and, at the end of his rant, left me details about the hotel I was supposed to be staying at with him. I also got a few calls and a couple texts from Aunt C. as well.
Oh, God. He recruited her too.
Those two seemed to really be a pair these days. I brought Dinah under my arm, opting out of texting my aunt right away to look at the note that’d been next to my phone.
Hey. Anyone ever tell you how goddamn beautiful you look while you’re sleeping? Shit. My fucking heart.
Who knew I had a romantic on my hands, and I grinned, the note so obviously from Royal.
I didn’t want to wake you, but I am making you breakfast. It’s going to take me a second, so when you’re ready, head downstairs and go outside to the back. We’re going to have a spring breakfast like I used to do when I was a kid with my family. I want to tell you more about Grace and Mom. Out back in the gardens was their spot. I’ll see you soon.
I didn’t know it was possible to be filled with so much warmth, so much love, but this boy was getting me there so hard and so fast it wasn’t even funny. He was a part of my life now. He was my life, and I’d happily give in than retreat. I think we needed each other, in so many ways, and whipping my legs out, I put Dinah on the floor, then grabbed my shorts off the floor. I couldn’t find my shirt but found a very nice replacement to put over my sports bra.
I buttoned down Royal’s shirt, the thing hitting me right at the thighs. I didn’t even have to do anything pervy like take a whiff or anything. It just naturally smelled like him, and after bunching up my hair with a tie around my wrist, I led Dinah out of the bedroom. I’d only been in Royal’s large Victorian house once, but it was easy to navigate considering the light cooking scent in the home. The aroma got stronger as I followed it down a grand staircase, the house’s walls filled with photos from history. There were so many of a young Royal with his family it wasn’t even funny and two others who looked so much like him. His sister, Grace, was his spitting image despite her red hair, slightly older but both held that same ethereal glow. The same went for Royal’s mom, also a redhead and so lovely. Their presence allowed me to ignore the fourth member of their family, a father whose smile seemed to fade as Royal’s mom and sister disappeared from the photos. Eventually, Royal’s dad wasn’t in any of the pictures at all, just Royal in his sports gear and things. His dad abandoned him, abandoned everything, and for a second, my stomach tightened that he might be home today. He wasn’t my biggest fan, and considering all the obvious with my sister, Paige, I despised him as well. Something told me he was far away from this house today, though.
Mostly because I caught his son happy.
Royal’s back faced me in the kitchen, a naked back with muscles that roved and striated beneath golden skin. He had bed pants on, his sandy blond hair tousled and perfect, as he rocked broad shoulders while he cooked. He had a song playing, one about sunshine in the morning, and I grinned, lounging against the doorframe. He had a grand display set up on the kitchen island, an array of fruits and toast stacked in perfect levels. Toeing inside, I snuck a strawberry from the spread before backing out. I’d been given explicit instructions to meet him out back, so that’s what I was going to do. He looked so perfect anyway, really happy.
He was even whistling.
He did that to himself, no one else there to give a thought about it or judge. I found it so sweet, and after I left the kitchen, I urged Dinah to go in there with him.
“Keep him company, okay?” I said, patting her head, and like she knew, she walked that way. I smiled, padding down the hallway and finding my shoes. I wandered around a bit, but eventually, I found a pair of French doors that led to the back of the house.
The smell of sunshine nearly floored me, the whistling song of spring right in my ears. We’d had so many dark days before this, cold and harsh, but it was like the world was transformed and brand new. I didn’t even need a coat today, pulling the door shut, and what a wonderland befell my eyes. I’d been through Royal’s backyard before, but it’d been nighttime when Jax snuck me over here. The boys lived next door to each other, possibly their whole lives.
I stepped down onto cobblestone steps, following the trail to a koi pond with active koi. They swam around lily pads with big, white open flowers, completely beautiful.
“God, Royal. Your mom was something.” I’d been told she’d designed the whole landscape, large billowing flowers open and looking for sun. The whole world smelled so good, and within it, I found Royal’s setup for breakfast under a willow tree. His mom had a large one right in the corner of the property, a table beneath set for two. Eyeing it over, I noticed Royal had a couple of starter dishes out there covered with mesh netting.
I pulled one of the domes off, sneaking a piece of melon this time. It was so fresh the juice gushed from my mouth, and I laughed.
“You don’t deserve that. None of them do. None of you do…”
I recognized the voice, but wasn’t able to turn around and confirm who’d spoken. A hand covered my mouth.
The bag covered my head next.
Twenty
Paige - age seventeen
It took me a short millennium to find Royal, and by the time I did, I shook my head. He was on the couch, beefcake surrounded by shortcake. He had actually two conquests under his arms tonight, the blondes hugged up on him like some kind of entree. Rolling my eyes, I stepped up to him in my kicks and an outfit way too good for the likes of this place. People were actually vomiting off the balcony. I frowned. “I’m ready to go. You ready?”
A spool of feathery blond whipped in my direction, my best friend of many years. Royal’s arms immediately left the girls. “I can be. Everything okay?”
No, I wasn’t okay. I was at this party on the other side of fucking town when all I wanted to do was wash my face off and take a bath. I shook my head, and in two more seconds, he started to get up.
Blonde on the right held him back. “Who’s this bitch, baby?”
About to pop off on this bitch, I only had the thought before my best friend pushed blonde number two off his lap and the other far the fuck away from him. He straightened out, dusting himself off like he was trying to rid himself from the sea of skank.
“This girl is my best friend,” he said, crossing the room to me, then pushing an arm around my shoulders. He touched my face. “You all right?”
I was and didn’t need his consoling. I was simply bored, and nodding, I let Royal do his caveman thing. He, Jax, Knight, and LJ were always doing that shit, a superman complex in all of them, but since I was over this whole goddamn night, I was entertaining it all at the present. I slid on my leather jacket. “Yeah, just ready to go.”
“K. Just let me find the guys.”
I was sure Jax was off getting wasted and the other two were getting naked somewhere, my guy friends a bunch a man-whores. I folded my arms. “You take one side?”
Royal grinned, the two of us of the same mind. He knew our friends as well as I did. He bumped my fist. “We’ll reconvene when we find them. Keep your phone on.”
I pulled it out for emphasis, shaking it as I began scouring the house. College parties were vastly overrated, and I knew since Royal, Jax, LJ, Knight, and I had been sneaking into them since we were fifteen. Even still, they put high school parties to shame, but tonight, I didn’t feel like fucking dealing with any of it. I toured the house until I found myself on a ba
lcony that no longer had anyone vomiting off it. It was cool out there, so I took a break to ease some weight off my feet and lounge on the overlook. There were about twenty frat boys down below, one of whom cannonballed off a diving board into the pool, glistening with moonlight. The guy crested the water, and it only took a squint to realize the guy who jumped was another one of my friends. LJ’s stupid ass whipped his head out of the water like a mermaid, his long blond hair slapping his back. This gave the opportunity for two more blondes to float over to him. They quickly tucked themselves tight under his arms, and I shook my head at the display. Did I know my friends or did I know my friends? Of course, he was getting naked. I thought to yell at his ass from above, but then I saw Royal down there. He waved at him, and right away, LJ left the girls and swam to the side. Royal merely exchanged a few words with him before LJ pulled himself completely out of the water. The two headed off, probably to find the other guys, but it’d take probably another hour just to do that. Jax and Knight had a way of hiding when they had a good time.
Feeling a little stressed, I decided to take a moment and center myself. I had my journal on me, always did, so I set it out on the banister. I’d got the old thing years ago, something I’d thought was really stupid at first. My counselor, Mrs. Hastings, had wanted me to “write my feelings,” but all that ended up coming out were these drawings.
The paper was lined with eyes, things that fascinated me about people. One could always see someone deep in them, no secrets, no lies. I found myself taking away only that element of people when I drew, and I actually took an art class this summer just to get better at it.
I worked on a set, a girl below capturing my attention. She sat by herself, fully clothed and drinking by the pool. I didn’t think she thought anyone saw her, just sitting to herself. I loved capturing that, the moments, people in their most raw form. I got a little ahead of myself as I worked out the details of what I could see from here, quickly losing track of time like I always did.
“Those are lovely.”
Hers were lovely, her eyes as they drifted over my shoulder to my journal. I’d seen them before, those lovely eyes of a pale blue.
“Excuse me?” I questioned, pinned in place, and the woman grinned, smelling like warm sugar when she graced my side. Gorgeous dark hair cascaded a face I’d seen before. It’d been a little while but…
“I know you.” Because I did, the woman so familiar and with no reason to be here. I mean, a college party? What the fuck? But it was like she wasn’t listening to me, her eyes on nothing but my drawings. It took her a moment before looking up at me and when she did, her smile widened. She pulled that lovely hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“And I know you,” she stated, resting her arms on the banister. “From Windsor Preparatory, right? I used to volunteer over there. Worked with my sister.”
Her sister…
“Daisy.” I directed a finger, actually thinking she was my old counselor for a second, but God would that have been incorrect. From what I remembered, Mrs. Hastings was all sweater vests and knee-length skirts. This woman was wearing a skirt, but definitely not knee length. It stopped at the midpoint of her thighs, hugging them before displaying a pert navel. She also wore a leather jacket, covering a top that barely covered her midriff.
“That’s right. Paige,” she said, light and airy just like her sister’s voice. Mrs. Hastings was always so soft-spoken. I recalled our sessions bringing me comfort because of that. She’d allowed me to say and be myself, and I nodded, folding my hands together.
“I was only on the prep team for like a minute,” I told her, chuckling a little. I’d only joined as a favor to her sister actually. Mrs. Hastings said it’d help me, allow me to come out of my shell a little and maybe stop being so angry or something? I’d been really angry then, was angry now.
But that was neither here nor there, and something I was sure Daisy didn’t want to know about.
I moved my jaw.
“So why are you out here?” I asked, unable to help eyeing those soft-toned legs peeking out from beneath her skirt. She was fucking hot, mature, and definitely wasn’t the type to be milling around a bunch of college kids.
Bumping a bit with laughter, she folded her arms. “Bribed to chaperon.” She shrugged. “This whole thing is my cousin’s party. Classic college kid. She needed a house, and I offered up.”
“And what did you get out of the bargain?” I moved closer, and she noticed. With a smile, her eyes drifted away.
“Knowing where she is, I guess,” she said, standing up. I noticed, too, she put a little distance between us. “She can be trouble. I wanted to make sure she was safe. What better way to ensure that than being around for her?”
Something not one person in my life would do for me. Well, besides my guy friends. No mature people in my life outside of them.
My dad was the ultimate heavy, and I couldn’t remember the last time voices weren’t raised in my house. I could never do right by him and probably never would. My dad was just as damaged as me, though someone would have to get him drunk to admit that. Where he took his pain from my mother’s death out on me with words, I ran. I got into shit and was probably just as much trouble as Daisy’s cousin.
In my silence, Daisy returned to my space. I knew because I smelled that warm sugar again.
“These are so cool,” she said, really finding value in my drawings.
I lifted a shoulder. “I dabble.”
“Well, you should do more than that.”
She asked, and I let her see more, the pair of us studying my little dabblings. I liked looking at her more than observing her reactions to the work. Part of that had to do with how goddamn beautiful she was, but the rest, well, her. There was something so raw about her intrigue, genuine and thought-provoking. I must have not seen it when I’d known her before, so much more angry then.
“Can I draw you?” The words fell from my lips before I could stop them. I didn’t want to stop them. I just wanted to be around her, see her.
Daisy glanced up at me, her eyes warm, but then some of that fell a little. She started to cover herself up like she was naked. She dug fingers into her jacket sleeves. “Probably not a good idea.”
“Why not?” I asked, needing to know. “It’s just a drawing.”
“Is it?” she asked, surprising me. She played with her hair. “I mean, I appreciate you wanting to do that. Well, flattered…”
“So what’s the problem?” I got in her space, maybe even a little too close. I wanted to smell that sugar, be around her more. My body leaned into hers, and I noticed this time she didn’t pull back.
“I’m married,” suddenly fell from her lips. She dampened them. “And you’re like what? Seventeen now?”
“It’s just a drawing.” I eliminated more distance and, bold, pinched her jacket between two of my fingers. “What’s the harm in that?”
Maybe I was stupid for getting this close to her, but it was just a drawing.
“Just a drawing,” she said, but didn’t pull away this time. “That’s all it can be.”
Twenty-One
The present
December
The jab hit my side the same time the car screeched to a stop and a second when I squealed. I screamed, bucking, and I was punched this time, so hard my face hit glass.
The impact shot hard heat right into my jaw, my head ringing, as I was told to shut the fuck up. I recognized the voice again, despite the bag over my head, hazing in and out, and fell to hard ground when the door opened and I slid out of the car. My hands bound, I couldn’t help it. They’d been tied behind me at Royal’s house.
“Let me go!” I screamed, a curdled shriek and so loud in my head. A strike slammed into my gut, and I bowed over, the moan falling from my lips. The bag ripped off my head, and my eyes fluttered from the sunlight, a face harsh and angry before me. Like the voice, I recognized it.
I just wished I hadn’t.
Princ
ipal Hastings, my principal from school sneered at me, his eyes wild and crazy as they roved over me. He was a shell of a man before me, his normally perfect hair disheveled and his dress shirt untucked with a button or two undone. I think I’d done that, fighting with all I could at the house. I didn’t have my pepper spray, not even thinking about it. I’d been merely going outside for breakfast.
How the hell could I have anticipated this?
I raised my head, my face and stomach searing from blows. Strands of hair fell from my ponytail, and Principal Hastings got a fist full. He jerked my head up, pulling at the root, and I called out.
He let go. “Such a waste.”
That’s all he said, such a fucking waste, as he grabbed my bound arms and literally dragged me across gravel. That’s what was beneath me, gravel, as he wrestled me away from a black sedan. He had to wrestle me, all the energy I had forced into bucking and kicking. I wouldn’t make whatever he was trying to fucking do easier for him, but since he had my arms, my fight didn’t provide for much. He easily worked me over the ground, then up and over metal. Train tracks…
What the fuck?
I screamed again, shooting my legs out with sharp kicks. I wrestled at the zip ties around my wrists, so tight and digging into my flesh. Principal Hastings had kept his hand over my mouth when he tied them, keeping me silent while he got me secure enough to push me through the trees and beautiful flowers of Royal’s backyard. He whispered through the bag while he’d done it, daring me to scream…
I was screaming now, the tears streaming down my face. “What do you want? Why are you doing this?”
He ignored me, muttering something, so many things.
“Always looking, always looking,” he said. “Both of you always looking at me.”
