by J. P.
“Never mind, I’m not hungry anymore,” Tate says with a shrug as she goes back to coloring.
“I swear to God,” Olivia says under her breath.
We work quietly for a few more minutes, and after I get into the groove, time flies by. I’m on my last ten pages when I glance over and find Tate asleep.
“I don’t mean to be such a monster with her,” Olivia says. I look over, and she’s stretching her back out.
“I don’t think you’re a monster.”
“I just don’t have any patience.” Olivia shrugs and shakes her head. “My dad treats them like royalty. Tate and Trish can do no wrong. Tate’s the golden child. He would protect her from anything.” She sighs, and I can see tears pooling in her eyes. “I didn’t get any protection. When he killed my mother right in front of us, he wasn’t worried about us then.” She hides her face in her hands as her back bucks up and down.
My heart aches for her as I watch her fall apart. I reach out and place my hand on her back.
Olivia brings her head back up and wipes away her tears. “You probably think I’m pathetic, being jealous of a three-year-old. I know it’s not her fault, I just…I can’t help it. I’m pissed.”
“That’s okay. You’re allowed to be pissed. I would be too,” I tell her.
She frowns again as tears fall down her cheeks. “He’s so freaking evil, and I thought that was just who he was, that he wasn’t capable of being a good father and then they came around. It almost hurts worse, knowing that he can actually care because he doesn’t care about me the way he cares about her.”
I try to think of something to say when she throws her arms around me. I freeze for a moment before I hug her back. She’s in so much pain, I can almost feel it. She cries for a few more seconds before she collects herself. She pulls back and wipes away her tears.
It’s interesting to see Olivia, who presents herself as being so tough and fearless, be so vulnerable. It makes sense now, though, why his children are the way they are. They had a really messed up childhood. He killed their mother in front of them? What an evil man.
“Sorry, I just needed to vent,” Olivia says as she pulls her long, blonde hair away from her face.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
A smile spreads on Olivia’s face as she nods. She glances down at her papers. “I’m about to finish this, and then I really should take Tate to eat something. If she starves to death on my watch, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Does she know about…” I lower my voice, “vampires?”
“No. Not yet. Another example of daddy dearest’s sudden interest in protecting his children. I always knew about them, but he wants to wait longer to tell Tate. He wants her to have an amazing childhood first before he introduces her into this world.” Olivia rolls her eyes. “Anyway, I should probably wake her up.”
“I can watch her while you get her something, if you want,” I offer.
“You sure? You don’t mind?”
“No, she’s sleeping,” I say with a laugh. “I’ll finish this and watch her while you get her food.”
“It would be easier,” Olivia says, and I can tell she’s turning the idea over in her mind. “Okay, I’ll be quick.” She jumps up from the bed and heads for the door. “Be right back.”
13
As soon as she’s gone, I get back to work. I try to remember the quadratic equation when I hear a commotion in the hallway.
“I swear if she’s harmed—” a male voice roars.
“She’s not!” Olivia shouts at him.
The door slams open, and Ethan walks quickly across the room. “Where is she? Where’s my daughter?” he snaps as he glares at me. Olivia walks in behind him, and Luke is at their heels with Ethan’s wife rushing in behind them.
Tate stirs and then slowly gets up.
“Tate,” he exhales in relief as he grabs her off my bed and takes several steps back, away from me.
“Tatey, are you okay?” the woman asks as she hugs Ethan and Tate.
“Yes, I was just taking a nap,” Tate says with a yawn.
All eyes turn back to me. Ethan pushes Tate into the woman’s arms. “Trish, take her.” He turns to me. “Why? Why didn’t you harm her?” he snaps.
I furrow my brow. “She’s a child.”
“I have taken everything from you, your life, your family, your mother, and you show my daughter mercy?” he snaps. “You could’ve taken revenge, held her in this room as a hostage for freedom, but instead, you left her completely unharmed?”
I frown. “I would never harm an innocent child.”
Ethan’s face turns red with anger. He walks over to me and points his finger in my face. “If I ever see you near my daughter again, I will kill you. I don’t care if we don’t take down Chrome. I will kill you.”
I nod once, and he backs off.
“Tate, Trish, let’s go.”
The three of them exit the room, and Ethan slams the door behind them.
The minute they’re gone, Luke turns to Olivia. “What were you thinking?” he snaps.
“I didn’t know he would be looking for her the second I left,” she says as she holds her hands up.
“You should’ve never left! You should’ve never brought Tate here in the first place.”
“I got stuck watching her because you had to call a stupid emergency meeting because someone almost killed Nina. You’re not supposed to care, you dumbass! You’re going to make everyone suspicious!” Olivia shouts at him.
“If I didn’t take care of him, he just would’ve tried again. I did what needed to be done, not that I have to explain myself to you.” Luke frowns. “You have to stop letting your arrogance get in the way of your judgment. I know you don’t care about anything or anyone but yourself, but if you mess this up—”
“How could you say that!” Olivia shrieks. She stares at him like he just betrayed her. I shift uncomfortably as I watch them, unable to look away. “I’m putting everything on the line to help you right now!”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Yes, you do!”
“If anything, all you’ve done is make this harder for me,” Luke snaps. “You’re a child that can’t control her mouth or her emotions.”
Olivia starts to laugh. “That’s rich coming from you. At least I don’t let my emotions ruin an entire family. You fell in love with her and ruined her life.” Olivia points to me.
Luke tenses and then straightens up. “At least I have enough respect for myself to get out of a place where I know no one wants me.”
My jaw drops at the ruthlessness of his words.
Olivia’s bottom lip trembles as she spins around on her heal. “I hate you!” she shouts as she runs to the bathroom. She closes the door, and I hear the click of the lock.
Luke drops his head in defeat and shuts his eyes.
There were a ton of parts of their conversations that shock me. I start to try and remember exactly what they both said when Luke walks over to me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I nod once.
His jaw clenches as he looks away from me. “Olivia, watch her until I get back,” he shouts to her before he leaves the room again without saying another word.
The bathroom door creaks open, and Olivia walks out slowly.
“Are you alright?” I ask her.
“Yeah, he’s just such an asshole sometimes.” She rolls her red-rimmed eyes. “He gets really passionate, and if you try to stand in his way, he will take you down no matter what.”
“What did you mean when you said he wasn’t supposed to care if I died and that people would get suspicious?”
Olivia shakes her head. “I can’t. Luke will tell you everything when he’s ready. He will actually kill me if I tell you.”
“But something is going on?”
Olivia looks at me like I’m stupid. “Duh. Didn’t you hear the part when I told him that he fell in love with you and ruined your life?�
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“Why is he acting like he hates me then?”
“Acting is the keyword, Nina.” She grins at me before she gets serious again. “Look, now you know that there’s some other plan that we’re working on. Don’t push him to drop the act. It’s killing him to be a dick to you. Leave him be, but don’t give up on him.”
I nod my head, feeling like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“Good. We both need to get some rest if we’re going to deal with Chase tomorrow. If she takes your binder and throws it in the trash, keep a straight face,” she says as she walks to the guard room.
“Got it.”
She stops before she shuts the door behind herself. “Thanks again, Nina. For everything.”
I grin at her. “Thank you, Olivia.”
“We make a great team,” she says before she disappears into the room.
The next morning, Olivia groans the whole way to the classroom.
“School is so stupid. Why are we even going?”
“We worked so hard on this,” I say, holding up the binder. “I’m giving it in even if she’s going to throw it away.”
We both laugh as we enter the classroom.
“Good morning, Olivia,” Chase says with an extra-wide grin. She sees me and sneers. “Half-breed.”
I hold out the binder for her, and she laughs as she takes it from me and throws it straight into the garbage. “Good work. You get an F.”
Olivia pulls me along and leads me to our seats. “I think I should get twenty bucks or something for predicting what happened.”
We both laugh again as Chase begins to teach. Not even five minutes into her science lecture, there’s a knock on the door.
“Sorry to interrupt,” a man says as he pops his head into the room. “I need to speak to Olivia.”
Chase turns to find Olivia. “Go ahead,” she says with a nod.
Olivia glances at me. “C’mon, Nina.”
“I was instructed just to get you, Olivia,” the man says.
“I can’t leave her here.” Olivia crosses her arms over her chest.
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t get into trouble,” Chase speaks up.
“Great. Let’s go, Olivia,” the man urges.
Olivia looks at me again. She gives me a nod before she leaves.
Great. Now I’m in a room with fifty people that hate me. I’ll just try to keep my head down so that no one notices me.
“Half-breed,” Chase calls. So much for no one noticing me. “It looks like my binder last night was too easy for you.” She glares at me as my eyes meet hers. “I’ll be sure to give you a much harder one for tonight.”
Great.
“Now, let’s move on to physics.” Chase claps her hands together once.
For the rest of the two hours, she flies from one physics topic to another. I try to write as much as I can in my notebook, but I struggle to keep up.
“Alright, class, looks like our time is up. Have a wonderful time in fight training.” She waves as everyone makes their way out of the room. “Here you go, half-breed.” Chase holds a five-inch binder above her head. I hold my arms out and she slams the binder into my arms. “That ought to keep you busy.”
I quickly leave before she thinks of any other cruel forms of torture. I mean, it is just homework. It could definitely be worse.
I slowly make my way to the fight training room, and I sigh in relief when I find Olivia there. She gives me a smile and nods her head to the wall. I sit against it and open the binder, trying to see exactly what Chase gave me. It’s pages and pages of physics problems. I groan, knowing this is going to take hours. I take my pencil and start trying to figure them out as I hear Olivia begin her lesson.
After about thirty minutes, I only have five pages completed. This is going to take forever. I rest my head against the wall, taking a short break, and I feel everyone’s eyes on me.
“I want to fight her,” the girl across the room repeats.
“What a wonderful idea.” Ethan claps his hands once, and everyone’s heads turn to find him walking into the room. “What a better way to further prove that half-breeds are inferior to us.”
“We aren’t supposed to harm her,” Olivia says as she crosses her arms over her chest.
“She’ll heal,” Ethan says as she rolls his eyes. “Let the fight begin.”
I slowly get to my feet as Olivia gestures me over.
She places her hands on my shoulders and leans in. “Let her win.”
I nod once that I understand, and Olivia pushes me into the center of the circle the students have formed.
The girl that wanted to fight me stands opposite of me. She’s probably around my height, but she’s jacked. Her muscles bulge as she clenches her fists and brings her elbows in, ready to fight me. She barrels towards me and swings. Instinct takes over, and I duck. She misses me and falls over from all the force she put behind her blow.
I feel Olivia’s eyes on me, and I don’t even have to look at her to know that she’s upset I didn’t take the hit. All my thoughts are interrupted when I feel a hand grab my ankle and pull me down. The girl immediately climbs on top of me and starts punching. After the first swing, she breaks my nose. Blood spills out onto the ground, and people gasp. She keeps pounding on me, and I feel her break my jaw. I try to push her off, but she’s too strong.
Finally, she rolls off of me, and I’m able to push myself over to my hands and knees. Just as I’m about to stand, she slams my face into the concrete. I glance up to see Ethan give a stiff nod to Olivia, who jumps on the girl and throws her off of me. I collapse onto the ground, relieved that it’s over. I take a few deep breaths before I start to push myself up.
“Well, that was entertaining,” I hear Ethan say.
I straighten up and slowly lift my head.
“I think it has been proven that—”
I hear him gasp, and when my eyes meet his, I find him staring at me.
“How is that possible?”
Shit. He wasn’t supposed to know that I can heal this fast.
I touch my face, and everything feels completely normal.
Ethan rushes over to me and grabs my arm. “You’re coming with me,” he snaps.
“Dad, wait!” Olivia calls as she rushes to keep up with him as he drags me across the room. “Dad, don’t do this.”
Ethan spins around so fast, Olivia stops short. “Do not tell me what I can and can’t do.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She shrinks back down.
“That’s exactly how you meant it. If you speak out of turn one more time, you’re out of here,” he snaps before he continues to pull me along with him.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia mouths to me before the door swings shut.
14
Ethan pulls me up the steps, leading me to the first floor of the mansion. He drags me through hallway after hallway until he finally stops. I’m confused when I don’t see any doors. He pushes on the wall, and the panel opens. He throws me inside and shuts the panel behind himself, surrounding us in darkness.
Fluorescent lights sting my eyes as they illuminate the room. I feel my eyebrows raise as I take in my surroundings. Black, sleek tile covers the floor and matches the black marble walls. A large desk sits in the corner of the room with a large desk chair behind it. A huge cabinet sits on the far wall in the center, and to the right, there’s a table with a microscope and test tubes filled with blood. Finally, on the wall closest to me, is a chair with straps.
Ethan grabs my arm and pulls me over to the chair. I try to fight him at first, but he throws me into the seat. He uses the leather straps to secure my right wrist. I try to flail, but he takes my arm in one hand and my hand in the other before he snaps my wrist in half. I scream as I squeeze my eyes shut. The initial pain shocks me but then dies down with every moment that passes. I stop fighting as he straps me into the chair.
Ethan reaches up and flips on a light. He shines it in my eyes as he squints at me
. “Did you know you could heal that fast?”
I clench my jaw as I stare at him, still pissed that he broke my wrist.
“It would be in your best interest to answer me. You have another wrist that I can snap.” He glances at my left wrist, and I shiver.
“Yes.”
“How does it work?” he asks.
I take a moment to try to think of how to answer his question when he interrupts my thoughts.
“I’m going to run some tests on you to find out for myself.” He leaves my side and walks over to his desk.
“When I get hurt, I heal almost instantly. If I don’t have enough blood in my system, it takes me longer,” I blurt out, not wanting him to test me.
“Interesting. So, it is something related to your blood. Is it because you’re a half-breed?” Ethan asks himself as he turns to face me and strokes his chin. “I would question your bloodline, but you’re the spitting image of your human mother. I would know. I killed her.” He gives me a sinister smile, and my stomach clenches.
I hate him. I know I told Olivia that violence was stupid, but at this moment, I want to punch him in the face. How dare he.
“First thing I want to do, I want to observe and time how long it takes you to heel. We’ll do the first trial on a full stomach.” He walks over to the cabinet and pulls open the doors, revealing bags of blood. It’s not a cabinet, it’s a refrigerator. “After we do the control trial, we can start testing with different amounts of blood in your system.” He takes a bag of blood and stops at the table as he grabs a needle, a tube, and an empty blood bag. “But if I’m really going to control this, I need to know exactly how much blood you have in your system, so I’ll have to drain you first.”
I shrink back in my seat as he attaches the needle to the tube and the tube to the bag.
Ethan leans over to me and frowns. “Sorry. This is definitely going to hurt.”
I wince as he sticks the needle in my arm. I watch as my blood travels down the skinny tube and into the bag. I sit in the chair and start to panic. How the hell am I going to get out of this one? Dizziness clouds my head as I notice the bag getting more and more full.
