Ever After: Lost Boys of Neverly Prep: Academy Romance

by L. E. Bross

  The manila folder is tucked under my leg, the one that is bouncing rapidly. X lays his hand on my thighs, quieting my movements.

  “You don’t have to make any decisions right now, sweetheart. Just go see her, talk to her and let her know you’re here.”

  “What if she hates me? It’s been months and I promised her I’d find her.”

  “Ever.” His tone snaps me out of my head. “Just go talk to her.”

  I glance over at him and he’s watching me. His fingers wrap around the back of my neck, urging me to lean closer.

  “She’s your sister and she loves you as much as you love her. That’s all that matters right now.”

  I blink at the tears building in my eyes. He’s right. I give him a trembling smile and he presses his lips against mine softly. The last time I was here I left angry. Unsure. This time I’m ready.

  “Will you come to the door with me?”

  His eyes widen in surprise. “Whatever you need, sweetheart. Told you I’m not going anywhere.”

  I clutch his hand tightly as we walk across the street. I’m scared. It’s ridiculous to consider, but what if she’s forgotten me? What if I’m just someone who was part of her past? What if she doesn’t need me anymore.

  The doorbell chimes and I swallow against the sour taste in my throat. Belle is on the other side of the door. My palms are sweaty and I nervously wipe them against my thighs.

  I took extra care getting ready this morning. My makeup is perfect, hair on point. The top I chose is cute, light blue tie-dye with fluttery sleeves. I paired it with a denim skirt and gladiator sandals.

  When I looked in the mirror right before we left, I didn’t recognize the girl staring back at me. She isn’t the same one who walked into Peter’s house weeks ago. She has a healthy glow. Slightly tanned skin from being outside by the pool. Hair cut and styled with professionally done tips. The girl in the mirror actually looks like she belongs in a mansion, like she should be driving a sporty convertible.

  The girl in the mirror is not me.

  Panic sets in.

  “This is a mistake.” My lips are starting to feel numb. I stumble back a step and come up against X. He wraps one arm around my waist, letting me lean on him as I watch a shadow move behind the frosted glass.

  My pulse pounds so loudly in my ears that I can’t hear the birds anymore.

  I want to run but before I can even blink, the door swings open and I’m looking at the man I saw with Belle. He’s definitely as young as I thought, maybe mid-twenties. He has blue eyes, almost the same shade as Belle and me.

  “Can I help you?”

  He doesn’t open the door all the way and he keeps his body tucked into the opening. Protecting the people inside. I like that.

  X nudges me and my eyes flare wide. I’m not sure I can do this.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” the man says, edging a little more out the door.

  “Honey, who is it?” a woman calls from inside. “We need to get going or we’ll be late for church.”

  It’s then that I notice he’s wearing a dark grey button-up shirt and a tie and khakis. I swallow hard. Church? The last time a foster dragged us to church, we had to listen to a man screaming about how we are all sinners and are going to burn in hell.

  Belle had nightmares for months.

  The memory releases me from my fear.

  “I’m looking for Belle. I’m her sister.”

  His eyes widen and for a moment, I think he’s going to slam the door in my face.

  “You’re Ever?” He looks me over and I’m glad that I took the time to look nice. I’m sure he would have locked the door if I showed up in my usual attire.

  A hand appears on his shoulder and the pretty woman I saw with Belle peeks around him.

  “Hello?”

  The man hesitates, then swings the door wider.

  “Please come in.” His voice is hoarser now, like he’s forcing it through his throat. When I step inside, the woman looks at him. “Bria, this is Ever. Belle’s sister.”

  The woman has the same reaction. Her eyes flare wide and I don’t miss the way her face pales before she sucks in a breath and collects herself.

  “Ever? I, ahhh…we weren’t…”

  I’m sure they read the file, they know that I was charged with kidnapping Belle once. They’re probably worried I’m going to run in and grab her. The papers in my purse pulse like the telltale heart.

  “I’m sorry to just drop by. I just recently found out where Belle was and I was hoping I could see her? It’s been…” My voice cracks and X squeezes my hip. “It’s been awhile and I miss her.”

  The woman’s eyes glisten and she starts to blink rapidly. The man notices and pulls her into his arms.

  “If you’ll excuse us for a moment, we’ll go tell Belle you’re here.”

  He guides her from the entry and up the stairs. I’m surprised they left me alone but I guess they feel it is safe since Belle is upstairs.

  It gives me a minute to look around anyway. The house is nice, clean, and it smells like lemon and vanilla. The pictures on the walls draw me closer and I slip free from X’s arm.

  Framed photos fill the hallway.

  Almost every one of them is of Belle.

  My tongue feels thick as I walk down the row, taking in her glowing smile in every single one. They’re at the beach. On a mountain. There’s one of Belle on a horse in some kind of riding outfit. All of this, all these moments, I missed out on.

  Somehow in a matter of months, she went from a scared girl to a glowing young woman. Her eyes aren’t haunted in any of these pictures. Like the girl in my reflection this morning, I don’t recognize the girl in these pictures either.

  We’ve both changed so much.

  My skin prickles, feeling too tight, and I rub my hands up and down my arms to ease the ache. X moves behind me, pulling me back against his chest. He knows what I need without having to say a word.

  “Riot was right,” I whisper. “She has the life she always wished for. She has a family now. She doesn’t need me.” My voice breaks and I fight back the tears that make everything all blurry now.

  “Sweetheart, you’re her sister and she’ll always need you.” He spins me slowly and then tilts my chin up so I have to look at him. “There’s room for both, you know. It’s not an all or nothing choice. She can have a family and a sister.”

  Before I can say anything, feet thunder down the stairs and a whirlwind of blonde hair and blue dress launches at me. X steps back just in time.

  “Ever!”

  Belle throws herself into my arms and starts to cry.

  All the doubts disappear and I wrap my arms around her as tight as I can.

  The tears I’d been fighting start to slip down my cheeks. It takes me a minute to reconcile that I am hugging my sister. That she’s in my arms again. I’m not sure how long we stand there clinging to each other, but finally we both pull back and I wipe the tears off her face.

  “Tink,” I whisper. “Told you I’d find you.”

  I look over her shoulder and see the man and woman at the bottom of the stairs. They’re both watching us with a mixture of emotions playing over their faces.

  “When Mom said you were here, I didn’t believe her.”

  I freeze. Mom? Belle pulls away and hurries over to the couple, taking each of their hands and leading them across the entry.

  “Ever, this is Bria and Tom Hunter. Mom, Dad, this is my big sister, Ever.”

  We don’t really need formal introductions since they apparently know who I am, but the way Belle beams at all of us makes me stick out my hand anyway.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  X steps up next to me and Belle’s curious gaze turns to him.

  “This is X, Xavier.” X shakes their hands and Belle grins.

  “Is he your boyfriend?”

  “One of them,” X says with a wink and my sister bursts into laughter. She has no idea that he’s seri
ous.

  Seeing her standing there next to Bria and Tom makes my chest constrict. If you didn’t know better, you’d think Belle was their biological daughter. They all have similar eyes and with her hair cut, Belle and Bria even look alike.

  I’m the odd man out.

  Even dressed up and put together, I don’t fit this picture of domesticity. Hell, the only reason I’m standing here is because I’m a thief. That’s the only value I have to offer.

  Tom clears his throat. “So, it’s nice to see you.”

  I hear the question under the innocuous words. He wants to know what I’m doing here.

  “I’ve been looking for my sister since she was taken away from me months ago. Thankfully I met someone who was able to help and I finally tracked her down. Just like I promised.”

  Belle bounces on her toes.

  “Every night I looked up at the stars just like you told me to. I knew you were looking at them, too.”

  I nod because my throat is tight again.

  “We were just heading to church…”

  “Would you like some coffee…”

  “Come see my room…”

  All three of them start to talk at once and Belle starts to giggle.

  “We do this all the time.” She rolls her eyes and that small gesture tightens the vise in my chest. They have little inside things already.

  “I’ll let you get going,” I wheeze out. I need air. I need to run and scream and cry. I need to grab my sister and get the hell away from inside jokes and loving looks and family pictures.

  My eyes burn.

  Belle’s face falls. “You’re leaving already?”

  “I’m sure she has somewhere to be as well,” Tom says, stepping up to Belle’s side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Protectively. Fatherly. I bristle. It’s my job to protect her. She’s my sister. My blood.

  The mixture of anger and anguish are like oil and vinegar, rolling around in my stomach.

  “Maybe you’d like to come to dinner Thursday night?” Bria says, then turns to Belle. “And you have your dance recital on Saturday. We could get extra tickets?”

  Tom’s eyebrows dip down but Bria moves past him and squeezes his arm.

  “You can meet Kayla. She’s my best friend and we dance together.” Belle goes up on her toes and twirls around in circles until she’s out of breath. “We’re the best in the class.”

  Bria steadies Belle then gives me a smile. “If you’d give me your number I can text you the details.”

  She pulls her phone from her purse and taps it open.

  I open my mouth to tell her the number, then realize my phone is evidence in a shooting. That I’m responsible for. X pulls his phone free.

  “Ever dropped hers in the pool this morning,” he says smoothly. “You can text mine and I’ll be sure she gets it.”

  “You have a pool?” Belle squeaks out as X and Bria exchange numbers.

  X winks at Belle. “Olympic-sized. With a waterfall and a hot tub.”

  Belle is practically vibrating with excitement. “Can I come over and see it sometime? I love swimming.”

  “Anytime, Ladybug.”

  When she scrunches her nose, he points at the ladybug barrette in her hair and her face lights up. I can see the adoration shining in her eyes. Apparently X has a way with all Darlington women.

  “Mom and Dad said that if I make honor roll this semester, I get my own phone. We can call each other any time. I’m definitely studying extra hard now.” She beams at me.

  It hits me that she’s not going to come with me. Ever. She’s happy here and I’d be the most selfish person on Earth to rip her way from the people who want to be her parents, the ones who clearly love her.

  I try to hide how much it hurts, but Bria catches my eyes and I see understanding there.

  “So I’ll text you then, and we will see you Thursday night. We eat around six but Belle gets home from school at three. Stop anytime between then if you’d like.”

  I wanted Belle’s foster parents to be like all the others. Neglectful. Mean. Uncaring. The Hunters love her, I know that without a doubt. And they want to adopt her, make her theirs permanently.

  I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.

  Belle throws herself into my arms. “I’m so glad you found me. I’ll see you Thursday, right? Pinky promise?” She holds out her pinky and I entwine mine with hers.

  “Pinky promise. Not going anywhere, Tink, not when I’ve finally found you.” I give her another long hug and it takes everything I have to let her go. She stands by her new mom and dad, fighting back tears, and I’m right there with her. “Thank you, for the dinner invitation. And I’ll expect a full tour of your room.”

  I smile at Belle and she nods. “It’s just like in the books.”

  Emotion clogs in my throat. She finally got her princess room.

  “Can’t wait to see it.” My voice breaks and I’m only a few seconds away from breaking down, so I let X lead me to the door.

  “See you later, alligator,” Belle says from behind me.

  “In a while, crocodile.”

  As soon as the door clicks shut the tears start to fall. They don't stop as X winds his arm around me and we walk to my car. He’s practically carrying me by the time we get to it.

  “Turn and wave,” he says in my ear.

  I do so blindly and he presses his lips to my temple.

  “She was waiting for that.”

  “Thank you. For being here. I’d probably be a heap in the middle of the road if you weren’t.”

  He chuckles. “Sweetheart, you're a hell of a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You would have walked away like a boss, then cried like a baby all the way home.”

  I hit him in the gut with the back of my hand but he’s made me laugh. We stop at the car but neither move to get in.

  “You two look so much alike it’s scary,” X says, leaning back against the passenger door and pulling me against his chest. “It’s obvious you’re sisters. And it’s obvious by the way that she looks at you that you are her hero.”

  My nose starts to itch and my throat tingles.

  “She looks happy,” he says softly.

  I can’t argue with him. I’ve never seen her glow like that.

  “Yeah, she really does.”

  Because she is finally home, and it’s not with me.

  Chapter Four

  When we get home I go straight to my room and shut the door behind me.

  X says nothing, just presses a kiss to my forehead and doesn’t follow. I know he wants me to tell Baz and Ry what happened, and about the ultimatum Peter gave me, but I can't, not yet. I need to internalize it, pick it apart and figure out what I’m going to do about Belle first.

  The whole ride home I kept seeing Belle’s face when she called Bria and Tom Mom and Dad. Not a single foster parent ever allowed her to do that, despite how badly she wanted that connection.

  Am I cruel enough to rip her way from it now?

  All I’ve ever wanted is for my little sister to be happy. Safe. Loved.

  She has all of that now, I just have to figure out if I’m okay with not being the one giving it to her.

  I sink down into the lounger and drop my face into my hands. Everything I’ve done has been to find Belle, but I never once considered what would happen if I found her and she was happy where she was.

  In every scenario, I was rescuing her. I wasn’t prepared to find her in a loving home with people who wanted to adopt her. What the hell do I do now? Every moment since the day she was yanked from me, I’ve spent trying to get her back.

  If she’s happy where she is, do I really leave her there? Can I?

  I’ll know where she is and I can still have a relationship with her. She can have the life she’s dreamed of, with a mom and dad and a princess room and a white picket fence. She has friends there, a life that I’m not a part of, but I could be.

  I can still be her sister.

  I
stare out at the driveway without really seeing anything. A strange feeling pounds in my chest. Is the answer really as simple as tearing up the custody papers and giving Peter back his money? I could live in Luc’s pool house if Peter still insists I leave, get a job and see what happens next.

  Maybe this is how I have my sister and the guys.

  Maybe this is the future I’ve been steered toward all this time.

  I sit back with a smile and a sense of relief washes over me. I’ve done what I set out to do. I found Belle. My sister is safe and loved. And if she ever needs me, I’m right here, ready for whatever it is.

  Which means I can think about what I want. For me. For the first time in my life, I can think about what my goals are. What my dreams are.

  What do I want?

  My smile gets bigger and a weight lifts from my chest.

  Three things I definitely want but never expected are right downstairs.

  I get to my feet, eager to see them, to tell them the truth and what I’ve finally realized. That I want to be with them. Just as I turn to go inside, movement catches my eye and I watch a car pull closer.

  Not any car, a cop car.

  The cruiser comes to a stop and Trey’s father gets out.

  I can’t stop the zing of panic at seeing the police so close, not after everything I’ve been through, but I force down the apprehension, hopeful that he’s here to tell us that Trey was charged.

  That he won’t bother us again.

  I walk to the railing and it must have given me away because he tilts his head back.

  “Hello? Ms. Darlington, I take it?”

  I nod. I’ve never actually met Sheriff Stuart. He’s taller than I expected, broad-shouldered and not overweight like I pictured a sheriff to be.

  “I actually came to talk to you if you have a minute? Just had a few questions.”

  “Um, sure. I’ll be right down.”

  He waits by his cruiser and I make my way down the stairs. It’s quiet and I realize the guys must be down in the game room. I don’t bother them before I make my way outside.

  I can tell them the good news when the sheriff leaves.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask, coming down the steps.

  I already know that they have Trey for questioning. The sheriff has been letting Luc know what’s going on and Luc’s been texting X updates.