Today marks our last day of summer vacation as we enter our senior year of high school at Pleasant Hills High, so Mrs. Grayson has planned a BBQ to celebrate. For three years we’ve been free of my mother and Chaz, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Since we are the oldest kids now, we live upstairs in the two larger bedrooms with an adjoining bathroom. Jade, Ruby, and I share one bedroom, while Damon, Kai, and Jax share the other.
I strip out of my sports bra and spandex shorts from my run this morning, while Jade’s finishing her shower, and Ruby’s… well, probably somewhere making out with Jaxon. I’m standing in my cheeky underwear as I pull a pair of jean cut-off shorts from my dresser, not realizing that the bedroom door has flung open.
“My how the Gods have been good to you, Scar,” says Malachi as he stands in the doorway. His light brown hair sits in messy curls atop his head, his white shirt, which is buttoned only halfway, reveals his tanned, toned chest. Kai, who is one of my best friends, has that boy next door charm that hides his tainted interior. Being raised by his dad and his handsy stepmom, Kai was brought to the foster home after beating his dad’s girlfriend when she tried to molest him when he was eleven. Boy is twisted six ways to Sunday. His sadistic demons hide behind his gorgeous, saintly facade. A teasing smirk appears on his face as he catches me admiring him.
“Get the fuck out, Kai!” I yell, as he effortlessly ducks away from the pillow I’ve thrown his way.
“Chill, Scar, I’ve just come to tell you girls that Grayson wants us down in twenty minutes, dressed to impress. Apparently, we are having an unexpected special visitor.”
“Who is it?” I ask.
“Didn’t you hear me say unexpected visitor? By the way, my boy Drake is looking for you. When you finally gonna let the poor lad have at it?”
I throw another pillow, missing him which only makes him laugh harder.
Drake, as in Damon “Dragon” Drake, my best friend and new-found secret lover. Drake and I have had a deep-rooted connection since I arrived at the house three years ago and became best friends almost instantly. However, now that we’re older and dangerously hormonal, the sexual tension between us has been building up. At first, I thought it was just to piss off his twin sister Ruby, but their relationship is untouchable. They’ve been at the foster home since their drug addict mother died when they were six, and Drake’s always been there to protect his little sister. Just how I’ve always looked out for Jade even if we’re basically the same age. Kai and Jaxon have been trying to get us to hook up for the longest time, but little do they know we have been for the last three months.
I slip into the pair of shorts and a black ribbed crop top that’s seen better days. The West Coast heat is no joke this time of year. I comb through my long black hair leaving it down as I hear Jade coming out of the shower, her dirty blonde hair a tangled mess upon her head.
“Damn, Scar, you look hot, who are you dressing up for? Oh, wait, duh for the Dragon Man,” she says laughing.
I ignore her rolling my eyes, but well, she’s not wrong.
“Grayson and Sarah want us down in twenty minutes. Apparently, someone’s coming over,” I say, as I swipe some mascara on my already fake looking lashes and apply a cherry flavored lip gloss. “I’ll see ya downstairs,” I add, exiting our bedroom.
“Go get him, tiger.” I hear her yell, before closing the door behind me.
I head downstairs to find Kai and Jaxon sitting in the living room with Ruby and a few of the other younger kids from the home. Kai lifts his head pointing to where Drake is waiting on me, so I walk past them toward the back door that leads to the small space behind the house. As I pass Jax, I hear him whistle causing the others to laugh. Smacking him on the head, I keep walking and ignore their cat calls and comments.
As I step out onto the back porch, I can already spot Drake sitting on the brick wall that separates the yard from the train tracks behind us, a cloud of smoke overhead. His dark black hair a tousled mess and slightly overgrown, but still looks badass. His tattoos nearly cover his whole back, arms, chest, and neck, as he began collecting ink just before I first arrived at the house. One of the older guys at the time, Kayden, had managed to score a tattoo gun and would get ink delivered by his uncle every so often. I walk toward him and climb up on the wall beside him. He sits still, staring at the tracks before him, as he wordlessly hands me the cigarette from his lips.
“Someone has no fucks to give,” I say as I take the cigarette from his hand. Grayson and Sarah aren’t oblivious to the fact that we’re reckless teenagers, who smoke, drink, and have sex. They just ask us not to do it in their presence and keep it safe. Guess Drake is done caring. We all have our bad habits. Jade and Kai prefer the bottle, Jaxon and Ruby prefer the green, and for Drake and me, it’s the cancer stick. Anxiety runs high at the Grayson’s and we’re all somehow always on edge. For some odd reason, the bitter taste of a cigarette puts an end to our unease.
“Rumor has it, some fucker from the boujee town next door is paying us a visit today,” he sneers, catching my attention.
“From Hillcrest?” I ask, inhaling the tainted smoke.
“Is there another?” he replies bitterly.
Hillcrest Hills is the richer, cleaner, and all-around better version of Pleasant Hills. Although the only thing that separates us is a thirty-minute drive up an inclined slope, it’s another world, or so I’ve heard. It’s not like any of us have ever been. The town is hidden behind a large steel gate allowing only the cream of the crop to enter. The town’s infested with the three C’s: CEO’s, Celebrities, and Capitalists. The richest town on the West Coast hidden behind steel gates.
“What does someone from there want to do with us?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, princess,” he says as he turns to face me. His green eyes darkening as his gaze traces over my exposed midriff and toned thighs. Princess. He calls me by the pet name he gave me the day we met. Three years ago, when Jade and I first arrived at the foster home, I was fighting with his sister Ruby over who was going to get the shower first. I had gotten to the bathroom first and was about to get in when Ruby came in claiming to have some sort of precedence over the shower stating she was always first. Apparently, Jade and I were the only ones not “made aware.” She mocked me for thinking I had any say in that. Damon heard us arguing and told me that I “needed to get rid of the bitch crown I walked in with, this was no place for a princess.” Needless to say, that’s the last day I ever played nice or gave two fucks what people thought of me. I spent the whole first part of my life worrying too much what others thought of me. I knew that if these kids weren’t going to show me any respect then I had to take it, demand it. That night, while Drake and the other guys were out late, I wrote the words “This Bitch Is A Queen” in red permanent marker across their bedroom wall, and had Kayden tattoo the words “Long Live The Queen” on my rib cage. Let’s just say that’s the last time I’d ever bow down to anyone.
After about ten minutes the cigarette was gone, and Grayson was ringing the bell signaling curfew. In this case she meant get your asses to the living room now.
Hopping off the wall, and stepping on the cigarette butt, I follow Drake back into the house. Kai, Jax, Ruby, and Jade sit on the couch directly across from Grayson, Sarah, and a man dressed in an all-black, expensive looking suit. I walk towards them but notice Jade looking to me, terrified. As we approach, Grayson stands and the man beside her follows. He turns his head slowly toward Drake and I, his graying blond hair and bright blue eyes resembling those of a certain agent who barged into our house years ago.
“These must be the missing two children, Scarlett Steele and Damon Drake,” he says in an arrogant rasp. His blue eyes watch me as I move over to sit on the couch next to Jade, Drake following and sitting on the armrest beside me.
“Yes, now everyone is here,” says Grayson anxiously.
“And what exactly are we here for?” asks Drake, eyeing the man suspiciousl
y.
“Eager young man, Mr. Drake. Well then, let’s get to the point, shall we? My name is Warren Servite, and I am the headmaster of Servite Academy.”
I nearly faint at his name. Servite, just like the agent, my thoughts are interrupted as he continues to speak.
“This is Agent Wesley Servite my brother, former Chief of Hillcrest Police Department and current head of security and defense at Servite Academy.”
No! I yell internally as I squeeze Jade’s hand. I notice a man I had not seen standing in the hallway emerge. I can’t believe it’s him again. The same man who threatened us that day he came looking for Chaz and my mother. He looks exactly as I remember him. A slight stubble on his chin making him look slightly older, but those eyes. I’d remember them always. They haunted my dreams for months. He eyes me wantonly, his crass blue eyes looking straight through me, making me shiver, frightened. His brother Warren Servite looks just like him, only obviously at least ten years older with his smidge of graying hair.
“As you may know my grandfather founded Servite Academy back in 1920 and it has become the top school in the country, ranking amongst the cream of the crop worldwide. There’s just one thing preventing us from reaching the top of that list.”
“And what’s that… not enough trust funds to fill the halls?” says Kai mockingly.
“Actually, that’s the problem, Mr. St. Germain.”
“It’s just Saint” Kai sneers, correcting him, having chosen to drop his father’s last name when he arrived at the Grayson’s.
“Of course, Mr. Saint. As I was saying, we lack diversity. We accept nothing but the best. The children of the wealthiest, most influential people in the country walk our halls but it’s not enough.”
“So, what do you want from us?” I blurt out, causing both men to look in my direction.
“That is the burning question, is it not, Miss Steele?” says Agent Servite smirking at me. “What we want is for the six of you to attend our academy,” says Warren Servite, and the six of us start laughing simultaneously.
“This must be some kind of joke,” says Drake.
“I see how this may sound comical, but I assure you it’s no joke, Mr. Drake. We have implemented a new program at Servite Academy to help the troubled youth in our surrounding neighborhoods. The six of you will be the first students to join this program.”
“You mean guinea pigs,” Ruby scoffs, rolling her eyes at the two men before us.
“In a sense, Miss Drake, but I assure you that you will all have an equal opportunity to make something of yourselves and get out of this town. The students and faculty of Servite Academy are eager for you to join our school.”
“That’ll be a hard pass, sir,” says Drake, standing up from his seat beside me. “We may be poor, orphans, troubled, whatever you want to call us, but make no mistake we are not going to be pushed around by those privileged jackasses and prissy beauty queens. We’ve seen the kind of kids that go to your academy sneaking into Pleasant Hills when they feel like causing a little trouble. We’ll be no part of that.”
Agent Servite grins, as he leaves his place leaning against the wall of the hallway and moves over to stand beside his brother placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I understand your reluctance, Mr. Drake, but I think my brother here may not have made himself clear. You are mistaking his words. The six of you will be attending Servite Academy effective immediately. As of today, this foster home has now become a place for children under the age of sixteen. The six of you have outgrown your stay here and therefore will be moving into one of Servite Academy’s boarding houses. We shall give you thirty minutes to gather your belongings as I, myself, will be escorting you to Servite Academy today.”
As he finishes speaking, three men carrying two suitcases each enter the living room placing them in a row in front of us.
“Thank you for your time, kids, and I look forward to seeing you all around the halls of my school,” says Warren Servite, as he gets up and heads toward the front door, Grayson and Sarah following closely behind him.
The six of us eye Agent Servite as he sits where his brother just was and eyes us warningly.
“What are you waiting for? I said we leave in thirty minutes.”
We all reluctantly get up and head upstairs to our rooms to pack up for the inevitable. We are going to Servite Academy.
“This is bullshit!” hisses Jade as we enter the bedroom. “They can’t honestly think we are going to go through with this.”
“You heard the asshole. We can’t stay here anymore. Where else are we going to go? We’re seventeen, still property of the state as far as they’re concerned.” I say.
“We can’t go live in a place like that with spoiled rich kids who think the world owes them everything and they owe it nothing,” Jade says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I don’t get why you bitches are complaining. A new home in Hillcrest Hills. Going to school along with the country’s wealthiest teens. It’s a dream come true,” snickers Ruby, as she opens her dresser and begins placing her clothes in the suitcase.
“You say that as if they’d accept you, Dragon,” says Jade, calling Ruby by her nickname. Damon and Ruby Drake, i.e. the Black and Red Dragons.
She rolls her eyes at Jade, standing by her bedside with her hands on her hips. Her short black skirt fitting low on her hips and red crop top exposing the entirety of her toned, flat stomach. Ruby is every man’s dream come to life. Legs for days, a perky ass, a rack any girl would die for, jet black hair down to her lower back, almond eyes an emerald green, and a feisty attitude. This Red Dragon is the embodiment of fire. If only her personality matched her physique. Ruby is a bitch if I’ve ever known one. Manipulative, narcissistic, and downright mean. She’d give Lilith a run for her money. Yet somehow, we’re one in the same.
“Not all of us are trash like the two of you,” she sneers.
“Says the orphaned whore.” I blurt out almost regretting it instantly. Almost.
“That’s a low blow, Scarlett, even for you. Might I remind you we’re all orphans here.”
“Yeah, but luckily we aren’t all whores.”
Jade laughs at my comment as Ruby picks up the suitcase and begins emptying her drawers into it.
“Whatever. The two of you can sit here all day laying out reasons why we don’t belong there but whether you like it or not, we’re going, and I’m making the most of it.”
At that, the door opens, and the three guys come barging in.
“So, are we making a break for it or what?” says Jaxon as he walks in.
Jax has dark brown hair, big hazel eyes, and slight stubble on his angular jawline making him look older than he is. All the guys look older. I guess it’s just what happens when you grow up in this environment. At only seventeen we are all wise beyond our years and it shows. However, unlike his two boys, Jax is a breath of fresh air. His laid back, carefree attitude is refreshing after being around, neurotic Drake and cynical Kai. How he is enamored by the Red Dragon is beyond me.
“Your girlfriend here thinks it’s a great idea. She’s actually excited to be going,” I say, throwing my jeans into the suitcase.
“Babe, you can’t be serious. We don’t belong in a place like that, with all those rich pricks who think they’re better than us,” he says coming up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Get your dirty hands off my fucking sister, Wylde,” yells Drake, fisting his hands beside his thighs.
“Oh shut it, Drake! You know Jax and I have been fucking since summer started, stop acting like you have a say in what I do,” she says, leaving everyone perplexed.
“Son of a bitch,” Drake shouts as he lunges toward Jax.
“Hey, man,” Jax says dodging him. “You know I’ll be good to her. I ain’t fucking around with anyone else.”
“Both of you stop and get the fuck out,” I yell, eyeing Drake with my eyebrows raised. It�
�s hypocritical of him to give his best friend shit for fucking his sister, when he and I are on the same page.
“You heard the asshole downstairs. We have no choice. Now, we can pack our shit and go to this fucking hellhole of a school or we run. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to end up on the streets, doing god knows what to make a buck. Whether it’s here or in fucking Hillcrest Hills we’ve got nowhere else to go and they know that. Which is why they’re doing this.”
“You’re right, Scarlett,” mutters Grayson as she enters the room. “They know you guys have no one. They know you have nowhere to go. It’s like dangling a piece of meat in front of a starving lion. But what they don’t know is that you have each other. The four of you have been a family since you all arrived here years ago,” she says looking toward Drake, Kai, Jax, and Ruby.
“And you two,” she says, turning to Jade and me. “You fit right in the moment you stepped into this house. With your careless behavior and feisty attitudes. You won’t fit in there. Those spoiled rich kids will make your lives hell. But you promise me one thing. You’ll show those pricks that you kids are from Pleasant Hills, and here, we are family. We are Graysons, we stand together, and nothing, or no one tears us down.”
TWO
SCARLETT
An hour later, after packing up our belongings, we are out the door and heading into a sleek black SUV with tinted windows. Sarah managed to convince Agent Servite to give us an additional thirty minutes, “You’re taking them either way, give them a chance to say goodbye,” she said to him. The driver loads our bags into the trunk ushering us inside, while Agent Servite gives the man instructions and heads into another SUV in front of us. Outside of the house stand Mrs. Grayson and Sarah, with the three siblings left at the foster house, waving at us like we’re heading off to Disneyland, when in reality, we’re headed to slaughter.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 3
