“Oh, Leigh’s harmless compared to the other girls in this school. Which is why I was so excited to find out you three were coming,” squeals Stella once again.
“Why?” I ask raising a brow to her. “According to Leighton the school isn’t thrilled about our arrival.”
“That’s because the school is filled with nothing but spoiled, privileged assholes,” she says, laughing slightly.
“Um hello, but you go here,” says Jade.
“Yeah, but I’m in on a favor, kind of like you guys.” When we don’t answer, she clarifies. “My uncle took me in when my parents died four years ago, thus granting me entrance to the academy,” she adds.
“Silver you said, as in Sebastian Silver?” I ask, walking over to the couch where Jade and Ruby sit.
“So, you’ve met them, the Four Horsemen?” she asks, following behind me.
“Does everyone seriously call them that?” asks Jade, putting her feet to rest on the coffee table in front of her. “We kind of ran into them when we got here, but they seemed to not care.”
“Let’s hope. My cousin Sebastian and his friends, well they’re kind of a big deal,” mutters Stella.
“So we’ve heard,” the three of us say at the same time.
“Yeah, pretty sure Leighton gave you guys the rundown about the kings and their condescending queens.” She sits on the couch across from us.
“I take it you don’t like them?” I ask, sitting beside Jade.
“I may be a Silver, but I’m not in with the ‘in’ crowd. I’m kind of an outsider. Kinsley and my cousin were together last year and well, I found out she was cheating on him and kind of anonymously sent him a picture of her and the other guy. Bass went berserk and broke up with Kins. I don’t know how she found out it was me, but she did, and let’s just say I haven’t been able to live it down.”
“That’s crazy, it’s not your fault the slut was cheating,” yells Jade.
“Yeah, well, they didn’t see it that way. Bass still hasn’t forgiven Kins, and I’m still on the outside. Which is fine, it’s not like I like those girls.”
“And your cousin doesn’t stand up for you?” I ask her as she looks down at her hands twitching nervously on her lap.
“Yeah, I’m sure he would, but the guys don’t get involved in what the girls do unless it directly affects them or their reign. But like I said, it doesn’t matter. I try to stay out of their way. Which is why I’m glad you’re here. I can use some new friends,” she says, looking up at us.
“Well, count me in,” says Jade as she walks over to Stella.
“Not sure why, but I kind of like you, Silver,” she says, patting Stella on the shoulder.
“Yeah, whatever,” Ruby says as she stands and heads toward the left hallway where there are three doors. “Which one is my room?” she asks.
“Oh yeah, duh. Well the quarter has four rooms and two bathrooms. To the right is my room, a bathroom, and your room, Scarlett. To the left is Jade, another bathroom and Ruby’s room.”
Ruby opens the door to her bedroom and steps inside as we follow behind her.
“All the rooms look the same. A queen bed, walk-in closet, desk with an Apple Desktop, Mac Book, and iPad, a dresser vanity and a couch or chaise.”
“This room is ridiculous,” says Ruby as she throws herself on her bed.
Stella walks over to the closet and pulls out a garment bag.
“Your bag with your clothes and stuff was brought in here but this is what you’ll be wearing during the week.”
She unzips the bag holding out that hideous uniform Leighton was wearing.
“That’s gross,” says Ruby.
“Yeah, but it makes choosing outfits easier. There are some variations to it, a red and black plaid skirt, white knee-high socks, a white collared shirt both short and long sleeved, and black blazer. On Fridays we get to wear our red school polos, black for the boys, and black shorts. Both the polos and blazers are embroidered with the school crest. We also get to wear the polos and spandex shorts for gym class, that is if you’re not in a sport.”
“That’s a lot to remember,” I say.
“We just have to wear the uniforms for class and any other school related activities. Other than that, we’re free to wear what we want. Most girls wear heels, but any shoes in black or white work.”
“Well, it’s going to be sneakers or boots for us, because that’s all we have,” groans Jade, looking down at the black combat boots on her feet.
“That’s fine, I don’t wear heels either,” Stella says as we walk out of Ruby’s room and into the hallway. “Anyways, Jade your room is through that door and that’s the bathroom. Scarlett, if you want to come with me, I’ll show you to yours. I’m sure you guys want to get some rest before we hit the party tonight.”
“Party?” we all ask at the same time.
“The end of summer party. It happens every year before school starts. Tomorrow is the assembly so tonight we party. There’s like a party every other weekend pretty much, so we’re heading to the private beach on the outskirts of the academy. It belongs to the Servites but it’s mainly Ace’s party pad. There are some beach houses down by the private beach owned by the prominent families of Hillcrest and well, it’s still summer. I got some extra swimsuits in case you guys didn’t pack any.”
“Party by the beach, sweet. Count me in,” says Ruby as she falls onto her bed.
“After the shit of a day I’ve had, I can use a drink,” Jade says as all three of them turn to me.
“Sure, whatever,” I say, heading out of the room and over to where Stella said my room was.
“This is us, my room, our shared bathroom, and your room. I’ll be in here if you need anything. Party starts at eight, so I’ll see you then. I’ll pull out some swimsuits to give you guys options.”
“Stella,” I say, and she looks up at me slowly. “Thanks, you didn’t have to be so nice to us, but at least not everything about coming here sucks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m taking you to a Servite party tonight,” she says nervously.
“We’re fucked up orphans straight from the debauched slums of Pleasant Hills. A couple of privileged, entitled assholes don’t scare me.”
FOUR
SCARLETT
I wake up startled in a strange bed not quite remembering how it is I got here. The room is dark with gray blackout curtains and stark gray walls. The furniture around me is all black wood with dark blue and green accents, and a bright white comforter under me. It takes my eyes a moment to focus on my surroundings and I quickly remember where I am. Servite Academy of course. And this is my new bedroom.
I hadn’t realized how tired I was, but once I laid down on the super comfortable bed I must have passed out. This “apartment,” which I now live in, is huge and almost double the size of the mobile home Jade and I lived in as kids, and this room is nothing compared to the small room Jade, Ruby and I shared at the Grayson’s. I turn to the bedside table on my right where a digital clock reads 7:00 p.m. Fuck, I slept for almost four hours. I groggily get up and walk over to open my bedroom door, when I notice the door to Stella’s room is slightly ajar. I walk over to it and I can hear laughing coming from inside. I slowly peek inside to see what’s going on, and find Ruby, Jade and Stella laughing with an array of swimsuits laid across Stella’s bed. I push the door open slightly and all eyes turn to me.
“Morning, sunshine,” says Jade mockingly as I stand by the open doorway. She holds a beautiful emerald green, one-piece swimsuit against her body, as she stands in front of a full-length mirror hung on one of Stella’s walls. Stella’s room is an exact replica of mine, however hers looks much more lived in. Her walls are a lighter gray, almost blue color and the accents on her black furniture vary from a dark purple to white and light pink. She has various picture frames hung on one wall and a few art pieces on the other near a blush pink couch that sits by the window overlooking the campus b
elow.
“That’s hot, Jade. It will totally match your green eyes,” says Ruby from beside her. Ruby complimenting Jade and saying something is going to look good on her, I must have entered an alternate universe.
These two have been at odds since Jade and I arrived at the Grayson’s. I was more forgiving of Ruby’s insolence and chalked it up to her being the only girl among the three boys and not knowing any better. Five, if you count the older two, Kayden and Mikah, who left shortly after our arrival. She had a chip on her shoulder and thought she could push us around because she’d been there first. But Jade wasn’t so sympathetic. Everything between her and Ruby was a competition. From helping Grayson and Sarah run errands, hanging with me and the guys at school, to even fighting over Jaxon at one point. Of course, Jade wasn’t really interested in him, it was more about having something Ruby wanted. Jax is too normal for Jade. She prefers the bad boys. She likes them dark, mysterious, and broody. Cocky assholes with loads of issues. We’re alike in that sense.
“Go on, try it on,” says Stella, motioning for her to go and try on the swimsuit.
Jade heads over to the closet closing the door slightly as she steps inside.
“What’s going on?” I ask, confused at the scene before me. Three girls, two who rarely get along and are constantly arguing, and a third they’ve just met are all looking like they’re the best of friends.
“We’re just trying on some swimsuits for the party,” answers Stella as Jade emerges from the closet dressed in the green one-piece. The middle of the suit is cut out revealing her upper abdomen and belly button ring, and hugs her curves perfectly, fitting like a second skin. The top is a triangular halter, and the back of the suit is low-cut in a V shape, ending just above her ass leaving every single one of her tattoos exposed.
“That’s a lot of tattoos,” says Stella, admiring the ink on Jade’s back. In the middle of her back is a large portrait of a white wolf with bright green eyes, resembling those of Jade herself. Since she was a little girl, Jade’s been mesmerized by wolves and what they represent. It was her brother Roman of course that gave her the nickname she still goes by “White Wolf.” He always used to say that white wolves were the purest, as they weren’t yet tainted by life. He called himself “Gray Wolf”, after the color of his stormy gray eyes. And Jade is the embodiment of a fierce wolf, a protector. Courageous, strong, and loyal. A lone wolf who found her pack in me and the guys from the foster home, after losing her alpha and the only wolf she cared for, her brother Roman.
“It was a pastime at the house to get inked. Kai, one of the guys, has his own ink gun and he’s tattooed pretty much all our ink. Before him it was Kayden, one of the older guys. He gave us all our first,” she says, pointing to the tree branch going up her left side.
“You all have them?” she asks, not judging but surprised. It’s unheard of for such young teens to be covered in tattoos, but Grayson thought it was better than having us out in the streets getting into trouble or the harder drugs that flood the streets of Pleasant Hills. Smoking cigarettes or weed and drinking were the only things we could get away with, if we were careful that is. And honestly, unlike all the kids at our school, we weren’t interested in anything else.
“Scarlett has more than me, Ruby only has a few,” says Jade as she checks herself out in the mirror.
“This body is too sacred to treat like a coloring book,” says Ruby, getting laughs from all of us. With that she grabs a bright red bikini and heads to the walk-in closet where Jade went to change.
“So, which one do you want, Scarlett?” asks Stella, turning her back to me and pointing toward all the swimsuits displayed on her bed. They’re quite beautiful but I’m not really feeling in the party mood.
“I’ll pass, I’m fine with what I’m wearing,” I answer, and instantly I’m getting scowls from both of them.
“Come on, Scar, don’t be a Debbie downer. This one will look bomb on that sexy body of yours, sis,” says Jade, holding up a two-piece, high-waist, black bikini. The top is a simple triangle top with thin straps, and the bottoms look high-rise and cheeky. Something I’d probably wear any other day but for some reason don’t feel comfortable wearing today.
“You’re sisters?” Stella asks, turning to me.
“Stepsisters,” answers Ruby, walking out in the skimpiest red bikini showing off her banging figure. On anyone else it would look sleazy but on Ruby it looks like it was made for her. “Her dad married her mom,” she says, pointing to us. “Well, I don’t think they ever got married. Point is they’re stepsisters, came to the house together.”
“I’m trying to convince Scar to wear this,” says Jade to Ruby who is of course now checking herself out in the mirror. Jade’s right, Ruby has the least amount of ink out of all of us and only has a few small pieces scattered around her hipbones, breastbone, and lower back. They’re small and mostly quotes she lives by.
“We’re not taking no for an answer.” I raise a brow at Ruby, and she steps toward Jade grabbing the bikini and then turning toward me. “Come on, Scar, you’re not gonna make us late. Take this and go shower.” I scoff as she shoves the black bikini toward me.
“You can wear your shorts over it if you want,” says Stella questioningly, hoping to change my mind.
I sigh, rolling my eyes but giving in, nonetheless.
“Fine,” I scowl taking the swimsuit from Ruby.
I head over to the bathroom Stella and I share, grabbing a towel from the closet in the hallway and taking a quick shower. After I’m out, I head to my room to try on the black bikini and get ready for this so-called party. I really don’t want to go but at least I’ll be able to meet up with Damon and the guys. I’m fairly sure they’ve heard of the party by now. I put the bikini on and look in the full-length mirror on my closet door, admiring what I see in front of me. I must admit it fits me perfectly. I’m fairly small up top which makes the barely there top not look so revealing, and the high-rise bottoms make my ass look good. Like really good. They expose my hip bones and all the tattoos splattered across them, so I decide to slip on a new pair of jean cut-offs, slightly shorter than the pair from earlier. I take my wet hair out of the bun I pulled it into after coming out of the shower, and let it fall down my back, no use in doing anything to it. I finish off my look by applying some black mascara to my already fake looking lashes and a tinted red gloss on my perfect pout. Minimal effort but it’s pretty much all I need.
I was blessed with my mother’s beauty. Fortunately, the only thing I inherited from her. Lilith Steele is a natural beauty and has this somewhat exotic look to her. Dark brown hair, perfectly tanned, glowing skin, wide hazel-green eyes, and a perfect figure that comes from genetics because she has never worked out a day in her life and still maintains a perfectly toned body. I don’t know anything about her parents, my grandparents, but I can’t imagine they’re only American. She always reminded me of the supermodel Irina Shayk in her youth, that was before all the alcohol. Maybe we’re part Russian. However, last I saw her she looked more like an anorexic Angelina Jolie, still gorgeous but you can tell she’s no longer in her prime. She’s still young having had me at only seventeen but she’s lived a hard life, by choice. Thankfully, I’m still looking more like a young Irina, but unlike my mother, I have pasty white skin, not the glowing tan she carries, and my eyes are a deeper blue like my alleged father.
I’m nearly done getting ready when I hear a soft knock on my door.
“Come in,” I say, and Stella opens the door dressed in a light pink bikini with a white crochet cover up and tan wedge sandals.
“I have an extra pair of sandals. If you need them.” She holds up some cute black crisscross sandals, but I shake my head slipping into my VANS knockoffs.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just wear my sneakers.”
“The girls are ready when you are,” she adds, walking towards me. “You look great by the way, Scarlett. The bikini fits you perfectly. And your t
attoos make you look like a total badass. Carrington’s not gonna know what hit her, she’s gonna lose her shit when she sees you,” she says, clapping her hands like a giddy little girl.
I grab a black and blue plaid flannel and tie it around my waist in case it gets cold tonight. Not sure how long the party will go or if it’ll be indoors at all.
“Scarlett Steele, you look smoking hot, sister,” Jade says as Stella and I step into the living room.
“So do you, babe,” I say, walking over to where her and Ruby stand, both looking sexy as hell. Jade’s dark blonde hair is down in her natural loose curls. She’s applied a dark green eyeliner to her eyes, a pink lip gloss on her plumped lips, and is wearing jean cut-offs over her swimsuit as well.
Ruby stands by the counter in the small kitchen, pouring shots of Patron into four glass cups.
“Where’d you get the tequila?” I ask, leaning against the countertop. Her bright red bikini is slightly hidden behind her black shorts and mesh black top. Her lips are painted in their classic ruby red, and her winged liner elongates her already long almond shaped eyes.
“Part of our roomies’ little stash,” she says, nodding her head up at Stella as she hands us each a cup.
“Let’s get this party started,” says Jade, winking at us, raising her cup up in a toast.
“To new beginnings in this ritzy, pompous school full of egotistical pricks and snobby bitches,” adds Ruby, and we all laugh.
“Cheers,” we say as we head out of the quarter.
Outside the quarter, the halls are filled with girls in their barely-there bikinis, and ludicrous heels, all looking like they walked off the cover of Sports Illustrated, or better yet the Playboy mansion. We take the elevator down with a group of girls who’ve already had way too much to drink. They’re snapping selfies of themselves barely able to keep their eyes open, their snotty looks clearly showing distaste, but too afraid to say anything to us. When we exit the building, I’m relieved to see Drake, Kai, and Jax waiting for us at the front steps. The girls around us eye them wantonly but the guys keep their gazes glued on us.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 5
