Three o'clock home time didn't come fast enough.
The afternoon sunlight bathed the golden bricked path beneath her in orange light and warmed Lilly’s cheeks. Her heavy navy-blue skirt fluttered around her shins with each stride she took in the direction of the main gate. Feeling self-conscious, she smoothed down her white blouse, muttering to herself, “This uniform is ridiculous.”
As Lilly entered the shadowy tunnel of a locker room, Scarlett fell in step beside her. It sure was great to see a familiar face, even if it was her tactless cousin.
“Hey, crazy.”
Memories of when she was a child etched themselves into the underside of her eyelids, psychologists pinning her down as she screamed and fought against the Shadows engulfing her. She could almost feel the blood creep down her wrists as she remembered the day her uncle Daine had snapped, shouting at her that Luke wasn’t real, that he hadn’t cut her – she’d done it to herself.
“Don’t call me that,” she requested with a frown.
Scarlett ignored her. “You should change your name to Lilith,” she said in that tone when she thought she had the best and most evil plan of them all. “And I should change mine to…”
Heaving a sigh, Lilly rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to be the devil.”
“Lilith was a demon, not the devil-”
“Hi,” a bright voice said.
Scarlett blinked, her mouth opened and closed soundlessly; she was appalled by the interruption and was tempted to carry on as though there wasn’t someone standing beside them. The two turned simultaneously to a bright eyed, mousy haired girl.
The profound way of asking someone to leave formed in Scarlett’s mind, but before it reached her lips, Lilly said, “Hey.” She could feel Scarlett’s glare burn into her.
“I’d just like to welcome you to our gracious school. Are you two sisters?” the girl’s head cocked to one side.
Lilly shook her head.
“Cousins,” Scarlett informed her with acid in her voice.
“Oh. I knew you must be related,” she smiled, revealing her perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. “What do you think of the school so far?”
“Uhm…” Lilly mumbled. “It’s, really, welcoming…?”
The girl nodded, as if she didn’t expect anything less. “I'm in your grade, I think you're in my science class tomorrow. It's a pity we didn't have any classes together today. Oh, I’m Ruthe by the way,” she offered a slender hand to shake.
“Yeah, hey. I’m Lilly,” Lilly made no move to touch her. She was thinking of ways to get the girl to leave before Scarlett snapped with anger.
Ruthe looked at Lilly’s hand disappointedly, then her eyes widened. “Oh, no, how did you get those scars? They look horrible.”
Scarlett reacted before Lilly did, sweeping in front of her cousin, her eyes flashing yellow. “Mind your own, you effing bible-shagger,” she growled.
Ruthe turned and left immediately. Scarlett had that effect on people. A lot.
Lilly stared down at those damn scars on her wrists, biting her lip. Every time someone asked about them, it drove a knife into her chest. What was she supposed to tell them? How can she explain it to them when she can’t even explain it to herself?
Scarlett’s glowing yellow eyes snapped her back to the present. Hair crept down Scarlett’s face and arms as she watched Ruthe go. Her hands were tight fists.
“Scarlett, chill,” Lilly cried, taking her cousin’s arm and shaking her. “You look like you’re about to wolf-out.”
“So what?” Scarlett shook her off with a sadistic smile. Though the hair was receding, through her parted lips Lilly could see the fangs of a wolf. “I should just morph and rip everyone here to shreds. Nosy bastards!”
It was sort of touching to see Scarlett get protective over her, but Lilly sensed it was more than just protecting the secrets of Lilly’s sanity, or lack of. The hatred ran deeper in Scarlett’s veins. Somehow Lilly’s cousin found a way to hate everything for anything, anything for everything.
“Come on, we've got an hour to kill before Daine gets here, let’s go find somewhere quiet,” Lilly suggested.
“Yeah,” Scarlett agreed bitterly. “Someplace we can make blood sacrifices to Satan… see how these stupid effing Christians like it.”
“My father was a Christian…” Lilly said absentmindedly.
“Yeah, and he’s dead. Our mothers are atheist, and they are alive.”
Lilly rolled her eyes. “I don’t think it works like that.”
Scarlett paused, narrowing her eyes as she stared into the distance. “Is that the brat?”
Lilly followed Scarlett’s fixed gaze to find her youngest brother grabbing a bigger kid from behind and throwing him into the wall.
“Why are the midgets always the psycho ones?” Scarlett muttered as the two began running towards the scene.
Kids gathered around the two boys, waiting for the fight to escalate. The kids both held their fists in front of them, ready to take each other out.
Battling the crowd, Lilly started towards her brother, but Scarlett held her back. “Let him smash the cunt,” she grinned.
“We can’t. You know we can’t. He’ll expose us. He’s still young; he can’t control it as good. Heck, even you were on the verge of morphing earlier.”
“Fine,” Scarlett snapped, releasing her.
“Jakob Blake!” Lilly roared.
He swore to himself. “He started it!”
Lilly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and marched him away.
“Get the hell off me!” Jakob’s cheeks burned red as people watched him being shepherded by his older sister. He swung out at her randomly, but she withstood the blows. One flailing skinny arm caught that of a passer-by, and the phone his gaze was fixed to was knocked from his grasp. Lilly gasped.
The bloke cursed, ducking down to grab his iPhone. His light-brown hair was ruffled as though the day was windy and his square jaw was dusted with stubble. His brown eyes were open and friendly as he turned to them. “Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly as though it was his fault.
Jakob started towards him, but was hindered by Lilly’s sharp grip on his shoulder. He was grinning now, reaching towards the guy like he wanted to start a fight with him, too. “Please excuse my brother, he’s living proof humans can survive without a brain.”
The guy cracked a grin, the contagious kind that even Lilly caught. “It’s ok, my phone survived. Hey, I’m Brendon, it’s good to see some fresh blood in this place. It gets kinda quiet, you know?”
With the hectic day Lilly had, she couldn’t see how the school could ever be described as quiet. “Yeah, well you should’ve seen my old school.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes sparkled with interest. “What’s your story, new kid?”
“Uh...” was all Lilly got to say, because then the dark haired boy from earlier strode into her peripheral vision. She turned to watch him as he approached them, bringing with him an aura of dread. If it could, her soul would've recoiled from the feelings running through his vein with every beat of his scarred heart.
“Brendon, my man,” he slung a lean arm around Brendon’s shoulder. “I see you’ve met little Lilly.” He stared straight into Lilly’s eyes as he spoke, the intensity of his hazel irises unreal.
“Yeah...” Brendon said with an air of confusion.
“Hey,” Lilly scowled. “I’m not little.”
He frowned, staring straight down into her eyes, and said bluntly, “Yes, you are.”
“Oooohh,” Jake said like a commentator. “Shit’s gonna go down!”
“When you get to the men’s room, you will see a sign that says ‘Gentlemen’.” Lilly’s voice was taught, “Pay no heed to it - go right on in.”
“Oh, snap,” Brendon cawed. “You just got owned by a midget!”
Lilly grinned, slapping Brendon’s outstretched palm.
“Oh, so when I use the politically correct term, ‘little people’, I get insulted, but when he calls you a midget, he gets a high-five? That’s favouritism!” the guy declared with mock-offence.
“Deal with it.” Lilly poked her tongue out.
He folded his arms. “K then.”
“Anyways... I gotta go... bye, Brendon," she gave him a smile. A real, honest to god smile. It felt like the first time in ages.
Brendon smiled back. “See ya Lilly!”
“What, I don’t get a goodbye?” said the other lad.
Even Lilly couldn’t tell if he was being teasing or sulky. “Nup.” She and Jake followed the stream of students meandering out the front gate, beginning to search for Daniel and Scarlett. A hand tightened around hers. She was jerked to face the dark haired boy.
“That’s kinda rude,” he said. His gentle tone was contradicting to his tight grip and sharp, demanding eyes. They were like a hawk’s – a kind nurturer but vicious hunter.
“S’cuse you? I don’t even know you’re name.”
He blinked, releasing her hand. “Jordon Alexander Carter. But, just call me Jace.”
“Jordan, you got a classy name.”
“Jace, please,” Jordan shifted uncomfortably, reminding Lilly of Daine’s objection to his real name.
“Where I come from, nick names are for friends. You aren’t my friend," she clarified.
“Well aren’t you nice."
She pretended to be oblivious to the meaning of sarcasm. “You say that in such a way it causes me to think you don’t really mean it...”
A long pause stretched between them. “Do you have a facebook?”
“Who doesn’t have a facebook?” she scoffed.
“Add me,” he commanded.
Lilly folded her arms across her chest. “Make me.”
“Oh come on, I wanna be friends.”
“Facebook friends, or real friends? ‘Cause for real friends you need real socialisation skills. And I’m not sure if either of us has that.”
“You seemed to be socialising just fine with Brendon,” he muttered. And was that jealousy in his tone?
“Look, dude, I don’t know what your problem is, or if you’re, like, mentally disabled, but leave me alone, ‘cause you’re creeping me out.”
“God,” he spat just as Scarlett pulled up, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. “All you Blake girls are the same.”
He sauntered away, a pillar of anger and spite flitting through the cheery crowd of church-goers. She could feel the anguish around him growing distant as he did, all the misery she’d tried to block out when he was so close. Whatever had caused him so much pain in his past made him now untouchable, like a ball of spikes or an electric fence, she did not want to be near him.
“I think you hurt his feeling,” said Jakob as he watched Jace go.
“Hurt his feelings?” Lilly repeated. “That guy is messed up.”
“He likes you.”
“Shut up, kid,” she snapped, sinking to a bench to wait for their uncle.
“Yes mam, sorry mam, don’t hit me again mam…”
Gender:
Points: 0
Reviews: 10