Falling for A Lie (The Lords And Ladies Of Ash #1)

1. Radley Ashford

Freshman Year of High School

“ S top running, boy!”

“Where are you going, big boy?”

“We wanna talk to you!”

The taunting follows me as I take a sharp turn, trying to reach my brother’s classroom.

I cannot defend myself against these six seniors who are out to get me.

All because their friend’s girlfriend approached me this morning and gave me her phone number without me asking.

I’m clueless about her reason for coming to me initially.

I don’t seem like someone you’d approach, mainly when my brother and friends are around.

We are your typical social rejects and don’t adhere to social norms.

I am a nerd like my older brother, Drake.

We were raised in a Southern Baptist home, with a father who threatened to beat the gay out of me when I was eight and asked for a Barbie instead of the typical G.I Joe action figure.

He said no son of his would grow up to be a weak little bitch and that eight years old was the correct age to teach such a viable lesson.

So it can be corrected before it spreads like a virus through my mind, ruining my soul and damning me to eternal damnation.

He beat me so badly that day that I had to stay out of school for three weeks until my six broken ribs and wrist healed.

Mom tried to help me, but it only led to her getting beat as well for interfering with him teaching me how to be a man.

Truth be told, the only reason I wanted the fucking doll in the first place was because she was a scientist, and that was something I wanted to grow up to be.

Looking back now, it's insane to think that the same man who said that to me was also the same man that was found fucking his oldest choir boy while the congregation gathered in the mess hall for lunch.

We only caught them because Alec Michealson was too loud, and the moaning echoed through the church for all to hear.

He called him Mary when my mother and the other church members walked in.

Karma was delivered that day.

It was comical watching Alec’s father deck my dad so hard that he broke the cross behind him when he crashed into it, limp dick out and all.

Since then, I have refused to let his words affect me.

He was refusing to practice what he preached.

He was a hypocrite.

Soon after, he threatened to kill himself, and that had my mother stupidly staying with him.

It wasn’t until last year that they both got into a fatal car crash that killed both of them and the couple in the opposite car.

Losing my mother was single-handedly the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my whole fifteen years of living, and it inevitably broke a part of me that could never be repaired.

My mother was my biggest supporter, other than my brother. She cheered me on at each of my football games and loved me unconditionally. I lost a piece of my heart that day.

The Lords and Ladies of Ash decided that we would go to my mother's best friend, Scarlett, after their passing.

They said that we would one day be a valuable asset that couldn't be placed into the foster care system to be lost amongst the other broken kids.

Luckily, Scarlett has a son who is Drake’s age, Caden, so she knows what it would involve to care for boys our age.

Getting our inheritance offered her the cushion she would need to support us without her having to struggle.

Yelling behind me takes me out of my thoughts and back to the present moment.

As I round the corner, I almost tip and fall head-first down the stairs to the second floor, where my brother is.

I take the steps two at a time and keep pace as I run to safety.

Reaching the bottom step, I bum-rush the door, nearly ripping it off the hinges.

I frantically look around for my brother.

My eyes land on him, sitting beside the prettiest girl I've ever seen.

Slightly taken aback, I gave the seniors who were chasing me the opportunity they needed to pounce on my small, one-hundred-and-forty-pound frame.

My face smacks into the unforgiving ground as the students scatter like roaches, and I'm taking swift kicks and wild punches to my face, ribs, and groin.

I groan as I try to cover my face from getting hit and listen to my brother trying to fight through the crowd to get to me, but it’s six against one now that I’m down.

What a fucking situation I have found my fucking self in.

I look up just in time to see my brother get knocked down.

The girl that was sitting beside him when I first entered holds up a folding chair and swings it, knocking two of the jocks straight onto their asses.

She appears like a vengeful angel, prepared to seek retribution against those who have harmed her.

The voice that follows echoes through the room, sending shivers down my spine and leaving me breathless.

“Keep fucking around, and you’ll end up like those two.”

She warns with a sharpness in her tone.

Her head slowly tilts toward the two boys, their bodies sprawled on the floor beside Drake.

The room is filled with the scent of blood, a metallic tang that lingers in the air.

The sound of their moans and cries blends with the creaking of the chair beneath me as if begging me to seek solace in its embrace.

The scene is a chaotic symphony of pain and fear, making me feel both nauseous and on edge.

“Here, take my hand, and I’m Soren, by the way.

I’m assuming you’re Radley? Drake talks about you all the time.”

She smiles gently at me, holding her hand out to help me to my feet.

The other boys drag their friends out of the room, promising to get her expelled for hitting the counselor's son.

The other students scatter outside to watch them struggle, pulling their friends down the hallway and leaving the three of us alone.

“Fuck,”

I spit out, groaning as the movement to grasp her hand causes my broken rib to shift under my skin.

With how tight I grabbed her hand, I’m sure there will be a bruise that I will be apologizing for later.

I haven’t felt like I’m being ripped from the inside out in a long while, and I fucking hurt.

Smiling, she guides me to a chair before assisting Drake to his feet.

“Thank you, and yes, I’m Radley.

I’m sorry if this gets you in trouble, Soren.”

I say as shame reddens my cheeks.

I try to avoid her bright blue eyes that could bring a lesser man down to his knees, but she has me locked in a trance .

“Don't worry about it, I'll be okay.

Just try to stay clear of the jocks and cheerleaders that try to make their boyfriend of the week jealous, and this shouldn't happen again.”

Soren replies with a sweet smile gracing her lips, and her voice is soft and breathless from the fight as she warns me.

She softly touches my shoulders before moving to Drake, hesitantly cradling his face in her hands as if hesitant to show him the same affection she did with me.

Jealousy grips me, sending a feeling of nausea through my body.

The softness of her voice compels me to shut my eyes and savor every moment.

“Are you okay? Above your eye is bleeding, Drake.”

She says, her voice laced with concern.

“I'm fine, Ren.

It's just a slight cut,”

Drake mumbles, placing his hand on his busted lip and the gash across his eyebrow.

He frowns at her for coddling him.

A soft smack on his shoulder follows as she lets out a laugh that has me shifting in my seat, trying to hide the bulge in my pants.

“Come on, now. Let's get you and Rambo to the nurse to get checked out.”

She reaches for him, snatching his hand into hers without waiting for his permission.

She drags him to where I sit, slumped slightly over to keep the pressure off my side.

She holds her opposite hand out, waiting for me to take it into mine again, and I do without a second thought.

What a beautiful spitfire this black-haired bombshell has turned out to be.

I chuckle at the nickname, instantly regretting my decision and wishing I could crawl into myself to die, as the pain makes me want to throw up the lunch I ate an hour ago.

We slowly make our way out of the classroom, and like a guiding light, she leads us to the nurse's office for evaluation.

Once we’re inside, and she partially explains what happened, she heads toward the exit.

“Get better soon, guys.”

She says, offering a small wave as she walks out the door.

Drake and I sheepishly wave goodbye, committing to a silent promise we know we can't keep: staying out of trouble.

The look on my brother's face reveals that I'm not the only one affected by the beauty hiding among monsters in prep school uniforms.

What a weird turn of events today has turned out to be.

I pray this will not be the only time I enjoy the presence of Soren.

When I’m near her, she soothes a piece of my soul that she just took with her when she left.