Soren (Saint Valley #1)

Chapter 1

ONE

The darkness of the night soothes my skin. The fall wind causes goosebumps to prickle all over my skin, and as I take a big inhale of the cigarette, letting the nicotine into my lungs. The feeling of ease is instant, a grey cloud of smoke leaving my lips.

I tighten the silk robes around my body, trying to lessen the cold. It seeps through the thin material, right into my bones. With a deep breath, I lean against the railings, observing the grounds of the academy.

Saint Valley Academy has always been the prettiest at night.

The entirety of the property is lit up by a soft, dark yellow light that casts an almost mysterious glow to the spot where the students usually spend their free time.

The front of the academy is filled with wooden benches and tables, and a beautiful garden of roses that is picture-worthy in the spring.

Across from the girls dormitory is the boys’ dorms, both buildings mirroring each other. On the left side of the grounds is the school itself, which has some amphitheaters, a library that takes up the entirety of the top floor, and classrooms that are straight out of a nerd’s wet dream.

Me. I’m the nerd.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” a voice comes from behind me, and I flinch, nearly dropping the cigarette. With a sigh, I take another sharp intake of the nicotine, turning around to the familiar face of my closest friend, Avalon.

“I can handle it,” I release another stream of the grey smoke, watching as it disappears slowly into the air. “Why’re you up, anyway? Your bedtime was ages ago.”

Avalon rolls her eyes, taking a couple of steps forward, until she’s standing right next to me, watching the sky carefully. “I couldn’t sleep. The exams start tomorrow, and I’m worried.”

“Did you not study?”

“I did,” she defends, crossing her arms. “But not everyone is a genius like you, Soph.”

“I’m not a genius,” I snort. “I mean, I wish I were, but unfortunately, all the good grades are just a result of my hard work.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Avalon yawns, waving her hand dismissively. “But, aren’t you excited? This is our last year here. You and Soren will be fighting for the top student spot again, no doubt.”

As soon as that name leaves her lips, I scowl. Avalon snickers at the expression on my face, and I suppress the urge to strangle her right here and now. The topic is rather sensitive, and I’d prefer never to hear that stupid name again.

“There’s nothing to fight over,” I take the last drag of my cigarette, before putting it out against the metal railing and pocketing the bud to toss out later — because I hate littering almost as much as I hate Soren. “I’m the best, and the bastard will find that out soon enough.”

Avalon rolls her eyes while laughing. “You two are impossible. Every semester it’s the same old story, Sophia and Soren racing to see who can get the highest grades.”

“To be fair, I’m winning thus far. I’ve been at the top of our year for four semesters.”

“Not in a row though,” Avalon points out. “Meaning, if he beats you this time and last semester, you will be tied.”

“Tying with him is worse than losing,” I hiss. “But it won’t happen. Soren skipped way too many classes last year. I doubt he’ll be prepared for what’s coming.”

“Don’t tell me you spent your entire summer preparing for the exams that we’re taking, studying a whole year’s worth of material; over the course of three months… again?”

I smile sheepishly.

“You did, didn’t you?” Avalon deadpans. “Is that why you’ve been so hard to reach this entire summer?”

“Maybe,” I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “But I also had a lot of things to do. You know how my parents are.”

“Oh, sweetcheeks, it must be so hard being you,” she mocks. “Having a family that’s sitting on billions of dollars, not having to lift a finger in your entire life?”

“I’ll have you know… I do lift my finger.”

“When?” She lifts a brow. “When summoning your maids and butler?”

“Alright, that was funny,” I chuckle. “But, my father won’t just hand over the business to me if I’m incompetent, you know. I have to learn a lot, and I spent the entire summer being dragged around with him.”

“Business meetings?”

I nod. “More or less.”

“But what about your brother?”

“Everything will be getting split between us, equally.”

“Damn,” she mutters. “Are your parents looking to adopt a third kid?”

My parents, Valeria and Jason, come from old money. They’re in the oil industry, but in the recent decade, they also opened up different restaurant chains all across the United States. Given the success of their business, next year, they’re expanding their branches into Europe as well.

“Nah, they were done as soon as they were graced with a perfect kid,” I grin, and Avalon smacks the back of my head.

“God, I wish I were rich.”

“You will be,” I smile. “I know it.”

She rolls her eyes, then flips me off. “Right.”

Saint Valley Academy is one of the most prestigious private schools in the world.

They have elementary, middle school, high school, and the academy, which is the university.

Each year, only seventy students from all over the world are accepted into the program, as well as two scholarship students.

In my year, one of them was Avalon. The tuition itself for the school is over a hundred thousand a year, which is why it’s seen as unreachable by most people.

I attended Saint Valley for both middle and high school, and since I had perfect grades, I passed the entrance exams with flying colors. My parents, and even my grandparents, went to Saint Valley; it was only natural that my brother, Sawyer and I would follow in their footsteps.

“Hey,” Avalon turns to face me, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Since you’ve been too busy nerding out, I take it you didn’t hear the latest bit of gossip?”

My ears perk, and I’m immediately intrigued. “No? What gossip?”

“Apparently, a certain someone is fucking one of the teachers.”

My eyes bulge, almost falling right out of the sockets. “You mean Soren?!”

Avalon nods enthusiastically. “Yup! And get this, if we’re trusting the word going around, it’s getting serious.”

“No,” I gasp. “Listen, I need proof of this.”

Avalon nods. “I’ll try getting it. Are you going to blackmail him?”

I shrug. “I haven’t decided yet. Soren’s been… too quiet as of late. I don’t like that at all.”

Chills run down my body at the mere thought of what the bastard might be up to.

The two of us met in middle school, and have hated each other since.

His parents are also in the oil industry, and the two companies are always competing with each other for first place.

Well, the competitiveness transferred to us, too.

It was when we were twelve that things really started going south.

He cut my hair during recess from waist length to a bob because I scored higher than him on our English exam.

Well, twelve-year-old Sophia didn’t like that at all.

So, I took a pen and stabbed it into his hand — I think he still has the scar.

It only got worse from there. Soren would pick on me, and I’d pick on him right back. It all died down at one point during our high school years because he got himself a girlfriend, so he was busy. Once they broke up, he went right back to tormenting me. The older we get, the worse it becomes.

He often spreads rumors, fucks with my assignments, and once he even slammed me into the lockers for looking at him the wrong way.

To be fair, I was glaring at him, but it didn’t warrant violence.

It seemed as though that was the trigger for everything because after that incident, we started fighting physically, too.

My father put me into boxing classes, so I’d be able to defend myself.

Soren is taller than me by a lot, and obviously, a lot stronger, too.

However, I don’t think he anticipated that I’d be able to fight back.

He probably expected me to lay down and take it — but I didn’t. My pride would never let me.

Once Soren realized I was not like his usual victims, he backed off. Well, physically at least. But not before he broke my nose, and I knocked his front tooth out. Now, he has a fake one, and I have a better nose. Thank god for cosmetic surgeons.

“But why has the son of a bitch been so quiet?” I ask, walking back into our dorm.

Each dorm houses two people, spacious, with matching furniture on each side.

Avalon’s been my dorm mate since our first year, and we have a lot of fun together.

I flop on my bed, taking the stuffed animal I brought with me, hugging it on my lap. “It makes no sense.”

Avalon lifts a brow, half-curious, half-amused. “Isn’t that a good thing? It means he’s too busy with his new girlfriend to bother you.”

I pause to think. Something gnaws at me on the inside, and although it would be the second time he’s backed off because he’s in a relationship, something feels different. A chilling sensation spreads through my body, and for whatever reason, I just know Soren’s not done tormenting me.

Not by a long shot.

◆◆◆

A yawn slips out as I roll over on to my side, glancing at the clock on the bedside table.

It’s seven in the morning, and my alarm hasn’t gone off yet.

I’ve spent the past two weeks working my ass off during the exams. I had seven in total, and they’re announcing the results today, after breakfast. With a sigh, I push myself into a sitting position, stretch and walk into the bathroom to take a shower.

Avalon’s missing again. It’s something she’s been doing since the beginning of the year and although I am curious, I’ve yet to start questioning her about it. She’s a grown ass adult, she can do as she pleases, but it worries me.