One
SCARLETT
P resent Day
In life three things are certain. There are friends, there is family, and then there are those friends that become so much more than family.
In our previous lives we had no friends or family. Now we have our crew.
The foster home they brought my sister Jade and I to three years ago turned out to be the best damn thing to happen to us. For starters, here we had the freedom to do whatever the hell we wanted, and although we may have had that back in Providence, here we also found our real family.
The Grayson’s foster children, Damon Drake, Malachi Saint, and Jaxon Wylde have become like brothers to us. Hell, even Ruby Drake, who I can hardly stand, is just a bitchier version of Jade. Then there’s Mrs. Grayson and her wife Mrs. Sarah who are like two sweet overbearing grandmothers who smother you every time they come to visit .
Today’s our last day of summer vacation before entering our senior year of high school at Pleasant Hills High. To celebrate this accomplishment, which apparently isn’t always a guarantee in their line of work, Mrs. Grayson has planned a BBQ. Most kids in Pleasant Hills don’t make it this far before being lost to gangs, drugs, prison, or worse, death.
For three years we’ve been free of the toxic influence of my mother and Chaz, and I for one couldn’t be more grateful. Since most of us are the oldest kids now, all being the same age, 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, sweat clad from my run early this morning, while waiting for Jade to finish her shower. She better not finish the hot water. As for Ruby… well, she’s probably off somewhere making out with Jaxon. Standing in my cheeky underwear, my back to our bedroom door, I pull a pair of jean cut-off shorts from my dresser, not realizing the door has flung open.
“My how the Gods have been good to you, Scar,” Malachi groans as he stands under the doorway gawking lasciviously at me. His light brown hair sits in messy curls atop his head, while his white shirt, which is buttoned only halfway, reveals his tanned and toned chest. Kai, who has become one of my best friends, has that boy next door charm perfectly disguising his less than perfect interior. Being raised by his dad and his handsy stepmom, they brought Kai to the foster home after nearly beating his dad’s girlfriend to death when she tried to lay her dirty hands on him when he was eleven. Boy is twisted six ways to Sunday, but his sadistic demons hide behind the gorgeous, saintly facade he wears so well.
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,” he says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
“Who is it?” I ask curiously but also a bit terrified by memories of the last time a stranger visited me.
“Didn’t you hear me say unexpected visitor? By the way, my boy Drake is looking for you. When are you finally gonna let the poor lad have at it babe?”
I throw another pillow, missing him again which only makes him laugh harder.
Drake, as in Damon “Dragon” Drake, my best friend and newly minted 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, who’s made it her mission to hate me, feelings mutual by the way, but their relationship is untouchable. They’ve been at the foster home since their drug addict mother died when they were only six years old, and Drake’s always been there to protect his little sister from everything and everyone, similar to how I’ve always looked out for Jade even if we’re the same age.
However, Kai and Jaxon have been trying to get us to hook up for the longest time, letting us know that the sexual tension between us is seriously messing with their heads.
Little do they know we have been hooking up for the last three months.
I slip into my pair of cut-offs and a black ribbed crop top that’s definitely seen better days, realizing I won’t have enough time for a shower of my own. The West Coast heat is no joke this time of year so I figure I’ll just get sweaty again.
Brushing through my long black hair I decide to leave it down, adding some hair product for added volume at the roots. I turn back just as Jade steps out of the bathroom, 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 as she walks toward me.
I ignore her rolling my eyes, but well, she’s not wrong. I have been putting a bit more effort into my appearance when parading around the house, swapping my old sweats for shorts and crop tops.
“Grayson and Sarah want us down in twenty minutes. Apparently, someone’s coming over,” I tell her, as I swipe some mascara on my already fake looking lashes and apply a cherry-flavored lip gloss to my lips. “I’ll see ya downstairs,” I add, exiting our bedroom.
“Go get him, tiger,” I hear her yell, just 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. They’re all lost in conversation, but Kai immediately spots me, lifting his head and pointing to where Drake is waiting on me. Passing Jax on my way toward the back door that leads to the small space behind the house, I hear him whistle causing the others to laugh. Smacking him on the head, I keep walking and ignore their catcalls and comments flipping them off behind my back.
As soon as I step out onto the back porch, I immediately spot Drake sitting on the brick wall that separates the yard from the train tracks behind us, a cloud of smoke overhead. His ink black hair is a tousled mess and slightly overgrown, but still looks badass, and his tattoos, which he began collecting just before I first arrived at the house, nearly cover his whole back, arms, chest, and neck. of the older guys, Kayden, had scored a tattoo gun and would get ink delivered by his uncle every so often. He’s the reason his body is covered in black ink .
I walk toward him and climb up on the wall beside him, but he doesn’t react to my presence. He sits still, staring at the tracks before him, wordlessly handing 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 giving a shit. 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, still not bothering to look my way.
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’s 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 and dubbed the richest town on the West Coast kept hidden behind steel gates.
“What does someone from there have to do with us?”
His green eyes darken as his gaze traces over my exposed midriff and toned thighs as he finally turns to face me. “That’s the million-dollar question, Princess.”
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 since technically I’d 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 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 about what others thought of me and spent too long caring about saving the nonexistent relationship with my mother, which obviously was a lost cause from the start.
I knew that if these kids wouldn’t 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 for us to get off our asses and to the living room now .
Hopping off the wall and stepping on the cigarette butt, I follow Drake back into the house to find Kai, Jax, Ruby, and Jade sitting 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 at me with terror etched into her green eyes. As we approach, Grayson stands and the man beside her follows slowly turning his head 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 amused gaze follows my movements as I continue over to sit on the couch next to Jade, Drake following and sitting on the armrest beside me.
“Yes, now everyone is here,” Grayson says in an anxious tone I've never heard before.
“And what exactly are we here for?” Drake blurts out, eyeing the man suspiciously.
His question causes a deep chuckle to leave Mr. Suit’s lips. “Eager young man, Mr. Drake,” he responds, “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 as he says his name. Servite , just like the agent who came to us looking for Chaz and my mother years ago. My mind takes me back to that morning and the way the air in the room felt eerily grim as he sat before us, watching us with hatred in his eyes, but my thoughts are interrupted as Mr. Servite continues to speak.
“This is Agent Wesley Servite, my brother, former Chief of Hillcrest Police Department, and the current head of security and defense at Servite Academy.”
No! I yell internally as I squeeze Jade’s hand. Beside me Drake notices the shift in my demeanor and sits up straighter, placing a hand protectively on my shoulder. A man I hadn’t noticed standing in the hallway emerges walking toward us. Disbelief consumes me as the same man who threatened us the day they came looking for Chaz and my mother, stands before me.
He looks exactly as I remember him, only a slight stubble on his chin making him appear slightly older, but those eyes, I’d remember them always. They haunted my dreams for months after his arrival.
Agent Servite eyes me wantonly, his crass blue eyes looking straight through me, making me shiver, frightened. Looking between the two men I realize their resemblance is uncanny, only Warren obviously at least ten years older with his smidge of graying hair.
Warren Servite Stands beside his brother. “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 most prestigious academies 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?” Kai blurts out, mocking them.
Warren doesn’t react to his insolent comment. “Actually, that’s the problem, Mr. St. Germain.”
Kai’s eyebrows furrow as rage takes over his playful expression. “It’s just Saint,” he sneers, correcting him, having chosen to drop his father’s last name when he arrived at the Grayson’s.
That causes the tension in the room to rise, the earlier feelings of confusion now shifting to anger. “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. I immediately regret it the moment Agent Servite’s lips curve up into a sinister grin.
“That is the burning question, is it not, Miss Steele?” Agent Servite says smirking at me.
“What we want is for the six of you to attend our academy,” Warren adds, interrupting his brother and causing the six of us to laugh hysterically.
Drake is the first to speak. “This must be some kind of sick joke.”
Warren’s lips form a tight line as he glares at us clearly offended by our laughing. “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 nonchalantly, rolling her eyes at the two men before us .
Both their eyes glaze over with some sick desire as they shift their attention to Ruby. “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 mediocre town. The students and faculty of Servite Academy are eager for you to join our school.”
“That’ll be a hard pass, sir,” Drake says, standing up from his seat beside me, but not releasing his hold on my shoulder. “We may be poor orphans, troubled, or whatever you want to call us, but make no mistake. We won’t be pushed around by a bunch of privileged jackasses and prissy beauty queens. We’ve seen the type 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 attend 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 move into one of Servite Academy’s boarding houses. We shall give you thirty minutes to gather your belongings as I will escort you to Servite Academy, today.”
Just 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,” Warren says, as he gets up and heads toward the front door, Grayson and Sarah following closely behind him.
The six of us eye Agent Servite who casually takes a seat where his brother just was eyeing warningly. “What are you waiting for? I said we would leave in thirty minutes.”
We all reluctantly get up and head upstairs to our rooms to pack up for the inevitable. We’re going to Servite Academy, whether or not we like it.
“This is bullshit!” Jade hisses as we enter our bedroom, slamming the door against the wall and making it vibrate violently on its hinges. “They can’t honestly think we are going to go through with this.”
Although I one hundred percent agree with her, I know there’s no point in fighting their decision. “You heard the asshole. We can’t stay here anymore. Where else are we going to go Jade? We’re seventeen, still property of the state as far as they’re concerned,” I mutter back to her, resigned to our new fate.
Jade crosses her hands over her chest and frowns when I pick up the suitcase and throw it on my bed, pulling my clothes out of my drawers. “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,” she says, refusing to pack her own things.
Ruby opens the door and walks straight in toward her side of the room not bothering to acknowledge us. “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.” Jade and I eye her warily as she sits back on her bed with her arms folded against her chest and glares in our direction.
Jade scoffs, not able to bite her tongue and ignore her. “You say that as if they’d accept you, Dragon Bitch,” she spits out, calling Ruby by her nickname. Damon and Ruby Drake, i.e., the Dragon Twins, or how we like to call her, Dragon Bitch .
Ruby turns around rolling her eyes at Jade as she stands 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 a beautiful shade emerald green, and a feisty attitude to match all the fire flowing inside of her. This 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 any day, yet somehow, we’re one and the same.
“Not all of us are trash like the two of you,” Ruby sneers, lowering her eyes in annoyance.
“Says the orphaned whore,” I blurt out, almost regretting it instantly. Almost.
But Ruby keeps her composure, not letting her anger at my comment show. “That’s a low blow, Scarlett, even for you. Might I remind you we’re all orphans here.”
My anger boils to the surface, not only from the way she’s acting, but from this whole fucked up situation. “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 we don’t belong there but whether or not you like it, 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?” Jaxon says as he walks in and stalks over toward Ruby’s side.
Jaxon’s dark brown hair, big hazel eyes, and slight stubble on his angular jawline make 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. The hard life has a way of sucking the life right out of you.
At only seventeen we are all wise beyond our years and it shows. However, unlike his two brothers , Jax is a breath of fresh air. His laid back, carefree attitude is refreshing after being around neurotic Drake and cynical Kai. How he’s 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 the last of my jeans into the suitcase.
Jax pouts turning to her. “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 and he steps further into our room.
Ruby pushes Jax off of her as she takes three steps toward her brother. “Oh shut it, Drake. You know Jax and I have been fucking since the beginning of summer, so stop acting like you have a say in what I do,” she sneers, 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 just 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 doing the same thing. “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,” Grayson mutters as she enters the room with a solemn look in her eyes. “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 attitudes and feistiness.” She pauses, looking unsure of what to say next.
“You won’t fit in there. Those spoiled rich kids will make your lives a living hell, but I want you all to promise me one thing. You’ll show those pricks that you kids are from Pleasant Hills, and here, we are family and we don’t take no bullshit. We are Graysons, we stand together, and nothing, or no one tears us down.”