Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
RILEY
There had been no word from Finn or my mom since the early hours of Tuesday when they reunited. Jax didn't seem bothered by it, but I was worried that Finn had killed her or locked her away somewhere.
We took a few days off school to recover, but by Thursday we decided it was time to return. My grades were already suffering and now on top of it I had to deal with the realities of being a creature that gouged out eyeballs and cut off dicks.
It was a lot easier to accept that I was a siren now. I had been in denial before, but now the cat was out of the bag. Or should I say the catfish?
I snorted as I climbed out of the front seat of Jax's SUV. He gave me a questioning look before shutting my door and grabbing my hand. Despite being close at homecoming and the bonfire over the past weeks, it was the first time we'd held hands in front of the masses.
Every eye in the parking lot was on us as we met with Blake, who took my other hand. My face felt like it was on fire, but I held my head high.
"Check out the cheaters with the murderer."
"What a shit show that is."
"I heard Morgan was under the influence of those pills when he crashed."
"Can you believe they are all together... like together, together?"
I glanced at Jax and his jaw was clenched so tight I was surprised his teeth didn't crack. I squeezed his hand as we walked through the gates and headed to my locker.
"Well, this is going to be fun." Blake leaned against the locker next to mine. "The best thing for us to do is not to react."
"Screw them," Jax bit out. "We own this school."
I shut my locker harder than intended, causing them to jump. "No, you don't. What did you expect? You surround yourself with people who are only friends with people who get them ahead in life."
"When this all blows over, they're going to be sorry they even dared to-" I put a finger against Jax's lips.
"We have bigger problems than worrying about a bunch of idiots." I moved my finger and gave him a quick peck. "I'll see you at lunch."
Blake took my hand again as we walked to English. "By the end of the day, I'm sure he's going to punch someone in the face."
I laughed. "Doesn't feel so good being on the other end of the bullying, does it?"
"It doesn't bother me." He opened the door for me, and I could tell from the look in his eyes that it did bother him.
Aiden was already in his seat, and I sat down next to him, bracing myself as he slowly turned to stare at me. I hadn't had a phone for a few days, so he only knew what Ivy had told him, which she had assured me hadn't been anything at all.
"Are one of you going to tell me what the hell is going on, or am I going to have to create a story in my head in which the Tritons kidnapped you and Ivy and took you to their sex dungeon for incredibly wild and crazy sex?" he yelled at me in a whisper and I couldn't help but smile.
"If that had happened, I can guarantee you, you would be the first to know." I looked across the room at Blake, who was staring at me, before I turned back to Aiden. "We just needed a few days to recover after Morgan's crash."
Aiden sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I don't believe you. Ivy looked wrecked yesterday, but she won't tell me anything."
Ivy and I had talked a few times on the phone since our lost-at-sea adventure, but she appeared to be dealing with the whole thing fine. "Wrecked as in she'd been in a sex dungeon or emotionally wrecked?"
"Emotionally." Aiden flipped open his notebook. "You know how unshakeable that girl is. To see her all emo is shocking."
Class started and I couldn't keep my mind off Ivy. Mr. Gale had sure done a number on her, and I couldn't fault her for feeling the way she felt. He had gotten into her head and made her go against everything she was; loyal.
"Riley?" Mrs. Williams called from across the room, putting the classroom phone down. I hadn't even heard it ring. "You're wanted in the office." I raised an eyebrow in question. "Mr. Gale would like to speak to you."
I nearly choked on my own spit hearing his name. I quickly glanced across the room as Blake gripped the edge of his desk before starting to pack up his stuff. I did the same, and Mrs. Williams didn't say a word as Blake followed me out of the room.
"What do you think he wants?" I tried to calm my voice, but it came out shaking anyway.
"I'm going to fucking kill him." Blake was clenching his fists at his sides.
We had both started talking at once and I forced out a laugh. "Let me go in and see what he says, and you can wait outside in case I need back-up."
"Absolutely not!" Blake grabbed the strap of my bag and pulled me to a stop. "He shot you and left you in the middle of the ocean to die!"
"I doubt he's going to do that here." I wasn't so sure of that. He was crazy, and I knew firsthand just how crazy my thoughts could get when I was upset or angry. "If you come in with me, he might not say anything important."
Blake let me go and continued walking, shaking his head. "I need to contact the admiral."
I had learned that tritons had a special number they could call that would transmit a message underwater to the recipient. It was a vital tool they had to communicate with each other when some of them were on land.
While he pulled out his phone as we neared the office, I steeled myself to face Mr. Gale. Whatever he was up to couldn't be good. He had the knife; what else could he possibly want?
Blake stayed out of sight as I walked into Mr. Gale's office and left the door open a crack. He was standing, staring out the window. Did he have the knife on him? Maybe I could knock him out and take it back.
He turned around with an unreadable expression on his face and then sat in his chair, gesturing for me to take a seat across from him.
"I'll stand." I put my hands on the back of a chair and tried not to squeeze it too hard. "What do you want?"
"You missed two days of school this week, Ms. Kline. It is a counselor's job to make sure the students in his charge are safe and accounted for." He folded his hands on the desk, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
I wanted to stab him with the staple remover sitting in his supply holder, but squeezed the back of the chair. If I'd had my knife, I'd simply have touched the hilt and not felt so stabby.
"You called me in here to mock me?" I narrowed my eyes at him, and his blue eyes sparkled. "What are you up to?"
"There seems to be a problem with the knife." He leaned back in his chair. "It doesn't work."
My stomach did a flip in victory, but then it quickly turned to dread. If it didn't work, that meant he would have no reason to keep it.
"Where's the knife?" I gritted my teeth as I squeezed the chair harder than intended. A crack formed in the plastic and I quickly let go with a gasp.
He laughed. "You know... I'm quite shocked you’re just now coming into your element. When I was your age, I was already basking in the benefits of our kind."
"You and I are nothing alike." I would never be like the monster across from me. "Answer my question."
"I can assure you the knife is perfectly safe." He turned to his computer and began clicking around. "You know, Ms. Kline, I'll be obligated to report your sudden drop in grades to any universities you are accepted into."
The door slammed open, bouncing off the wall. Blake was fuming as he came to stand next to me. "What the fuck do you want?"
"Ah. Mr. Huron." Mr. Gale looked like he was having a grand old time provoking us. "I didn't expect to see you until later at practice... oh, wait. That's right. You won't be there."
I lost it. I darted forward, ready to take his head and bash it into the desk. My previous lack of a violent bone in my body now was manifesting itself as murderous rage.
Blake grabbed me around the waist, and I growled.
"Woah. Feisty one you got there. Good thing there's three of you. How's Morgan, by the way?" Mr. Gale hadn't even flinched when I lunged for him. "Speaking of. I had Morgan's bike looked at by my mechanic. He said it had been tampered with. Such a shame."
Blake's grip around my waist tightened briefly and then he pushed me behind him. He put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, getting in Mr. Gale's face. "We will destroy you."
"There a problem in here?" Officer Thomas stopped in the doorway and put his hand on his gun. "Sir?"
I stared at Officer Thomas, who was becoming a pain in the ass. "Why don't you get your hand off your weapon, security?"
His nostrils flared, and he looked over my head at Mr. Gale and Blake, who were in an intense stare off. Blake finally pushed away from the desk and took my hand. Officer Thomas stepped out of the way and we heard Mr. Gale laughing as we walked away.
We still didn't know what he wanted.
I dropped my sandwich and chips on the lunch table and sat down with a huff. I was still fuming after what happened in the counselor's office, but at least now I had money to eat something other than a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.
"Well, hello to you too." Piper gave me an amused look and opened the container she had brought.
"Sorry." I gave her an apologetic smile. "It's been a stressful morning." I took a bite of my sandwich and resisted the urge to moan. Turkey, mayonnaise, and lettuce just hit the right spot.
"I told you, I'm not hungry." Ivy sat down next to me and glared at Aiden, who gave me a look that said, told you so. "Drop it, Aiden."
There was a moment of silence before Alex cleared his throat, drawing our attention away from Ivy scowling at Aiden.
"So, I heard the Tritons are no longer welcome in their circle of friends.
" Alex leaned forward after sitting down.
"Can you believe that? They thought they could walk on water, and clearly they can't."
I ripped open my bag of Takis and Ivy snorted. "Serves them right." She reached for my chips. "Can I have one? Maybe they will make me feel alive again."
"They'll make you feel something, especially since your tolerance for spicy is at negative ten Scoville." I laughed as she made a face after popping one in her mouth. "Don't be such a tuna."
"A tuna?" Aiden laughed. "That makes no sense."
"Sure it does. Tuna is the chicken of the sea." Jax slid into the seat next to me and our table went silent. "Hope you don't mind if we sit here."
"Not at all." I was already itching to put my hand on his thigh.
"We do." Ivy shot him a glare and then gave Blake the same look as he sat down next to Piper.
I wanted to hug Ivy but knew if I did, she would probably burst into tears. I saw it written all over her face. Instead, I took another bite of my sandwich.
"We can go sit somewhere else if it's going to be a problem." Blake shifted in his seat. "I guess what goes around comes around."
"Whatever." Ivy eyed the can of Coca Cola he had before snatching it. "I'll accept this as payment."
"So, we were thinking of having a dinner party tomorrow night since we aren't welcome at the bonfire.
" Jax filled the silence at the table as if it was the most natural thing in the world to him.
It wasn't a side of him I was used to seeing.
"Morgan is also going to be home from the hospital tomorrow. "
I sat up straighter and turned toward him. "I didn't know that."
Jax took a drink of some concoction in a water bottle. It was greenish, and it probably smelled like the ocean. "Just found out last period."
"You guys are now outcasts? Didn't you run the bonfire?" Alex looked skeptical. "I find it hard to believe all your friends just dropped you."
"Yeah. How do we know you aren't just over here to get juicy gossip to spread?" Santina looked over her shoulder at the Tritons’ old table that had welcomed the bitch squad back.
"You don't." Jax put his hand over mine right as I was going for another Taki. "But I care deeply for this woman and will never hurt her again."
My stomach flipped, and not because I was eating chips that were likely melting my internal organs. "Give them a chance. I know they've been assholes, but they've more than made up for it."
"So, they gave you the D?" Santina and the rest of the group laughed.
My face must have been super red because Ivy patted me on the back. "If one can't satisfy you, you have back-ups."
"Hey!" Jax and Blake both glared and then laughed with Ivy. I was hopeful that eventually everyone could get along, despite the past.
People could change for the better, just as people could also change for the worse. I hoped I wasn't the latter, but how could I not be? I was quick to anger now and found myself craving violence when the anger was boiling.
After lunch, Jax hung back and waited for everyone to leave. Officer Thomas had been watching our table the whole lunch period from across the room, and now that most of the students had cleared, he moved closer.
Jax lowered his voice and put his lips near my ear. "When my dad got here, Mr. Gale was gone. The front office and Officer Thomas said they hadn't seen him."
My eyes widened, and I quickly tried to hide my surprise from the prying eyes of who was obviously now on Mr. Gale's payroll, or at the very least, under his spell.
"What about his yacht and truck?" I stood after Jax and we threw away our trash before walking to the opposite side of the cafeteria.
"That's another thing... there is no record at the marina of that yacht ever being there, and when my dad contacted the company that made the yacht, they had no record of him or anyone with a similar name." Jax and I walked out of the cafeteria and ran right into my favorite group of girls.
"Shit." I took Jax's hand, which drew all of their attention as we tried to pass.
Melissa stepped into our path and crossed her arms. "Well, if it isn't the golden couple."
The other girls surprisingly took off, leaving us alone with Melissa. Officer Thomas was milling about inside the cafeteria, right by the doors.
"What do you want?" Jax shifted from one foot to another, his patience wearing thin. "We're getting too old for this catty bullshit, don't you think?"
"I have a message for you, Riley." Her eyes went blank and glossy as her hands went behind her back. "Help him or everyone around you will pay."
She pulled something from behind her. It flashed in the sun, and with one quick movement, it was in her stomach. Blood quickly spread across her shirt and her hands shook uncontrollably as she looked at us in panic.
Everything happened in a blur as Jax caught her before she hit the ground, Officer Thomas rushed out of the cafeteria, shouting into his walkie talkie. I stood back, feeling numb and helpless.
I heard the message loud and clear.