CALEB
I Waited for hours.
I stood outside, hidden in the shadows outside her room for what felt like an eternity. An eternity of fucking torture, while I waited for Flick the prick to shut the fuck up and pass out. Who knew such a quiet nerd could drone on and on about the most irrelevant shit. I almost fell asleep standing up just listening to her monotone voice dragging on forever.
I’ll be honest. I was more surprised about Phoenix. Regardless of how boring Flick can be, Phoenix continued to listen to her new friend, nodding and agreeing like every word she uttered was gospel. Some might choose to believe this was Phoenix’s way of blending in; being polite. However, people like me saw how the Braxton brat likes to hold her own. My guess is, if she didn't want to listen to Flick then she would have had the balls to tell her as much.
Something tells me she doesn't have a problem with anyone else. No, her problem is with me, and me alone. But that’s cool. I can wait it out and she’ll soon realize I’m not her biggest fan either.
Finally, the room falls silent, and I make my move. I open the door with ease, the rotten wood groaning out in protest. Casting my eyes toward the drawers I take in the two empty bottles and a sense of victory courses through my veins. I didn't want to incorporate Flick into my plans, but seeing how she is up Phoenix's ass, I didn't have any other choice.
I need to get closer to the Braxton brat. I thought I’d be able to keep my distance, the way I've done so far. I've managed the easy task for years, but I didn't plan for seeing her face to face-in the flesh. Shes so much more captivating one on one, awakening all kinds of foreign feelings deep within me. Foreign and totally unwanted emotions. A deadly distraction I don't need. But after my showdown with her earlier in the Great Hall my curiosity got the better of me, and here I am. Unable to leave her alone. Doing the unthinkable, I'm allowing my emotions to rule my head, making me act and think out of character.
I haven't been able to think of anything but Phoenix since she stood up to me at dinner. She got me so fucking hard—solid as a motherfucking rock when she opened that smart ass mouth of hers. Wild and free. Zero fucks given.
Dane wasn't wrong.
Casting my eyes toward her small rickety bed, nothing but a thin sheet covering her body, I can't help but wonder if being down in the sewers is the right place for her. Phoenix has proven today that she’s a liability. She doesn't ebb and flow. Refusing to stay in line with the rest of the school. Breaking rules and choosing to do things her way—but thats not how things roll at Stonebrooke.
No, Phoenix is her own vibe. Marching to the beat of her own drum, and that isn't going to work for me. Phoenix doesn't shrink into the shadows like the others. Instead, she stands tall, basking in her own heated flames, ready to rise again just like her name's sake.
I take two steps toward her before my large frame is towering over her weak, vulnerable body and I waste no time drinking her in. Committing her to memory. She’s so much more than I imagined. And much more problematic too.
Phoenix has become a major flaw in my plan.
Derailing everything I’d already set in motion. And now I’m going to have to start over.
Before I can stop myself, my hand reaches out, my calloused fingers tracing the sharp structure of her jaw. So small and fragile. I could break it easily, already visualizing it. Imagining the sound of her bones crunching under my touch.
"What the fuck am I going to do with you?" I call out to the darkness, knowing neither of them can hear me. "Why did you have to turn up here? Why did you have to go and ruin it all?" My voice fills the air around us, the heat of my breath visible against the cold, damp air.
Her pale skin is cold and clammy under my heated touch as she falls deeper, succumbing to the darkness, drifting further into the unknown, away from her reality.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon."I whisper, my thumb gently tracing her bottom lip. "I thought we'd have more time before we arrived at this point. But as with most things in life, luck doesn't seem to be on our side."
My jaw clenches when I think back to the past—to that fateful day—the one which set everything in motion; sealing our fates forever, while changing everything we knew in the process.
"Now that you're here, everything changes. The plan, the direction. I need to up my game. I need to be more alert. As much as I’d rather watch you rot, I'd still like to keep you close. It would be so much easier for me to dispose of you, but I know that would only make this shitstorm worse. I can't do fuck all to you until he says otherwise. Stuck in a catch 22. Its going to be so hard keeping you at arms length because he doesn't know you're here. He has no fucking idea. Not yet." And he won't hear it from me.
Closing my eyes, I focus on my breathing, refusing to give in and succumb to the beast prowling deep within me, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A red-hot rage rumbles deep within my chest.
"I don't know whose bright idea it was, but changing your name won't help you. It won't keep you safe. Not from me anyway."
Too much has happened for me to give her a free pass, but first I need to get her above ground. Where I can see her at all times.