Twenty-Eight
SCARLETT
H e sees this damsel in need of saving. I see a warrior cloaked behind a coat of steel armor. A devil disguised as an angel. The real you.
I head over to the dining hall courtyard for lunch looking to meet up with Stella and Jade, Ace’s words still echoing loudly in my mind. He’s ruthless, cold, and calculating, yet at times he says things like this. Things so raw, full of emotion, and it makes me question if the way he acts, if how he behaves, is all just an act. A cloak of cruelty to fool those around him or if it truly is a mask whose sole purpose is to disguise his true nature. A devil with a golden halo or an angel with black, tar-soaked wings. My savior or my eternal damnation.
As I’m approaching, I see Jade and Stella already seated at the table we usually occupy at the farthest end of the courtyard, under a large red and yellow tree that hides us from outside eyes. I look around the large outdoor area, hoping to see any of the others heading over, but they’re nowhere to be found. Instead, I slide onto the bench across from Jade throwing my bag on top of the table with a grunt and notice them both staring up at me questioningly.
“What?” I ask, turning behind me but not seeing anything out of the ordinary they could be glaring at.
“Did you do it?” Jade asks a little too eagerly, and now I know why she’s acting so odd.
“Do you see him around?” I reply snidely, a deep frown on my face as I dig in my bag for my box of cigarettes and lighter. Yes, I’m aware it’s against the academy rules to smoke on campus but after the altercation with Drake, and my confrontation with Ace, I need a smoke. Badly. I bring the cigarette to my lips and light it, blowing a cloud of smoke in their direction.
“Fuck. I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” she says as she sits back clearly shocked.
“What else was I supposed to do?” I snap, and Stella looks at me shrugging her shoulders. I tap the cig lightly against the tabletop causing a small pool of ash to form atop it.
“It’s for the best, Scarlett. I mean, I haven’t known Drake for long, but the Horsemen won’t back down. They’re ruthless, vengeful, dangerous even. Ace will stop at nothing. He’ll do everything in his power, fair or not, to make you his. That can mean real trouble for Drake,” Stella says, reaching her hand out to me.
I turn away not wanting to show any real emotions or how truly broken up I am about losing Drake. If I let my emotions get the best of me, I’m afraid there will be no turning back. This one hurt, much more than any of the other let downs and defeats I’ve endured. This was a part of me broken and torn to pieces. I feel pulled apart at the seams, a scrap of what ought to be my heart, bloody and beaten. I know it was the right thing to do, the only thing that needed to be done, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Have you seen him?” I ask, blowing out another cloud of smoke. I lift my eyes and see the students around us glaring in my direction, straight at the lit cig in my mouth. I put it out, deciding I’ve had enough. The last thing I need is to be taken in by Agent Servite today.
“I have him in Chem, but he wasn’t in class,” replies Jade, looking around the courtyard. “Haven’t seen Kai or Jaxon either.”
“And Ruby?” I ask, and as if I had summoned the She-Dragon myself, she appears behind me fuming.
“You little bitch!” she shrieks, and I quickly stand to meet her piercing gaze.
“I knew it. I knew you’d screw him, and then screw him,” she says, laughing maniacally. Her green eyes would burn a hole through me if they could, I know she’s surely wishing for once I’d catch on fire. If looks could kill, I’d be a pile of fucking ashes at her feet.
“I warned him not to get involved with you. You’re a heartless, selfish bitch who doesn’t have a care in the world for anyone but herself. You’ve never had a real family, and you just waltzed into our home and inserted yourself in ours,” she shouts, not once blinking an eyelash.
I hold her gaze just the same but fuck she’s right. My pride however, greedy bitch that she is, doesn’t allow me to back down.
“I should have never accepted you, never thrown in the white towel. I hated you from the start and I should have gone with my gut instinct. They would have followed me, listened to me, and kept away from you. I knew you would ruin the one good thing we had. The closest thing we’d ever had to a family. It’s your fault we’re here, you’re to blame for my brother’s broken heart, his broken soul. You knew he was fucked up in more ways than one could even imagine and yet you tore him to pieces not caring what the consequences would be. You egotistical, self-centered whore!”
I can’t handle the pain and anger in her voice. I’m so close to cracking, to telling her it’s what needed to be done to protect him. To protect all of them but I know it would be useless to waste my breath. She’d. Ever believe me .
“You’re right, Ruby. I’m selfish, I am the worst brand of selfish. I willingly use people to make myself feel superior, valuable. And when I’m done with them, I toss them away without looking back. I guess it’s another way mommy dearest fucked me up. You best keep your brother away from me if you know what’s best for him.”
She reaches out to me, slapping me across the face. The sting of her palm against my skin burns, but the pain is nothing compared to the blaze raging inside of me, killing me for betraying Drake this way. For lying to Ruby and making her hate me more than she already did. But this is the only way to make sure they’re not harmed in all of this.
Selfish as I am, I won’t let my friends, my family burn for my sins.
On Thursday morning I wake up at dawn before everyone else, and head over to Astor House hoping to catch Drake before he heads out to class. It’s been three days since we ended things officially and I haven’t seen him or heard from him. I know I should leave him alone, let him heal and give him space. I should avoid him if I want him to believe that I meant all I said, but I can’t get the broken look he had on his face out of my mind.
I caused that. I made him feel unworthy. Unwanted. A man who has been by my side since the day we met. A boy with an insurmountable amount of childhood trauma and issues I can’t even comprehend. I need to make sure he’s okay, and since at the moment no one but Jade and Stella will speak to me, I need to see it for myself.
As I approach the steps of the house, I see Kai and Jaxon walking out of the building toward me. They are deep in conversation and as they both look up and see me, the wide grins on their faces suddenly turn into deep scowls. Fuck. They’re pissed.
“Well, well,” Jax teases, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest as he stops in front of me. “If it isn’t the heartless bitch. Here to break another poor man’s heart, princess?” he sneers and fuck if it doesn’t hurt.
It’s true, but it still hurts. Jax was my breath of fresh air. The calm during my storm. The most normal of all the people in my life and the only hope I had that someday I’d be okay. After all, he’s been through so much sorrow, and he’s stayed sane. Now he looks at me with sheer hate. No, not hate, nor anger, but something much worse. Disappointment. Disgust. I get it, I’m well deserving of it all. Drake is his family, his brother. I just came along for the ride.
“Shut the fuck up, Jaxon,” Kai says, punching him on the shoulder.
Kai walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist hugging me tight to his body without saying a word. I lay my head against his shoulder and we stand unmoving. Tears I haven’t shed in years well up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them out. After a few moments, he releases me slowly and I bring my gaze up to his. He doesn’t say anything, but I can see the understanding in his face. He knows why I did it, why I had to do it. He doesn’t know the exact reasoning behind my decision, but he knows I had no other choice.
“Walk with me, Scar,” he says, reaching out for my hand and we turn away from Jax heading out towards campus. I hear him scoff as we walk away but I decide it’s best to ignore it. His words are valid, his disappointment justified by my actions.
Kai and I walk in silence for a few moments before he finally speaks.
“So,” he says with a pause, his hands nervously tucked in his front pockets. “You dating Ace Servite now?” he asks bluntly.
“Unofficially,” I reply, and he shakes his head, a deep chuckle escaping him. Ace and I have spoken little since Monday but with Drake out of the way, I’m fairly sure he’ll make his move any day now. “Spit it out,” I say when he stays quiet at my response .
He stops us in our tracks as he reaches out to me, grabbing me by the shoulders and turns me to face him. “Look, Scar, I’m not gonna ask why you did it or damn you for doing it. Was it fucked up, yeah, but you already knew that. You don’t owe me a reason or anything but let me just tell you that you ain’t fooling me. Drake may think he knows you better than any of us, but he’s wrong. You and I, Scar, we’re one and the same. Two kids cut from the same dependent, undeserving cloth. Drake, he’s grown up without a mother or father figure, he’s used to being alone and he’ll get over it, sure. He always does. But you and I, we’re worse off. We were fucked by someone we swore we’d save. Dependent on a person who wanted nothing to do with us yet who was supposed to care. Undeserving of their affection.” He moves closer to me, placing a hand on my chin. “Whatever the reason for pushing him away is, you just need to ask yourself one thing. Is it worth it? Worth throwing away one of the few genuine relationships you’ve ever had?”
I look away from him not being able to hide my emotions, but he tilts my chin back to meet his gaze. He regards me attentively, understanding my inner struggle.
“Yeah, Kai, it’s worth every damn thing.”
Later that night after deciding it’s best if I avoid Drake and give him space to deal, I stay in my room instead of joining the rest of the group for dinner at the dining hall. Jade suggested we order pizza and stay in, but I don’t want them to avoid Drake and Ruby because of me. They need friends here more than I do, and besides, they were a family before us. I kick off my sneakers and change into a pair of stretchy leggings and a white tank top, grab a water bottle and bag of chips from the pantry and decide to call it a night.
Just as I’m about to lie on my bed, I hear a loud knock coming from the front door of our quarter. Maybe it’s Jade and Stella, they must have forgotten their keys. I walk out into the hallway and up to the front door opening it, but not expecting to find Ace standing on the other side looking like a fucking sex god in tight jeans and a black V-neck shirt. His hair is dripping wet, like he’s just gotten out of the shower, his eyes a dark blue so intense I can’t stare directly into them without losing myself in their depths.
“Hey there,” I say in a hushed tone.
He comes in without saying a word and grabs me by the neck bringing my lips to his. Instantly our mouths connect and dance with such an intense passion, like nothing I’ve ever felt. This magnetic pull between us, a force unknown to nature and so captivating that I can’t fight against it. His hands move down and cup my ass pulling me into him as his thick cock rubs against me.
Ace releases my ass and reaches a hand around in between my thighs rubbing his fingers against my wetness through the thin material of my leggings. He bites my lip slowly causing a moan to escape me as his fingers continue to rub against me.
“You. Are. Mine. Red,” he says between breaths. “Don’t you ever for a second doubt that.”
“Yes,” I moan softly into his mouth as he devours me.
Reaching down to grab my ass again he lifts me and I jump, wrapping my legs around his waist, as he leads us down the hall and into my bedroom, slamming the door behind us. He carries me over to the bed, tossing me on it violently. I bounce on the mattress nearly slamming into the headboard, and I am about to give him hell for manhandling me when I see the glazed look in his eyes. The fierce possessiveness is paralyzing, and all my insides melt, turning to mush before him. He reaches to the back of his neck reaching for his shirt and in one quick motion pulls it off. I nearly come in my leggings with just one look at his naked torso.
His muscles are practically glowing in the darkness of my room as the small gleam of light comes in from the outside reflecting off of him. Undoing the button of his jeans, he tugs them off along with his boxers, a cocky smirk appears on his face as he stands there in all his naked glory, his cock already hard for me. He slowly walks toward the edge of the bed climbing on it and crawling like a predator about to devour his prey.
Me, I’m the prey. Yes, take me. I swallow hard as he reaches the end of my feet and in one effortless movement pulls my legs toward him, my head falling back against the pillow with a thump. Ace reaches up and pulls my leggings and thong off, caressing me and running his hands up my thighs. I arch my back off the mattress, the intensity of him already too much and I hear him growl. He fucking growls like a starved animal. I look back at him, staring into his eyes and he mouths for me to take off my shirt. I do as he says, taking it off along with my bra, my nipples hard and pointing directly at him.
“All of this is mine, Red,” he whispers seductively as he runs his tongue all over me, licking, sucking, and biting every inch of my heated flesh. “You are mine, Red.”
“Yes,” I moan as he takes my nipple in his mouth, biting and tugging it.
He stops, turning his attention to my face, looking deep into my eyes, past the blockade I put up around everyone else. “I mean it. I want you to be mine. Only mine. Officially mine.”
I sit stunned at his declaration. Is he asking me to be his girlfriend? I lift a brow in confusion, and he smirks slightly chuckling.
“Scarlett Steele, I want you to be my girlfriend.”
I stare at him dumbfounded by his words, not finding any of my own to reply. I simply look at him, nodding my head slowly and he takes that as my answer, gripping my waist and in one swift movement he thrusts into me.
I yelp at the vicious force of him spreading me, but it only seems to excite him as he intensifies his thrusts. He continues his movement bringing me to the edge of ecstasy time and time again until finally my body convulses, my core tightening around him.
This time he lays next to me pulling my body onto his, my head falling atop his heaving chest. My cheek lays against his heart, and the pulsing of his blood coursing through it is like a sweet serenade to my ears.
“Where have you been all my life?” he mutters softly against my temple. “If I’d have known you existed, that you were out there,” he pauses, inhaling a deep breath. “I’d have led a different life. One where I’d be worthy of you.”
Surprised by his confession, I lift my head slightly, turning to look him in the eye. His cocky smirk from earlier is gone, and in its place is a solemn frown.
“You call me angel. You worship me like I’m some innocent deity. We’re more alike than you think. I fell into temptation, and look where it has brought me, straight into your arms.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he says, a solemn look in his eyes.
“It’s the worst. With you I lose sight of who I am, something I swore I’d never do. I watched my mother become someone I didn’t recognize when she met Chaz, Jade’s father. And when he left, she lost it. I mean she was always psychotic, but it’s as if the last string that was holding together her sanity, snapped.”
“But I’d never leave you,” he says, and I laugh uncontrollably. His brows crease, and his frown deepens.
“You’ve done so, time and time again. Every time he calls, you drop everything and follow his orders. You always will. As long as he’s around, there is nothing we can do.” I lift myself up slightly, resting my hands on his chest, my fingers tracing over the eagle on his heart. “Why an eagle?” I ask, quietly.
“Eagles are powerful and fierce predators. They represent leadership, authority, and the divine. They are creatures who soar through wind, walk on land, and swim in waters. They’re unstoppable.”
“Why not a horse? You seem to be quite fond of those,” I say, chuckling softly, and it gets me a smile. A full ear to ear, toothy grin, that shows off those adorable dimples.
“That one’s on my back,” he says shifting slightly, showing me the stallion that covers half of his back. It is beautiful and majestic, every detail perfectly inked on his skin making it look real.
“I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before.”
“Well, you’re the one who is usually on your back while I thrust into you or riding me while I’m on my back,” he says, and I shove him almost knocking him off the bed. “Hey what was that for?” he says, laughing softly.
“It has wings?” I ask, getting a view of the entirety of his back.
“It’s a God-like horse, hence the wings.”
“You mean a Pegasus?”
“What?” he asks, confused.
“A horse with wings is called a Pegasus. Hercules, Greek mythology. He is pure, and majestic, but he was also a servant of Zeus. How fitting,” I say, and instantly his frown is back.
Shaking his head, he leans over me, caging me on the bed. “I am a servant to you.” He lowers his lips to my neck, kissing, and licking me softly. “I will worship only you, serve only you and this irresistible body of yours.”
Without stopping, he licks his way down my chest, leaving soft kisses across my abdomen. My back curves off the bed, bringing me closer to his mouth and moves in closer, taking my lips in a tantalizing kiss, before flipping us so we're laying side by side, his forehead resting against mine.
We lay here together, naked, in this intimate position, for what feels like hours until he finally speaks.
“We’ll make it official tomorrow night at the party Bass is having at his parents’ house. It’s Beck’s birthday. I’ll pick you up at eight,” he adds, as if explaining the reasoning behind yet another party. I feel like I’ve gone to a party every weekend since arriving here, it’s exhausting.
I simply nod against his chest, a small tear threatening to come out. Only I don’t know why it sheds.
Is it happiness, lying here with this boy who makes me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of? Sadness, for the boy I hurt, who will surely hate me when he finds out I not only left him, but I found a replacement just as quick? Or fear for what’s coming?
I promised Jade I’d use Ace to get to the bottom of her father’s and my mother’s vanishing. I promised to help her find Roman, and it looks like using Ace to do so is the only plausible answer. It’s my only option, and it’s what I’m determined to do. I only hope I don’t lose myself in the process.