Chapter Fourteen
Amelie
Everything for the women’s initiation is coming along nicely. Baxter has a few ideas for their individual tasks. They all have to overcome their fears. I’ve tried to find a way for Elsie to not have to face hers, but there’s no way around it. She’s going to have to dig deep to get through it.
I have to shelve those thoughts because I’m late for music class. I wish Monty would just hurry up and get this sorted. I’m stretched so thin with school and The Order that waking up every morning is becoming harder.
I race into class with a coffee in hand, my guard sticking to my damn side like glue.
Jasper is sick this morning, and his replacement is a young guy who looks like he could be from the cast of ‘Men in Black’.
His face is void of all emotion, and his suit doesn’t have a wrinkle to be seen.
I want to push him over in the dirt or something just to dirty him up a little, but that would be super childish.
Though, I do at least hope Kalen feels the same way when he meets this guy.
Slate is strumming away on his guitar when I walk over to him.
He is humming away to an Ed Sheeran song.
I stare at him like a creeper while he finishes the song.
His smile flashes his white teeth when he notices me staring.
Done, he places his guitar to the side and holds his hand out for me.
I step into him, and he looks up at me from the stool he’s sitting on.
“We really need some alone time, I miss you,” he confesses.
“By all means, take that argument up with your father. I’m almost ready to just give up on school completely. I mean, what will they do, send me back to Australia and throw me in prison?”
Slate laughs. “I don’t think you should risk it, I’m not sure if orange is your colour.”
I playfully slap his arm. “For your information the women’s prison near where my father lives is navy blue. I might get lucky in there. I have four super hot boyfriends, and I can’t seem to get laid that often. I was expecting all the dicks when I agreed to this.”
“I promise I’ll talk to the others and we will get you laid, even if we have to play tag team.”
That damn word sounds so gross, but the thought has me squeezing my legs together.
“I can get down with that.”
The teacher clears her throat, and I turn my head to look at her. “Is something wrong?”
“No, just get to work,” she murmurs as if she’s off with the fairies. I turn back to Slate.
“What are we working on?”
“Working on our end of year piece, but I don’t know what to do.”
“Is it because you’ll be graduating early? If you want to stay on until the end of the school year, you know that you can.”
“I know, and it’s not that. I’m just realising that I haven’t really thought that much about what I’ll do when I finish here. Do I want something full time within the you-know-what? I just keep thinking, where does that leave my music?”
“Do whatever you want to do and I’ll support you, no matter what.”
“I love you,” he states, leaning in for a kiss, but a girly shriek has us pulling apart.
Kalen comes flying into the room.
I panic for a split second until I see Adrianne storm into the room and apologise to the teacher. The teacher loves gossip and drama so she watches on.
“I’m going to kill him,” she seethes, looking straight at me. Kalen is standing directly behind me.
“I did nothing, I swear. She wants to hurt me,” he whines and lowers his tone. “And I know she has a knife in her boot. This chick is as crazy as Branson.”
“You know what you did Kalen Knox, so let’s take this outside so I can knock you on your ass, good and proper. Take it like a damn man!”
“Are you going to let her get me?” Kalen whines with a pout. I laugh.
“How about we take this outside?” I lean down and kiss Slate on the lips. “I have to go and deal with this. Text me later.”
Slate nods, and I take Kalen’s hand and lead him outside. Adrianne and my new security guy follow us out.
I wait until we’re clear of the classrooms and turn to Adrianne. “What did he do?”
“I had training and he stole all my clothes! I had to walk to the nurse in a towel that barely covered my ass.”
I turn to Kalen and he smiles. “What? Okay, I did do that, but I was going to be standing outside. I just wanted to make her talk to me so I could apologise, but Dad came down the hall and wanted to talk. By the time he stopped, she was gone. No harm done.”
“No harm done,” she spits, almost ready to launch herself at him.
“I have to co exist here with you, and I will do whatever it takes to better my brother's life, but that doesn’t require us to be friends. You want me to forgive you for almost having my brother taken from me. You’re a Knox, Daddy made everything disappear for you which means someone had to take the blame, and that someone was me!
So no stupid apology will make me forget that.
I don’t care that some rapey teenagers got to see me half naked, but you always take things too far!
So unless it has to do with Amelie and my job, just stay the hell away from me. ”
I shake my head at him. “You could have just asked me to make her talk to you. Sometimes I just don’t understand how your brain works. You fucked up and need to take responsibility for that. Go back to class and we can talk about this later.”
He gives me his notorious puppy dog eyes and I shake my head at him. He leans down and kisses my cheek and takes off.
“I’m sorry,” Adrianne whispers, coming to stand next to me.
“Don’t be. Kalen has been able to get away with so much because his father and siblings shelter him, and all he wanted was to be here with them.
Kalen does stupid shit with the best intentions.
But he needs to understand that sorry doesn’t always cut it.
For what it's worth, I know he’s been racked with guilt, and has always made sure you had a job and a place to live. ”
“He has?”
“Yes, they may not have been the best jobs and houses, because he knew that if it was anything too good you’d get suspicious. Now I need to pee.”
“I can’t let you do that,” a deep voice demands.
I have to blink a few times for my brain to register who is talking.
Both Adrianne and I turn at the same time to face my new security. He’s a big guy but he almost looks to shrink under our glares.
“Excuse me?” I question in a low, dangerous tone because I’m thrown off by being told I can’t take a piss.
“Jasper updated me on your toilet trips, and I can’t have you escaping on my watch.”
Adrianne laughs before she speaks. “Baby boy, it’s cute that you think you could stop her.
If you lay one finger on her she has four boyfriends and a best friend that would strip you of your internal organs and sell them on the black market.
I’m not convinced the bestie wouldn’t just eat them raw for shits and giggles.
But don’t you worry your pretty little head about your job security because I’ll be escorting our boss to the toilet.
If you have an issue with that, I suggest you start looking for another job…
but that’s the thing, I know that once you’re in you’re in.
I’m new, but I can’t help but wonder what they do to those who are no longer useful? ”
He visibly swallows and nods his head. Adrianne grabs my arm and pulls me into the girls’ toilets and laughs the entire way. She lets my arm go when we’re inside and kicks each stall door open to make sure we’re alone.
“Did you see his face? We should jump just to show him we can.”
“As much fun as that would be, I don’t need Monty on my ass again,” I reply, entering one of the stalls.
I hear the door open and the sound of someone clearly crying.
“Are you okay out there?” I ask.
“Um, that’s not me but I need your help.”
I quickly wipe and flush, opening the stall to see Elsie flopped into Adrianne’s arms and poor Adrianne looks stiff as a board, awkwardly patting Elsie’s back. For someone who’s raising a kid, she sure looks awkward as fuck at consoling and giving affection.
I wash my hands and the second I’m done Adrianne steps back with relief etched all over her face. Elsie looks up through tear filled eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask and she opens her mouth to talk but just starts crying again.
“Did you have another fight with Jasper?” Adrianne asks and Elsie nods. I have to release my sigh internally. This is getting to be a real problem.
“How about we ditch and have a girls’ day?” I suggest, knowing that my friend needs me more than my frustration right now. “We can stop at the cafeteria and grab some ice cream.”
Elsie nods and Adrianne looks as if she would rather watch paint dry, but she’s also my assistant that doesn’t really do that much assisting. I have a feeling that Kalen just wanted her to have a decent job.
Adrianne offers to go and get the ice cream while I take Elsie back to our dorm. Elsie sobs most of the way back to the room, and once we are inside she sits on my bed dropping her bag on the floor.
Wow, it must be bad. Elsie is a precision placer, not a careless dropper. She doesn’t even flinch when something inside the bag sounds like it breaks.
“Why are you this upset over a fight with Jasper?”
She flops back onto the bed, star shaped, so I walk over and take a seat on my desk chair.
“I went to see him because I knew he was sick, but we ended up having a fight. He doesn’t want me to join The Order! He kept stating that it’s way too dangerous and he is worried about my initiation. He says that they usually find out all of your fears and exploit them.”
“Usually, they do. But I get to do yours. And although I can’t tell you what it is, except that it won’t be pretty…
” I move from the chair and sit next to her on the bed and take her hand, she sits up and faces me.
“Just remember that no matter what, I love you and you’re my best friend. If you hold on to that you’ll be fine.”