Chapter 3
Rory ~
I walk into my Psychology class just as the bell rings. My teacher gives me a disapproving look that I ignore.
I'm shuffling towards my usual spot in the front corner when I hear my fake name being called. Shit, I am going to mess up with this name bullshit.
"Laney, over here!" Mason waves from the back corner where I see himself, Maverick and Alec.
I hesitantly walk towards them, not looking at the rest of the class that's whispering and staring. All high schoolers gossip. Despite Psych being mostly the good kids, they still know who I am. My reputation precedes me—well, Drake’s anyway.
I slide into the chair beside Maverick.
"Hey," he rumbles, taking my bag from my hands and putting it between our chairs.
"Thanks," I murmur.
"Where did you go before?" Maverick asks.
I look up from where I had been pulling out my laptop, notebook and pencil case. The others appear to be waiting for my response.
"The library," I tell them. They frown and I shift my gaze.
I type in my password to my computer and start writing out the notes for this lesson.
An invite pops up in my empty chat box on Gmail. I open it and see Maverick's name. I glance over and he slouched in his chair, arms crossed, listening to the teacher drown on about adaptive and maladaptive behaviour.
How the hell did he get my email?
I open it and see a message.
Maverick: Did we scare u off?
Laney: No…
Maverick: Why did u leave then?
He quickly responds.
He looks over at me and I stare into his ice-blue eyes. His hair is naturally messy and looks like he’s just rolled out of bed as compared to his brother's whose is styled and gelled that way. It's a similar colour to Dominic's—a dark, dark brown colour but it has lighter hues at the tips.
His gradually larger smirking pulls me out of my obvious staring. I feel red burning my neck and cheeks.
I rip my eyes away and look at his question, unsure how to respond. I rest my fingers over the keys.
Laney: You guys seem nice but this is a bad idea. For me and for you.
I eventually type back.
Maverick's eyes burn a hole in the side of my face and it takes everything I have to not look to my right.
Another chat invite pops up and while it's from Mason, Alec, Maverick and Dominic are also on it.
Mason: Wanna let us in on your conversation?
Maverick: Laney said she can't be friends with us
Maverick throws me under the bus. I glare at him and he returns it mockingly.
Alec: Why’s that, Laney?
Dominic: Yeah, sweetheart
Dominic joins the conversation, despite not being in the room.
Mason: Come on, Leo!
I sigh, frustrated. What am I supposed to say?
Laney: It's not a good idea. I try to say.
Why? I get from all of them instantly.
Laney: Why does it matter? We just met.
I send back.
Dominic: I don't know
Alec: It just does, Laney
Mason: We don't know why
Maverick: Because we already decided
Maverick states, matter of factly.
Dominic:Why don't you think we can be friends?
Dominic sends after a moment passes.
Because people can't be trusted. I counted on him. And he wasn't there. After everything, he wasn't there for me.
Tears burn my eyes, making the screen blur. I blink them away and read the next message that comes through.
Alec: Does it have something to do with the injury?
My head snaps to Alec. Something burns like a fire in his eyes.
What? I mouth.
Alec: You're limping. You're injured.
Mason and Maverick look at Alec, betrayed he didn't tell them.
Laney: I'm leaving in five days. That's when I turn eighteen.
All their heads snap towards me and I hesitantly look up, seeing various arrays of confusion.
Mason: Why are u leaving?
Mason’s fingers flying across the keyboard.
Dominic: Is someone hurting you?
And…that's where I'm done.
Laney: I'm sorry.
That’s the last thing I type before I shut my computer lid and shove everything into my bag.
My breathing grows heavier and I start to panic. My hands shake as I try to do up the zipper to my backpack.
"Laney!" Maverick hisses under his breath.
I get up, bag over my shoulder and walk out. The teacher shouts out, telling me to come back. My head drifts to the right and I see the disappointment on Alec's face before I walk out the door.
. . .
I don't stay and see out the rest of my classes.
My hands shake violently the whole way home. I open and shut the gate to the clearing in a daze.
My Hilux is driven straight under the huge tree in the centre of the clearing.
Feeling trapped in the tight space of the cab, I stumble out, pushing my door open. I lean my hands against the bonnet and take deep shuddering breaths between my shoulder blades.
Five days. Five fucking days and legally he can’t get me.
Is somebody hurting you, Sweetheart?
A whimper rises in my throat as tears burn my eyes.
"Hey," a voice says out of nowhere and I swerve around, my fingers itching towards the concealed blade in my jeans.
A tall lean guy steps out of the tree, leaning against it. Where did he come from? He shoves his hands into his pockets and his eyes burn into mine.
Why is the population of hot guys in this town suddenly plus six? The boys, or for lack of better word, men, around here are all straight-haired mullets.
His wary smile turns to a frown. “I didn’t meant to startle you.”
"Who are you?” I take a subtle step back. “What are you doing here?"
Mischief twinkles in his bright green eyes, blond hair adding to his devil-may-care persona. He tilts his head in the direction of the house you can just make out through the trees.
"Cooped up," he responds. My confusion must be obvious because he clues me in. "My friends and I just moved into Hannah Beckham's house. I'm her grandson."
"Oh." I don’t really know what to say so I add, "I thought maybe she'd sold it but, um, that's good."
Luc smirk ever so slightly at my awkward response before studying my face. "Are you okay?”
He seems to really be asking. I’m not sure what it is, if it’s because he’s just a smoke show or my mind knows something I don’t but I want to answer him truthfully.
"It's just been a long day,” I murmur. His viridescent eyes and tanned skin make him look almost exotic.
It must come across different to my intent because Luc frowns like something's just occurred to him. "Uh, my apologies,” he says slowly, “It’s none of my business and I'm trespassing.” He exhales and stands up straight, off my car.
"No," I rush out when he goes to leave. He stops and hooks a thumb on his jeans pockets, shifting his weight like he's uncomfortable.
I bite my lip before relenting.
"It's fine," I tell him. "I've been driving past your grandmother's house at ridiculous hours—I can handle a bit of tree climbing. Just, um, maybe stay around here? My father,” I force out, “won't be happy if someone's here," I say awkwardly.
He nods. Like he knows, there’s recognition and mutual sadness in his buried eyebrows. He rubs his hip subtly.
"Are you okay?" I step forward before remembering myself and halt my movements.
"Yeah," he sighs, "just overdid it today. Have you ever climbed that tree?" I notice his swift change of topic but don’t push it.
I indicate that he should follow me. He trails me to the back of the ute.
"Yeah. The view’s not bad," I answer, putting down the tailgate.
He hesitates for a moment before sitting beside me. "That's better," he mutters, rubbing his calf.
“Are you going to tell me your name?” I’m almost shocked by what flies out of my mouth. It’s almost a reflex that I brace myself for anger at my shortness.
His eyes focus intently on mine as he’s says, “Luc Beckham.” I wait to see if he elaborates but he just follows with, “What’s your name?”
“Laney Summers,” the lie slips off my tongue a little easier after today.
Luc snorts and side eyes me. “That’s the fakest fake name I’ve ever heard.”
I sigh. What’s the harm in telling a stranger?
“It’s Aurora Winters but you can call me Rory,” I tell him. He seems pleased by that for some reason but his eyebrows dip at my last name.
“Why—“ I’m already shaking my head by the time he gets out the first word.
“Nope,” I pop. “You wanted my real name, I gave it to you. Just don’t ask questions.”
Luc accepts that pretty easily. I know I might regret telling him later but for now, I’ll enjoy being called my real name. I always hated Laney Summers.
"So, Rory,” Luc tests, “What are you doing here?”
I ponder as to what to say. "Uhh…let's just say, I'm not the most popular girl in at my school. I needed a break." I look over to see his reaction.
"Aren't all the hot girls like automatically popular?" Luc questions so seriously that I burst out laughing.
Not fazed, he grins back sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't have a filter."
"That's better." He tilts his head in confusion and I hastily continue. "It's better not to have a filter, you're honest with people no matter what."
He entraps my gaze, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. Luc moves his hand so his pinky is gripping mine. He looks at it like he’s truly surprised himself. He shifts his hand away, looking like he’s been caught in the act.
I look away and smile softly.
I exhale deeply. "So, what about you? You don't look that much older than me."
"I'm eighteen but I'm in my last year. You?" He asks.
"In my last year. I'm eighteen in five days."
Luc chuckles. "Why do you say it like it's a death sentence?"
I shrug and look out into the scrub. "I have to leave once I'm eighteen."
"Why's that?" Luc frowns.
"I-I just do," I stutter, not knowing what to say. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.
"Okay," Luc says soothingly. "You don't have to tell me," he assures me and I relax slightly.
"So you go to Cattle Creek High?" He changes the subject, retracting his hand.
I nod. "What electives are you in?"
"Psychology, shop, biology and Spanish," he rattles off.
My eyebrows shoot up. "That's pretty diverse."
Luc laughs softly. "Yeah. I don't really know what to do with my life so I picked what I was good at."
"Me too," I say quietly.
We sit there in comfortable silence for a while.
I think about today, everything that's happened.
When Dominic first sat down this morning, I couldn't believe that I said something to him. He was nice. Refreshing. I love his accent. He's got like a country artist's perfect voice. I mean, daaamn!
Then there's Alec. He stood up for me in Art without hesitation. Despite being nervous talking to me, he helped me and took me to meet his friends.
The twins, Mason and Maverick are an odd pair. I thought Maverick didn't like me but it's also a possibility it was like Mason said—he was just hangry. Mason was really nice. He seems to have the personality of a puppy and a child wrapped up in one really hot package.
I know they didn't mean to push me. Any normal person would have jumped at the chance to be friends with guys like that. But I won’t. I can’t.
"What are you thinking about?" Luc breaks me out of mental pain. He waits patiently while I gather my thoughts.
"I met some people today who want to be friends," I say like that explains everything.
"And?" Luc prompts me when I don't continue.
"I'm leaving in five days. I have to go. I can't stay here. What's the point if I'm leaving?" I ask Luc.
Luc's silent for a moment. "Why not enjoy it while it lasts?" He finally says.
I can’t help but sneak a peak at him. He’s staring into the distance and there’s a wisdom in his eyes that I haven’t seen in someone our age.
Luc rubs his leg again and I wonder what he did to hurt it. Suddenly his eyes are on mine and I freeze because I’ve been staring. But he just smiles, it’s barely perceptible but I smile back.
. . .
It's almost dark when I pull up outside the house.
With everything that happened today, I almost forgot about what awaited me at home. I hate that word. It's not my home. I just live there. Well, not really. It's just somewhere I have to go back to for the next four days and one night.
I leave my backpack in my car and lock it, hiding the keys in a tree near the house.
I lost track of time with Luc. God, it was so nice butt I'm late. And it can only end one way. As I get closer, I hear music playing and people shouting. No, no, no, no.
I back away from the door and an arm snakes around my waist, roughly yanking me sideways. I try to scream but a hand tightly covers my mouth.
He pulls me around to the back of the house and slams me up against the wall. I whimper when my head hits the wall.
"Shut the fuck up," my father growls and I go as still as possible.
He takes his hand off my mouth and presses his arm against my throat so I'm struggling to breathe.
"Where the fuck have you been?" He doesn't wait for an answer and pulls his arm back, nailing my stomach. Something cracks and a fire of pain makes me want to throw up.
I struggle to keep from screaming but a sob escapes my throat. I press a hand to my ribs as pain explodes in my jaw. He grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks back. My head slams against the wall.
I bite my lip to keep from crying out. It only fuels his anger.
He removes his arm from my throat and I crumble to the ground, unable to stay standing.
"Back door," he orders, "I'm entertaining tonight."
I nod quickly and listen to his footsteps as he walks away. It's not until I hear the front door slam shut that I attempt to move.
I lift a shaky hand to my head, feeling a sticky liquid drip onto my neck. My vision blurs as tears stream down my face.
I get my legs beneath me, keeping a hand on my ribs. Pain explodes in my head, black stars crossing my vision. I feel myself starting to fade and make my way to the back door.
I struggle to take deep breaths, every inhale creating a burning sensation. My feet drag as my eyes grow heavy. I make my way to my room and trip on something. Ending up sprawled on my floor, I groan gutturally.
Get up. Get up. Get up!
I crawl into bed and let the darkness take over.