5

WINTER

emma has retreated into her shell again after the attack and I feel bad for her. The rest of the day she tried to continue, but the curious stares of the other students drew attention to her, and she hates that. She likes to blend into the background and carry on with her day, but news of what happened earlier just won’t go away and she is now the subject of gossip which makes her nervous.

At the end of the day, she shuts herself in our room and gets her heads down and no amount of persuasion can shift her.

I know she needs some time alone, so I find myself walking around campus unsure what to do next. Being new sucks because I don’t even know where I’m going and so I decide to familiarize myself with the layout of the place and pop in my ear buds and start jogging.

The atmosphere is different here at night. Less busy and more relaxed.

Groups hang around, laughing and drifting off to the various houses dotted around campus. I wonder which one I would have called home if I had been here for the duration, instead of the block usually reserved for freshmen where I have been placed with Emma who definitely doesn’t qualify for a sorority house.

I pass the home of the cheerleaders and I smile at the white wood and pretty flowerpots positioned either side of the entrance. It looks a pleasant place to live but I already know I wouldn’t fit in. I’m not like them and I never will be. Not far away is the one reserved for girls who like to challenge things. Clothes, gender and authority. These girls push boundaries and try to cause scandal and are forever organizing protests and causing disruption.

They challenge the system and voice angry words at the establishment. I definitely wouldn’t fit in there.

Jogging on, I pass the house where girls like Emma live, and I wonder why she never earned a place there. Studious and brilliant, these girls intend on breaking glass ceilings, which probably gives me my answer. They have a certain kind of confidence that Emma lacks, and they would be irritated by her nervous disposition and need to remain anonymous. Future CEOs and women of business, they wouldn’t understand a girl like Emma, which makes me sad.

My attention is drawn to a house where the students appear to be flocking tonight. Set to the side, almost in the shadows and surrounded by darkness.

Loud music is playing and I’m guessing there’s a party there, judging by the number of students heading that way grasping handfuls of beer and a sense of anticipation as they head through the doors.

Suddenly, I see the mad friend of Angelo’s, the one from earlier, watching a group head inside from his position on the veranda. Stretched out with a beer in hand, looking as excited as a kid who Santa missed. Feeling curious, I edge a little closer and as I hover nervously on the step, he says in a low husky drawl, “Turn and walk away, Winter. This is no place for you.”

Rather than do as he says, I edge closer and stare into oblivion as his dark eyes mock me as he sips his beer with a flash of interest in his eyes.

“Thanks for earlier.”

I don’t know why I’m thanking him for messing up a guy’s pretty face, but it feels like the right thing to do.

“You’re welcome.”

He nods toward the open ground in front of the house and says darkly, “I’d leave now if I were you.”

“But you’re not.”

With one foot on the step, I look at him with curiosity burning deep inside and once again admire a beauty that would make a magnificent masterpiece.

“Why aren’t you inside?”

“Maybe I like it outside more.”

He appears almost human as he stares at me with interest. “He doesn’t want you here.”

My heart beats faster as he refers to my brother, and I nod. “I know.”

“Yet here you are.” He laughs softly and I edge a little closer. “He doesn’t get to tell me shit.”

This causes a smile to dance across his face, which takes my breath away.

I could stare at him all night because this guy is seriously magnificent.

“Got one for me.”

I nod toward his beer, and he shakes his head. “No.”

“Water then, you’d save my life.”

I grin and he leans forward, his forearms on his knees as he looks at me with a morbid curiosity. “You don’t look in danger.”

“Aren’t I?” My voice is husky as I stare at trouble, and he leans back and grins.

“You already know that, so why ask?”

I’ve made it to the top step, and he just looks curious more than anything, and I nod toward the bench he’s sitting on. “May I?”

“Probably not a good idea.”

“You say it as if I care about that. Newsflash, I don’t.”

He shrugs and moves to the edge, allowing me space and as I sit, I feel as if I’ve won a battle many don’t survive.

“Thanks again for earlier.”

“How’s your friend?”

His question surprises me because he doesn’t seem the caring type.

“She’s ok, I guess. A little shaken, but she’ll survive.”

“Bastard.”

I guess he’s referring to the guy who slammed the locker in her face and I nod. “He is.”

For a moment we sit in silence and then I ask, “Why did you help her?”

“I hate bullies.” This makes me laugh out loud, and he cocks his brow.

“Something amusing you, little sis.”

“You. I’m guessing you could teach a bully how to perfect his or her craft. I hardly had you down as a knight in shining armor.”

“What do you have me down as?”

He seems almost curious, and I say softly, “Someone who doesn’t want to admit he has a heart.”

“You think there’s a heart in here?”

He pats his chest and laughs. “Empty, baby girl. There’s nothing in there except darkness. Guess again.”

“You like Emma. That’s a start at least.”

“I like nobody.”

“Bullshit.”

He laughs softly as I say with care. “I saw the way you looked at her outside the principal’s office and you wouldn’t come to her rescue if you didn’t feel anything.”

“If you want to believe that be my guest but you are so far from the truth, it amuses me.”

“Then tell me.”

A loud group of students approach and he says loudly, “Hey.”

Their faces drop when they see him watching them and immediately the easy atmosphere darkens. He says huskily, “Fetch the lady some water, you have two minutes.”

The group nod and push inside, almost with relief, and I laugh, “Does everyone do what you say?”

“Pretty much.”

Almost immediately, a girl returns with a bottle of water and hands it to me with a shy smile loaded with curiosity. “Hi.” She smiles and I return it.

“Thanks.”

“Go.”

His curt voice sends her running, and I sigh. “That was rude.”

“I don’t care.”

Grateful for the water, I chug it down and exhale with relief. “As I said, you’re a lifesaver and I don’t even know your name.”

“Flynn, also known as The Angel.”

This time, I laugh out loud. “By who?”

“Almost everyone.”

“Why do they call you that?”

He shrugs. “Ask them. I couldn’t give a fuck.”

“So, Emma.” I’m keen to dig a little deeper. “You like her.”

“I don’t.”

He grins. “If anything, she fascinates me. A potential project to pass the time. Someone to coax out of her shell and watch burn before my eyes.

Someone who never gets a chance to walk on the wild side and someone who would either break or manifest into a thing of great beauty because of what I can do. That is the interest I have in your friend, and it would be fleeting. One night only and then I lose interest. Never a repeat performance and that, my dearest Winter, is the only interest I have in your friend.”

His words make me laugh and he looks curious. “Something amusing you?”

“Yes. Just the thought of Emma anywhere near you is so delicious it would be worth everything just to see the look on her face. You terrify her and I expect she’d die of a heart attack first. She just wouldn’t survive.”

“Then you issue an interesting challenge.”

“I’m issuing nothing. Stay away from Emma. She has plans.”

“Like what?”

“Harvard for one, and she doesn’t need any distractions.”

“One night only, Winter.”

“That she may never recover from.”

“That’s the most interesting part of it. Watching how they deal with what happens.”

“Why?”

“You know why.” He looks at me sharply. “You live this life, and you know how it works. We distract our minds just to survive. If I make one person feel good about themselves for the briefest moment, then I’m happy.

Someone like Emma, someone who never catches a break.”

I stare at him in surprise. “Then you are an angel.”

“Your words, not mine.”

Another group of students head up the steps and he calls out, “Turn around and walk away.”

They stop as if frozen, and he says darkly, “Now.”

They don’t even challenge him and head into the shadows and I whisper, “Why did you do that?”

“Because they wouldn’t survive.”

“Survive what?”

“One of our parties. You see, Winter, some people are best off walking away for their own sanity. That group is vulnerable. Easily led and liable to do anything just to fit in. Corruptible and that, my dear, Winter ruins lives.

They are best kept away for their own protection.”

For some reason, his words bring tears to my eyes because now I see why they call him The Angel and I say in a whisper, “Then you do have a heart, Flynn. You just don’t want to acknowledge it’s there.”

He settles back in his seat and drains the bottle before setting it down on the table by his side, where I notice at least six others. His eyes flash in the darkness as he says in a husky voice, “Conversation over. Go home before it gets darker.”

I doubt he’s referring to the sky and I shiver inside. Just thinking of the fucked-up games this guy probably enjoys makes me determined to keep Emma well away from him. I doubt she would survive being one of his projects and I kind of think he knows that which is why he told me what would happen if she went anywhere near him.

Standing, I nod my thanks and set the bottle next to his collection of empty ones.

“Thanks. For the water and the conversation.”

He half smiles. “One time only, little sis.”

As I jog on my way, I smile to myself. I like Flynn. There’s something in him that touches a woman’s soul and if anything, it makes me curious about his life outside Rockwell Academy. Maybe I’ll ask Angelo one day, then again, maybe it’s best I don’t ever find out because I’m guessing his life is just as fucked as mine.