He’s taking hold of my hand and leading me to a tarp that’s been haphazardly covered with leaves, and it doesn’t take long for him to uncover the bike and jump on.
I clamber on behind him and I’m sighing internally that he’s got a helmet for me and I realise I have no reason to refuse going with him, just as he kickstarts it and then we’re off.
It’s electrifying, the way the engine rumbles beneath us and how my body is pressed flush against his back while my arms are wrapped around his waist. He doesn’t go too fast, which I’m glad for, because I’m definitely not dressed in the correct bike attire, but screw it, I'm actually having fun.
I forget about the letter, my plan to get out of here and create a better life for myself, and even my mission to discover a truth that should have never been kept from me. Come the end of this year I’ll be right where I need to be, but for now I’m content on just being here, with Elijah.
We have to come back to school unfortunately, but I’m buzzing, and I can’t get this stupid smile off of my face. Elijah is clearly enjoying my happiness as he picks me up and swings me around. I throw my hands up and face the sky with my eyes closed. I bring them back down as the spinning slows but before I open my eyes, he places a soft, chaste kiss to my lips and lets me go.
My eyes are pop open and what else can I do but look right at him. He looks sheepish and I’m surprised by the kind of kiss he gave me, I was not expecting shy and unsure from the big guy.
“Sorry foxy lady, I realised I shouldn’t have done that the minute I brought my mouth to yours, I just got caught up in the moment.” He sounds like he regrets it, but his eyes are saying the opposite. He’s looking at me with a hunger that feels all consuming.
“Don’t worry about it, I gotta admit though. That is not the way I imagined you’d kiss,” I can feel my eyes widening as the words slip out and it causes him to come closer once more.
“You’ve been thinking about how I kiss, tell me Henleigh. When you think about it, how am I kissing you?” He’s standing toe to toe with me, and I crane my neck to look up at him.
“That’s not what I…”
His lips descending on mine cut me off, and sure I’m going to get a name for myself, but damn can the guys around here kiss. He kisses like he has all the time in the world to explore my mouth and taste. It’s slow but filled with so much heat I could explode right here and now. I push up onto my tiptoes as I bring a bit more force into it, and a scrape of my teeth against his bottom lip has him moaning my name. I pull back.
I can’t kiss Amias and his friend on the same day, I mean I just did, but I shouldn’t. What is wrong with me? This is what happens when you only have friends to fool around with, you forget there’s a correct way of doing this kind of shit.
He’s looking at me with kind eyes as he leads me back to the ladder, and I wait at the top whilst he re-covers his bike and then we go back and part ways at my door. I wonder what the rest of my day will bring?
I should not have thought that, I run into my room with tears already streaming down my face. My pillows and mattress have been split open. Bright pink paint has been thrown everywhere. And the word ‘BITCH’ is scrawled across my walls. The drips run down my ruined bed and walls onto the floor, staining it. My laptop screen has been smashed and lies discarded in the middle of the room.
But none of this is the cause for my tears, what’s destroying me right now is the fact that I only brought one photo of Elliott with me and it resembles nothing more than confetti now. If they wanted to break me, they’ve gotten pretty damn close. The only thing I can be thankful of right now, is that they didn’t find my journal, I would hate to guess what they would have done with that.
I’ve never been to any of their rooms, but they must be here somewhere, I’ve already told the assistant head and, although she was sympathetic and is getting me a replacement for my laptop, the cameras had conveniently gone down just before it happened.
So, I’m just wandering the wing where our living quarters are, hoping that one of them will just pop up like they usually do. I can see lots of students milling about, off to do whatever they do on a weekend. But where are my people? When did I start thinking about them as my people? It hasn’t even been a week yet, I think those kisses have fried my brain.
“Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to get someone for you?”
I look over to the owner of the soft voice and I have no idea who they are. Short, mousy brown hair with blue eyes. Stocky and standing at least six-one, he has the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen. I don’t recall seeing him before and I feel, safe. How is that possible?
“No, not really. I don’t know where they are,” I reply, my voice sounding hollow even to my ears.
If it’s possible, his eyes seem to become even kinder as he takes hold of my hand and smiles gently at me.
“If you’re looking for your friends, I know Noah is in his room. Do you want me to take you there or I can go and get him for you. Whichever you prefer,” he offers, and he is such a sweetie.
I don’t get any romantic vibes off of him and I like that; Amias and Elijah are more than enough to fuel my confusing hormones.
“The fact that you’d offer the latter is enough for me, you can take me there if you really don’t mind.”
“Right this way fair lady.” He sweeps his arm out and I’m almost on the verge of smiling, but it isn’t quite enough.
I’ve lost the only thing I had with me to remind me of Elliott and it’s almost like I’ve lost him all over again, that thought alone is causing more tears to fall down my face.
My unknown helper leads me to a door with a complicated maths equation written on it and the Fibonacci sequence below that. He raps his knuckles on it three times before stepping back and waving at an unopened door. Is he a little crazy? No judgements but why is he waving at it.
The door swings open and Noah is standing there, he smiles at my helper before his eyes fall on me and he’s pulling me into the room.
The guy follows us in, before glancing around and closing the door.
“What happened?” Noah asks and I don’t know where to begin, how can he understand the significance of what they did if I’m not ready to share Elliott with him?
“I saw her walking up and down the hall, I gathered she was looking for one of you guys so I offered to bring her here. Who knows what would have happened if the rulers found her.” He says it as though he knows exactly what would have happened and it doesn’t sound good.
“Oh no Mattias, they’re the Shepherds now, my Leighbear here renamed them.” Noah is looking at me as he says this, and it makes butterflies flutter round in my stomach.
“Your Leighbear?” He sounds bewildered and says it like a question and I’m wondering the same thing, not that I’m opposed to the idea. Someone help me, there are too many guys!
“Yeah, my Leighbear, I chose the name and only I get to use it. Henleigh to you,” he says authoritatively and I gotta say, commanding Noah is shocking and kinda sexy.
“Will you be okay now?” asks Mattias and I smile even though I’m sure it looks more like a grimace and nod my head at him.