Chapter Thirteen
“Ugh, watch it, freak!”
I look up at one of the most sought after girls at Daray. Patricia “Tricia” Deters. Tricia sneers down at me as if I’m a bug she wants to crush with her four hundred dollar pair of boots, and she expertly flips her long, raven-colored hair.
“I’m sorry,” I say, not wanting a fight after the day I’ve had. Any other response will just cause Tricia and her stupid friends to gang up on me, and I don’t want another fight like the one with McKenzie.
I start to get to my feet, but she uses her boot to take my hand out from under me, and I go down again. “I didn’t say that you could get up, did I?” she laughs, and her stupid, mindless friends join in, like she just said the funniest thing ever.
“I don’t remember asking for permission,” I say as tightly as possible. “In fact, I also don’t remember caring about you or your stupid, worthless friends. Now get out of my way.”
I jump to my feet and push past Tricia and the four girls surrounding her. For a second, I’m startled to see that Chloe is one of them, but I ignore her and keep moving. I’m almost away when a set of perfectly manicured pink nails digs into my bicep hard enough to draw blood.
“Where do you think you’re going, dyke?” Tricia hisses.
I whirl on her, knocking her hand away and into the wall. “I am so fucking sick of hearing that word! Just shut up and leave me alone!” I get as close as possible to her face, hoping to send a clear message. “I am not your plaything; you do not have the right to mess around with me like I’m nothing. Now leave me alone.”
She looks scared, and I can tell by the way she keeps looking to either side that she’s waiting for her friends to jump in and back her up. But they don’t. Whether they just have nothing to say or they’re too scared of me, they stay silent and start to back away from me.
“Kylie,” Chloe says, taking a step forward. Her voice surprises me, because she’s been so adamant about not being friends in public with me. “Jillian wanted me to tell you that you don’t have to go to your Controlling Bloodlust lesson today. She says you might need some time to listen.”
I glance at her out of the corner of my eye, and sigh. I get what she’s saying. It’s a message within a message. Jillian’s telling me to listen for our Goddess, and Chloe’s telling me to back away before I do something stupid.
I nod, and back away from Tricia. “Tell Jillian thanks,” I say, making sure to look Chloe directly in the eye. I want her to know that I’m grateful to her for stopping me from potentially doing something stupid. She nods her head so slightly that I’m sure I’m the only one who noticed, and turns to her friend.
“Come on, Tricia. Let’s leave her to her private thoughts, however disgusting they may be.”
It kills her to say it. I can tell by the look on her face that she’s thinking about her sister, and I wonder if she’s reconsidering her decisions to fit in. Her friends are horrible people, and she can’t enjoy hanging out with them.
Tricia composes herself, and the haughty sneer is back on her face. If anyone saw her, they would never guess that just seconds ago she was close to bursting into frightened tears. Tricia narrows her eyes at me. “You’re a freak, and I’m gonna make sure that everyone here knows it.”
She turns and sashays down the hall with the rest of her friends and Chloe, but she calls out one last time over her shoulder. “And stay away from Kaven; he’s mine.”
That surprises me. She’s into Kaven? Good luck with that sweetheart; he’d never date a stuck-up bitch like you.
Even as I think it, I realize that I might not be right. Kaven didn’t answer me when I asked him about being shallow. He’s like nineteen years old, and I get that he doesn’t want anything serious right now, but being so shallow isn’t just an age thing. Maybe he really is a shallow creep.
From what I’ve seen though, Kaven’s only a jerk in public, kind of like Chloe. When it’s just the two of us, he’s much nicer and way less sarcastic. So, which Kaven is the real one? The confident nice boy that tells me to keep going? Or the arrogant, shallow prick that rolls his eyes whenever one of his friends laughs at him for “having” to train me.
I know he let’s his friends think he’s being forced to train me, but he’s not. At least, not anymore. Carlos gave him the opportunity to pass me off to someone else, and he refused. Doesn’t that say something right there?
Yeah, that Kaven’s incapable of doing anything to let his friends think he’s a nice guy. He wants his friends to think he’s a jerk. Maybe he is, and the Kaven that I’m getting to know is the fake. God, I hate this place sometimes! Nobody’s what they seem.
I storm up to the room I share with Chloe, slam the door closed behind me, and throw myself down on my bed. I have so much to think about that I can’t even think straight. I have to figure out my feelings for Tara. I have to try and convince Chloe to do what makes her happy, not popular. I have to wonder if I know the real Kaven, and I have to worry that our Goddess may have been wrong in choosing me.
Goddess this sucks…
Breakfast the next morning is even worse. Word about my fight with Tricia and her friends has gotten out, and everyone around Daray gives me a nasty look as I pass by. It seems that everyone thinks I’m some crazy “dyke” that needs to be kicked out before I snap and kill someone.
And I feel like snapping every time I hear that word. It’s so mean, nasty, and hateful that it makes me sick thinking that someone could use it so carelessly. Why do people have to be so incredibly mean to one another? Before Daray, I’ve only ever met one or two people that use that word as an insult and yet there are dozens here.
I thought fledglings would be more open than normal people.
So, Tricia made good on her threat already. Not even twenty-four whole hours since our fight and the entire mansion is against me. Awesome.
People stare at me as I walk past, and I just hold my head high and try to ignore them. Of course, every time I hear that word, I clench my hands on my tray, and fight the urge to turn around and throw something heavy at whoever is speaking.
Tara leads me to our table, where Morgan, Austin, and Andrea are all waiting. They give me sympathetic looks as I sit down. “Kylie, just ignore them,” Austin says, glaring at Tricia, Chloe, and their friends. The group of girls is currently whispering to one another and casting quick haughty glances over at our table. “They’re bitches, and nobody really likes them. They just pretend to so they don’t get tortured.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Why can’t people just leave me alone and treat me like everyone else? I’m really not any different from any of you.”
Andrea snorts. “You almost killed a girl before getting here. You almost killed a boy after getting here. You have to go and play warrior with the boys, and you’re not ashamed of the fact that you’re bisexual. You don’t call that different?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Excuse me? Do you have a problem with me being a bisexual Protector? I seem to recall you wishing me luck when we first met.”
“Well, things have changed. I was hoping that you could prove to everyone that women can do what men can. Instead, you’ve done nothing except make yourself a target by announcing your sexuality, training as a Protector, and attacking a former student from your old school. For the second time.”
“Andrea, leave her alone,” Austin says, turning to his sister. “I think it’s great that Kylie’s decided to continue with her training, despite everything that’s happened to her. She was dragged into a locker room and violently attacked with a pair of scissors, and she’s been battling her bloodlust. She’s still adjusting to our life. It’s only been like two weeks.”
“Two weeks with Kaven,” she mumbles into her drink. I catch it anyways.
“What the hell is it with you people mentioning Kaven to me? Tricia actually told me to stay away from him yesterday. I don’t get it.”
“Kaven and Tricia kind o
f had a thing for a while,” Morgan says quietly. I’ve noticed that she doesn’t speak often and, even when she does, she’s always very quiet, but it doesn’t stop us from giving her our undivided attention.
“What kind of thing?” I ask, afraid I already know the answer.
“Well, she likes to tell people that they dated, but that’s a lie. They were just um, you know, having sex. He was using her, and she didn’t wanna admit that she’s kinda, you know, loose.”
“Oh for the love of God, just say it. She’s a whore. Loose…who the hell says it like that?”
“Andrea, what is your problem tonight?” Tara asks angrily. “It’s like you’re trying to pick a fight with whoever you can. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Andrea laughs. “Wow, is that something your mommy told you? Treat others how you would like to be treated?”
“Andrea, stop it!” Austin says, glaring at her. “If you need to talk about something, I’m here. But if you’re just trying to be a bitch to piss everyone off, go away and take your attitude with you.”
They stare each other down while we’re all busy staring at the two of them. I’ve never heard Austin or Andrea raise their voices with one another and by the look on Andrea’s face, she hasn’t either. Are they so alike that they never fight?
Jillian walks into the room and everyone instantly falls silent. She stands at the front of the room and, when she’s sure she has everyone’s total attention, she addresses us. “Fledglings, I have an announcement to make. For those of you that have been here for more than a year, you know what this announcement is concerning.
“For those of you who are new or haven’t been here that long, this news is new to you. In two days time, Daray Hall will host its yearly dance.”
There are excited whispers from several of the girls, and they start giggling with one another.
She waits for the chatter to fall silent again before continuing. “You will have the opportunity to do your shopping in town while in the presence of a mentor or Protector. Boys will be expected to wear either a shirt and tie or, if they feel like dressing up, a full-fledged tuxedo. It’s your choice.
“Ladies will have the option to where any dress they desire, as long as it fits my rules. Think normal school dance code. Nothing shorter than fingertip length and nothing with plunging necklines or those skanky dresses with the cutout sides.”
We all gape at her, and I’m tempted to laugh. It figures that Jillian would speak her mind like that. Some of the girls look disappointed with her rules, and I notice that she gives them the look that adults with authority over children often have. “Ladies? Problem?”
Of course, Tricia is the first to speak up. “Miss Daray, we’re practically adults. Don’t you think it might be alright for us to wear whatever we want? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with a short dress. And besides, we’re only young once.”
Miss Daray? Am I the only one that calls her Jillian? If she didn’t like it, she would have told me, right?
Jillian frowns. “Patricia, I’m sorry, but my rules are not negotiable. I will not allow distracting dresses that will make some fledglings self-conscious about their appearance. Everyone will wear appropriate clothing, or they will be escorted back to their rooms for the remainder of the dance. Is that clear?”
Tricia sighs, but nods her head. “Yes, Miss Daray.”
Jillian addresses the rest of us again. “Lessons will be put on hold until after the dance.” Everyone starts to cheer. “The dance will be held two days from now. Remember that.”
As Jillian leaves the dining hall, she looks straight at me, and winks. After she’s gone, the girls in the dining room all start to whisper excitedly about plans for dress shopping. I’m not sure if I want to check out the dance. Tara and I used to spend the night at each other’s houses and have scary movie marathons instead of going to dances.
We didn’t see the point of it. Guys only go to chat and hang out with their guy friends or, if they have a date, they go to try and get lucky later that night. Single girls go so that when they bend down and touch the floor while dancing with their asses in the air they’ll catch someone’s attention. Tara and I used to make fun of those girls.
She and I look at each other, and smile, remembering the many nights spent away from the dances. We’d only ever gone to one, and it had been enough for us. “What do you think, Kylie? Do we give a vampire school dance a chance?”
I think about it for a minute, not sure what I should say. Part of me is definitely curious, but part of me just wants to hide up in my room and watch moves like old times. Like my old life.
“You know, I bet if you went it would really piss of Tricia and her posse,” Morgan says, looking at us. “I mean, imagine if the three of us showed up looking sexy and fierce instead of hiding up in our rooms. Her friends would go all crazy.”
Tara laughs. “Alright, now we definitely have to go. Tomorrow we should all go dress shopping. We should get there before all of the good dresses are gone. Austin? Are you gonna come with us?”
He shudders. “Dress shopping with four teenage girls? Um, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather get shot in the face.” We all laugh, even Andrea, and our little fight from earlier is long forgotten. Austin considers Tara’s offer for a minute, before finally sighing. “Alright, I’ll go. Who else is going to tell you how fat those dresses make you look.”
We all gasp in mock outrage, and just like that we’re laughing all over again.