CHAPTER THREE : THE CAR EVERYONE SAW
1163 Words
*TWILIGHT'S POV :
Monday came too fast. Summer spent all of Sunday showing me around.
“This is the library,” she said. “And this is the garden. And this…” She pointed at a big glass thing with people moving inside it.
I froze. People. Trapped in glass.
“What is that?”
“TV,” Summer laughed. “It’s normal. Come on.”
I forced my face blank and followed her.
If I acted weird, they’d notice. If they noticed, they’d ask questions.
By Monday morning, I was dressed and waiting.
Aiden came down the stairs looking unfair. All black leather. White shirt underneath. Dark glasses pushed up on his head.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I tugged at my clothes. Baggy trousers. Plain polo. Sneakers.
Summer had laid out tight dresses and skirts for me. I refused. “I need to run if I have to,” I muttered. “I need to breathe.”
Aiden glanced at me. “You look fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah. Comfortable.”
The guards bowed and opened the car door for him. Then for me. Another car followed behind us.
Evan was driving. The ride was silent except for the engine.
Aiden’s mother had told me at breakfast, “Be good, okay? And ask if you need anything.”
She had kind eyes. It made me think of Luna back home. Luna never looked at me like that.
My mother died weeks after I was born.
“If she were alive, would I still be in Frostveil? Safe? Dead?”
I sighed and looked out the window.
“Our dad’s away on business,” Summer had said. “That’s why he’s not here.”
I glanced at Aiden. He was scrolling on a small glowing thing. A phone. He looked up suddenly. His eyes met mine. I looked away fast.
We hadn’t really talked since the hospital.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
I gave a nervous laugh. “No. Why should I be?”
“Because it’s your first day,” he said. “New place. New people.”
“Truth is,” I whispered, “I’m terrified.”
He didn’t push. “Evan,” Aiden called. “Play music.”
Music filled the car. Soft at first, then louder.
“Music calms the soul,” Aiden said without looking at me. “Breathe in. You’ll be fine.”
He shifted. Then, carefully, he pulled my head down until it rested on his shoulder.
I should have pulled away.
But the warmth was nice. I almost fell asleep.
The car jerked to a stop. “We’re here,” Evan said.
“Sterling Royal College,” Aiden muttered, looking out of the car window.
The gates were huge. And beyond them, people. Hundreds of them.
The guards from the second car were already out, opening doors. Aiden stepped out first. Then me.
I wasn’t ready for the noise.
“I love your new song!”
“Aiden, look here!”
“You’re so hot today!”
Girls surged forward. Phones in the air. The guards formed a wall. Then someone saw me.
“Who’s she?”
“Why is she with Aiden?”
The questions came like arrows. Aiden smiled, easy and practiced. He took my hand.
“She’s just a friend,” he said. “Move, please.”
My chest did something stupid at the touch. He pulled me forward through the crowd.
Halfway to the main building, a girl crossed our path. Two other girls followed behind her.
Her shirt was too short. Her stomach was bare. Her boots were high, and her makeup was thick.
She hugged Aiden. In the same motion, she slipped her hand between ours and broke our grip.
“Who’s she?” she asked Aiden. But she was looking at me. The hate in her eyes wasn’t even trying to hide.
“I’ll tell you later, Chelsea,” Aiden said. “For now, let’s go.”
“Chelsea,” I thought. So this was her.
She threaded her arm through his anyway. The two girls behind her didn’t bother with fake smiles. They glared at me the whole time.
“Nice meeting you,” one of them said. Not nice at all. I followed behind. Guards behind me.
“Day one,” I muttered. “And I already have enemies. Impressive.”
Aiden walked me to my classroom.
“This is your class,” he said. “Text me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered. He left for his class. We were in different classes.
The room looked like another world. Everyone had glowing boxes in front of them. Computers.
The teacher smiled at me.
“You’re new. We were told about your... situation. Take your time.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
I was a fast learner. By the end of the first period, I could type. By the second period, I could ignore the whispers.
“Who is she?”
“Is she his new girlfriend?”
“She looks poor.”
I didn’t care. Or I told myself I didn’t.
When the last class ended, I was pressed. I’d been holding it since I entered.
I stopped a girl in the hallway. “Excuse me. Bathroom?”
She pointed. “Down that hall. Second door.”
“Thank you,” I said, and ran.
I remembered the toilet from Aiden's house. That part was fine.
It was after that I messed up.
There was a silver button on the wall. I pressed it to wash my hands.
Hot water exploded from above. From the ceiling.
“Ahh!” I screamed and stumbled back, soaked.
Mistake number one.
Mistake number two was running out of the bathroom without thinking.
I crashed straight into someone.
“Watch it!”
I looked up. Chelsea and her two friends.
“How dare you bump into me?” she hissed. Her hand lifted fast.
I closed my eyes. Braced for it. If only I had a wolf, I’d fight back. Or maybe not. But I can’t blow my cover.
Nothing came.
I opened my eyes slowly.
Aiden was holding Chelsea’s wrist in the air. His expression was cold. Furious.
“Don’t you ever,” he said quietly.
He let go and yanked his jacket off. He draped it over my shoulders. I was dripping. My shirt was see-through.
“Aiden, it’s not…” Chelsea started.
“Don’t,” he cut her off. One word. Sharp enough to silence the whole hallway.
People were recording on their phones. A small crowd had already formed.
He took my hand. “Come on,” he said.
He pulled me away from the bathroom, past the crowd, past the phones recording everything.
My heart was pounding. Not from fear. From something else.
“Did someone just save me?” I thought out loud.
In Frostveil, no one ever did.
- Writer
