See No Evil (Brotherhood Trilogy #1)(4)

New kid’s father pats his skinny shoulders and whispers something in his ear.

He glances up, looking miserable…and also a little determined.

I don’t know what the pep talk is about, but it’s made his jaw clench and nostrils flare. Blinking rapidly, he pulls his shoulders back and lifts his chin as Dean Hancock and Headmaster Williams flank him.

Spinning for the main entrance, the trio walks right past us. I search the new kid’s face again. I don’t know what the hell I’m searching for…and I don’t know why the hell I can’t stop staring at him.

There’s just something so pitiful about him with his skinny face and jet-black hair, cut short and combed to the side.

I force myself to turn away and follow my brothers to the side door of our dorm, but not before spotting the sheer look of dread cresting over the guy’s face. The building loomed large before him and he looked like he was entering a death chamber.

Poor guy doesn’t even know about Ivan yet.





#3:

Until That Day



Christiana



Dean Hancock talks too much.

He’s got one of those fast, clipped, no-nonsense kind of voices. If I stopped walking right now, he probably wouldn’t even notice. He’d just keep marching down the corridor telling me how Eton is the best school in the world with top athletes and Harvard-bound brainiacs.

“That’s why we’re so strict. I know it may seem unfair to have no access to technology or cell phones in your rooms, but we believe strongly that too much screen time is bad for the brain. We expect top marks from all our students, so we help them by providing the perfect environment for them to learn. Old-fashioned values are the backbone of this school.”

I roll my eyes, resisting the urge to scream and run away.

“It may seem isolating at times but that’s why we room the students together. It helps to build relationships and create strong bonds. Lifelong friendships are constantly formed at this school.” The dean glances over his shoulder, eyeing me with disapproving scrutiny. “The fact your parents have insisted you have a single room is to your disadvantage, in my opinion. You’ll have to make an extra effort to get to know the other boys on your floor. I often hear complaints about Eton being in the middle of nowhere. Well, the fact of the matter is, we practically are, which is why we must work together to create our own special world. We provide everything you need to be a successful, well-rounded adult.”

Okay, he seriously needs to stop talking now.

We turn into a long, fluorescent-lit corridor lined with doors. It’s like an upper-class prison, each dorm room a cell, inmates leaning against doorframes and watching me pass. Judging me. Sizing me up. Figuring me out.

I used to like guys checking me out. It made me feel pretty, important, wanted.

Now I feel like a lamb being lead to slaughter—skinny legs buckling, a pitiful bleat echoing down the corridor.

There’s no sympathy here.

Just curiosity.

It’s hard not to hunch over, pull my chest into a concave so they won’t figure it out.

I fidget with the short strands of hair below my ear, then remember McNeal’s stern frown. I bury my fist in my pocket and keep my eyes on the floor.

Just keep shuffling.

A movement to my left catches my eye and I glance up. Dark, narrow eyes strip me bare. He’s smug, arrogant, instantly ugly. If I were allowed to be a girl, I’d give him a look of contempt before sashaying past him. But I can’t do that anymore.

I’m not a girl right now.

He’s not going to try and flirt to win me over.

No, that one there, he wants to bury me…and have fun doing it.

I press my lips together, trying to hide how much I don’t want to be here right now. Keeping my eyes forward, I focus on the door at the end of the corridor, like it’s going to somehow save me.

Mr. Narrow Eyes is behind me now, but I can still feel his gaze, like a laser beam between my shoulder blades.

I won’t turn back.

I’ll never turn back again.

“And up this way is your room,” Dean Hancock says.

I hold the door while he walks through it, then follow him up the stairwell. Our clumpy shoes echo in the isolated stairwell. I rise to my toes so I’m not quite so loud, then realize how girly it must make me look.

The dean doesn’t notice.

He’s moved on to dorm expectations, evening schedules, the dinner routine.

I take it all in without a word, following him to my room and absorbing all I can.

New faces watch me, crowding in their doorways to check out the fresh meat.

I can’t help wondering where the hockey guy is. His gaze was different. His face strong and confident. His eyes telling me…what?

That he’ll be an ally? That I can trust him?

I must be out of my mind.

I finally reach my room.

My hand is on the door; a small reprieve awaits me.

“Dinner will be in thirty minutes. We don’t tolerate tardiness at Eton, so you best be on time. Bathrooms are down this way.” He flicks his finger at me and I’m forced to let go of my door, to prolong my nightmare.

I shuffle after him.

Doors are closing now. The boys have had their peek of me and are no doubt satisfied until dinner.

A loud belch makes me grimace. I’m not sure if I hide my expression in time but a big bear strolls out of the bathroom, scratching his chest and looking pleased with himself.