Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1)(21)

“Wow. I never thought I’d hear you say that,” he says. “There must be a guy involved. Is there? I need his name, address, some references, and a background check. I have to know if he’s good enough to date my sister.”

“There are lots of guys here,” I say. “Like, really hot guys.”

“But there is one in particular,” Charlie says.

“Maybe,” I say.

“Which means yes. Just tell me,” he says.

“Fine,” I say, as I pace back and forth in the stairwell. “His name is Brooks. And he has the bluest eyes. And his smile. Oh, my gosh, Charlie, I have never, ever felt like this before. It was, like, love at first sight.”

“Love?” Charlie asks.

“You know what I mean. Attraction. Like magnetic, earth moving, attraction,” I say. “And I know he felt it, too. We’ve been texting nonstop. The only problem is he goes to West Raven Academy and I go to East Raven. Our schools are rivals, so I can’t tell anybody about him. Everybody thinks I like this other guy who goes here.”

“Wow. Two guys. I’m impressed,” he says.

“Shut up.”

He laughs. “My little sister is a playa.”

“I am not.”

“Tell me about the other guy,” Charlie says.

“Um, we’re just friends,” I say. “I mean, he’s hot. Like, super-hot. And he goes to East Raven. But he’s not Brooks.”

“You’ve known these guys for three days, Phoenix,” he says. “Maybe you should get to know them before you make a decision. The magnet guy could turn out to be a jerk.”

“Possibly,” I say, hoping that’s not the case. “But either way, I want to be both of their friends.”

“Speaking of friends... have you made any?”

“Actually, yes,” I answer. “Well, I’m starting to. I’m friends with my roommate, Teagan. She’s on the soccer team. And we just clicked right away. I’m also friends with some girls from the dance team, Zoey, Penelope and Samantha. We all hung out tonight. It was awesome.”

“Are they hot? Because, you know, I’m single now,” Charlie says.

I roll my eyes, even though he can’t see me. “You’re always single.”

“True.”

“But, I can’t tell them about you,” I say, letting out a sigh. “It’s so hard. I’ve actually talked about you to Estaine and Brooks. It wasn’t on purpose. It’s just... you’re my best friend. Thankfully, Estaine didn’t notice, but Brooks asked me how I have stepbrother, with dead parents. I have to come up with some kind of story now...”

“Maybe you should just tell him the truth,” Charlie says.

“Pretty sure the secret service agents would murder me if I did,” I say, thinking about Uncle Matty and Jake. They’re both kind of scary dudes.

“Don’t tell them,” he says. “Seriously, you need somebody at the school you can trust.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I say, truly considering it. “But not yet. I have to wait until I trust somebody enough to tell them. I mean, it could mean the difference between life and death if the truth gets out.”

“I don’t think so,” Charlie says. “You’re a sixteen year old girl. I get that the terrorists kidnapped you for a few hours, or whatever, but it’s not you they’re after. It’s your dad. I think your parents just freaked and went a little overboard.”

“Yeah,” I say.

To be honest, I don’t remember being kidnapped.

I felt something go over my mouth and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed a few hours later. I guess they used chloroform on me. But the secret service found me within an hour. I was freaked out about it for, like, five seconds. But I was fine. There really was no need to send me away.

“I just wish they would’ve sent you with me,” I say. “You would love it here.”

“I’ll keep working on Dad. Maybe he will send me, eventually,” Charlie says. “Until then, it sounds like you’re doing good without me. You’ve made a lot of friends. Met a lot of boys...”

“The boys are... irrelevant,” I say.

He laughs. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, Phoenix.”

“You frustrate me.”

“You love me,” he says.

“I do,” I say.

“I love you, too.”

“I guess I’d better go. I’ve got soccer tryouts tomorrow and I should probably try to sleep some,” I say.

“Okay. Good night, Phoenix.”

“Night, Charlie.”





Tuesday, August 22

I hope I don’t suck.





My arms hurt.

I mean, like, it hurts to lift my arms above my head.

Uncle Matty and Jake take training very seriously. And I’m not sure that I’ve actually made any progress just yet, but I do feel like I’m on the right track. They’re going to teach me how to defend myself. And maybe I’ll get fit while in the process.

On my second day of school, while eating lunch, I am approached by a middle aged woman with an iPad in her hand.

“Are you Phoenix Underwood?” the woman asks.