Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1)(49)

“That’s not fair. You know all about my crush on Brooks and Estaine.”

“So, you admit you have a crush on Estaine?” she asks.

“No. I admit nothing,” I say.

She just smiles. “Too late. You already said it. Can’t take it back, now.”

“Whatever,” I say. She basically already knew it, anyway. Like, I think she knew it before I knew it.

A moment of panic hits me.

“Wait, you don’t like Estaine, do you?” I ask.

“What? No. No way,” she answers. “I promise you that the guy I have a crush on is not Estaine or Brooks.”

“Okay, good,” I say, letting out a breath.

Nothing can ruin a friendship more than friends crushing on the same guy. That would be bad. Teagan is the only girl friend I’ve had since I was in middle school, and I do not want to ruin it.

We walk to the dining hall together and grab some coffee and food. We join our friends, and I am glad to see that Bryce is not sitting there. He’s sitting on the other side of the cafeteria with some of the guys from the football team.

Phew.

No drama this morning.

“Nice shirt,” Jason says to me.

“Thanks,” I say, taking a seat by Estaine. It seems to be my designated seat. Everybody kind of sits in the same spot every day.

“Hey,” Estaine says.

“Hi,” I say.

“How was your MMA training this morning?” he asks.

“Good,” I answer. “Except Uncl... umm...” I cough. “My trainer got a little rough and accidentally punched me in the arm.” I lift up my sleeve and show him the purplish bruise that is starting to form on my forearm.

“Ouch,” he says.

“Yep,” I say, pulling the sleeve back in place. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. “I whined about it and he pretty much told me to quit being such a girl, and suck it up.”

“Harsh,” Estaine says.

I laugh, pulling out my phone. “He’s not nice. He says that it’s better to be tortured by him than...”

My voice cuts off as I read the text.





UNCLE MATTY: This is not a test. Run, don’t walk. Get here as fast as you can. Something happened.





I don’t say anything to my friends. I just jump up and run out of the cafeteria as fast as I can. I run straight to my car, suddenly thankful for all the running that Uncle Matty makes me do every morning. I’m faster because of it.

As I start my car, the passenger side door opens and I watch Estaine get in. I don’t argue. As soon as his door is shut, I put my car in reverse and back out of the parking spot. I put it into first gear and push down on the gas as hard as I can. I see Estaine reach for his seatbelt, but I don’t bother with mine.

“I grabbed your phone,” Estaine says, holding up my phone in his hand.

“Thanks,” I say, not at all concerned about my phone. I’m more concerned about my family.

“Wow, I didn’t know this was out here,” he says, as we pull up in front of Uncle Matty and Jake’s house.

This place would be super hard to find, even by accident. It’s supposed to be that way. I don’t think Uncle Matty and Jake are the first people to use it. I guess a lot of important students have gone to school here in the past.

Not that I’m important.

But my dad is.

And my life is in danger because of it.

I jump out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me. I don’t look back, but I know that Estaine is following me.

I love that he is following me.

“What is going on?” I ask, as I throw the front door open.

Uncle Matty and Jake both have grim looks on their faces.

“Why don’t you sit down,” Jake says.

I hear Estaine walk in the door behind me. I go to sit on the couch and wait for Uncle Matty and Jake to yell at me for bringing him. But they don’t. Which scares me. Something really bad must have happened.

The couch dips down slightly as Estaine sits beside me.

“Did somebody die?” I ask.

Before anybody answers, it’s as if the moment slows down. Every second ticks slower. Every breath, though coming too short and fast, is slower. Even my heart is beating way too slow for this moment.

“Nobody is dead,” Uncle Matty answers.

I suck in a breath. My first deep one since I got the urgent text message from them. I gulp down the oxygen, not realizing until that moment just how dizzy I was getting.

Estaine grabs my hand, distracting me from the dizziness. I lean into him and wait for the news.

Whatever it is, it’s not good.

But at least nobody is dead.

“Something happened in Malibu last night,” Uncle Matty says.

“Charlie... Mom... Rick...”

“They’re not hurt,” he says quickly. “But your house... I’m sorry, Phoenix. Your house was burnt to the ground. Thankfully, everybody got out in time. But because of it, they have had to go into hiding.”

“Can I talk to them?” I ask.

“I’m afraid not,” Jake says. “Right now, it’s too dangerous. If the terrorists find you or them, any phone communication could lead them right to us, or them. We can’t have that. And right now, our number one priority is you.”