Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(3)

You and me both, asshole.

I crack my neck, making sure to keep the raw anger off my face, my eyes uncaring, before pointing

the blade at him. “I don’t ever, ever, want to see you again.” The sharp bite is noticeable in my tone,

but he doesn’t respond, still gaping like a fish out of water, his eyes bouncing from me to the car.

Finally looking away from him, I take in the row of small, cookie cutter houses, his fucking side

piece hanging out of the upstairs window as her mouth drops at the scene I just made.

Fuck her.

I offer a two fingered salute with a manic smile as my heart thumps wildly in my chest.

It’s times like these I wish I knew someone with powers, someone to make all of this go away. By

death or just wiping my memories, right now I’d consider either, but that’s not the case.

Instead, I stand here, as broken as ever on the inside.

My eyes fall closed as I take a deep breath, letting the usual feeling of bitterness and

disappointment wash over me, basking in it, before I blink my eyes open again.

“Rh—”

“Ever,” I interrupt, not letting Dante mutter another fucking syllable of my name.

Turning on my heels, I cut across the quiet street, the sound of a horn ringing out as a car almost

hits me, but I don’t pause my stride because I’m past caring.

I used the last of the cash I had on me to take the bus over here. It’s not everyday I get to leave

early, but since it’s my birthday, Vinny took pity on me, letting me go without closing the diner like I

was supposed to tonight. A complete surprise, nothing in comparison to what just took place before

me, but a shock all the same.

The thought of birthday sex had me climbing on the bus with an extra bounce in my step, but

apparently Dante was already celebrating, with someone else.

Fun, with a capital F.

Swiping a hand down my face, I pull my old, worn earphones out of my pocket, wiping them off

before slipping them in, plugging the cord into my phone and pressing play on my latest moody

playlist.

I’ve got a forty minute walk home so I may as well entertain myself on the way.

Pulling the hair tie from my wrist, I run my fingers through my long brown hair that falls to the

middle of my back, scooping it up into a messy bun on top of my head. The hot sun beats down on me

in my uniform; jeans and a blue and white striped shirt. It’s not exactly hot weather friendly.

I don’t look back, leaving the more affluent part of Phoenix Valley behind as I cut through the

small rundown portion of town.

Apparently this place was beautiful once upon a time; you wouldn’t know looking at it. And now?

It’s just… sad.

Battered. Beaten. Tainted. Forever bruised.

A bit like me, I think with a sigh.

The year I was born was the year the war ended. Thank the Gods. I already suffered enough in the

remnants of the chaos to have to live through the war too. I dread to imagine being in the middle of it

all. I was clearly the outcome of some sexual celebrations, only to be tossed aside, more like

abandoned, by my parents. I became another lost soul of the orphanage in town from the day I was

born.

Sometimes I wish they had just ended the misery for me then. Instead, I’ve had to survive in

Phoenix Valley, a world that still looks nothing like they promised to restore it to. They being the

Gods and other supernaturals that ruined the world for humans in a bid to end a greater evil.

Repairing their own lives, while leaving us to rot.

Whatever.

They’ve clearly never had to live a day in our shoes. The shiny high-rise buildings that once

offered a stunning landscape continue to stand half-demolished, ruined, and uninhabitable. Making

everyone move out to smaller areas of Phoenix Valley.

As I pass the bus stop, I take the next right, getting closer to the older part of town and my shoebox

apartment. We’ve taken back what we could as a collective, almost like evolving from cavemen to

modern men again, but instead of thousands of years to do it, we’ve had twenty-two.

Paradise Heights is worlds apart from the mess and rubble that still lines the streets of Phoenix

Valley. It’s visible if you look up at the sky and tilt your head to the left, offering you a glimpse at

what could be. After the war, the supernaturals decided to save the land that was the most

salvageable, suspending it in the air, and making it exclusively for them.

Fuck us neanderthals, right?

Gods created armies of angels, demons, vampires, and fucking werewolves, then gave them a safe

haven, while leaving us with nothing. Nothing but misery, despair, and hopelessness.

When I was younger, I would imagine what it would be like to live such a lavish life. Looking

down at the humans like ants, inconsequential, and a constant visual view of hell to them. Seeing

glimpses on the television, and hearing stories sent my mind into overdrive.

I would dream I had powers, skills, and anything that could be used to possibly make my life a

little better. Which wouldn’t have been hard considering I only had a metal bed frame with a lumpy

mattress I slept on at night, and shared a room with five other girls. Watching as they were adopted,