ONE MORE MISTAKE
ENTERTAINER
When I entered Royal high the next day, hungry eyes were searching for a glimpse of the girl who became their latest entertainer.
I stood by my locker while everyone waited for her arrival to feed off her. They were accompanied by their classmates and gossiped over the details. They held no mercy for this girl, the things they said about her were nasty and disgusting.
It was hard to ignore the issue, I only found out about it because I've heard some people talk about it when I walked in. However I didn't know much about it, and knowing this type of attention can affect them I chose not to figure it out.
I took my textbook out of my locker and closed it once I was done. But when I turned around, Alexis appeared before me along with a dumbfounded Nate by her side.
Alexis bounced off her feet, an amused expression passing through her face. I didn't need to ask her anything to figure out why she looked pleased. It had to do with the rumors, there was no doubt. Alexis was just like the rest of them, she enjoyed watching others suffer.
Alexis met my eyes and smiled.
"Could you believe it?" She asked as her hands clasped mine in a tight grip. She stepped closer to me and looked at me. Being this close I was able to see her, and note the way her eyes looked. She was obviously very elated however there was something malevolent about it. It made me slightly uncomfortable, she always did but this time it was different.
"And she didn't even tell us anything yesterday," she whispered, then her eyes glanced at something behind me. It was when I felt the whole hallway become quiet, and I knew she had walked in.
Following Alexis' eyesight, I swiftly turned around and saw a familiar girl walking in the middle of the hall with her head held up.
"Just look at her, so fucking full of herself. " Alexis was the only person who spoke up, and her voice was loud enough for Raine to hear. And I knew she had but she didn't give her the attention. Instead she walked past the prying eyes and smiled.
This was not the same girl who sat with us yesterday. It was clear she was used to this kind of attention, and it seemed as if she liked it. There was no pink tint on her cheeks or embarrassment lingering in her eyes. There was just satisfaction as if this was exactly what she wanted.
"I wondered how she did it, how'd she get Rory Clark to sleep with her. I didn't even know that they knew each other, did you?" Alexis slapped my arm, urging me to answer. However she wasn't even looking at me, she was staring at Raine with envy. I pulled my hand out her reach and gripped my bag.
"No I didn't." I replied sharply but Alexis didn't respond. I looked back at Raine and found her walking past us, her glare pointed at Alexis. Then she met my eyes and shook her head as if I were just as pathetic as the girl who stood beside me.
Raine didn't remain in the hallways to be inspected, instead she continued to walk down the hallway until she was out of sight. However students didn't take her name out of their mouths, they talked and judged. But I wasn't sure why it was this important, or why people cared this much. Even though it was a surprise that Rory, who hardly gave anyone attention, shared a bed with someone.
"Why does it matter so much?" I asked, facing Alexis and Nate. I was surprised when I saw that Alexis had a smirk plastered in her lips, like she was satisfied with her work.
It was clear by the way Raine looked at Alexis and by how satisfied Alexis looked, that she had something to do with this situation.
Alexis furrowed her eyebrows, confusion covering her features. It was the first time I saw her show true emotions on her face and actually mean it.
"You didn't see it?" She asked, already pulling her phone out. I shook my head.
"See what?" I asked and without a warning, her screen was in my face. Once I realized what she was showing me, I turned away and groaned.
"Alexis, why are you showing me that? Put it away." I say as I try to ignore the soft murmurs coming from her phone. I didn't know what to expect but a sex video of Raine and Rory never would've crossed my mind.
Alexis turned her phone off and giggled.
"That's why it matters so much, it came out late yesterday and now it's all over the internet. Who would've guessed Rory Clark would be the one that was into that sort of stuff." She asked, her eyes staring at the hallway Raine disappeared into.
I wasn't interested in this particular situation, and I didn't want to be part of it either. However there was this urge to ask her something.
"Did you leak that video?" I asked calmly. I didn't know Alexis very much but I know she was more vicious than what everyone thought and she knew how to hide that side very well.
Her smirk disappeared from her face and turned to look at me. This was the second time I surprised her, and it seemed to discompose her.
"Thea, what? No, I wouldn't do that." She squealed but I didn't believe her. That should've been the reason why Raine looked angry at her and why Alexis was almost happy to see it all unfold.
I wasn't going to pry it out of her but I know she had something to do with it.
My eyes landed on Nate who was standing behind her, his eyebrows furrowed and staring intently at Alexis.
"Okay." I said and walked away from the pair. I know Nate wasn't going to say anything about the matter, which made them the worst people.
However nothing came close to Sterling and the two others walking close behind him. They were walking the opposite direction of the hallway, and I knew I should've walked another direction but I wasn't the one that needed to hide. There was no reason why I should be the one leaving.
I wasn't surprised when Sterling came straight to me and stopped me from walking any further.
"Thea," he said my name, his voice hardly a whisper.
I glanced over at the two, and met Ysabel and Linda's eyes. They gave me a warning look, and for some reason it annoyed me. They were treating Sterling as if he was someone who was sinless and so innocent compared to my defaults. They considered him so above my level, not worth his time and effort.
It shouldn't surprise me, they never really liked or cared about me. Now they had they had the perfect excuse to hate me.
I felt Sterling's eyes burn me and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was because he was looking at my bruise. His eyes were lowered down to my throat and although I tried to cover it as best as I could, I knew it hardly did anything.
"I need to get to my classes," I say and glance away. I didn't try to cover my throat with my hands, it was only going to raise suspicion.
My voice seems to catch his attention.
He looked back at me and after a second he nodded his head and let me pass. I didn't spare a glance at Linda nor Ysabel and walked towards the bathroom. Once I made it, I made my way to the mirrors before taking out my concealer from my bag. I slowly pulled down my shirt and almost cringed at the sight. My neck was marked with deep purple bruises, somehow it made it look worse. This wasn't the only bruise I got from Bruce, there was also the one that was in my upper arm. It looked less painful but it was still horrible.
"Ouch, who did that?" A voiced called out, but it didn't sound concern at all. I looked up and found brown eyes staring at my bruise from the mirror. I looked away and put some concealer on the bruise before putting it away and covering it. I put my bag over my shoulder and turned around to face Raine.
"Did you come here to hide from everyone?" I ask back, while crossing my arms across my chest. She lifts an eyebrow and leans on the walls.
"Yeah, I did. Give thanks to that friend of yours." Raine replied, a forced smile forming on her lips and then she walked out of the bathroom. I didn't get the chance to tell her that Alexis wasn't my friend, or anything at all.
I look back at the mirror and move my hair to the front so it can cover part of it. Bruce wasn't this careless, whenever he wanted to hurt me, he usually marked my arms in order to avoid others from asking what happened.
He was gone early this morning, probably to avoid seeing me however no one who worked for him stopped me from going to school. Kace allowed me to leave my room and out the house without stopping me like he did last night.
A few girls came into the bathroom and I quickly gathered my stuff before walking out.
The bell had rang a while ago but there were still people lingering in the hallways. I didn't expect to find Sterling leaning on the lockers across the bathroom door, waiting for me. He stood there alone, with his arms crossed, and a thoughtful expression on his face. He hadn't noticed me yet, but once he heard the door close, he immediately looked up at me.
I continued to walk to my class, even as he was calling out to me to stop. I didn't want to stop and talk to him, I thought there was nothing else to say after yesterday's conversation. I've already said what I needed to say and I thought he was done too.
"Thea, can you stop for a moment?" He took me by the arm and pulled me back to face him. It happened to be the same arm that was damaged, but he didn't know. I couldn't even pull my arm away because it was going to hurt me much more so I let him drag me to an empty classroom.
"Can you let go of me?" I asked sharply once we were inside and I was surprised when he did. I brought my arm to my chest and turned away from him so he wouldn't see how
"It was him, wasn't it? He gave you that bruise on your throat and injured your arm, right?" I didn't need him to name my uncle, we both knew who was capable of doing this to me.
I heard his shoes shuffling.
Sterling came around to face me. He was standing before me, breathing hard enough that I felt his breath hit my face. I locked eyes with him and I didn't think it was possible to get angry at him for looking so furious. He didn't have the right to be upset, he had left me, demonstrating just how little he actually cared.
"What else did he do?" He asked as his eyes flickered down to the mark on my throat. I wanted to say many things to him, instead I focused on my anger and asked the wrong questions.
"Why do you care? Weren't you the one that left? What gives you the entitlement of asking me questions about my private life?" He takes a step back as if I struck him. He looks away from me and I hear him mumble the last words I said.
"How is it fair that you're allowed to ask me questions and expect me to answer them but this doesn't apply to me?" His eyes darted back to mine and there was a look of disbelief in his face.
"You can't be serious, this is different and you know it." He couldn't believe I was telling him this, but I couldn't believe he was trying to make it seem like the two things were unrelated.
"No, it's not any different. My feelings are just as valid as yours, don't try and make it look like yours are more important than mine. I was mourning for your loss, because I thought you were dead. Then you came back and that grief turned into anger because you lied. You didn't even come to me, your sister." I whispered the last words but they felt empty. There was nothing behind them because even though we once considered ourselves siblings we never really were.
Not by blood.
Sterling was my adopted brother ever since I was fifteen, he was always there for me whenever I needed him and I learned to love him as a brother. Now, that love is gone.
"I thought we were family but you proved to me just how much that meant to you, because you ran straight to them. Not me, and now that I'm asking for an explanation or an apology. You do neither." I don't show him anything and keep the wall between us.
Sterling shook his head, his eyes clear from anger and now covered in tears. His somber eyes held an accusation, one that I've seen many times before.
"Don't do that, don't try to make it sound like I'm cold hearted and selfish. You know I cared about you, and mom and dad-"
"Then why did you do all this?" I said, lifting my arms to release my bitterness. He closes his lips and breathes in.
He doesn't tell me anything.
"Remember when we first promised to tell each other everything?" I remind him of the night I was moving out to live with my uncle. He reassured me that even though we weren't living in the same house, I would always be family. It didn't matter if that place was far away. He told me he would tell me everything so it wouldn't feel like I moved away. That promise had applied to us as well, whenever we learn of something new, we would share it with one another. If something bothered us, we would share it. But I don't know how that went wrong throughout the years.
Before he could say anything, I spoke.
"You broke that promise, you can't expect me to tell you everything like before when you can't even tell me what happened to you. Not only because of that reason, but also because we're not the same people anymore. You left and became someone else, someone I don't even recognize." I took a step back and really looked at him.
He wasn't the person who I considered a brother. That person wouldn't have left, faked his own death and left me alone. Or maybe this person standing before is exactly who Sterling Haze is and the one before was a fake.
"I needed you, but you didn't. You left, now you can't demand me to tell you what goes on with my life. You knew what the consequences were yet you still made the decision to leave."
"It wasn't my decision," he whispered, his eyes lowering to the ground. I thought I must've mistaken the words, but no I couldn't. He told me these words as if they were painful to say however he did and now I couldn't ignore them.
"It was my decision, Thea." He said them again, raising his head and meeting my eyes. There was so much that he was telling me, that he wanted to tell me but those things never came out.
"What do you mean?" I asked softly. I wanted him to keep talking, to tell me everything but I didn't want him to shut me out.
I searched his eyes, trying to decode them but I couldn't understand him.
Sterling didn't say anything else. He just stood in front of me, not saying anything at all. He wasn't planning to tell me anything else, but I don't know why I was thinking he was.
I looked away from him, disappointed.
I couldn't continue this. I didn't want to follow him though this game, I was done with him. I couldn't pour my frustration and anger out so he could only give me hints of his situation.
I turned around and walked away.
"Thea, we haven't finished yet" he had the audacity to block my pathway. I didn't understand how he wasn't getting the situation. I didn't want to know about him anymore. If he didn't trust me, why did he think I trusted him?
couldn't he just leave me alone.
"Why was Bruce hurting you? And why were you letting him? You could call the police, you could make him go to prison for abusing you. Thea, please listen to me." He grabbed my shoulders and held me in place. I moved away from him and gripped my bag.
"Why do you care?" I asked sharply. He couldn't believe I was asking him this, he turned away from me and rubbed his jaw.
"Thea you have a bruise on your throat. Bruce was trying to hurt you, again. How do you expect me to not care?" He asks as he points at my bruise.
"I've been fine these past few months, I think I could handle myself. Now please, Sterling, let me leave." He didn't move away from the door. He just released a breath and stared back at me.
The final bell rang.
"You need to do something. I can't just watch as Bruce abuses you. Either you let the authorities know about this or I will. This can't keep happening, he can't keep hurting you." There was determination in his voice and I knew he would do it if I didn't. But he couldn't control me like this, forcing me to do something I didn't want to do.
"You will stay away from my business, you got it?" There's a warning in my voice but he doesn't back down.
"That isn't an option, if you aren't going to do anything then I'll handle it." He turned around and started to walk away. I quickly made my way towards him and pulled his arm.
"If you do that, I'll figure out your secret. I'll do whatever it takes to uncover the truth and make you suffer for it." My voice was devoid of emotion, colder than I expected but I meant every word. I didn't think I would succeed, this secret was bigger than his life and I knew he kept it well hidden. Whatever it was, it weighed on him.
He turned to me and I expected him to look angry but he didn't. He closed his eyes as he lowered his head.
"Thea, I don't want to argue with you. I just want you to understand that you don't deserve to be treated like this, he can't mistreat you and think he could get away with it. You've always told me you wanted to leave that place, what changed?" His voice was soft.
"Everything changed. I'm not as naive as I used to be, and I've got to realize so many things." I wasn't sure if he understood the double meaning, but if he did he didn't show it.
As he opened his lips to talk, a voice interrupted him.
"You two, get to class." I looked over Sterling's shoulder and found a teacher behind him, holding the classroom door open for us.
I didn't look back at Sterling, I walked around him and made my way out of the room. I heard Sterling following close behind me, and then I heard him call my name.
For the last time, I turned to look at him.
His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips in a tight line.
"Can we talk like two normal people? Meet me after school at the parking lot, please. We need to talk." He sounded desperate as if he knew I wouldn't talk to him again and this was his last chance to make it right. It was that emotion that made me pause and consider it. I didn't owe him anything, I could easily be done with this game and never hear from him again but there was something that stopped me from taking that decision.
I didn't tell him anything, instead I took a moment to look at him and then I walked away.
He didn't stop me this time.
Throughout the day, I've thought long and hard about Sterling. I didn't know if I wanted to see him again, let alone talk to him. It seemed like a waste of time, he wasn't going to tell me anything different and I wasn't going to give in to him. It didn't seem like the right thing to do yet I found myself walking towards him after classes ended.
Even though I didn't tell him I was going to meet him, he waited for me.
When I was close enough, he noticed me and smiled. I kept my frown.
"Well," I say as I shrug my shoulders.
"We should go to my place, we'll have more privacy." He said as he glanced at the parking lot. I realized that many students were staring at us, their eyes taking in everything we did.
I nodded without thinking about it. He met my eyes once again and motioned for me to get in his car.
"I'll meet you there, I know where it is." He lingered, his eyes wary but nodded either way. I walked away from him and made it to my car.
I stopped short when I saw who was standing outside my car.
"Ms, Nightingale," Kace said as he straightened up. I wasn't surprised he was here, Bruce probably told him to pick me up from school so I wouldn't go anywhere else.
"I need to make a quick stop. I don't care what my uncle told you, you won't prohibit me from going." I say as I open my car door and get inside.
Kace doesn't stop me, instead he walks towards the black car beside mine and waits for me. He was going to follow me.
I turn on my car and make my way out of the parking lot. However when I do I think about Caine. I wasn't planning to visit him today even though I told him I was. He couldn't see me like this, with bruises on my throat, he would be furious. That's why I made the decision to not go.
I never missed a day to visit Caine, and I know if I missed today he'll be disappointed but I couldn't face him like this.
In the stop light, I texted Caine that I wasn't going to make it. Once I send the message, I turn off my phone.
It doesn't take me long to make it to Sterling's place.
When I look in my rear mirror, I see a black car following close behind me. I turned my blinker on, for right, and entered the beautiful home in which once was my home too. The gates slowly opened, and the memories came in. I haven't been here since everything happened. I loved it here, I don't think I could ever replace this place and forget the memories I had here.
When I parked in front of the house, I got off and met Sterling in the front. I heard another car door shut and knew Kace was still here.
"You made it." Sterling said while smiling at me. He looked relieved and stared at me with an expression I couldn't decipher. Sterling's eyes shifted at something behind me and curiously stared at Kace. Before he could ask me anything I heard a voice, a voice I could recognize wherever.
"Thea?" Lilian, my adopted mother, asked softly.
I turn to look at the person who I haven't seen in a while.
She smiled at me.