And Catch the Fly Read online

  And Catch the Fly

  Woodside Academy | Book 2

  Cleo Fox

  Copyright © 2019 Cleo Fox

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, real locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental or used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2019

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Also by Cleo Fox

  About the Author

  Someone pulled me along the dark downstairs. Only the pale light from street lamps streamed in through the windows. Long, dark, tendrils of shadow people crawled up the walls. Twisted, stretching faces stared back at me. The hand tugged harder on my arm. Tears entered my eyes, blurring the shadows into blobs.

  "Come along, Chanel, follow mommy." My mother's voice echoed in my ears.

  I didn't want to follow her, the dark scared me, even with her there. I wanted my bed, my blanket, my music box. "Bed, mommy, bed." I yanked on my arm and planted my feet on the floor trying to stop in my tracks, but she pulled me along. My bare feet slid on the cool, polished, wood floor.

  She turned and growled. "Chanel, behave! I have something fun for us to do!"

  I knew better than to believe her. The path we took through the house led straight to the door I hated most of all, the basement. I continued to fight her, twisting and tugging on my arm, but her handheld onto me with little effort. Her free hand turned the crystal doorknob and pulled. The flickering glow of fire bounced off the stone wall at the bottom of the steep stairs. A spicy odor hit my nose, the hairs on my arm prickled.

  "No!"

  In one fluid motion, she swept me into her arms, and pulled the door closed, descending the stairs. I screamed and kicked her, but despite my efforts, it didn't make her stop. It didn't make her turn around.

  "What the fuck did you do to our daughter?" Warm, strong arms picked me up. They encircled me, holding me close. Safe.

  "It was best to do the ceremony now. We needed to make sure they were worthy of the Dark One's heir."

  Dad held me tighter. "You're sick. We're leaving. I'm done."

  I tried to open my eyes, but it took too much effort.

  My mother scoffed. "You do and..."

  And what? What was she going to say?

  Dad sighed. "The night terrors keep getting worse. I don't know what to do, Rose."

  A nice voice filled the darkness that encased my mind. "I can't guarantee it'll stick forever, she'll need to come for refreshers. But it should help her mind not to focus on the events of that night."

  "You're the only one I can trust. Please help my little lamb." His voice cracked.

  Dad.

  I wanted to hug him. When I hugged him, everything felt a thousand times better, safer.

  A light flickered behind my eyelids. They fluttered and my room came into focus. My window cracked open, the blackout curtains rippled in the breeze, letting slivers of sunshine through the edges. A white-hot sharp pain speared my left eye and went straight through my brain. Every muscle tightened in my jaw. My hand went to my head. I gasped and grabbed a pillow to block out the light. "Fuck me! What the fuck!"

  Why do I feel like I drank a thousand bottles of rum last night? Only rum could make my head feel so shitty.

  My stomach tumbled.

  Turning over as fast as I could, I grabbed for the small trash can I kept by my nightstand and heaved into it. The liquid came up easily, splashing into the bottom and speckling my face with its warmth. Sour rum. Why can't I remember drinking? What happened last night?

  It didn't make sense.

  I didn't risk drinking, too many people around to take pictures and for my mother to catch on. It only took once for me to learn drinking was as bad as eating something with sugar and fat. Not worth the punishment. It was only safe to do in a small

  setting when she'd gone on business for a while.

  Another red-hot knife pierced my brain, as my stomach clamped down and only the bitter bile burned its way up my throat. I grabbed at my skull. "Fuck."

  My phone chimed the alarm I only had set for school days.

  I struggled to put the can down and reach for the offensive object. "It's Sunday you stupid piece of crap!"

  Grasping it, I hit the volume button to snooze it. I stared at the screen, it hurt to let any light in, but even through the haze of pain, MON stood out over the date. I frowned, that couldn't be right. Saturday just passed, hadn't it?

  A beat tapped in my skull as more blood made the constricted veins throb. What did I do Sunday? Why can't I remember Sunday? Saturday semi-came to me. Sai, burgers, roller coasters, Sai again. Nothing. What happened to the rest of Saturday night?

  I went to my messages. None from Sai, but there was one from Rhett Collins. A frown pulled at my lips as flashes of me using my hair tie on his hair skirted across my mind's eye.

  The message stood out bold, unread. I tapped it.

  Saturday, August 15th 7:52 PM

  Rhett: Hey, do you want to set that calculus tutor session up for tomorrow? Around noon. My house is gated, so you don't have to worry about anyone seeing you there. A bunch of old people live around me anyway. I'll send my address if you want to do that.

  My second alarm went off. I needed to get ready for school before I had to rush. Why would he care if someone saw us? Wasn't the library a good enough secret spot? Red flashed in my head, making the shots to my temple even worse. "Fuck!" I pounded my fists against my skull.

  The third and final alarm chimed in my ear. I threw the phone across my room. Landing on the carpet, it skidded across the floor to my bathroom. My stomach heaved, again and I grabbed for the trashcan.

  How the fuck am I so hungover? Why can't I remember anything from Sunday? How the hell am I going to make it to first period? I couldn't miss a day. I couldn't risk it. Not with my track record.

  Sai pulled his car through the McDonald's drive-thru. Getting our regular breakfast for the weekday. I got my regular sausage Mcgriddle, the only way to go when there wasn't time to deal with hotcakes. Bon spilled the syrup once in Sai's car, and we were all banned from eating anything similar since.

  For the hundredth time in twenty minutes, Rhett sighed. I rolled my eyes, taking the bag of food from Sai as he passed it to me and drove out of the lane. I glanced back at Rhett. "Seriously, dude, what did you expect from her? To suddenly be nice? I'm sure everything at the park was an act. Can you stop sighing over the fact she never messaged you back about tutoring over the weekend? She's a bitch."

  Bon shook his head as I handed him his bacon and egg McMuffins. I never understood how he liked them, they weren't for me. He unwrapped the first one, and I arched an eyebrow at him. "Have something to say, Bon?"

  He sighed and finished chewing before he looked at me. "I don't think she was acting at the park. For once, I think she was being her real self and someone scared her off. You saw those texts that came in after Rhett messaged her. What if something happened to her?"

  Rhett nodded. "That's what I'm worried about. I'm worried something happened to her. What if someone was at her house and they did something? Maybe we should go to the cops."

  I pushed my black-framed glasses up my nose. "We're not going to the cops, Rhett. Besides we were all baked off our
asses at the park. Everything seemed greater than it was."

  Sai sighed as he braked for a red light. "Let's see if she shows up at school. If she does, then we don't have to go to the cops, and it turns out she's just a really good actor."

  I snorted before taking a bite of my still nuclear hot hash brown, I hissed as it burned my tongue, but it was so good. "You guys only saw her different because you've all had a thing for her at one point or another. Despite what you say, I don't think those feelings ever went away, and now they're clouding you from the truth."

  Sai turned the car into the school's parking lot and found a space toward the back. "I'm not clouded by anything."

  I rolled my eyes. We sat in silence, finishing our food, and chugging the OJ.

  Rhett leaned forward-leaning onto Sai's seat, he pointed. "There she is."

  My gaze followed his finger. Chanel walked up the sidewalk toward the courtyard. She wore a black turtleneck sweater dress and a small luxury backpack slung over her shoulder. Her arms folded against her chest, she wore a massive pair of sunglasses, with her hair thrown into a high ponytail. I lifted an eyebrow, even from a distance it was apparent she felt like shit.

  Rhett pulled out his phone. "I'm going to text her."

  Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. "Don't be surprised if she ignores you."

  He typed fast and sent it before she was out of sight. She stopped in her tracks and lifted the hand with her cellphone. Her other hand came up and I lifted an eyebrow, Is she really going to text him back?

  Rhett nudged me in the shoulder. "She's typing something." He shoved his phone in my face. Her message popped up the next second.

  Chanel Bishop: I need to talk to you, Jacobson Library, after school. Bring the others.

  Rhett pulled his phone back. "She wants to meet with us at the library after school."

  Sai turned in his seat to glance over the headrest at Rhett. "Does she say why?"

  Rhett shook his head. "No, but I think we should go."

  I sighed. "Of course you do. She hasn't even set up days for tutoring. I'm telling you, she's going to bail." I pushed open the door and slid the seat forward so Bon could get out of the car.

  Sai did the same on his side and Rhett got out. Rhett looked at me over the car. "If you hate her so much, you don't have to come to find out what she wants. For all you know, that's what she's wanting to set up."

  Bon strode ahead of us, silent, as usual. Of course, he never said much of anything. More in his head than anyone I'd ever met before. He used to have my back with my opinions of Chanel Bishop, but that washed away with one baked evening at an amusement park. I swear the rest of them thought with their dicks. A pretty girl talks to them and they lose it.

  I followed behind the others. "Whatever. Don't come crying to me when she decides to break all your little hearts. She's playing you so that she can get tutoring. She won't even think twice about you once we graduate. If she graduates on time."

  Sai ran his hand over his hair. "She's not stupid, man, I think she's just having trouble keeping on track. There's obviously something going on in her life. A little bit of empathy won't kill you, you know."

  "I don't sympathize with manipulators."

  Bon sighed from in front of me as we entered the courtyard and headed for the entrance, I wanted to get to my locker and class before the bell. I had no desire to get study hall because we dragged our feet getting out of the car.

  "Jason, I just want to get to class. I still have to pick up my Physics book from my locker. I'll see you at lunch, promise, babe."

  As if they were flies to honey, their gazes went in Chanel's direction as we passed the table of jocks and heirs to massive fortunes.

  Chanel and Jason stand a little bit away from the table, his large hand wrapped around her wrist. She pulled at it and he frowned before forcing a smile onto his lips. "Babe, you taking school seriously for the first few days was... cute, but now you're starting to annoy me. You don't need to think about college, you'll be marrying me and having a kid soon enough."

  Jason pulled on her until she stumbled into his arms, he held her and hauled her off to the table to sit on his lap. She fought his hold until he leaned in toward her ear, whispering. Chanel stilled. She bit her lip.

  I turned my face forward, I'd seen my mom make the same expression with my father. I can't believe I let myself stop walking, I nudged the others to knock them out of their trances. I don't sympathize with manipulators, and that is what she is.

  I sat in the back of Calculus, hoping the teacher would let me blend in the background. I fidgeted, making sure my sunglasses stayed in place, hiding the surprise that morning when I managed to make it to the bathroom.

  Blurred, distorted images of what might've taken place on Sunday flashed across my mind. None of it making sense. I'd gone to some party, but none of the peoples' faces looked familiar. No one I knew went, not even Jason or Lyric were there.

  How did I get there? Why did I drink? I knew better than to drink. If it somehow got back to my mother, she'd put me on lock-down. It was even worse if she thought she caught me drinking, then she called in Doctor Yesher, who agreed to pump my stomach for a steep hush-money fee.

  I'd never risk that, and yet I did. I don't even remember the reason why, or even anything after a couple of roller coaster rides at the amusement park.

  I tried to focus on what the teacher said, the headache trying to split my skull in half made it hard to even comprehend one of the words that came out of his mouth. I should've taken Rhett up on his offer to tutor me the day before. Why hadn't I seen his message? That would've been a better use of my time.

  "Miss Bishop, are you listening?"

  My name. I peered up at the teacher as he came to stand in front of my desk. "Sorry. What?" I folded my arms over my chest. I knew what he wanted, but he wasn't going to get it, and I was prepared to go mega-bitch on him to make sure of that.

  "I don't allow sunglasses in my classroom, please remove them."

  I sighed. "Sorry, Mr. Bury, can't do that."

  His arms folded back at me as he tried to make his face stern, but we both knew he didn't have the confidence to try and pull some kind of authority card. "I wasn't giving you a choice in the matter, Miss Bishop. Take them off."

  I shook my head. "If I remember correctly, my mother funds more than half the school's extracurricular activities. She also helped raise the hourly wage for the teachers as she's on the school's board. I have a migraine. I don't think she would take kindly to you trying to put me in more pain when all I'm trying to do is learn."

  He pressed his lips together as other students oo'ed and snickered. With a huff, Mr. Bury turned around. "Someone tell me, true or false for the first equation on the board. If y represents a function of x."

  Silence fell over the room, no one liked to volunteer answers. My skin prickled as I felt someone's gaze on me. With eyes hidden by my large sunglasses, I found the blue eyes heating my body. Rhett Collins. Unlike his usual curtain of hair hiding his face, he had it pulled back with the tie I gave him. He looked nice, with a sharp jawline and elegant nose, it's almost as if he stepped off the pages of a Jane Austen book and put on modern clothes.

  We stared at one another for a long moment. He looked as if he had a thousand questions streaming through his mind but he couldn't ask any of them.

  "Mr. Collins, do you know the answer?"

  He pulled his gaze away from mine and glanced at the board. "True, sir."

  Mr. Bury slumped his shoulders. I guess he expected to throw the guy off and embarrass him for not actively paying attention. A small smirk pulled at my lips, at least I had the best in calculus tutoring me.

  I stood in the restroom, alone, having already checked the stalls. Staring in the mirror, I took off the sunglasses to reveal the purple bruise taking over my right eye, the eyelid almost swollen shut. With light fingers, I poked at it, hissing at how tender it felt. I hadn't even attempted putting makeup on it tha
t morning, it hurt too bad.

  I closed my eyes. Flashes danced across my vision, someone, another girl paced in front of me. I couldn't make out her features through the haze. "You're such a bitch!" and then her fist made contact with my face.

  But why? What did I say to her or do? Who was she?

  The restroom door squeaked as someone pushed it open, and I hurried to put my glasses back in place.

  Lyric came around the corner. "There you are. I thought we came to the bathroom together before lunch?"

  I busied myself with redoing my ponytail. "Sorry, Ric. Couldn't hold it."

  She came to stand near me, taking out her overly red lipstick to line her lips. I glanced at her neck through the mirror, faint bruises lined it. She'd tried to cover it up with makeup, but I bet she'd learn that doesn't work after a time. So he's started choking her, too? He must be getting bored if he's no longer acting soft and caring.

  Lyric lifted an eyebrow at me and caught where my gaze went.

  I wet my hand and ran it over the fly-a-ways that refused to lay down. "Have a nice weekend?"

  She tensed. "It was boring, my parents forced me to stay home for family quality time."

  Her body moved with her words, she wasn't lying, but that didn't mean she hadn't snuck off to see Jason. At least she had a family that wanted to spend time with her and cared about her. She had no idea how good she had it.

  I reached for her bag and pulled out the concealer I knew she kept there.

  "What are you doing? That's mine."

  I snorted. "No shit. If I tried putting this on me, I'd look like I'd tried to use suntan lotion and failed to spread it evenly. Turn toward me." I took a fresh blender from my bag and put some of the concealer on the back of my hand before dabbing it.