Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy) (9 page)

It
’s so strange to be back at Dalton Academy, as if nothing has ever happened. As if we
never disappeared from the school; as if wedidn’t just fight an evil Fury for the survival of the
human race. At the same time, everything has changed … except no one other than us knows it.
The last day I spent at Dalton Academy was like a dream because then Keagan and I were
dating. It’s going to be awkward to explain our now non-existent relationship. However, I’m
looking forward to seeing my friends Kristina, May, and Lexi. They, in addition to Chelsey and
Keagan, were part of the reason that I started healing after my mother—without explanation—
just dropped me off. I was so angry with everything and everyone, and I rejected any person that
even tried approaching me. Other than Chelsey, who somehow wiggled her way into my
defenses, which I have to sayI’m really grateful for. NowI’m back, sitting at lunch with my
friends as if nothing has happened. The only difference is that Keagan and Eddiehaven’t joined
us. Eddie is sitting with Porsche and her underlings, and I have no idea where Keagan is.

Sam enters the cafeteria and looks around. I hate how different he seems. Gone is the
carefree troublemaker that I first met at Haven, and in his place is a sad yet strong young man.
His gaze skims the cafeteria, and I notice that quite a few pairs of eyes have noticed Sam, which
is no surprise sincehe’s a really attractive guy and new to the school. When his eyes land on our
table, I noticeKristina’s breath catching. “Hot damn, who is that? Where has he been my entire
life? Oh my God,he is walking over here.” I can’t help but laugh to see my confident friend so
flustered over a guy. Running her hands through her hair, she sits up straight and plasters a huge
smile on her face.

Sam reaches us and gives everyone a friendly smile. “May I introduce my cousin Sam to
you?” Three pairs of eyes swing to me in astonishment. “I was telling him about Dalton, and
since he just got expelled from his school he figured he’d try something different.” Yes, that’s
the story we came up with and I have to sayI’m pretty happy with it. It also explains how
Chelsey and Sam know each other, especially since they’re already making googly eyes at each
other. Unfortunately, Kristina has already noticed and is now sitting with slumped shoulders.
Sam takes a seat next to Chelsey and throws his arm over her shoulder.

“I thought you were dating Eddie
. Will he appreciate you getting all chummy with
Trish’s cousin?” This comes from Kristina. Crap,we didn’t think of that! It seems like a lifetime
ago since we were last here, and even though our life has changed so much over the last few
weeks, things didn’t play out the same here. Mine and Chelsey’s eyes meet in a panic. How are
we going to explain this?

Rescue comes from a source I would
n’t have expected. “We weren’t really dating and
figured out that we should just stay friends.Isn’t that right,Chelsey?” Eddie says from behind
us. I didn’t even realize that he’d come over, but talk about perfect timing.

“That’s right, it was a mutual decision.” Chelsey gives Eddie a grateful smile. One thing
that I’ve learned about Eddie is that he can’t be trusted, and I wonder why he is being so nice.
What’s in it for him?

“Too bad that your and Keagan’s
relationship didn’t end so well.” There it is, this must
be the reason he decided to come over here… to rub the whole Keagan situation in. My heart is
pounding like a racehorse in my chest and I can feel all eyes at the table on me.

“What’s he talking about
,Trish?” This from May. I steady myself, and just as I’m about
to tell them, I notice Keagan making his way into the cafeteria. He looks around and walks over
toward Porsche, taking a seat next to her.

“Porsche happened
. Keagan finally realized that Porsche is smoking hot and made the
decision any hotblooded teenage boy would make.” He smirks, and with those words walks
away.

This whole situation is so strange. I don’t know what I thought would happen when we
came back to Dalton, but I didn’t think Keagan would’ve rubbed salt into the wound that he had
unintentionally opened. Looking up, I see the shock on all of my friends faces. Then there’s Sam
and Chelsey, who know the whole situation and have nothing but compassion for me.

“I don’t understand
! You and Keagan were like perfect for each other. Keagan had finally
dropped his dark brooding mood and you were like a caterpillar turning into a beautiful
butterfly.” I can’t help but laugh at her comparing me to a bug. However, I feel terrible when I
notice how serious May is and rein my laughter in.

I hear laughter from Porsche
’s table, and when I glance over my shoulder I notice that
they are looking at an iPad. Some of Porsche’s minions are pointing at me and laughing. Unease
settles over me and my stomach gets a sinking feeling. I don’t need any more drama in my life. I
glance at Keagan to see if he will shed some light on the situation, and notice the horrified look
on his face. When his eyes meet mine, he starts shaking his head and mouths,‘I’m so sorry’.
NowI’m really scared.

It seems that Porsche
’s table is drawing more and more people, and whatever they are
watching keeps causing everyone to look at me. There is a part of me that really wants to know
what’s on the iPad, but then there is a part of me that’s happy I don’t know. Keagan tries to take
the device from Porsche, but the result is other people pulling out theirs. I guess it’s a good thing
that cell phones are not allowed in the education buildings, otherwise I don’t doubt everyone
would be watching it. Keagan seems to give up when he throws his hands in the air, gets up, and
marches out of the lunch room.

“So are you going to tell us what’s
going on?” Kristina asks, bringing me back around. I
notice that all of my friends are looking at either me or the situation at Porsche’s table.
“Like Eddie said, Keagan decided that Porsche is more his style. As far as whatever they
are looking at, I have no idea what they are watching. But it scares me, especially since Ican’t
think of anything that would cause that sort of attention.” The bell rings, bringing lunch to an
end. I look down at my Cajun Chicken pasta with garlic bread and regretfully grab my plate,
dumping the uneaten food in the nearest trashcan.

I head off to class and the rest of the day seems to pass by in slow motion, but each hour
is a repeat of the last, which seems to me like some sort of horror movie. I take my seat, trying to
concentrate on the lectures that are taking place, only to notice the snickers and whispered words
hidden behind hand-covered mouths. The looks are always the worst, though. Most are
condescending, but then I also find pity in some and that’s what scares me the most… the pity.

As the day goes by, I want to find out more and more what this is all about.
I’m too
prideful to ask anyone, and when the dreadful day finally comes to an end I rush in the direction
of my room. All of my fears get reinforced when I see that Chelsey, May, Lexi, and Kristina are
all waiting for me outside our dorm. Their heads are close together, in conversation. I have a
feeling that they have figured out what everyone has been watching. Lexi is the first to notice me
and plasters a huge smile on her face.

“Hey
, Trish, we were thinking of going to get some dinner in Sacramento. You up for
some good food? I know this really great restaurant that my mom took me to last time she came
to visit,” Lexi asks me as I approach. I notice the rest of the girls strained looks, and I know that
they want to protect me from whatever horrors are on everyone’s iPads.

I also know that eventually I
’ll have to face the music, and the more this situation plays
out the more I realize that it must be pretty bad. Especially since the girls want to take me to
Sacramento, which is about an hour and a half drive. There is a part of me that just wants to go
ahead and deal with it and find out what I’m in for so that I can come up with some plan to
reduce the damage. However, I decide that I’m going to trust my friends and go along with their
plan.

“
All right, that sounds good.” I give them a smile, which seems to immediately take some
of the tension and worry away. How did I get so lucky? Not only to have Chelsey, who is like a
sister to me, but people like May, Kristina, and Lexi who care enough about me to try to protect
me from getting hurt. I guess that’s what true friendship is all about; you’re there for your friends
when they need you, regardless of anything else. My eyes get glassy with unshed tears and I
notice the looks of worry that immediately cross all of their faces. “Sorry, I know I’m being
sentimental, but I’m just so happy that I met you guys and can call you all my friends. A girl
couldn’t ask for better friends than you four. I hope you know that I really appreciate all of you.”
Wiping at my eyes, I smile at them.

Next thing I know,
I’m being crushed by four girls all trying to simultaneously hug me. A
laugh escapes me, and for the first time today the heaviness and unease in my stomach has
disappeared. It feels great to be cared about. “All right, girls, you gotta let go of me so I can
change into some normal clothes.I really don’t think I should stay in my uniform.” I glance
down at the horrible plaid uniform, which Ihaven’t missed at all while I was gone. I still think
that someone with absolutely no fashion sense designed these uniforms.

The girls chuckle in agreement and I start heading into the building, only to stop when I
notice that they are all following me. “I’ll be right back! Youguys don’t have to come to my
room with me, I’ll be all right.” I can tell that they don’t like it but respect my decision when
they head back toward where they’d been standing before. I wonder how they got out of class
and changed before me,but don’t mention it.

Opening the door that leads into the common area, I momentarily regret my decision of
not having the girls with me when I notice all of the people hanging out in it. Everyone is talking
and I hope that I can slip by unnoticed. I tiptoe my way toward the stairs and know that I’m in
trouble when it gets quiet. “So,how does it feel?” I glance at the pool table, which Porsche is
perched on in one of her horrible outfits. I really don’t understand what it is with her and the
neon … it’s just hideous.

“What are you talking about
,Porsche?” I know I can’t back down from her; it’s one thing
that I have learned in dealing with her before. If I give in even a little, she will just make my life
all that much worse. I glance around the room and notice that everyone is hanging onto every
word that is being exchanged between us.

“What
, you haven’t seen it? Well let me clue you in on what’s going viral around the
web. I think it’s hilarious, but that’s just me.” She reaches next to her and grabs the iPad that was
waiting there. I feel like I’m being set up, and know that this is probably the worst thing that
could be happening to me. All of these people are going to be here to see my reaction to
whatever she is going to show me. She types something into the device as she walks toward me
in her bright red stillettos. She hands it to me and I glance at the screen, reading the title of the
video.
Most Epic Rejection Ever!
All I can see of the video is concrete.

I start panicking. What does this have to do with me? I place my finger on the play icon
knowing that there is no going back now. This is going to happen and with an audience,
including Porsche who is hell bent on destroying me. I tell myself that whatever it is, I can
handle it and just need to stay stone-faced. I will not give them the satisfaction of getting any sort
of reaction out of me. Especially not Porsche.

Porsche, who has done nothing except make my life miserable from the first moment that
Keagan showed any interest in me. It only got worse when we got to Haven, where she told me
that she couldn’t wait to stab me through the heart when I decided to do what all of my kind did
and try to destroy human kind. She is the reason that I was whipped, which is the most painful
thing that I have ever experienced… physically that is. Keagan breaking my heart, next to my
mom lying to me, is definitely the worst pain I have been in. I look up at Porsche one last time;
the smirk on her face says it all. Whycan’t she just leave me alone? She has Keagan. Is that not
enough?

I try to wipe all expression from my face and steel myself for what
I’m about to see. I
remove my finger from the iPad, which starts playing the video. However, before it even has a
chance to really start, the device is taken out of my hands and the video paused. I look in
confusion at the large, strong hands that took it from me; I’d recognize them anywhere. They are
the ones I used to love to hold, which held my face tenderly as the lips that are further up the
body touched mine.

I gaze into
Keagan’s troubled eyes. “Don’t watch it,” he begs. We have been through so
much together, and even though I know hedoesn’t feel the same as I do for him, I trust him.
Therefore, I decide to do something I keep telling myself not to do… I run.

I don’t breathe until I reach the safety of my room
; the laughter that followed me up the
stairs still has me cringing. Leaning against the back of the door, I slide down it untilI’m sitting
and resting my head in my hands. I’m close to tears, but hold them back.I don’t want to cry. I
feel like I have been doing so much of it lately. Those people don’t deserve my tears, I realize. I
will not cry for their amusement.

Getting up, I run to my closet, quickly picking out a pair of comfortable jeans and a Rise
Against T-Shirt. As I walk pastmy mirror, I’m completely taken by surprise when I notice the
black streak in my otherwise red hair. I completely forgot about it until now.I’m surprised that
no one mentioned it, but I guess that everything else was more important than my new hairstyle.
I don’t really know if the darkness has had any effect on me, but with my crazy life who knows
what is normal and what isn’t. After running a brush through my hair, I re-apply another layer of
mascara and eye-liner.