(unedited)
You look like I did,
You resist me just like this.
You can't tell me to heal.
And it hurts remembering,
How it felt to shut down.
"Careful" - Paramore
I spent the next couple of days trying to keep a low profile. It was harder than before, since multiple people had witnessed Jacen calling me from class and any gossip that involved the Elite spread like wildfire.
Fortunately, no one had actually came up to me, choosing to watch from a distance instead, much like they did with most of the Elite- the only one of the Elite anyone dared to approach was Nathan. My luck ran out Friday, though, last period. Which sucked since I had almost made it through the week.
"Elena, right?" I looked up to see a pretty blonde girl staring at me. I recognized her almost instantly. Jenna Tunclet. The person in this school I could probably relate to the most despite never having talked to her. She was pretty quiet, and kept out of the spotlight, not craving attention like most of the other people here. The reason everyone knew who she was was because of what happened to her sister. Olivia Tunclet disappeared last year.
She still hasn't been found.
"Is this seat taken?" Jenna asked. I shook my head. She sat down beside me, but didn't put down her bag or take out her books. "So the Elite have been talking to you?"
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. "I guess." I hadn't really expected Jenna to care for those things. The fact that she didn't worship the Elite had been one of the things I had liked the most about her. But then again, that had just been a speculation, I hadn't known for sure.
"Have they... Said anything weird?"
I froze. That wasn't a question most people would ask. Did Jenna know about the game the Elite played, somehow? Before I got the chance to respond, a new voice cut in.
"I think you're in my seat," Vanessa said. Which was a lie, since Mr. Sullivan hadn't assigned seating, but Jenna moved anyway. She chose a seat to the front and left of us, looking troubled. Vanessa slid into the empty seat and shot me a slight smile. Even as oblivious as she was, Vanessa was still aware of the power her and her friends had.
Everyone was looking at us. The Elite were usually gone by sixth period. It was strange that Vanessa had chosen to come, and sit beside me, someone who was a whole social ladder away from the Elite. Mr. Sullivan cleared his throat, drawing most of the eyes to him. If he was surprised by the fact that Vanessa was in class, he didn't show it.
"So," Vanessa said, turning to me as Mr. Sullivan started talking. I nodded, alternating between looking at her and listening to Mr. Sullivan. I stopped the latter once I realized he was just doing an introduction/review to something we had learned the year before.
"There's a pool party at my house Saturday night," Vanessa told me. "You should come."
Hang out with the Elite? Who wanted me to make one of them fall in love with me? Yeah, that would work out so well. "I-"
She seemed to already know that I would disagree, though. "Come on, it'll be fun. You can get to know Ashton better." She grinned, raising an eyebrow. Okay then. So much for Vanessa being the innocent one.
"It's nice of you to ask, but I'm not really friends with you guys," I said slowly. Nor do I want to take part in your game.
She pouted. "You could be." Wow. An invitation to the all exclusive Elite. I wasn't sure if I should've been flattered or suspicious.
"Ms. Merrick," Mr. Sullivan called, drawing all eyes to us.
"Yes, Mr. Sullivan?" Vanessa answered, a perfect picture of innocence with her wide eyes and sweet smile.
"Is there something you'd like to share with the class?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. He maintained a stern expression but his green eyes had a teasing edge to them. That was another thing that separated Mr. Sullivan from the rest of the teachers- he wasn't scared of the Elite. Or, if he was, he didn't show it since he didn't give them a special treatment.
Vanessa shook her head. "We were just talking about our weekends plans."
I bit in a groan at the stifled gasps from around the room. Strike three. I had been seen with the Elite three times. First Jacen had called on me during class. Then Vanessa had shown up to class and sat beside me. And now we were apparently spending the weekend together.
"Ten more minutes Ms. Merrick, Ms. Evans. Then you can talk all you want," Mr. Sullivan said. We both nodded. When he went back to writing, I turned to look at Vanessa.
"I never said I could come!" I exclaimed, keeping my voice quiet.
"Elena," she said, biting her lip. She lowered her voice and shot a quick glance around the room. "When Jacen said you don't want find out what could happen if you don't play along... He wasn't kidding." There wasn't a threatening edge to her voice, Vanessa was too innocent for that. But something about the way she said it made me want to listen to her.
I nodded reluctantly.
Her face changed instantly. She grinned and clapped her hands together quietly, drawing some looks from the students around up. "Jacen will pick you up around six, alright?"
I nodded again and looked at the board, ending the conversation. She didn't seem to mind. As I turned to face the front, Jenna caught my eye. She shot me the same perplexing troubled look, then turned away. Me talking to the Elite meant something to her. Not curiosity or envy like the other students.
Something different.
â¡ the trouble with love â¡
There was a man waiting at the front door when I got home. Or maybe not a man, since he didn't look much older than me. His dark hair was short, cropped close to his head. He wore black jeans and a white button down, a thick folder rested in his right hand. He also looked vaguely familiar, though I knew for sure I had never seen him before.
I got off my bike and approached him slowly, keeping an eye on my surroundings for any paparazzi. He didn't look like a reporter, but you know, looks can always be deceiving. "Who are you?"
"I work for Kaden," he replied, flashing a small smile.
"Can I verify that?"
He shrugged. "Go ahead."
I pulled out my phone and dialed Kaden's cell, alternating between looking at the guy, my phone and around us.
"Hey Elena," Kaden answered. "We'll be home in half an hour, okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine." I glanced at the stranger who was texting on his phone, looking a little bored. "There's someone here for you."
No response from Kaden.
"He says he works for you," I tried again.
There was another beat of silence before Kaden finally replied. "What does he look like?"
"Dark brown hair, blue eyes, about six feet. Weird looking scar above his eyebrow," I said. The guy glanced up and shot me a scandalized look, pretending to be offended. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, I know him. He's fine, you can let him in and we'll be back in a bit."
"Okay, see you soon." I hung up and moved my bike into the garage. "Looks like you're safe," I told him when I stepped back out. I unlocked the door and walked inside.
"You're Elena, right?" he asked as he shut the door behind us and took off his shoes.
I nodded, even though his head was down and he couldn't see me. "Yeah. And you are?"
He stood back up. "Daniel Sullivan, nice to meet you," he said, sticking out a hand.
I shook it and started to turn away, then froze. "Wait, Sullivan, like Mr. Sullivan?" How many Sullivan's could there be here? And them looking alike was a little too coincidental.
Daniel rubbed his neck. "Right, Kaden said you went to Blaire Academy. Yeah, Cameron's my brother." So the guy Kaden was working with was the brother of my English teacher. Strange.
"So what are you working on with Kaden?" Maybe it was bad, since he had helped me so much, but I had always kinda curious about Kaden's job. He was pretty secretive about it and any secrets intrigued me. Not to mention I felt like I had to somehow prove to him that he could trust me.
Not that Kaden had ever said he didn't trust me. But ever since I had messed up, he had been a lot more tight-lipped about his job and cases.
Daniel nodded. "I'm his partner for one of his new cases."
I tried to keep my expression calm, a complete opposite of how I actually felt. Kaden usually worked alone. Why had he suddenly taken on a partner? And why was the partner he chose -Daniel Sullivan- so young? He was older than me, yeah, but he didn't look like he was old enough to be out of college.
Before I could voice any of my questions, the clicking of a key turning the lock sounded. A second later the door opened and Kaden and Raine walked in, dragging their suitcase behind them. After giving me a quick hug, Kaden disappeared with Daniel into his office.
I turned to Raine. "That's Kaden's new partner?"
She shrugged, brushing back a strand of her long brown hair. "I guess." Something told me she wasn't as uncaring and unknowledgeable about the whole thing as she acted.
"He's my English teacher's brother," I remarked, maintaining a casual tone. We stopped talking for a moment as we brought Raine and Kaden's stuff upstairs to their room. When we came back downstairs, the door to Kaden's office was still shut tightly.
Raine saw me looked at it, immediately. "Lena-"
"You know I could help," I cut in. "I can tell when someone's lying. Easily."
She sighed. "It's not all about lying, Lena. You know that." This wasn't the first time I had asked her about Kaden's job, though it had been a while.
"I feel like I should help. You guys have given me a lot. And-" I sucked in a deep breath. "Ever since what happened, he doesn't trust me to keep a secret."
I could see it in my head. I replayed every night before I fell asleep. I couldn't help it, I was obsessed. It was hard not to think about what could have happened if I hadn't messed everything up. It wouldn't bring them back, but at least whoever had done it would be behind bars. The memories were vivid, like it had happened yesterday instead of years ago.
Her face as the car slammed into ours. How she hadn't panicked, just leaned over, and tore at the seatbelt tangled around me. She had shoved me out of the car just before it exploded. She had still been in it.
His forced blank expression as they wheeled her into the emergency care unit. The single tear that had rolled down his cheek as they declared her dead, just ten minutes after. The harsh edge in his voice as he promised to find out who did it. Then how, before he could find them, they had killed him.
And just like that, the parents I had grown up with were gone.
Then the bright lights came. The flashing cameras and reporters that were part of Raine and Kaden's lives. I could remember the noise, and how it had been impossible to see, and how I had blurted out anything, everything just to get them to leave me alone.
I could remember the expression on Kaden's face when I asked if he had solved the case. How it hadn't been angry, or disappointed. He had just given me a tight hug, and even though he hadn't said a word, hadn't placed any blame, I had somehow known that the little bit of information I had blurted out, had been enough to mess up the case. Permanently.
Raine's voice brought me out of the memories in my head. "It's not that he doesn't trust you anymore, Elena," she said. "He just doesn't want anyone using you to get information."
"I can lie, I don't have to tell them the truth," I replied.
She was already shaking her head before I finished. "It'd only make them angrier when they find out the truth."
"They wouldn't find out-"
Again, she shook her head. "The truth comes out, Elena," she said, with a small, wry smile. "It always does."
-- â¡ --
Vanessa on the side -->
Teaser: I grabbed the alcohol and followed him back down the hall. "How can I trust that?" I asked.
"You can't," was his simple reply.