CHAPTER SIX

Classes aren’t getting easier on any of us but with the increased security, the students from the other islands don’t really hang around much after their meals. Back when I was a Level One, I would see different students hanging out in between classes and it was hard not to run into random people on the Level One island.

But now, after the mess closes for cleaning, the students are sent back to their respective islands. That is one of the reasons why I had to sneak out just to meet Jesse in the first place.

But ever since my run in with him two days ago, I haven’t seen him and I have deliberately been going late to the mess so that I don’t run into him.

Jesse is the first guy I’ve been interested in, or at least allowed myself to be interested in. He makes me smile and he seems to understand me. Or at least I thought he did. But the fact is that he not only didn’t deny spending the whole night out with Rachel, but the first thing in his head when I told him what Rachel said to me was to defend her.

That doesn’t sit well with me.

It’s during the twenty-minute break between our physical classes that I find myself sitting in the empty courtyard. Two days and Jesse hasn’t tried to reach out and fix things or even explain his side. I’m not an idiot.

I know what means.

But it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

“I should never have trusted him,” I murmur, kicking a rock that’s near my feet. It wasn’t like I had completely trusted Jesse to begin with but I had begun to like him. A lot. I had been so sure of myself that even if things fell apart, I wouldn’t be affected by it. But I shouldn’t have overestimated myself.

Because right now, I feel miserable and angry and it’s a confusing tangle of threads inside my head. I want to not care but the more I try to act carefree, the deeper the knife in my chest twists.

I made the one mistake I promised myself never to make.

Just remembering how Rachel taunted me and how Jesse looked hesitant to believe me, all the while hanging out with Rachel the entire night, as if it was no big deal, it makes my blood boil.

I push back my tears, refusing to shed any over someone who treated me so callously. However, my struggle doesn’t amount to much and I wipe away a traitorous tear, sniffling.

“Taylor?”

My head jerks up when I hear the familiar voice.

Quill is standing before me, a strange expression on his face, “Are you crying?”

“What?!” I scowl, my tone almost indignant. “Of course not! And what do you want? Beth isn’t here.”

He sticks his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels, “I wasn’t looking for Beth.”

I stare at him, feeling raw inside, “I know you weren’t looking for me.”

When he doesn’t say anything, my voice tightens, “Because you haven’t talked to me in ages.”

“About that-“

“Just go away, Quill,” I tear my gaze away from him. “You’re the last person I want to see right now.”

“Did that jerk make you cry?”

“What?” I sneer at him. “You think I’ll cry over a guy?”

However, Quill sees right through my front and his jaw sets. “I should hope you won’t cry over a piece of trash like him.”

“What’s your problem with Jesse?” I demand.

“Nothing,” he scowls. “Why should I have a problem with him? But it seems to me that he has you wrapped around his finger, sneaking out to meet him, getting yourself in trouble over him. Is he even worth all this trouble?”

I splutter, “How is it any of your business?”

He narrows his eyes. “Because I’m worried about you! He – He’s a bad influence, alright!”

I gape at him. “Says the guy who likes lighting houses on fire!”

“It was one time!” Quill’s face flushes. “And it was an accident!”

We stare at each other, both caught in a stalemate.

Finally Quill breaks the silence, “So what did he do?”

“Nothing,” I turn my head away. “I just have other things on my mind.”

He sits down next to me. “Like what?”

“Like the fact that Annabelle knew what happened to my dad and I want to know the truth and I don’t know how to get to it.”

“Oh,” Quill falls silent. “You want to leave the island to investigate?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, heavily. “I just want to know the truth. It’s eating me up inside. But the Director said Annabelle had just been lying to distract me.”

Quill knows a filtered down version of what took place in the tunnels. He knows that Annabelle was after something, and she kidnapped Beth. We were all ordered not to tell him so as not to hinder his own initial transition. Not that I got much of an opportunity to tell him much after Beth was released from the infirmary. He immediately exiled me from his company around that time.

However, even if I am loathe to admit it, talking to Quill about this comes easier to me than talking to Beth or Jesse about it. Mostly because his first reaction was not to console or caution me but to ask me what I wanted to do.

“Even then, it’s better to know, right?” Quill frowns. “You never mentioned how he died though. I thought it was like a normal death, you know. Like how most parents kick the bucket.”

I turn my head to stare at him. “There is something fundamentally wrong with you, you know?”

He shrugs, “I’m just saying. So, what happened to him?”

“The police said it was a drug overdose,” I say, slowly. “But Dad hated drugs. I wanted an autopsy but Dolores refused to get it done. She – I know there’s more to it. My dad was not an addict. Somebody knows something. Annabelle said my stepmother knew something, that she had a hand in his death. I just want to know.”

Quill is silent for a few moments and then, “My dad was murdered. My uncle did it. He admitted to it but was never charged because nobody in my family was willing to testify against him. In the end, they shipped me off to a foster home. And my mom – she married my uncle.”

“Wait,” I turn to look at him. “Your mother’s alive?”

Quill doesn’t meet my gaze, his lips curved in what is a bitter smile, but the pain in his eyes is hard to miss, “Yeah. My uncle, my dad’s brother, gave her a choice: marry him and discard me, or we both die.”

I stare at him, stunned, “Is your family the mafia?”

His lips twitch at that, “No. But they’re really rich and secretive. Anyway, Mom chose survival, as any sane person would. Technically, I guess it was my survival too.”

“I’m sorry,” I press my lips together. “That sounds tough.”

Quill shrugs, “You get used to it. But if you want to look into your dad’s death, I think you should. Maybe confront your stepmother.”

“You mean, get off this island?” I sigh. “Yeah, that’s not likely. I tried to escape, remember? It didn’t work.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know,” I have to lie now because I do have a rough idea. Nobody can escape the islands by crossing the water. “But I tried to row in the direction of the mainland but kept landing at the islands.”

“I’m telling you,” Quill makes a face. “There is some serious voodoo crap going on in this place.”

I have to agree.

There are too many secrets here. Especially underground in the vaults. I know there are two vaults and one of them was robbed. This school is hiding something but I just don’t care enough to find out.

A bell sounds in the distance and I wince, “I have to head back to my rope climbing class.”

“Yeah,” Quill follows me as I get to my feet. “I have a class as well.”

He hesitates, “We’ll figure out a way to get you off this island, okay?”

I glance at him and decide to swallow my pride, “So, does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?”

He shrugs, “I wasn’t mad at you.”

“Such a liar. No wonder you set things on fire.”

“One time!” he shouts over his shoulder indignantly as he begins to run in the direction of his class. “One freaking time!”

My heart feels sufficiently lighter as I head in the direction of my own class. But I’ve just crossed the courtyard when a girl stops me. “Taylor, right?”

I’ve seen her around Jesse a couple of times but they seem like casual friends.

“Tessa,” she smiles at me when I nod. “Jesse asked me to give you this.”

She holds out a note.

She leaves with a quick grin, laughter in her eyes.

What did Jesse have to say that he couldn’t say in person?

I open the note and it reads, ‘Come meet me during dinner near the harbor.’

No apology for being a massive turd. None.

Does he really think I’ll go?

I’m about to crumple the note when it is neatly plucked out of my hand. “And what’s this?”

I turn around to see Rachel standing over my shoulder. Her brow lifts, “Meeting another boy, are we?”

I try to snatch the note but she’s faster, still reading. A second later, she pockets the note, giving me a cool smile. “Word of advice, Trillie-“

“It’s Taylor.” My eyes turn into slits.

She ignores my comment, bulldozing on, “If you want to succeed in this camp, maybe stop trying to get the attention of the male students. It’s not very attractive.”

I stare at her, “I’m sorry. When did you go and become my mother?”

Her small smile slides from her face and she takes a step forward. “I’m just saying this for your benefit.”

“Are you?” My lips curve, coldly. “Trust me, if I need some advice from a girl two to three years older than me, I’ll seek you out. And I would like my note back, please.”

I see the cool glimmer in her eyes. “I think I’ll keep it.”

“Okay then,” I roll my eyes. “Anything else of mine that you want as well? Maybe the pen that Jesse lent me last week? You want that, too?”

“You’d better watch your tone.”

“Or what?”

I refuse to be intimidated by Jesse’s ex-girlfriend. He wants to be a jackass to me, that’s our problem. But I’ll grow wings and learn to fly before I let myself be cowed by some girl who thinks she’s one-upped me.

She is nearly toe-to-toe with me now and her voice is whisper soft, “Do you know how easy it is for me to break that pride of yours?”

A smile forms on my face. “I know you think you’re all that considering your achievements, but you can’t break what my past experiences never managed to break, Assistant Counselor. But you can give it a shot. I think you should focus more on your job than my love life.”

Her eyes narrow and she’s about to say something when a familiar voice reaches us.

“What is going on here?”

I turn around to see Dr. Brown standing at a distance, a frown on her face.

She doesn’t look happy in the least.