“So no more cuffs on you guys?” was Siobhan’s first question as soon as we made it to class.“Looks like it. We were both on our good behaviors.” I sought out Aaron and found him by the class lockers. He caught my gaze and wagged his brows. It was a flirty gesture but something was lacking. I went to his seat and he came to join me. He sat on the desk. “I was on my best behavior apparently.”He smiled. “I can see that.” That was all he said. There was something off about his response but I didn’t push, I didn’t want to.Andre headed to his seat where he pulled our chairs and desks apart. I watched him work, and Siobhan hung around him talking to him. I could see the anger tension in his back and shoulders but he had the good grace not to let Siobhan notice. I turned in Aaron’s seat to check for Carla. There she was in her seat a huge frown on her face. Good thing, Becca who was talking to her didn’t notice but I could see the rage and some other emotion in her gaze as she watched Andr
“Let’s go to your apartment. We haven’t had girl talks as we used to.”We talked together away from the field. On the basketball court, the boys were done with their practice and were packing up too. Siobhan looked over at the court as we walked away, her green eyes searching for someone among the players. I followed her gaze. They were gathered around Coach listening to what he had to say about their performance.“I’m tired.”I glanced back at Siobhan. She was looking straight ahead now. We were almost at the quarters. She rested her head on my arm.“Yeah me too. Everyday training might just be taking its toll on me. But it’s going to be worth it in the end…”“Don’t be so clueless, Bianca, I’m not talking about the training but I do agree with you, it is taking its toll on my ankles but it’s just 3 days until the game now and I can manage till then.” She looked up at me as we walked into the quarters and went straight to my apartment. We went to the kitchen for some juice and stood s
I didn’t know I would have doubts about Aaron again until Siobhan’s words. I tried not to let them affect me and was only successful to an extent. I couldn’t drive out the thoughts planted by Siobhan’s doubts many of which came from my own insecurities. I’ve been second to Siobhan for way too long that being the second option became the new normal for me. Never has a guy seen me then her and gone for me. Now, why should Aaron?They had a fling once after all, right? And if I recall, when Aaron’s dad threw an after-party after his Oscar win one time ago, Siobhan was invited. If she hadn’t invited me to come along I wouldn’t have gotten any invites, who would invite the daughter of a nobody after all? But we ended up not going because her mom thought we were too young for a night of wild drinking and dancing with older people who might take advantage of us – but that’s beside the point. The point here is, Aaron told me when we initially resumed that he always liked me and thought he nev
“Do I want to know what you and Aaron were talking about?”Siobhan was adjusting the band of her cheer shorts. She leaned down to look into my face, a mischievous grin on her face. I feigned a frown.“Nope, you do not want to know.”She put her arms akimbo. “Why not? Since when did we start hiding things from each other, Bianca Davis? I thought we were best friends?”“We still are, stop being so dramatic.”“Well?”I eyed her suspiciously. “Why is it so important to you?” She pulled a face and I regretted being so harsh on her. “It’s between Aaron and me. I did what you said, I had a talk with him. I wasn’t so sure about it at first but I gave in eventually. We haven’t concluded our conversation so…I guess we’ll know later this evening.”I rose from where I was stashing my normal school shoes into my bag. Siobhan suddenly grabbed my face between her hands. “See, Bibi, I love you, I hope you know that. I want the best for you. Whatever happens, I’m always here for you. If things don’t g
I put Eva in Siobhan and Becca’s care and straightened to my feet. My heart was beating heavily at the possibility that there was an intruder in the seniors’ hostel but I put on a brave face for the sake of my fellow students.Siobhan had tears brimming in her eyes but when I handed Eva to her she saw my fear and the courage I tried to hide it with and she blinked the tears from her eyes. She nodded at me.I turned to Aaron. “Let’s report this to Mr. Jorge. The rest of you please stay together in one room if possible and make sure no one leaves for any reason. Or you could all stay here for safety's sake, we’ll be back. Please, everyone, refrain from screaming, let’s be as calm as possible.”They obeyed. The boys stood guard to protect the girls. Aaron and I quickly left the quarters and made our way as fast as we could to the main school area. As we passed I noticed that the other students' hostels were undisturbed which means whoever intruded in our quarters definitely skipped our j
“We can’t shut down the school,” Mr. Jorge said. He tapped his fingers on his desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose. I saw the bags under his eyes and the tics beneath them. He was stressed just thinking about the possibility that our security had been breached.“Did no one see anything unusual?” He asked the security men and Matron and Concierge for the umpteenth time.“No, sir, we have searched and there was no sign of forced entry.”The office door was suddenly thrown up and the last security guard came in. “Actually, Mr. Jorge, I found the point of entry. There is a line of our electric fence that was cut and I found these pair of pliers on the fence.” He held it up for all to see.Mr. Jorge buried his head in his hands. “The board can’t hear of this, they will hold me responsible for putting the children in danger. We can’t break the trust of everyone who has trusted us well enough to bring their kids here. This is Edwin and Co.! Not Saint Patrick! Not some cheap public school!
“You guys.” I was standing in front of everyone in front of the Administrative building. Mr. Jorge was on the phone trying to get more security at school as soon as possible. “Let’s not panic, this will only be for one night. We can protect each other if we stay together so now let’s choose who we want to stay with. The boys can protect the girls no doubt about that but the girls can also do their bit. We are simply trying to work together to minimize the impact of tonight’s invasion.”There was a small argument about who should go with who and Aaron had to step in to diffuse it.“You guys this is not the time to argue.” Suddenly smirking he said, “Since we boys have been given the responsibility of protecting the girls it’s only fair that they get to choose which of us is most worthy to protect them.”That was enough to lighten the lingering fear and tension. Everyone nodded their approval but before we could begin to choose I felt a tug on my arm and when I looked it was Siobhan.“W
I watched him leave feeling at odds with a lot of things but shrugged it off.“It’s probably just the night and all that’s happened.”I opened Andre’s door and turned on the lights. He didn’t have a coffee table like I had in my living room so the only thing I had to move was the sofa, I pushed it against the wall and did the same to the armchair until there was a big enough space for the mattress. Because of all that happened that night, I found myself creeping into the room to check the balcony door and twisting the handle twice to make sure it was locked. I had just done that when Andre and Shewa came in carrying the mattress. Andre caught me coming out of his room.“What were you doing in there?”“Making sure our throats aren’t slit tonight. Good thing you locked your balcony door.”He gave me a look but said nothing. Shewa stood back and let him put the mattress down. He was adjusting the edges when I looked up and caught her mischievous grin. She put the points of both her index
When I woke up it was the morning of the next day. My room was bright and I couldn’t open my eyes because of that but when I tried to lift my hand to shield my eyes I discovered there was someone holding it. For a moment I panicked thinking I was back in Mainland, restrained. But when I opened my eyes it was Siobhan and she had tears in her eyes.“Siobhan?”She threw herself at me and hugged me tight. “You are alive! I was worried. I was so worried I was never going to see you again.”I hugged her right back because I had missed her so much. My heart ached at the thought at I could easily have died and never seen her again. But when I released her and saw the bandage on her wrist my heart lurched.“Oh my God Siobhan, what did you do?!” I asked sitting up.She cried and told me what happened and as I listened I found it increasingly hard to believe what she was saying. There’s no way I can be Edna and Anton’s daughter. And Siobhan had tried to kill herself because of that?I felt so so
Andre’s POVIt was a lot of hours since we got the call from Carol. Anton already had the money ready. The rest of the group had gone to freshen up but I was told to stay back at the hospital.“But, Mr. Hayes, Carol wants me. That’s the only condition she offered for releasing Bianca, the money doesn’t matter.”“I will not leave you to her mercies. You are the only link I have to your father and if I must do something right, I will take you under my wings and look after you like a son. But I want you to stay here and look after Siobhan, make sure she doesn’t try to hurt herself again, and talk to her when she wakes up.”I nodded my head but I was still worried.“What if Carol doesn’t…”“I have enough money to bribe her to leave you alone. I can only hope she accepts it and leaves you alone for good.”Tears filled my eyes as I doved into his arms for a hug. He hugged me just as tight.“It’s the least I do for what happened to your father. Now stay back and keep Siobhan safe.”“Yes, sir
“I’ve got a call,” he announced to everyone else. We all gathered together, forming a small circle. He waited until everyone was there before picking the call. The phone wasn’t on loudspeaker but I strained my ears to hear what Carol had to say. Of course, she demanded money and made the request I knew she was going to make. Give me Andre Rios.When Anton dropped the phone from his ear he sighed.“Well?” Cole asked impatiently.“She will let Bianca go for a price and in exchange for Andre.”Four pairs of eyes turned to me, three of them curious to know why Carol would make such a specific request.It was Cole who voiced the question. “Why does she want you?” he demanded. “What do you have to do with this?”I started to answer truthfully but Anton interrupted me. “He has nothing to do with it but we will give her the money she wants and negotiate for him,” he pointed at me.Cole wasn’t convinced with his answer but the look in Anton’s eyes was one that demanded respect for his decision
Bianca’s POV“You said this was Siobhan Hayes!” Dez argued.“I said this is the girl, don’t put words into my mouth, Dez. And try not to argue with me. What did you learn?”Carol had sent Dez out early to scout for information around town. She wanted to be sure the police weren’t on their tail. But Dez didn’t have such good news.“The news is, one of the students missing from Edwin and Co., the Head Girl, is Bianca Davis and she was last seen in the company of a gang woman in Mainland.” Dez, though short had the build of a boxer and from the scars on him, I could see he has been in his own fair share of vicious fights. If I tried to escape how many steps would I take before he overpowered me?I didn’t even want to think about escaping. I just prayed silently that some miracle would happen and I would be allowed to go home.Carol listened to Dez for a moment and then nodding her head, looked in my direction.“Turns out you are causing a whole lot more trouble than I expected.” She turn
The next morning after a sleepless night I heard a knock on my door. I sat upright in bed thinking it was Siobhan. I was ready to confess now but first I needed to call Carol.But when the door swung open it was not Siobhan that was standing there, it was Edna. Her eyes were puffed and red and she looked extremely vulnerable.“Can I come in?”“It’s your house ma’am, you can,” I responded humbly climbing out of the bed. She walked over and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. I joined her not knowing what to say or do.“Do you think I am a monster?” she asked. Her hazel eyes stared into my soul. I know what color Bianca’s eyes are, they are hazel but they definitely didn’t look like this woman’s. Yet…the possibility was there. “You are Andre, right? My daughter’s classmate. Tell me, Andre, and be honest with me, do you think I am a monster?”“You did exchange a child for one of the craziest reasons I have ever heard, anyone would think what you did was insane. But you cared for Siobhan
“When we couldn’t have a child I resorted to drastic measures…”“Yes, you invited me to your mom, Mrs. Hayes, under the guise of a friendly invitation, drugged me, and assaulted me in the hopes of getting pregnant when you feared your husband was sterile. You almost destroyed my marriage!” Bianca’s dad yelled holding on to his wife protectively.Judging by Siobhan’s reaction to the news this was the first time she ever heard of it. Her mouth hung open and if Anton hadn’t been holding her she probably would have fainted.“I apologized for that,” Edna moaned softly, her voice croaked. “I know it doesn’t change what I did but I regretted my actions that day, I felt like a monster for almost destroying you, and believe me even now I regret that decision.”“Yet you made another terrible decision, Edna. When does it end? The lies, Edna, when do they end?”“They end now. I’ll tell you what happened.” She sniffed. “Years after we got over that unpleasant issue I found out why we couldn’t have
Bianca’s POVIt’s hard not knowing what your abductors want from you.Well, I wasn’t blindfolded so I could see everything going on and one thing I realized was there was no way out for me. There was nowhere to run to when we were on the road and when we bypassed security and got to Mainland, Carla pulled out a gun and made sure I kept my lips shut as we made our way to town to a house she said belonged to Andre’s dad. It was a nice house but as we walked past rooms and halls I could see that it was lacking financially.How many more lies, Andre?Thinking about him broke my heart because I didn’t know what to think. Just last night we confessed our love to each other and found comfort and pleasure in our bodies. What was he hiding even then? Why wouldn’t he tell me?Even though my heart fought hard against my doubt it felt like everything was a lie. He and Carla – if her name is Carla at all, had it all planned. The ease with which I was taken out of school shows careful planning. Als
“Who is he?” Was Anton Hayes’s first question as soon as we got into the house. Siobhan’s mom had grabbed her almost as soon as we came out of the car, hugging her and crying as she kissed Siobhan’s hair and face.I think that was about the same time Mrs. Hayes noticed me standing there with my small luggage. Her eyes were hazel unlike Siobhan’s and very curious as she took in my appearance.“He is my classmate,” Siobhan said. “He lives far away so I offered him a place to stay. He can stay here right Dad?”Anton was staring at me a little too closely and I felt uncomfortable but then he grunted and I guess that means yes. A housekeeper came to carry our bags and I suppose she was going to prepare a room for me too.“What happened?” Mrs. Hayes asked, going back to hysterical. “The school suddenly called and asked that all students should be taken out of school. It’s all over the news but no one is saying anything. What happened?”Siobhan shared a glance with me and as she had been doi
“Please don’t!” Carol cried, putting her hand up.to stop him. “I will go with him, Alex. I will go to Edwin and Co. with him and get Siobhan back.”Alex stopped moving. His eyes were glazed over and he continued to stare at my pathetic state on the floor with Carol cradling my head on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look like he could utter a word as he stared in a trance. I coughed and blood sputtered out of my mouth. Carol cleaned it up her face etched with worry lines.“I d-don’t…” I managed to say.“You have to.” Her voice was firm, her tone strong. “Come let’s get you away from here,” she said as she helped me up. I took a few steps, grunting in pain as I did and came to stand in front of Alex. He didn’t move out of the way but Carol steered me away from him and helped me as I walked away from the room.I heard a thud and went I glanced back Alex was on his knees on the floor. I looked away but I didn’t hear his sobs as he cried and wondered how he could have beat