Chapter 2 : Atticus Preston

[Lily]

“Hello Ms. Adare,” he purrs, his smile growing sickly sweet as he grins almost too brightly. He must be up to something because he’s a little too happy to have me in his arms. “I’m so glad to have run into you this morning.”

He looks back at the other Legacies who nod in agreement, except for Evie Carter, Atticus’ girlfriend, who is staring daggers at me, her face growing red with repressed rage.

Bending down low, he places his lips on my ear as he brings me in closer as if what he has to say is a secret between the two of us. Wrapped in his arms it feels too intimate as he murmurs, “We have much to discuss. I hope you will join us for breakfast.”

My body freezes. Breakfast? Did he just invite me to dine with him, and the Legacy Seven? I must be mistaken. 

“Meet me at the stairs tomorrow at 8 am sharp,” he instructs me quietly yet firmly as if I have already agreed to this arrangement and he is just seeking confirmation. “I’ll expect to see you waiting for us at the base of the stairs,” he adds and our eyes lock. I feel I am almost bewitched by the intensity of his gaze. If I didn’t know he was evil to his very core, I might be charmed into believing he wanted to be around me.

Evie, who is standing just to the right of him, looks like she is about to explode as she watches the interaction between the two of us.. One of her best friends, Veronica, is holding on to her as she tries to help her calm down, but based on the way she is clenching and unclenching her hands, I can tell that she could strike at any moment.

Atticus looks over to see his girlfriend’s face and simply releases me. I almost fell to the ground again, my legs and arms stiff with fear.  

As soon as Atticus turns away from me, Evie launches into action. 

 “LET ME GO!” Her eyes are bulging, her cheeks turning purple as her claw-like fingernails try to reach around to get to me. “I’m coming for you!” Evie shrieks at me. Everyone is watching us now. Not just the students, but the teachers who do not bother with trying to get involved. “Sleep with both eyes open, you slut!”

 Nyx, thankfully, leaps between us as Veronica and Madison pull Evie back by her arms. Atticus and the rest of the seven help Evie move along to a quieter corner, where they continue to have a heated discussion. Eventually, Atticus says something in her ear that makes her flutter her eyelashes and lick her lips and all of her attention shifts to him. I’m sure she’ll find a way to make things miserable for me later, but for right now, I’m out of immediate danger.

Slowly the other students stop staring at me and go back to minding their own business. Now that the Legacies have moved on, there is nothing exciting to see here. 

My body is shaking violently as Nyx wraps me into a tight hug in an attempt to calm my nerves. “Breathe, Lily, breathe,” she pats my back, as she tries to comfort me. “They’re gone. I’m here. You’re going to be okay.”

Listening to her words, I relax into her arms as I take a few deep, calming breaths. I’m still a little shaky, but as my heart begins to slow, my nerves calm as well. I don’t know what I’d do without her grounding presence.

“What did Atticus say to you, Lily?” Nyx questions me gently in a hushed voice as the other students mill around us. “I’ve never seen Evie so angry before,” she winces as she rubs a spot on her neck where Evie’s nails manage to draw blood. “She was completely unhinged.”

“He…” I stumble over my words as I choke. “He asked me to eat breakfast with them, with the Legacy Seven.”

Nyx gasps. “Like for real?” she blinks rapidly in disbelief.

“I’m really not sure,” I reply honestly. When my arms and legs finally stop shaking, I pull away from her embrace and try to stand on my own two feet.

As we walk to our first class together, we go back and forth trying to figure out what the true motives behind Atticus’ strange invitation could be. Nyx is convinced it must be a trick, while I wonder why? 

Why would he ask me to breakfast? 

Why would he mean it? 

And why was he being so polite? 

The whole situation didn’t sit well with either one of us.

“You aren’t going, right?” She gives me a sideways glance as she waits for my answer. When I don’t respond right away she asks again, only louder, stopping so that she can reach over and shake me roughly by the shoulders. “RIGHT?!“

A few other students look back at us. Some even roll their eyes and shake their heads  as they mumble rude things under their breath. Nyx ignores them, her intense focus directed at me.

“Of…of course not,” I sputter, not sure if I am telling the whole truth right now. Part of me is tempted to meet them for breakfast out of curiosity. 

“Good,” she smiles. “You don’t need that type of trouble.”

Nyx is right. I don’t need whatever it is they are offering. Because whatever is happening now, it  is something new, something different, and something unpredictable. 

 I expect the Legacy Seven to be cruel to me. That makes sense in my world. They are always cruel, that is who they are. 

Instead most of them, especially Atticus, are being kind. What kind of game are they playing this time?

The only thing more frightening than being the target of the Legacy Seven’s cruelty is not knowing what they are up to. And right now, I am terrified. 

Because I have no idea what just happened. Or what will happen next.