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Chapter 38: Correspondence
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
VictoryAnne ViceSorry for the delay! I was working on one of my other stories for a while but I am back to writing this one now. I hope you enjoy the adventures to come.
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[Lily] “Why would you show me this?” As the photographer continues to snap photos of the entire interaction, I fight to hold my anger down as if my family’s dishonor was nothing more than entertainment. “Were you trying to hurt me?” Madison’s shock looks genuine enough, but Evie’s glee-filed leer from across the room ruins the effect as the other Legacies gather around, expressing looks of dour sympathy. “Is this all just some sick joke to you?” “I don’t understand?” Madison looks truly shocked. “We at St. Claire are very proud of this image. It won a Pulitzer.” “That’s great!” I exclaim. There is another flash and I turn on the photographer. “Stop taking my photo!” I scream at him. He takes another photo. I step forward. Atticus steps between us. “The young lady said to stop.” His voice is hard and flat. The photographer takes a step away from the imperious force which is Atticus Preston, growing smaller in his shadow. “I...I’m just doing my job,” he sputters, glancing o
The Bully Games Chapter 42: Headshots
[Atticus] I don’t trust him. There is something about the way he smiles at her that makes my skin crawl. Photographers are notorious flirts. Many of them use their position to take advantage of beautiful young models. Considering her family history, you’d think Lily would know better. It’s embarrassing watching her speak with him, smiling at him, pretending to not see what is happening between the two of them. He’ll play nice, be her friend for a moment, and then once he has her where he wants her, he will make his move. I know what he is doing because I’ve used this tactic myself. On her. I thought she was smarter than this. "Okay everyone, back to work!" Madison claps her hands to get everyone's attention. "Tony quit," she glared at me, letting me know how angry she was at my interference. "So Link," she points at that photographer monopolizing Liliana's attention. "You will get to do it!" Madison is too cheerful as she says this, a nervous edge slipping into her voice as
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[Lily]Atticus must have lost his mind.Why on earth did he get so angry? He ruined the photoshoot and hurt Link, who was doing absolutely nothing wrong. "Atticus!" I shout. His behavior is scaring me. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?""Away from those vipers!" He grumbles, holding me tighter, almost possessively. "I just...I don't know Lily." He almost seems to deflate as she says this. "The way that they were looking at you...The way they were having you pose it was...it was wrong."He grows very quiet after that. We had agreed to be friends, secret friends, but this felt like something different. Or like he wishes it was something different. Just like when he kissed me in the woods. This doesn't feel like friendship. This feels like jealousy. But he has Evie. He says he needs her. Is it possible that his needs have changed?Atticus hails a taxi. As soon as it arrives, he scoots me into the back seat with him and gives the driver an address uptown. We drive there in
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[Lily]“Home?” I turn my whole body towards Atticus. “You brought me to your home?” “I’m pretty sure I just said that,” he sighs. “Don’t make such a big deal about it. I just wanted to be able to talk to you without anyone bothering us and this is the only place the Legacies wouldn’t think to look. Don't worry, nobody will be here. This is just our townhouse. My father will be in the penthouse. He prefers to be close to work."My mom always preferred this house to the others," he sighs. "So when I come home, this is usually where I go.” "Do you miss her?" I ask, remembering that his mother, like mine, died several years ago. He doesn't answer. Instead, he gives me a small smile, avoiding the question completely as he reaches down, to help me onto my feet. “We’ll find you some new crutches,” he promises as he helps me by letting me lean on his shoulder. “Thank you,” I let myself relax into his embrace, grateful to be on my feet and not being carried or pushed. “How much longer do I
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"Oh." I'm afraid to speak. My body feels warm at the memory of his lips on mine from the kiss he stole. I hate how I still think about it, how I can still feel him pressing me against the tree. "Kissing you like that wasn't fair," he looks away for a moment, biting his lip, and then turning back to me he adds. "It wasn't kind. You are my friend, and I took my fear, anger, and frustration out on you. I had learned some hard news and then seeing what they did to you and I just..." he pauses, seeing the look on my face, and then looks away again. "None of that is a good excuse for being abusive towards you. You deserved better.”“Yeah, it really sucked,” I snark at him, feeling petty. “Is that the best you’ve got, Ace?” I snap the end of his nickname at him and his nostrils flare in irritation at the sound of it. “Because if that is the best you'll need to try a lot harder. It didn’t feel friendly at all. It felt like an attack.”Silence falls between us again as my words ring out in the
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[Lily]He wants to take me out on a date!“As a friend…right,” I confirm as he pulls me up to meet him, our chests touching. He reaches his arm around my back and my cheeks grow hot.“Of course not,” he laughs. “How am I, how are we, going to work out what we mean to one another if we hold anything back?" he asks honestly and I remember the kiss again, and his confession. "To be honest, Liliana, I might...I'm questioning everything in my life right now." "Atticus," I whisper, my hand reaching out to touch his arm. "What are you trying to do here?""I think," he looks at me and then pauses. "You know what, it doesn't matter what I think right now. The point of all this is you.
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[Lily]Spending my evening with Link has been a blessed relief. He is just here for me, as a friend who cares, and he has worked hard all night to keep my mind carefree as we talk about everything from favorite books to movies that we hate.It has been a great distraction from the burning stare I feel along my spine. I can feel that Atticus is watching. But every time I start to look nervous or grow sad, Link has sensed it and taken me somewhere else, out of Atticus' path, or found some new way to distract me, to keep me from falling apart, or worse, into Atticus' arms. He even shields me from the spiteful energy radiating off of Evie as she glares at me right before screaming her relationship woes all over the dance floor, spewing hatred at Atticus. I will need to give Nyx a very big hug later. "So I was thinking," Link smiles as we take time to admire the ridiculously ornate and well-stocked food area, "Actually I was wondering if you have any plans for the upcoming holiday brea
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[Lily] By now, Atticus knows I received the invitation. There is no way that I didn't not with how everyone else at school is chittering in corners about it. Which is why I'm not surprised to see him waiting for me at the base of the legacy stairs. "Liliana," he stands, reaching for my books. "We need to talk. About the invitation, about everything." "Then talk," I say a bit more gruffly than I had intended as he follows me up the stairs. "Not here," he gives me a meaningful look and I shake my head. There is no way I'm going back into his bedroom. If he gets me in there, I'll end up in his bed, and then he'll find ways to distract me. I need to keep my mind clear and I can't think straight when his hands are on my body. I wish I never knew what it felt like to be kissed by Atticus Preston. "I don't think it is a good idea for us to be alone together," I wait for him to reach me at the landing and then lean in and hiss, "Somebody saw us this morning, Atticus. We weren't care
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[Lily]The poor freshman looked terrified as he handed me the invitation. "Thank you, Ms Adare," he bowed as he backed away as if I were some kind of royalty. People are so terrified of Legacies that even a "not quite" Legacy like me is a person to fear. The envelope is cream and embossed with gold and overly fancy like everything else at this school. He must have planned this because my name is engraved on the invitation. That isn't a last-minute detail. This isn't a reaction to my behavior this morning or a way to apologize for being an ass. He had planned to ask me. He wanted me on his arm at the biggest school event of the season. I pause. Was he telling the truth when he said he does care about me? Could it be..."This changes nothing," Nyx insists. "So what if he planned to ask you out before you dumped his sorry ass if you can even call it dumping him since you weren't really in a relationship," she points out. "So what if he wanted you to be his date? You know it probably
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[Lily] It doesn't take us long to get cleaned up. I borrow one of his shirts so I'm not naked in the hall, and he gathers up all of our clothing to be washed by his cleaners. I always feel a bit weird after these sessions. I'm not sure if I should be thanking him, or pretending like it didn't happen. While my body is finally relaxed, getting all the pleasure it craves, my heart is more confused than ever. One moment I feel alive, like my whole body is afire. The next, I feel lost and a little ashamed. I let myself become Atticus' dirty little secret. What would Nyx say if she knew? She'd be disappointed. Never mind Link--we aren't technically dating but we do correspond. What would he think of this little "arrangement." Just because we aren't technically having sex doesn't mean this isn't a betrayal of sorts. What am I doing if this means nothing to him? Atticus stops me as I reach for the doorknob. "Liliana, talk to me." It's a struggle, but I make myself turn and face him. "At
