The Divide (The Divide Series Book 1) (4 page)

I grabbed my pajamas and headed into the bathroom and changed quickly. I stuffed my dress all the way at the back of my closet, hoping no one would ever find it. Shutting off my bedroom light, I curled into my bed and I could hear the music and voices of the party downstairs float into my room; I hoped my parents weren’t looking for me. As I lay my head down on my soft pillow, my mind rushed to the man with the green eyes. He was such a jerk. Or more like an ass. I knew individuals like him despised us but come on. I hadn’t done anything. And it wasn’t fair that I actually felt something stirring in my stomach when his eyes raked over me. And then he opened his mouth. His stupid, stupid mouth. His yummy-looking mouth. I groaned. Couldn’t my hatred of him douse my lust? Was it lust, though? Could seventeen-year-olds lust? I glared into the darkness of my room. After school tomorrow, I would see him, and when I saw him, I would lay it all out straight, that he couldn’t be rude to me. Or anyone. I smiled. Yes, I would tell him how it was, and he would listen. How could he not listen?
I’m delusional,
I thought. 

I closed my eyes, my chest feeling a little lighter. Tomorrow was going to be a good day. Maybe I could get us some hot chocolate while I talked to him, show him I was generous. Maybe some cookies too. My smile grew more as I pictured how tomorrow would go.

“Stupid locker,” I muttered under my breath as I tried to pry it open. I should just give up and beg to get a new one, but I wouldn’t lose to a nonresponsive object. Looking around quickly, I made sure no one in the crowded hallway was looking in my direction before I turned back and glared at the pain-in-the-ass obstacle, fisted my hand, and slammed it into the metal contraption. I ignored the sharp pain in my hand as the door popped open.
Finally!
Smiling, I looked around; only a few people had turned in my direction at the noise, but they went back to whatever they were doing. I shoved my backpack onto the top shelf and reached forward on the very bottom shelf, sliding my hand until it hit a small wooden box. I slid the rough box out and opened it. Inside, in a tight ball, was a roll of money. 

When I was thirteen, my father had started giving me money at the beginning of each week. Unless I was being scolded or punished, my father never talked to me, so it had been strange when he’d summoned me to his study on my thirteenth birthday. He’d sat me down and told me that he would be giving me money each week, and that I could do whatever I wanted with it. My eyes had grown to saucers as he continued talking about this new deal between us. He’d never just sat me down to talk normally, let alone be nice to me. He’d told me I’d get the money only if I followed two rules: I was to never tell anyone about this arrangement and I was to keep out of the way and stay out of trouble. I didn’t remember what else he’d droned on about because I’d been too shocked he was actually giving me something, like a human being. So I’d hid my money in a shoebox under my bed. I’d ended up breaking rule number one. My mother had somehow found out about our little arrangement and she’d torn my room apart looking for the money. My father had chastised me, but he’d continued giving me the money, so I’d decided to keep it on me until I came up with the bright idea of keeping it hidden in the school. I’d asked Agathy if she could find something I could store it in, and the next day she’d given me a small wooden box with a key. It had worked perfectly, and I had been able to hide it without anyone ever noticing. 

I never used a dime of the money though. I was saving it for the day I would run; that was my goal. Since the day he gave me the money, I had been planning my escape; I was going to flee on my eighteenth birthday. I didn’t tell anyone, not even Agathy. If my father ever found out she had helped me with any of it, he would do something detrimental, and I would never forgive myself. So I kept it secret. When I was fifteen, I’d found a small abandoned lodge deep in the woods. It was a good three-hour hike to get there. Rust and mildew freshened the air of the lodge, but it was an excellent place to start hiding items I would need when I escaped. So for the past year and a half, I had been loading up that place a little at a time. I didn’t see my future here in Gildonia. I saw my future out there in no-man’s-land, making my own way by teaching little kids. I would be abandoning my family, but we weren’t much of a family to begin with. My mother was a drunk and my father was abusive. There was no way I’d not take a chance. 

Trying to block the sight of prying eyes, I hovered close to my locker as I unrolled the money from the rubber band and slipped out a few bills. I grabbed enough to pay for two hot chocolates and two cookies before rolling the rest of it back up, placing it back in the box, and slipping it all the way into the back. I stuck two books in front of the box to help keep it hidden. As I stuffed the bills deep inside my pocket and slammed the locker door, I turned without looking up and hit a solid chest. I looked up into blue eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. I rubbed my hands down the front of my pants to help smooth them and wipe away the sweat that was building on my palms. 

Tyler smiled and crooked a brow. “Hey, Mia.” I tried to smile, but it came out lopsided. I’d known Tyler since I was a little kid. We’d grown up together, but we were never friends. I had always had a crush on him and wrote about him in my diary. And yes, I always put his last name with my first name to make sure it sounded good. And it always did. But Tyler never gave me the time of day. He was too busy with his friends or flirting with the pretty girls. The only time he talked to me was to tell me to make sure I didn’t hover over my tests so he could cheat off of them or to ask me to write him a paper. And of course I helped him. He was beautiful. You couldn’t be beautiful
and
smart. At least
he
couldn’t. I couldn’t fault him for that. He was just slightly taller than me, and he had luscious platinum-blond hair and perfect ocean-blue eyes. The kind of eyes you wanted to get lost in. He was on the skinnier side, but it worked perfectly for his frame. 

“Hey,” I said. I could feel the burn slowly creep up my neck, and my ears started buzzing. He was so good-looking that I lost my train of thought and all senses. I could feel my fingers slide against my jaw as I tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

“What are you up to?” Tyler deposited his hands in both of his front pockets and leaned up against the lockers.

“Um, nothing,” I said. I had this natural way of coming off awkwardly. I didn’t talk to boys often, so I blamed it on that.

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” His blue eyes danced with mischief.

Nervousness staggered up my spine. Had he been watching me the whole time? “I, uh, was thinking about getting some hot chocolate.” I nibbled on my lip while I waited for his response. I didn’t know what I was more worried about—him asking what I was keeping in my locker or him already knowing, which would mean I’d need to find a different spot. But was Tyler the type to steal?
I wouldn’t put it past him
.

“By yourself?” A smile formed on Tyler’s mouth. It was the kind of smile that could get him out of any kind of trouble. It was a beautiful smile.

I nodded. “Yup.” Clearly he knew I had no friends. I looked around, watching students as they started to clear out of the building either going home or hanging out with friends. I glanced back at Tyler, who raised his eyebrow. “So, what are you up to?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could. So, of course, it came out the opposite way. 

“I’m going with you to get some hot chocolate.”

“You are?” I could feel the excitement course through my body. Tyler had never asked to hang out before. He didn’t exactly ask now, but I wasn’t going to let him inviting himself bother me.

“Of course,” he said, “and the others are going to be there.” He grabbed my hand, and we started walking toward the exit of the school. I tried to smile at the fact that he was holding my hand, but the thought of seeing his friends put a frown on my face. 

I hated his friends. And I knew hate was such a strong word that shouldn’t be used, but I did hate them. They were terrible people. They couldn’t have a good day unless at least ten people were miserable. And they would make them miserable. But did they ever get in any trouble? Nope. It was because all of them were the epitome of beauty. And when you were the epitome of beauty, you got what you wanted when you wanted it while everyone else looked the other way. Tyler might have had his faults, but he was nowhere near as bad as Mandy and Sarah. Just thinking of their names sent chills down my spine. George at least tried to be a decent guy. He was Tyler’s best friend. He was just a little bit shorter than Tyler, but he didn’t let his height get in the way. He still excelled at everything. He had dark chocolate-brown skin and light hazel eyes. Girls would throw themselves at his feet, but he never seemed interested in any of them. He spent most of his time hanging out with Tyler or beating everyone in sports. Sarah was taller than me but shorter than the boys, with long, curly red hair and mossy green eyes. She was so skinny everyone assumed she never ate. She probably didn’t. She and I had been best friends when we were little until Mandy came along. Mandy had transferred from Inonia, and she and Sarah had become instant best friends, throwing me out like a piece of trash. Mandy was stunning. She was tall with long, curly blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and boobs that every girl wished they had. She was as skinny as Sarah, but she ate all of the time. I always imagined she threw up after every meal, but she was lucky enough to just have the perfect body and be able to eat whatever she wanted without gaining a pound. I, on the other hand, could eat a piece of pizza and gain like twenty. Probably not that much, but that was how it seemed to me. One last thing about Mandy: she was in love with Tyler. Everyone knew it. If you were within ten feet of Tyler, Mandy would give you a look that said to move or have your eyes gouged out. I liked my eyes, so when Tyler came asking for a paper, I made sure there was enough space between us. If Mandy had seen us holding hands, she would have broken my spine. 

“Mia?” Tyler said, breaking through my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“I didn’t see you at the party last night,” he said. I slipped my hand from his, mourning on the inside, and zipped up my jacket as we walked outside into the cold. Wind blasted in our faces, making me blink back invading tears. Snow clouds started to take over the sky; it would definitely snow tonight. 

“You were there?” I didn’t remember seeing him as I greeted everyone.

“My family arrived late,” he said. “I asked where you were.”

“Oh.” I think I might have swooned. He had asked for me.
Eek
!

“Your father said you were sick.”

My father had actually covered for me? Who was this guy? “Yeah, I had a terrible headache.” 

“That’s what your father said. He said your
maid
had informed him you had taken ill and had to go lie down.” He said maid like the word itself disgusted him.

A frown formed on my lips. “Yup.” I thanked God for Agathy. I didn’t know what I would do without her.

“I was hoping that we could have hung out last night. I wanted to get to know you and your family better.”

“Really?” I asked. This was the first time he had ever brought up wanting to get to know me. All the time we’d known each other he never once wanted to hang out. So what had changed?

“Yeah,” he said. “I think we should hang out more. It would look good for both of our families.”

I nodded my head. Something didn’t sound right when he said it like that. “Okay.”

We were so close to the shop I could smell the chocolate from here. My mouth almost had drool coming out, but with Tyler right next to me, I tried to keep cool and not drool. I didn’t get chocolate very often.

As we walked through the doors, heat rushed at us. My face burned from the change in temperature. 

We made our way to the counter, and Tyler ordered his stuff, paid, and then moved over to the table where his friends were sitting. I ordered a small hot chocolate, reminding myself to get another one before I left, and a small chocolate chip cookie. I paid and reluctantly went over to sit with the dreaded group. The three of them looked up at me in disbelief as Tyler patted the seat next to him. Mandy sneered at me as I took the seat. 

“What’s she doing here?” Mandy asked.
Ah, this is going to be fun.

My spine felt like liquid as I tried sitting up. I could face her. She was just a pretty face and horror on the inside. “I was invited.”

Mandy smiled down at me. “Right, well, maybe you should find another table to sit at.” 

“I invited her,” Tyler announced. Mandy shot him a look between hurt and disbelief. I sipped my hot chocolate to keep my mouth busy. “I was thinking we should invite her with us tomorrow night.”

“What?” Mandy shrieked. I winced at the high pitch of her voice. If it were to get any higher, she could shatter windows.

Tyler ignored Mandy and caught my attention. “We’re escaping this place and going on an adventure to the other side.” A playful smile lit his face.

“Why?” I asked. Why would any of them want to go over there?