Page 5 of Fallen Legacy

My second class is going to be the hardest, as all four of them are in there. Luckily for me, Silver is also in this class and, knowing I have to face the four of them, he walks with me into the classroom. I don’t dare look towards the back as I rush to a seat two rows from the front. Silver kicks the boy out of the seat next to me and sits beside me, ‘thank you’ I mouth to him, and he winks in reply.

I don’t hear a word the teacher says for the entire class. I’m distracted throughout the lesson. His eyes are burning in the back of my head. I keep shuffling in my seat and I’m itching for the bell to ring so that I can get out of here. I hope Silver has some weed because I’m in dire need of something to relax me. The bell goes and I jump to my feet and shove all my things in my bag. I urge Silver to hurry. I don’t make it out of the room. An arm crosses over the door barring my exit.

“Scarlet. We need to talk,” he says, his voice quiet and steady.

I breathe in his scent, struggling with my emotions. I keep my eyes trained on the hallway outside. “I have nothing to say to you. Now please move out of my way.”

“Five minutes,” he growls. “Just give me five minutes, Scar.”

I twitch. He’s never called me Scar before, and it pulls at my heartstrings. “My name’s Eliza, not fucking Scarlet,” I hiss, ducking under his arm.

“Come on Savage,” I hear Damon scoff and I turn to see Archer is still blocking the doorway. He’s refusing to let Damon pass.

“I warned you to stay away,” Archer snarls. His jaw is tight with tension as he eyeballs my friend. Sighing, I stalk back over, and I get in-between him and Silver.

“Leave him alone Archer. He’s my friend. Damon’s been there for me when I needed someone I could trust.” He flinches at my words. “If you want to do something for me, then leave Damon alone. After what you all did, don’t I deserve a proper friend?”

Archer seethes, trying to hold in his frustration, and Vee puts a hand on his arm. “Come on Arch. Let them go. She’s right. She deserves to have someone in her corner.”

“I’m in her fucking corner,” he snaps. “I will not let you go, Scarlet. Never,” he vows, and my stomach sinks because I know he’s going to be relentless.

“You had your fun. I’m sure you all had a great laugh at my expense. The silly little orphan girl.”

“No, Eliza,” Vee protests, but when I send a frosty glare her way, she takes a step back. Rafe rubs her shoulder in comfort.

I wait for him to remove his hand from across the door and, grabbing a hold of the sleeve of Silver’s blazer, I drag him away and head outside for some much-needed air.

“Please tell me you have some weed, because I need to ease some tension?”

“Of course,” he says grinning, and gestures for me to follow him round the back of the school gymnasium. He lights the spliff and hands it to me, and I take a deep inhale. I close my eyes and I lean my head against the cold brick wall.

“I’m not sure I can do this. Come here every day and see the four of them.”

“Oh, you will, princess, and you’ll do it with your head held high,” Silver insists.

* * *

I should have knownwhat would happen next. Of course, he’d ring Wilbur and tell him I’m back at school. I’m in my last class before lunch when I’m called to the headmaster’s office. I head over there thinking the headteacher is going to read me the riot act for missing school these last few days. When I walk into the headmaster’s office; I stop still in my steps when I find Wilbur waiting for me.

“Close the door, Eliza, and take a seat,” he tells me with a calm composure, gesturing to the seat nearest to me.

With a deep roll of my eyes and a huff, I throw myself into the seat and fold my arms across my chest. I sit there and glare at him. “Make it quick. I’m missing German for this.”

His shrewd eyes study me. “Have I not given you and your brother a roof over your heads? A brilliant education at one of the best private schools in England?”

“And your point is?”

“I know you are angry that I didn’t come for you both sooner.”

I snort in disbelief. “There are many things I’m angry about. That is just one on a long list, Wilbur.”

Wilbur gets to his feet and holds out a file. “This file has photographic evidence of some of the cars you stole and the places you broke into during your time in care. I think you and I both know that if I handed it over to the police, you’d be spending the next six months in a young offender’s unit.”

I snatch the file from him and look inside. Fuck. He has done his homework. There is photo after photo of me breaking into and driving stolen cars with the group of guys I used to hang around with when we lived in Farnlea.

“Eliza, you will be engaged to Archer. You will marry him, and you will bear a child to him before your twenty-first birthday. You will do for this family what your father failed to do, and you will do it with a smile on your face. Because if you don’t, not only will this file find its way into the hands of the police, but your brother will also find himself back in foster care.”

My eyes snap up to his as an icy chill runs through me. “You wouldn’t?”

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