- Thalia Anagnos-Loukanis -
The final bell of the day rang, making my heart clench in agony.
I had promised Elijah, over text, that I would ride back with them to Enzo's house, to work on the assignment. Phoenix was welcome for the ride home, but he had a ride already, which meant I would be going home with not only Elijah and Enzo with their brothers, but the three other people of my group.
The ones that had surely spoken about me at lunch, after I had left their table.
I wouldn't doubt it. They would have spoken about me and my siblings, thinking that we were really close, and that I was the dumbest, and that- "Tahlia?" a voice stopped my thoughts from endlessly running around my head.
I felt the hands on my shoulders, pressing into my old scars, but I didn't dare look up at the person I had crashed into. "Yeah?" I meekly spoke, keeping my eyes down at my shoes and the person I had walked right into.
"Heard you're coming to ours this afternoon" Nicolo then turned my body, slinging his arm around my shoulders so that the two of fell into step as we walked towards the doorway of the school.
The same doors that I had walked in through with Nicolo behind me.
Which meant that all the stares were on me this morning, and now they were again, with people hiding behind their hands, as they gossiped about me even more.
Why, oh why, did I have to crash into the one and only Nicolo Colombo, one of the bad boys of our school?
"Yeah" I murmured, leaning slightly out of Nicolo's hold, but he just held on tighter, rather pulling me back into him. There was no way I could potentially run home. "Hey!" I heard a voice shout, coming from the direction of a similar car that we had driven here in.
"What is she doing?" I didn't realize that more people had gathered around the vehicle. "Just leaving" I then maneuvered under Nicolo's arm, and running away from the entire group.
I ran from the group and out the gate, noticing one of my brothers cars entering the campus. Just fucking great. "Tahlia!" a voice shouted, but I didn't slow down or turn to look back, I just kept running.
I kept running, even as I felt my lungs collapse from the lack of oxygen they were getting, but I didn't care. I had no care other than to run away from the rich people of my school. They had made my stomach turn from the day I had walked into high school, but now, they made me hold back a gag as they sucked each other's faces off.
Before I knew it, my body fell to the ground, but not by choice. Rather, by force.
"I thought you wouldn't stop running" the person that had body slammed me to the ground, spoke with a huff in his voice. "Well, I have places to be" I spoke, pushing him off me as I stood up, brushing off the dirt and dust.
I turned, about to take a step away from this interaction, but a hand pulling on my bag, halted my steps from going any further. "We need to do the assignment. You promised Lijh"
What made me think was why Elijah didn't chase me himself if he really wanted me to come. Enzo chased me because he clearly wanted me to come to his house after school. "Then why didn't he chase after me if he wanted me to not break my promise?" I questioned, a sigh ending my sentence.
"Because I outrun him and told him to get in the car so that we could get going when we got back" the sound going back made my stomach churn as my heart started beating even faster. "I can't go back there"
I couldn't go back there, because for sure, my brothers car would still be there. Looking for me.
"Why?" his stoic expression gave way and showed pure concern and care, but I didn't care. My anxiety was too high at the moment. "Someone is there that I don't- I can't see" I heard a car coming and threw myself behind Enzo's larger build.
I clutched onto the back of his hoodie, hoping he wouldn't mind. The car didn't pass, making me shiver in agony that it was my brothers car, so I peeked out, seeing a completely different car to my brothers car.
"Get in" the drivers window rolled down enough for a hushed and rushed voice to tell us to get in the vehicle, right as my brothers car came into view. I slightly gave Enzo a bit of a shove, which I was sure would do nothing to his build, as I flung myself into the open door.
"I thought we chose to ditch her at lunch?" the same girl was sitting on the same boys lap from our assignment, but this time, Nicolo and Stefano were sitting in the car, so hopefully they wouldn't tolerate what she had to say.
Who was I kidding? They hadn't said anything when she asked, right before I ran away from the scene.
"I thought we chose that you weren't allowed to be in our vehicles with us at lunch" Nicolo had closed his eyes, using his fingers to keep them closed, as if he was trying to keep himself composed.
This shut the girl down.
"Just saying, but she is probably using you for your money" I had had enough of this girl already. "And you aren't? I have a family that could pay for my stuff, but they don't" I had noticed her staring at my uniform and scruffy shoes.
I didn't care one bit at all. I had finally shut her trap, and that felt so much better than I ever thought it would. "The mute speaks" the boy whispered into her ear.
"Enzo, Elijah, dear god, please explain to me how you are still friends with those two?" the man from the front spoke, making me realize that we still hadn't moved from our position. "They aren't my friends. They are in a group with us, even after I specifically asked for them not to be after you know what happened"
Clearly there was some unfinished business between Elijah, Enzo, and the girl and boy, that I definitely did not want to pry on.
"You know we can hear you right?" the girl spoke with a really high pitched voice. "You know my ears are bleeding from your voice?" I bit right back at her. She was so fucking annoying, I was about to reach across and rip off her fake lashes.
"Get out!" the man from the front spoke, making me wish I had never spoken. I stood up from where I had sat down beside Nicolo, but I was immediately dragged back down into my seat. I tried to get up once again, but Nicolo reached across and grabbed my seat belt, locking me in.
"He told me to-" I started before I was cut off "not you, dumb and dumber are to get out" Nicolo didn't smile once at me, but I knew why. It was because I had run off. I had probably ruined their trust, but I don't know why that thought hurt more than I thought it would.
After the door was slammed shut, Enzo said "Fran, hit the fucking gas" and that was exactly what happened. The car roared into gear, as we sped off down into the richer part of town; just a street away from where I lived.
"Are you sure you still want to go ahead with all of this?" I meekly spoke, scared that I would cause the rage to spill out of the four, well five, boys in this car. They really could have just dropped me off like they did with the others.
"Yes" the man, Fran, spoke from the front, as a large gate opened. Every word had gotten caught in my throat as I stared at this house, more like mansion. It was even larger than the one I had lived in my entire life.
This one was much better. It looked much more expensive than mine. Mine was just an old, rotting mansion that wasn't kept well on the outside, but the inside was dark most of the time.
A few laughs and a cough caught my attention. I had been staring at the house through the blacked out windows of the car that were surely not legal, while everyone else had gotten out of the vehicle.
"This isn't real" I gasped as I got out of the car, staring at the large oak wood doors that looked heavy as hell. None of this was real.
I was not standing in front of a mansion that put every other mansion to shame. "This is real" Elijah came up to my side, nudging me slightly. "Mine is almost exactly the same, but slightly smaller" I couldn't imagine another one of these, in the same neighborhood.
"Hurry up!" a voice said, before the front doors were opened by the guards either side. These people were rich enough to have guards to open those huge ass doors.
I trudged after the boys, being the last one inside the house as the doors shut behind my back. I was so used to having to open our own doors, that it felt weird having someone do it for you. "Good afternoon boys. How was your day?" the man spoke again, walking us all to the kitchen.
This felt oddly like a new job cause he had clearly missed my short stature at the back of the group, as he only acknowledged the boy in front of me. I mean, they were all at least 6ft, so I wouldn't put it past him to miss me.
I was not used to everyone being over 6ft, rather my sisters being closer to my height when they didn't have their stupid clickety heels on in the house. To think that they would ever be able to get away with a murder would be fucking dumb and stupid.
Excuse my language.
"Oh dear god" a voice stopped my thoughts, making me realize that all the boys in front of me had parted and were showing me off to four older men. I recognized one as Leonidas, and I assumed one of them was Fran, as he had walked into the house with us, and followed the man that had told us to hurry up.
I tried to side step away from the attention, but I knew I couldn't go anywhere as everyone's eyes were drawn to me, even Elijah and Enzo's. "Elijah, you were right" Elijah then held his hand out as Stefano drew out some money, making Elijah smirk.
I hated every part of this. "I can go if you-" I went to step back, but the sound of more footsteps made me stop my mouth from moving, as I bowed my head down. There was no way I could get out of this entire situation.
"Oh my" a feminine voice made me look up and notice a older man and women, that looked around the age of the man that had spoken when I entered the kitchen.
"Starching similarities" was one way you could say how I looked alike Enzo and what must be his brothers.
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another chapter? yeah, I am seriously getting into the plot of this book. Lmk if it is moving too fast or too slow.