Blake Holly
I panted loudly as I carried the last box to my car. This was totally my fault for procrastinating because now I had to pack and move three huge boxes of my belongings all the way to my car. To be fair, I did uphold my promise to Vee and spent the last 3 days at her house so I didn't really have a chance to pack anyways. We said our goodbyes and of course, she cried again and then cried when I got in the car. I love that girl so much. Even though I was her only friend and vice versa, everybody still loved Vee. She was drop-dead gorgeous, kind as ever, talented, but super shy. I was hoping that she would take this opportunity to showcase her amazing qualities and make a friend or two. I knew it wouldn't be hard for her, she just never tried.
My mom was just sitting at the dining room table and she had been looking at me walking back and forth with sad eyes for a good hour now. I tried not to look at her because I know if I did there was a chance I would unload the entire car and say fuck it. I was so scared. Scared of leaving her here all by herself, who was going to take care of her? I mean half the town heard about what happened and they wanted nothing to do with us. I knew once I left, she would have nobody and be shunned by the entire town population.
I dusted my hands off and took a seat by her but she just continued looking down.
"That's the last of it mom..." I leaned closer and rubbed her back. It's like as soon as I rubbed her back she began sobbing uncontrollably and there goes the sound of my heart breaking. Again. It was kind of like when your already in a shitty mood and somebody asks "are you okay?" and you just break down. Yeah, like that.
I hugged her tight and long and ran my fingers through her hair. She clutched onto my shirt for dear life but eventually began to calm down.
"I'm sorry Blake...I knew this day was coming...It's just..." She sighed and wiped her eyes
"I'm going to miss you so much Bunny"
"I know mom and I swear I'll visit every chance I get. I'm so scared of leaving you here by yourself..."
"Dont worry about me Bunny, I'll be fine. I promise" It's like when she said 'I promise' she was promising me that the past is exactly what it is. The past. She was promising me that she would never put herself in harms way again. Promising me it wouldn't get bad again. Promising me that she would be fine.
It felt good to hear her say that but of course, I couldn't help but worry.
11:27 am
I checked my phone and it was time for me to get a move on. Student move-in/ orientation started at 3:00pm and I wanted to get there right on time if not a little bit early.
My mom must've seen the way I looked when I checked the time and she got up holding her arms out to give me one last final hug.
"Go Bunny, Call me as soon as you get there okay? I love you so much"
I nodded and hugged her tight again. I love this woman so much.
I closed the trunk of my car and made my way to the driver's side. As I pulled off I saw my mom waving goodbye and blowing kisses, I smiled and blew one back and drove off until my neighborhood was far behind me.
There was one person I had to stop and say goodbye to though.
I pulled up to his house and as soon as I parked my car I began nervously sweating and getting hot. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I slowly made my way to the front door.
I had to do this. He saved my life.
I gave the door three knocks and not long after the door swung open and there he stood.
"Hey Wyatt..." He looked shocked to see me but a smile quickly came over his face
"Blake! Come on in...I haven't seen you since-"
"Actually Wyatt I don't have much time..."
Wyatt was the "boy next door" I guess you could say. Kind of like that guy you always see but never speak to. At one point I swear he was stalking me but I learned later that It was just a childish crush. Every time I would see him, he would just stare at me blankly. When I would catch him staring, he would just continue to stare. I thought he was a total creep and Vee and I talked so much shit about him. We even called him 'The watcher' as a code name. Things are different now though. I thank God that he paid so much attention to me, that he watched me like he did, because if he didn't...I would probably be dead. I also blame myself though and felt guilty from time to time. Guilty because if it wasn't for me he would have never put himself in harm's way... We eventually developed somewhat of a 'friendship' he checked up on me maybe twice a month. If I saw him I would go up to him and speak and make conversation but that's about it. Nothing came out of the little crush he had on me though. Wyatt knew what I had been through so I think he just kind of backed off with the whole crush thing and was just there for me as a friend.
"What do you mean?" He stepped outside on the porch and closed the door behind him.
"I'm leaving... well, going to a new school actually. Kinderton. I just wanted to stop by and thank you again, I feel like I owe my life to you and I just couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I'm sorry too, I always feel guilty-" I said looking down at my Doc Martins with my arms folded.
"Blake...I'm going to miss you but you know what I did I don't regret it at all. I would do it a million times over again. I L-" He cut me off...but then cut himself off. It's like he legit bit his tongue and swallowed his words.
Was he about to say 'I love you'
No.
No way.
"You're such a great person Wyatt. I'm going to call you okay?" I stepped in for a hug and he pulled me in and held onto me so tight that I'm pretty sure my insides rearrnaged.
I gave a little wave before I made my way down the porch steps and I could tell he was watching me the whole time. I let out a little chuckle under my breath. 'The watcher'
__________________
Welcome to Lightbridge Hills. Settled 1615
I was finally here. I still had about 20 minutes to reach the actual academy but I already started to feel like a new person. Nobody knew me here and nobody was going to even recognize or squirm at the last name 'Holly'. It would mean absolutely nothing to them and that's exactly what I wanted.
As I kept driving the happiness I felt quickly got masked by my feeling of being out of place. Mansions. Brick mansions. Gated communities. Old money. It didn't stop either, every block was covered in luxury, did they even have middle-class people here? I mean I knew Lightbridge Hills was bougie but my Lord.
I finally arrived at the school and it was no different. It was huge. It almost reminded me of a castle. The entire building was made out of stone. Turrets on every section of the building. Huge stained glass windows. A tiger stone sculpture stood in front of the building accompanied by a beautiful stone waterfall. This school was insane.
I saw many students coming in and out the building, some walking along the freshly mowed front lawn, sitting on the grass reading, or just simply hanging out. They all blended into each other though, no one stood out because every student had on the same dark red uniform either with a black skirt or black trousers. One thing I could tell was that these kids were richer than beyond what I could Imagine. Don't ask me how, I could just tell. I got so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even realize I was parked in the middle of the entrance with my car running. I started to feel embarrassed because I started to see people staring at my 2009 beat-up Honda accord.
I should've came around the back.
I could already feel the judgment conjuring up, I knew exactly what they were thinking.
"Who is that?"
"OMG I didn't even know those cars still existed"
"That must be the new janitor"
Okay, maybe I was being a bit dramatic. Maybe they were staring at me because I'm an idiot who's literally parked in the middle of the entrance drawing all the attention to my damn self. I looked around and didn't even see anywhere to park. Where is the parking lot?
"Excuse me?"
"HOLY SHIT" I jumped in my seat startled out of my mind until I saw a small white-haired woman with bold red lipstick knocking on my driver's side window.
I rolled down the window and waited for her to speak first.
"Hello dear! You must be Blake Holly? The new student"
God, do I stick out that much?
The new student.
She said it like it was something foreign to her, something unusual. Why was I already being referred to as the new student? This is a school for God's sake, don't they have many new students every year?
"Uhh...Um yeah, that's me."
"Wonderful! I'm the Dean of students, you can call me Ms. Engrid. Dear I forgot to tell you that on-campus students aren't allowed vehicles as there is nowhere for students to park them... I thought that was kind of unspoken" She had a very slight English accent and it was very poised.
Unspoken. Please.
Well damn, that would've been great if I knew that. Being that I pushed my shitty, barely surviving Honda all the way here.
"Oh um...sorry I didn't know, where should I go then?"
"You can park in the staff's parking lot which is around the back for now. I'll call a tow to drive your car back home, is that alright?"
No. I need my damn car.
"Yes, that's fine. Sorry again"
She gave me instructions on how to get to the back of this school since it was big as hell. She said she will meet me around the back and then give me a tour of the campus.
It took me literally 5 minutes just to get to the back of the school and to the staff's parking lot which was ducked off to the side. That's how big this school was.
Once I parked my car, I pondered on how the hell was I supposed to carry three huge boxes all the way to the back door and to my room. I guess this will be my workout for the day.
I started to open my trunk and grab one box at a time but from the corner of my eye, I saw Ms. Engrid approaching me. She had a huge smile plastered on her face which kind of freaked me out. Smiley people always freak me out. How are you so happy...all the time? It makes me think you're hiding something.
"Oh don't worry about those dear, I've already alerted Marshall to come get your...things" She peeked her head around me to look at the cardboard boxes full of my personal belongings. Seeing my things packed in cardboard boxes probably was a shock to her since I'm sure she was used to kids pulling up with 5 Louie V duffel bags full of items that probably cost more than my entire life.
I just kind of sunk into my shoulders because I felt embarrassed. Yet again. She switched her heel position and started to walk towards the back entrance.
"Follow me love"
Once we got closer I felt like the stone walls were swallowing me, the school was even bigger now that I was actually face to-face with it. I could see the detailing in the stone, where the weathering took place in the walls, and the small vines coming out of every other stone. I could definitely tell this school was old, it probably had been here since the town was founded
She pushed open the front doors and wow.
It was amazing.
The outside was old for sure but the inside...the inside was absolutely astonishing. It still had a old-timey vibe about it but there was something new and fresh about it too. The floors were made out of beige marble with gold accents swirling around in it. The walls were stone with gold trim and veiled in classic paintings. I noticed that on each side of the stone walls were sculptures of all the greek philosophers. Pythagoras, Thales of Miletus, Socrates, and Aristotle, to name a few. I kept admiring the foyer of the school anticipating what the rest of the building must look like.
"Beautiful right?" I guess she caught onto me, staring in awe.
"Very" I traced some of the sculptures with my fingers and then finally turned to look at her.
"This school was founded in 1620, 5 years after the town was settled. It was the first school to be built in Lightbridge Hills and was originally made only to educate the seven founding families children."
These fuckers built an entire castle just to educate their own children? Talk about being filthy rich.
We began to walk around the first floor of the school and she gave me a quick rundown of each room, the first floor held the cafeteria, the main library, the gym, and the office.
"Earl Kinderton was the founder of this school and his family was one of the seven founding families. The Kindertons. It was Earl's idea so he got with the other founding families and proposed his idea to them and they all agreed, each family made a hefty investment to get the project started. This school would educate only their families and their descendants to come after that. I guess that they felt like their children were too good to go to school with the other children. This caused a lot of drama in the town. Once the townsfolk heard of this, it became a battle between the rich vs. the poor. It was dreadful. The founding families were so rich though, excuse my french but, they didn't give a single fuck about how anyone felt. As long as their kids were alright" During the last part, she got a bit emotional. I wondered why, maybe this school meant a lot to her or something?...
"That's so messed up...so what happened? are any of them still here?" I asked. I was genuinely interested in the history of this school now.
"Only three founding families remain, The Blackwells, The Loves, and The Du Bois. Some of the descendants even go here still but as you can see the school is no longer just for them."
"What happened to the Kindertons?" I poked. Yes, I was being nosy but like I said I was deeply invested and I wanted her to spill all the tea.
She sighed before speaking" Earl's wife Salice was having an affair with Thomas Du Bois, Thomas, and Earl never saw eye to eye even before he found out. Thomas was jealous of Earl to say the least, mostly because he was the sole founder of the school and it was his family's last name on it. Thomas felt like all of the founding families should technically be named 'founders' of the school since it was all of their money being put into it. If you ask me I would say the only reason Thomas got with Earl's wife was to take another jab at him. Nonetheless, they got caught and this caused a 5 year long feud between the families. It got really bad. So bad that the school had to be shut down. The kids were against each other and taking sides, it was either you were on the Kinderton's side or the Dubois's side. Secrets came out about each family which pushed the public to take sides even more. The school was no longer about learning, it came to be about which family was better. The Kindertons moved away as they couldn't take any more of the drama, the other families slowly followed behind them but the three remaining families stayed here in Lightbridge Hills. The school opened back up in 1728 after an anonymous investor paid to have the school up and running again under one condition, it would be open for everybody to apply but only a select few would get in. It became a private school and it's been like this ever since."
"Wow...That's a lot" I said taking in all the information. Who knew a school of this much beauty had such a dark and drama filled past.
"Yeah it is... As far as the Kindertons, the last I heard is they died out. My guess is even though they moved, it was too much of a burden to bring another heir into their mess. So there aren't anymore Kindertons...get this though, some say Salice got pregnant with Thomas's child and that's the real reason they moved away. To avoid the embarrassment of bearing a child from an affair. Isn't that something? There could be a DuBois-Kinderton descendant running around in Lightbridge Hills and we wouldn't even know it" She laughed at the last part as if she didn't believe it and it was some silly folklore tale.
She started to talk again but her phone rang and she held up a finger signaling that she needed to take this call. We were finished with the tour, but all I had left to do was see my room, so I guess we were heading there next.
"So sorry love, there's been an incident and I have to go to my office, Adrian here will show you the rest of the school and to your room. I'll be calling you in my office later today to discuss your classes and whatnot. Enjoy the campus for now ! I'm so glad your here Blake, you will do just fine here." She gave me a warm smile and a student appeared from behind her.
"Adrian this is Blake, Blake, Adrian. Please show her the rest of the third floor and to her room. Room C14" She introduced us and then turned the other way to make her way back down the staircase.
Once she was gone I finally got a good look at Adrian and he was cute...like really cute, that type of cute where you can't even talk right because your throat starts to close the moment you look at him. The type of cute where you don't even want to talk because you'll die of embarrassment if you say the wrong thing. The type of cute-
"Nice to meet you Blake" His deep husky voice greeted me as he stuck out his firm hand which was much bigger than mine.
I don't know why I couldn't say anything. I look like such an idiot I'm sure. He had these bright blue eyes that mimicked the water of the Navigio beach. They were so blue and captivating which is probably why I couldn't speak. Soft and luscious strands of blonde hair sat at the top of head parted to one side, his hair was so perfect it didn't even need any gel or anything. It's like his hair knew precisely where to fall without command. A few strands fell in his face which made him all the more cuter. I wasn't a short girl, I stood at about 5'6 but he towered over me with his intimidating broad shoulders. I would say he was a good 6'5, and muscular too. He definitely worked out. His uniform fitted him perfectly, allowing me to see his muscles through his sweater. He was exactly what you would consider a perfect golden boy.
"Let's keep on with the tour, yeah?" He took back his hand and I felt like even more of an idiot because I was so lost in admiring his mesmerizing qualities I totally forgot to shake his hand and greet him back. He probably thinks I'm a special ed kid. (please do not take offense I love and accept everyone <3 this is just a book)
I snapped out of it and quickly got up, wiping my hands on the side of my jeans since they were so damn sweaty.
"Oh yeah shit, my bad I was just uh-" Ohmygod Shut up Blake
He laughed.
I loved his laugh. It wasn't as deep as his voice so it was less intimidating and made me feel a little more comfortable.
What is with me?
"Your good, this school is a lot for new students to take in. I get it"
There goes that word. New student. I came here to not be noticed and so far I'm pretty sure my new name is "new student". I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb.
"So what brings you here to Kinderton? We don't get many new students here" he asked with his hands in his pockets as we began to walk.
Well that makes since now.
I cringed a little at the question 'what brings you here'. I knew whatever I said next was the story I would have to stick to for the rest of the year. Nobody could know the real reason for what actually brought me here. Nobody
" I...I think Kinderton would be a great opportunity for me to enhance my journaling skills and get into a prestigious college"
I lied. I didn't even want to go to college. Well, I didn't have the money too, per se.
"Oh so you're a writer?" He turned to me, surprised and intrigued.
I didn't lie about that though. I loved to write. In fact, I wrote a lot after the incident, it helped me escaped my feelings. I never thought of myself as a professional writer. I mean it was a hobby for me. A hobby some would say I'm really good at it. Vee and my mom tell me all the time that I should really pursue writing, I just don't know though, I've been so focused on my mom and our situation that I didn't really have time to think for me. Maybe I could now. Here.
"Yeah something like that" I smiled, looking up at him. Not for long though or else I would start acting like an idiot again. I stared at the ground for most of the time because looking directly at him was way too intense.
"You don't talk much, do you?" he squinted at me. Little does he know I run my damn mouth all day to myself and in my head. It's just him making me feel like this.
"I actually talk a lot" I said slickly which made him laugh again. I kind of melted this time.
"You're funny"
"Well this is your room" He stopped at a wooden door that read C14. He was now facing me, staring at me even, but I still looked at the ground. When I finally looked up at him, he tilted his head a little bit, and his eyes fixed on my lips.
Oh God.
"Uh..Thanks..for showing me around and stuff" I kept my gaze on him.
"No problem" he stopped looking at my lips and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking down at the floor.
Ohmygod is he nervous?
Did I make him nervous?
"If you ever see me don't hesitate to speak, I'm here if you... um need anything"
He's totally nervous. I don't know why but this made me smile a little.
"Yeah for sure"
'Don't' hesitate to speak'. Oh I definitely will.
"Well...see you around" He turned around and I watched him disappear into the depths of the long stone hallways.
Why was that so intense? Once he was gone, I felt like I could breathe. I entered my room and I instantly was disappointed. I was expecting a princess room with a huge bed and long drapes hanging with a vast amount of space. Or maybe I'm being delusional.
This room was old; There was two twin beds that just had white sheet's on them, and the windows were huge so that was the only light that was coming into the room. The walls were just wooden squares, and the floor was wooden as well. A dingy sheer white curtain was hanging from the windows and two wooden dressers were on each side of the room. Yeah, the dorms definitely need a renovation.
It smelled like old drywall too. This is a smell I could not get used to either.
I almost tripped and fell, not noticing the cardboard boxes before me that had my name scribbled in sharpie on them. Marshall must've brought these up here while I was on my tour.
Well I guess this is my new home. I wish I had enough money to give this room a total makeover like on HGTV, I'm sure the other kid's dorms were decorated nicely that it probably would be unrecognizable from mine.
I began to unpack, and I was almost done when I noticed a folded up piece of paper that fell out of one of the books I was unpacking.
I opened up the wrinkled piece of paper. My heart stopped. Like, literally stopped.
What really happened to your dad Blake? XOXO
_________
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was a bit long I know XD
Who sent blake that note? 0_0
Please Vote, Comment, and share as that would bring a bigger audience to this book!
Vee's mood board in the MM
mood board for Adrian in the next chapter ;)
+