“Umm, no-” I question before remembering the new student that walked into my fifth period. Something about her felt different from the other girls in my classes. There wasn’t an air of superiority that clouded around her. She didn’t lift her nose and look down at me when she shook my hand, which is practically unheard of at Tourney Hill.
Vanity bleeds through the academy walls. Shit, it’s in the fucking water here in Riverton. Everyone thinks they’re better than everyone, especially outsiders like me. It took me marrying the town's darling daughter to be welcomed. But fingers crossed, it won’t take such a commitment for Scarlett.
I don’t know why I keep this new student to myself. I just don’t feel like sharing the news with my wife, not when her temperament has finally settled down.
I don’t put it past her not to get upset over a new girl in my class. She barely tolerates the female staff I work with, and when she caught news of the students having a bit of a crush, she flipped the fuck out.
Apparently, it’s only suitable for one of us to attract the attention of the opposite sex.
Nah… I’ll keep Scarlett to myself.
“Nothing new.”
Scarlett Dane
CHAPTER V
Mornings in Rhode Island are different from home.Maybe it’s the freshness of being in another house, with a new scenery highlighted under the early morning glow. It could be, instead of traffic and the sounds of constant motion, all I hear is the melodic song of birds waking and the faint rush of waves outside my open window.
Orangey sunlight shines through my semi-transparent white curtains, surrounding my ivory-painted walls with apricot radiance. I watch the beams brighten until the rich tones fade to white, and then I throw my plush champagne duvet off my bare body.
I started sleeping in my panties and bra the day my father stopped coming into my room in the mornings. Something about rolling on satin sheets in my velvet bra and boyshorts makes me feel like the sexiest woman in the world. I never wanted to rely on a man to conjure up those feelings, not when I could do it on my own.
Strutting across the room, I stretch out my tight muscles, leaping back and forth from my bed to the closet with the grace of a trained ballerina.
Dancing around the frame of my closet door, I shuffle through outfits, singingMercyby KiNG MALA while deciding what I want to wear.
Today is my first tutoring session with Mr. Ellis. I told Chris he’d never catch me primping and priming out in the hall, but that doesn’t mean I won’t show up at school outshining every single other female on campus.
I pull a foggy blue sweater dress off its hanger and reach down to grab my white Chuck Taylor All-Star GR82 off the shoe rack. Since my outfit is partially off the shoulders, I search for my nude strapless bra and matching seamless thong. I’m not entirely sure this outfit is appropriate for the weather outside, but my body looks fantastic wrapped in the slate blue fabric.He won’t be able to take his eyes off me.
Once I’m dressed, I undo the loose braids wrapped around my head and shake out the waves. They cascade down my spine, the ends resting right above the hollow of my back.
Pinning the top half up with a clip, I enter my conjoined bathroom and start my morning routine before applying a light touch of make-up on my face. I do my lashes last, making sure they’re dark enough to make my jade-green eyes pop and sparkle like glittering gems.
Spritzing my neck, wrists, and chest with a perfume my mother had made for me, I step back and examine myself in the brightly lit mirror.
My skin is radiant, and my onyx hair shimmers as I arrange it over my shoulders. The green in my eyes pierces through my thick black lashes. I feel pretty, sexy…
Perfect.
Those girls don’t stand a chance.
With one final fluff at my ends, I storm out of the bathroom, swipe my stuffed backpack off the wooden table at the end of my bed, and bounce out of my room.
The sugary scent of blueberry cream cheese crepes has my stomach roaring in hunger. I usually never eat before school because it gives me cramps, but there’s no way I’m going to deny myself my mother's breakfast.
“Ahhh, yes! Can I please have, like… eight of these?” I say, plopping down on one of the island stools. My father is coming down the hall at the same time, mumbling something under his breath while buttoning the cufflinks at the ends of his shirt.
“Hey, Daddy. Are you okay?” I ask, concerned as I watch the irritation on his face grow.
He growls his response, sinking into the seat beside me. “It’s nothing, baby. I got a call this morning, saying they needed some help in the Missing Persons Division, so I’m being switched over to that unit.”
“Oh. That sucks. You don’t like working on missing cases?” I already know the answer. I just didn’t know what else to say…
“No. It’s… It’s just different than homicide. With homicide, they’re dead. Gone. You already know the ending. But with missing people? You never know what you’ll find, if you find anything at all.”
My mom comes around the corner and places a kiss on the crown of my father’s head. He leans into her touch and melts into her chest. Some of the tension leaves his shoulders, but his eyes, they’re not ready for the day.
