1 The beginning of the end

"Get out!!!!" Her shrill voice cut through the night air like a knife. I looked at my mother, my heart shattering as she stared down at me coldly. "Mom, please! I don't understand what I did wrong!" Tears spilled down my face as I watched my father finally step forward. "You have brought shame upon this household Erica, you soiled your families name. You are to leave this house before the sun rises. If you fail to do so, I will not hesitate to bring you to the club house and have them deal with you; do you understand me?" His tone was hard and his eyes glinted at the end of his statement sending chills down spine. "I..." My statement is cut short by a hand connecting with my cheek. I stared at my mother in awe, clutching the spot she had stricken as new tears threatened to spill down my face. "You will leave. You will not ask any more questions."

~2 weeks earlier~

I jolted awake at the sound of my phone ringing on my nightstand. Looking at the clock I see it's just barely past 7am. I sit up slowly and rub my eyes with a yawn before stretching and grabbing my phone. Looking at the caller ID I see that it's my best friend Aj. "Goooooodddd morning sunshine!" His voice beams from the other end, and I can't help but let out a small groan. "Ughh AJ it's only 7 in the morning, what could you possibly need from me." I stretch once more, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder before getting out of bed and heading to my closet to pick out clothes for the day. "Well miss grumpy pants, I was just calling to make sure you don't plan on skipping school today. It's the mark of the last 2 weeks of school before we graduate and we really need to talk about which college we're going to because I will not accept us going to different schools!" I suppress a laugh before answering him. "I didn't skip school the last week Aj. I had some family issues that needed handling. I'll definitely be there today, I promise." There's a short moment of silence, followed by some small chatter before we hang up the phone. I grabbed my uniform from the closet before heading to the bathroom to get ready for my day. I can't believe there's only two weeks left..

I head downstairs to find my mom standing at the stove making pancakes. "Good morning sweetheart!" My mother sang happily, flipping one onto a plate before handing it to me. "Good morning momma." I place a kiss on her cheek and head to the table where my father is sitting reading some paperwork out of a folder. "Good morning daddy." He looks up at me and smiles, his forest green eyes crinkling at the edges. "Good morning angel. Better hurry up and eat, you're gunna be late." I look up at the clock on the wall and see it's 7:45. "Oh shiiiiiii- I mean poop. You're right dad. I gotta go." He lets out a sigh at my slip up as I plant a kiss on his forehead before rushing out the door, my pancake forgotten on the table.

I park my car in the student lot and turn off the engine. Looking at the school through my windshield I let out a small sigh, a small pang of pain in my chest. It's hard to believe that after these two weeks I'll never see this school again. Just as I unbuckle my seatbelt three large black SUVs pull into the parking lot and come to a stop a few spots down from where I'm parked. I can't help but stare as the driver of the closest SUV hops out and opens the back door. I slowly open my door and climb out and then gently close the door, making sure to lock it as well. I turn back to wear the SUVs are parked just in time to see a boy climb out, and I couldn't help but stare. The boy who climbed out is almost as tall as the large driver and is almost as built as well. His black hair is slicked back, his eyes a beautiful shade of topaz, and a light dusting of facial hair across his chin. He turns his head slowly to look at me and I quickly look down at the ground before rushing off towards the entrance to the building, taking one chance to look back behind me to find a smirk on his face. Who was that? I don't think I've seen him around school before and I'm pretty sure I've never seen him around town. I shake off the pit in my stomach before heading to home room where everyone is talking amongst themselves. As soon as I walk in the classroom door, I spot Aj sitting on my desk waiting for me. I walk over to him with a tired smile on my face, and he immediately gets up and rushes over to me, throwing his arms around me and pulling me into a suffocating hug. "THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED!" He all but yells into my ear and I can't help but laugh. "I've missed you too bestie. What have I missed? Anything good?" He smiles before walking me over to my desk, his arm around my shoulder. "God you've missed more than you'll ever know." He says with a scoff in his voice. "Starting with the fact that we have a new classmate. And can I just say he's

Drop dead G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. " I raise an eyebrow as my mind thinks back to what I witnessed in the parking lot. Just as I'm about to tell him about the weird things I experienced this morning, the door to the classroom swings open, and in walks the same man that I ran into in the parking lot. He walks in, that dumb smirk plastered across his face. And to make matters even work he turns his head and starts walking over to where his desk is before sitting down in the chair directly in front of me. Just as he's about to sit down he looks over at me and his smirk widens into a grin.