Chapter 5 Five

BRIANNE

I could now see the reason my dad couldn't let me stay in Quinville. Everything was weird and so unreal. I tried to steady my breathing as I couldn't believe whatever I had just heard, I tried to move but my feet refused to move even as my mind screamed at me to just get the hell out of there. Jordyn's words kept echoing in my head. "You disgust me." Three words shouldn't have the power to destroy someone, but these did. My hands wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard I tried to steady them, and the worst part was knowing I probably deserved every bit of this pain.

I couldn't bear the thought that I was the one who had abandoned him all those years ago. I was the one who had broken our promise of an unforgettable birthday.

I looked at the deep scratches in the wall where his hand had struck, and I tried to convince myself that they had been there before and I was just freaking out.

It was impossible, a normal teenager could never have such strength to leave marks that deep in a solid wall. Not unless they had some kind of supernatural strength.

As I stared at the marks, my feet finally started to cooperate, slowly carrying me away from this hallway. But the further I got, the more I realized just how silent everything was. I could hear the rapid beating of hearts all around me – and that's when I turned and saw it. At least half the school has formed a circle, their eyes fixed on me.

From the looks on their faces, they had all witnessed my humiliation at Jordyn's hands. And worse, some of them were even recording it on their phones, because apparently my pain needed to be preserved for entertainment.

Before I could react, the circle parted, and out stepped Stephanie with two other girls. Of course Stephanie would be the one to come swooping in, ready to kick me while I was down. She was Jordyn's girlfriend now, the one who had everything I'd once dreamed of.

Stephanie held up a hand and the hallway fell silent immediately. It was scary how much power she had over everyone.

"I warned you to stay away from Jordyn, didn't I?" Stephanie said as she took a step closer. "But you just couldn't listen. People like you need extra help to understand basic instructions."

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from her. "I don't have time for this."

"Hold her."

It happened so fast I barely had time to process it. The two girls with Stephanie grabbed my arms and pinned me against the wall in surprising strength. What the actual jell?

"Get off me! What are you doing?" I struggled against their hold. I could feel the anger building up inside me which threatened to boil over. I had to keep it under control, had to stay calm.

Stephanie smiled wickedly. "What I'm doing is teaching you your place. Next time, you won't be so quick to disobey me."

Her eyes traveled down and got fixed on my necklace that was now dangling on my chest. My heart stopped as I saw a familiar look in her eye – the look of someone who'd just found their target. No. Not the necklace. Anything but that.

"Pin her down harder," she commanded, and I felt the grip on my arms tighten painfully.

When Stephanie reached for it, something strange happened. The moment her fingers touched the silver pendant, she jerked back like she'd been burned. "What the hell is that?" she hissed, shaking her hand.

"None of your fucking business," I spat. "Now back off!"

She scanned the crowd until she saw her target. "Emily! Bring me those scissors."

A small, mousy-looking girl faced up and walked up to me. The scissors in her hand shook as she drew closer.

"Cut off her necklace."

"Don't you dare." Emily wouldn't meet my eyes as she reached for the pendant with her hands shaking so bad.

More hands grabbed me from behind as the scissors moved closer to my neck. I kicked against their grip, but these girls were freakishly strong – way stronger than normal teenagers should be.

The sound of metal cutting made my stomach drop, and then I felt it – the warmth of my necklace disappearing as it fell to the floor.

That's when everything inside me snapped. The pressure I'd been holding back since Stephanie started this, the power I'd fought so hard to control since morning came rushing out. It felt like an energy that demanded to be released.

With a roar that didn't even sound human, I shot my arms out. The girls holding me went flying with their bodies crashing into the lockers. There were screams, but I turned deaf ears to all of them.

My eyes were on Stephanie who stood there with her mouth open and my broken necklace was still on her fingers.

"That was a mistake Stephanie," My voice came out so strange. Before she could move, I grabbed her shirt and lifted her off the ground like she was made of paper. The rational part of my brain screamed at me to stop, but something else had taken over.

Something wild and dangerous like it had been caged for far too long. With another roar, I threw her across the hallway. My hands shook as I bent down to pick up the pieces of my necklace, and that's when reality came back. I looked at Stephanie's form on the floor, and my heart nearly stopped.

What had I done?

Everything was dead quiet, every single person frozen. But all I could focus on was the fact that Stephanie wasn't getting up. She wasn't moving at all.

****

"I'm telling you, she just attacked us out of nowhere!" Stephanie spilled fake tears as she sat in Principal Matthews office, holding an ice pack to her head. "We were just trying to be friendly, and she went completely psycho!"

I gripped the arms of the chair and fought the urge to scream. The principal's office smelled like old coffee and Stephanie's lies were making me nauseous. I couldn't stop staring at her – how was she sitting here completely unharmed? I'd seen her body hit those lockers. I'd heard the impact. But here she was, perfect as ever. Something wasn't adding up.

Principal Matthews leaned forward. "Those are serious accusations, Miss Ravenstone.

"Miss Loren, what's your version of events?"

I met his gaze. "I won't lie about what happened, but I also won't accept her version of events." It wasn't exactly a denial, but it wasn't an admission either. How could I explain what I'd done when I barely understood it myself?

"Fortunately," the principal sighed, "we don't have to rely on either version. The hallway cameras should show us exactly what happened." He pressed a button on his desk.

"Mrs. Torres, could you bring up the security footage from the second-floor hallway?"

My stomach dropped. The footage would show everything my mystical strength, the way I'd thrown those girls around like they weighed nothing. My hands started shaking as Mrs. Torres brought in a small TV. The footage started playing, and I held myself, waiting for the moment that would destroy my life. But what I saw made no sense.

On the screen, Stephanie and her friends surrounded me, yes, but then it showed me simply shoving past them. Stephanie stumbled and fell against the wall.

That was it. No supernatural strength. No flying bodies. Nothing that actually happened.

I stared at the screen, my mouth hanging open. Had I imagined the whole thing? But no, I remembered everything so clearly. I could still feel the surge of power, the screams of the girls. None of the girls they'd questioned remembered anything either. It was like someone had wiped their memories clean, replaced them with this clean version of events.

"This is impossible!" Stephanie jumped up, her fake tears forgotten. "That's not what happened! The footage has been tampered with!"

Principal Matthews turned to her with a stern look. "Miss Ravenstone, fabricating accusations is a serious offense. I think you and your friends should leave now while I discuss appropriate consequences with your parents."

Stephanie stormed out, but not before shooting me a look that promised this wasn't over. I sat there, still trying to process what had happened.

"You're dismissed, Miss Loren," the principal said. "Try to avoid any further... incidents."

"Thanks" I said and left the office. I got into the empty hallway, my head spinning. Nothing made sense anymore. The broken pieces of my necklace felt heavy in my pocket, the only proof that something had actually happened. I needed air, needed to think.

"Rough morning?" The voice made me jump. Lucian stood there, looking unfairly gorgeous. I recognized him as Jordyn's friend, the one I saw him with in history class. I started to walk past him because I wasn't in the mood for whatever game Jordyn's friends were playing.

"You're just gonna walk away, can you at least hear me out!" he called after me. "I just wanted to.."

"Please.. Just let me be," I muttered and picked up my pace.

What he said next stopped me cold: "Your secret is safe with me, mystic girl."