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It contained photo albums of my parents. I didn't open any of them because it hurt too much to look at the photos and be reminded of what I was missing in my life.

All the big portraits of my parents, I had put into the attic. Someday, I hoped that I'd be able to display them in the house and look at them without feeling the heartbreaking loss of their deaths.

I was relieved when I finished unpacking the albums and I moved on to the next one. I was determined to finish by lunchtime. The next couple of boxes were filled with my personal books, which took forever to get through. By the last box—which was filled with clothes, like underwear and pajamas—I was tired and hungry.

All the boxes were now empty, although there were still items on my bed when I heard a knock on my door.

"Time for food," Gary announced through my closed door.

"I'm nearly done. I'll see you downstairs as soon as I'm finished," I replied, folding my silk pajama top.

"You’d better hurry up or there may not be any food left," he teased.

I just laughed in response.

I turned my concentration back to finishing up my unpacking. Once I was done, I felt relieved as I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. There was a massive dining room but I liked to eat at the table in the kitchen; it had a more casual atmosphere.

Gary had already started to eat when I dropped into the chair next to him.

“
You unpacked all four boxes?” he asked in disbelief.

“
Yes, all four boxes,” I confirmed triumphantly as I surveyed the food in front of me. On the kitchen table, spread out in front of us, was a variety of sandwiches and salad. I selected one and placed it on my plate.

“
Wow, that was quick,” he murmured as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“
I hate moving,” I muttered as I dished up some salad onto my plate.

“
At least everything is done,” he reminded me. He was right. Everything had been unpacked. The only thing I was still waiting for was my new car.

“
And I don’t know why you’re complaining about moving. This was your idea, remember?” he reminded me.

It had been my idea. From the time I’d turned sixteen, I’d begun to develop a need for nature and the wilderness. This had coincided with my senses becoming more powerful.

So, here we were.

“
When is my new car arriving?” I asked as I took a bottle of water from the table and opened it to pour into a glass.

“
I phoned to check and they said it was on its way. They guaranteed it would be here before the end of today.”

I was so excited, I was like a little child on Christmas Eve and I couldn’t wait to open my presents.

“
Are you looking forward to starting your senior year tomorrow?” Gary questioned.

I shrugged.

“
Not really.”

I wasn’t excited about my senior year or starting a new school. It was simply a task that had to be completed. I hadn’t quite thought about what exactly I wanted to do once I graduated.

The thing was, I had more money than I could probably spend in a lifetime, so I had the time and money to take my time deciding.

When I’d gotten emancipated, I’d started learning about finances from Gary. It was crucial to keep track of how my inheritance was being invested and I’d learned a lot. Initially, Gary had sat in on the meetings with my financial advisors, but nowadays I held those meetings without him.

I’d spent most of my life going to private schools and I’d decided with my move to attend a public school for the first time. I might not have wanted to go, but I had no doubt it was going to be interesting.

I’d been told many times that I was attractive, and I had money, so most girls didn’t like me much. Guys tended to be intimidated by me and there weren’t a lot of guys who would take on someone who was as strong-willed as I was.

It didn’t matter to me. I didn’t need a man to define who I was.

I spent the rest of the day waiting anxiously for my new car to arrive as I flipped through the channels on my flat-screen in my room. There was nothing to watch.

I finally heard the faint sound of an engine and I bounced off my bed in excitement. My new car had arrived. I ran to the window in the upstairs lounge, but I couldn’t see anything from the window. I knew the truck was near. Like I said, I had really good senses.

I only had to wait for about five minutes before I saw the truck drive down the driveway headed to the house. It was still early enough to take it for a drive.

Gary was already waiting outside the front door when I joined him.

“
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a girl get this excited about a car,” he remarked with a smile.

“
Not every girl gets to drive a Maserati,” I shot back with a grin and he laughed.

“
You going to take it for a drive now?” he asked.

“
You even have to ask?” I replied as the truck pulled up in front of us.

The driver got out of the truck and gave me some documents to sign while another guy reversed my car out of the back.

Beautiful.

I’d opted for a sleek, silver-gray color. Once I signed the necessary documentation, the driver handed me the keys to my new baby.

I only had one final question before I got in my new car.

“
Insured?” I asked, to which Gary replied, “Of course.”

Not that it really mattered, but I didn’t want to waste money if I did total it. I was a little bit of a speed freak and battled to keep to the speed limit.

There was no way I was going to be sticking to the speed limit in my new car. I slid into the driver’s seat as the truck left. The car smelled like expensive leather and I took a deep breath.

I started the car up and revved it. Gary just shook his head at me.

He knew me too well. Thankfully, through the years and since I got emancipated, he had begun to let me make my own decisions even though he didn’t always agree with them.

I pulled out of the driveway with a screech. I didn’t know the town very well but I had GPS so I couldn’t really get that lost. I took a right and pressed my foot down, loving the thrill of the car purring beneath my hands.

I had probably an hour before sunset and I was going to make good use of every minute of it as I began to drive around the new town. The residential areas around the town were sparsely populated. There were a few properties similarly sized to mine but, other than that, it was forests and fresh air.

Putting down the window, I took a deep breath of the fresh air. I felt free.

I loved every minute of getting to know my new car as I drove around for nearly half an hour. I was on my way back when I spotted a red Porsche tailing me. It accelerated until it pulled up alongside me. The darkened windows on my car made it impossible for the driver to see me, but I could see him.

He obviously wanted to race and I smiled as I sped up, ready to kick his ass. I was used to driving fast cars and Gary had made me take an additional driving course to make sure I was equipped to handle them.

I pulled ahead of the Porsche as I pressed down on the accelerator. The Porsche lost some ground, but after a sharp right corner it accelerated and pulled up beside me again. Shaking my head at his attempts to keep up with me, I pushed down on the accelerator again as the road straightened up in front of us.

My Maserati was faster. I pulled away from him, leaving him unable to overtake me so he pulled in behind me. I smiled triumphantly.

Playtime was over. I could see my house coming up and I was done racing. I slowed down a few feet from my driveway with the Porsche still hot on my tail, but before he could make another attempt to overtake me, I pulled hard on the steering wheel and turned into my driveway without slowing down any further.

The tires screeched on the surface but my baby stuck to the road without losing traction and I slowed down as I entered my property. In my side mirror, I saw the Porsche hit the brakes just outside just outside the wrought-iron gate that stood at the driveway’s entrance

Still high on the thrill of the race, I pulled up in front of the house.

CHAPTER TWO

Scarlett

One thing I hated most about school was waking up early. Why did school have to start so early? I loved to sleep in and I rarely got out of bed before eleven most mornings when I didn’t have to wake up for school.

I yawned when my snooze time ran out and my alarm began to buzz again. I sat up and rubbed my face. I’d set my alarm for earlier than normal so I would have the extra time to get my schedule and find my locker.

I kept promising myself once school was finished, I’d make sure I never had to wake up early again.

Unlike most girls my age, I wasn’t interested in fashion and what the latest trend was. I dressed in what I liked irrespective of whether it was considered fashionable or not.

I pulled on a pair of black hipster jeans and a button-up dark blue shirt, then I finished off my outfit with a pair of black, flat, strappy sandals. The only makeup I wore was some lip-gloss. These days I never bothered with jackets or a jersey because I never got cold anymore.

When my senses had grown stronger, my internal body heat had increased as well.

Gary had suggested I get some tests run to discover why I’d suddenly developed changes when I’d turned sixteen, but I’d refused. Physically, I felt fine. I didn’t see any reason to get tests done, and I’d learned to live with the new changes in my body.

The smell of fresh coffee caught me as I descended the stairs and I followed it into the kitchen. Most mornings I couldn’t function until I had my first cup of coffee.

“
You’re up,” I heard Gary say as I entered the room.

“
Yeah, I’m up,” I muttered as I went straight for the coffee. I poured some of it into a cup and took a sip.

“
Mmm,” I murmured as I took another sip and felt the caffeine begin to take effect in my body. Gary just shook his head at me and laughed. He knew better than to try and interact with me before I finished my first cup.

“
Are you taking your new car or do you want the driver to take you to school?” Gary asked, sitting at the kitchen table as I finished my coffee.

“
I’m taking my new baby,” I answered.

“
I’ve installed a tracker on the car,” he notified me. I nodded my head. It was something I was used to and it was his way of keeping me safe. If I let him put a tracker on the vehicle I was using, then he wouldn’t have to send a bodyguard with me. There was no way I was going to school with a massive bodyguard following me around. If Gary could, he’d keep me locked up at home. I wasn’t going to live my life in fear of what could happen, though.

My parents’ deaths had been tragic, but there was no proof that their murderers were out to get me, too.

I was running late so I skipped breakfast and I grabbed a protein bar, which I shoved into my school bag.

I bent down and gave Gary a quick kiss on his cheek.

“
I’ll see you later,” I said as I dashed out of the kitchen.

My new baby was parked in the driveway, ready for me, when I opened the front door. Gary knew me too well, so he’d made sure she was parked outside for me.

I got into the car and programmed the address of the school into the car’s GPS. I hummed along to the song on the radio as I started the drive to my new school for the next year.

The parking lot of the school was starting to fill up when I pulled in. I found a parking space in the front row of the parking lot. I grabbed my schoolbag and got out of the car.

As I walked away, I pressed a button on the remote of the car and I heard the door click closed. There weren’t many students at school yet but I did get a couple of curious looks as I made my way to the entrance.

The school wasn’t exactly as big as the schools I’d been used to. It was a fair size, but I wasn’t in the city anymore and the thick forest that surrounded the school reminded me of that.

The single-story brick building with large windows had a sign above the entrance that read “Parkland High School”. A large double entrance to the school was preceded with a small set of stairs that led straight to parking.

Once I entered the school, I passed a couple of students. A smell hit me and I faltered for a minute, trying to figure out what the smell was. It smelled like fresh rain.

Two students standing close by turned to look at me with curiosity as I pushed myself past the smell to the reception room. Behind the counter in reception sat an old, plump lady with a pair of glasses on the edge of her nose.

“
Hi,” I greeted her.

“
Hello,” she greeted me back with a warm smile. “How can I help you?”

“
I’m a new student and I’ve come to collect my schedule and locker number,” I answered.