Forgotten Royalty (Escaping The Throne) (2 page)

Shaun looks down in defeat making me feel really bad. “I’m sorry Shaun.
I just don’t want to talk about it right now. Aunt Lynn has been on my case and
I’m just really frustrated.”

Shaun kicks his toe off the floor, “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I know you’ve
had it hard. When you’re ready to talk about it though, you will call me,
right?”

Shaun and I have been friends so long I don’t keep anything away from
him for long. He was there for me when the accident happened. He remembers it
almost as well as I do.

“Yeah, you know you’ll be the first to hear it. I gotta go for now though.
I kinda slammed the door in Aunt Lynn’s face this morning and if I’m late
getting home, I’ll be grounded for life instead of just the next week. If I
don’t call, you know why.”

Shaun smiles, “Do you think you could go one day without angering your
aunt? I’ll see you tomorrow.” Shaun always knows just what to say. I close my
locker and head for the door. No one else will stop me on the way out. Todd
drives Torrie home every day and Neiva stays after for the Algebra Club, she’s
the president. Shaun walks home every night, he only lives a block from the
school.

As I head out the door, the sun glares in my eyes. “Oof,” I almost fall
down the steps but someone catches me. “Wow, thanks. If you hadn’t been
there…Hey do I know you?” He looks so familiar, but I don’t know where I
would’ve seen him.

“No, I don’t think so. I think I would remember someone like you. Are
you okay?”

What did he mean someone like me? “Yeah, my name’s Sara.”

He smiles, “Well Sara, try to be more careful.” He walks away

“Hey wait, what’s your name?” I try to run to catch up to him but he
gets in a car and drives away. That was just unreal. I have never had a guy be
so rude to me when I introduced myself.

BEEP! BEEP! “Sorry.”I just realized that I had stepped into the street
trying to catch him. I run back to Thai’s cab and get in. “Did you see that
guy?”

Thai looks at me confused, “The only thing I saw was you trying to get
hit by a car. I couldn’t see much else up there. Why what happened?”

Wow, am I going crazy today? I seem to be assuming that everything that
happens is revolving around me. None of this could be connected. I tell Thai
everything that has happened today and he nods and listens intently.

“Sounds like you had an exciting day. You didn’t get hurt when the crow
swooped at you or when you fell? Sounds like you have just been very lucky
today.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I don’t know why I let them upset me so
much. I guess not getting much sleep will do that to you.”

Thai tries not to look to overprotective as he says, “Maybe you should
take a nap when I drop you off. You could go on my route with me if you wanted
to sleep in the car.”

“Thanks but Aunt Lynn is already going to ground me if I don’t get
home. She didn’t like my outfit this morning.”

“What’s wrong with your outfit? It’s not like it’s to revealing.” He
asks.

“She thinks that I should wear more colorful clothes not all black. She
is such a pain to be with. Every time I turn around she is psychoanalyzing
something about me, my dress, my makeup… anything she can think of.”

“You know she just wants to keep you safe though. She loves you.”

There it was the old adults all want to keep you safe speech. Why do
they all have to defend each other? “You can just drop me at the corner. I’ll
walk down the street.” That was my way of telling Thai I was done talking about
it. He dropped me at the corner and told me he would see me tomorrow.

I stood and watched as he drove away and then turned the opposite
direction and walked toward the library. I wasn’t ready to go home just yet and
Aunt Lynn wouldn’t be home for another two hours anyway. She always worked late
on Mondays.

Aunt Lynn is a therapist. She tells people how they should think all
day long and comes home to tell me the same thing. She gets mad when I tell her
I can run my own life. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aunt Lynn and she’s been
there for me since the accident. She just doesn’t seem to get me. I can’t seem
to talk to her about the important stuff. I’ve tried telling her about my
dreams, but it immediately turned into a therapy session. I just wanted her to
listen.

As I walk toward the library, I catch something out of the corner of my
eye. Was that the SUV from this morning? No, it couldn’t be. Even if it were,
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. I keep walking and try to ignore it. It pulls
into the library parking lot. Okay, that’s not strange. People go to the
library every day. I start to cross the street and am almost hit by a red car.
Wait, that’s the car that boy got into earlier. And he’s driving.

“Watch it! Pedestrians have the right of way!” I shout. I wasn’t in a
mood to be nice after this afternoon.

He pulls in front of the library and gets out of his car.

“What’s your problem?” I shout as I walk closer.

“You stepped out in front of me, remember. It’s not like I veered to
hit you.”

That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. “The sun was in my eyes, I
didn’t see you coming. Why were you going so fast anyway?” I looked away to try
to hide my shame. I had stepped in front of him.

“Like the sun was in your eyes in front of the school. Do I need to
avoid you at all costs in order to keep you from getting hurt? You seem to be
kinda accident prone today, or is that an everyday thing?”

That was hurtful, but it refueled my rage from earlier and I started
shouting again, “At least I don’t make it a habit of being rude to someone who
just introduced themselves to me.” And with that I walked away. I can be rude
too.

He reaches to grab my arm but I pull it away. “Look, I’m sorry if I was
rude earlier. I had someplace to be.”

Wow, did he just apologize to me. My mouth was still hanging open as I
turned toward him. I quickly closed it, “Oh, uh…” What do I say now? I have
never been speechless before. Think fast Sara. “That’s okay. You don’t have to
apologize. I just, I didn’t catch your name earlier.”

“You said your name was Sara right?” He avoids the question so
smoothly.

“Yeah, and you repeated it right before your dramatic exit.” The library
is looking more and more inviting. Why am I so moody today?

“Sorry, are you going in?”

“Maybe, are you going to tell me your name or should I just walk away
again?” That was mean of me.

“Sorry, I guess I just got caught in the conversation. I was gonna ask
if you needed a ride if you weren’t going in. I really didn’t mean to be rude.”

I meet his gaze. Wow, his eyes are beautiful. Almost like that crow
earlier. The irises are a deep gray that almost looks black and the pupils are
like a deep space. I could get lost in those eyes. It almost looks like there
are stars in the irises, like he has a universe in his eyes.

“Sara?”

“What? I’m sorry. I must have zoned out there for a second.”

“I just asked if you wanted to go for a ride.”

“Uh, no…I mean…I can’t. I’m not supposed to accept rides from anyone. I
mean yes, I’m going in the library.”

He turns at that and gets the keys out of the car. He walks past me as
if I’m not even there. How does he go from I didn’t mean to seem rude, to
ignoring me?

I walk up the rest of the stairs and he is holding the door open. Well,
chivalry might not be dead, but I’m not taking pity either. I open the other
door and breeze past him like I didn’t even notice.

I went to my favorite fiction section of the library and looked for the
next book in the series I’m reading. I sit down with it at one of the tables
and notice him sitting at the table across from me.

This is going to get really annoying. I can’t focus on my book so I return
it to the shelf and look for another. Suddenly I feel something moist and warm
on my shoulder. Does he really think that I will forgive him that easily for
being rude?

I grab a book off the shelf and turn to go back to my table. SMACK!
There standing in front of me is a very large man. He doesn’t make any attempt
to move. I turn the other way but he blocks me and pushes me up against the
book case. He smiles a devilish grin that tells me he wants more than help
finding a book and I close my eyes.

Is it over? I open my eyes up to find that he’s gone. I don’t know
where he went and right now, I really don’t care. I put the book back on the
shelf and go back to my table. I pick up my bag and turn for the door. Standing
in front of me is my least favorite person today.

“Are you okay? I saw that guy at the bookshelf.”

What? Was he watching me? “Why don’t you just go back to your table and
read? Just leave me alone, I’ve had enough of your mood swings for today!” I
start to walk around him but he turns and grabs my bag.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to upset you. Where are you going?”

Is this guy a psycho or what? “Not that it’s any of your business, but
I’m going home and don’t even think about following me,” I snapped!

I was so freaked out right now I just wanted to be by myself. Could
this day be any weirder? He let go of my backpack and went back to his table.
He looked at me one more time with what looked to be concern and hate in his
eyes before I walked away. I went out the door and stood at the top of the
steps scanning my surroundings for that guy from inside. I didn’t see him. I
ran down the steps, crossed the street, and ran the whole way home. I wasn’t
waiting for anyone.

“I won’t warn you again. Next time, I will hurt you! Don’t push me.” I
walked away.

The Blood Borne Shifters had been our rivals for centuries. The fact
that this maggot had gotten past our defenses made me worry about our security.
The Knight Wolves Pack had been protecting this area for as long as I could
remember. The girl didn’t know it, but she had lycan blood in her. That’s why
they wanted her. They wanted to use her against us.

 “Hey Twerp, I didn’t catch your name.” He was toying with me now.

“The name is Damian. Would you like to give me yours so I can carve it
on your tombstone?” I could play games too.

“Name’s Bane and I doubt you’ll be forgetting it anytime soon.” And
with that, he got in his SUV and drove away.