Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Nova

“Thanks for driving me home,” I say to Vivian as she pulls into her driveway. She shuts the engine off and turns to me with a genuine smile.

“It’s the least I could do after my brother and the guys were a dick to you at lunch. Was Vox nice in chem?” I debate telling her that he was a prick and constantly kept stabbing the side of my thigh with his fucking pencil but I choose to keep my mouth shut. I don’t know what it is about her but I actually like this girl and I don’t want my hatred of her dick-face brother to ruin our budding friendship. I can see her being one of those long-term friends, like lifelong.

“He was tolerable.”

She purses her lips but doesn’t comment. As I open the door to step out she stops me with her words. “Homecoming is in a couple of weeks, should we go shopping for a dress?”

I cringe, I hate school dances. “I don’t go to?—”

“We can go together if that helps?” The pleading tone of her voice has me slouching into the lush leather of her car seat.

“I’ve never gone to a school dance, normally Waylen and I blow them off.” Her face lights up at the mention of Waylen.

“Is that the guy who called today?” I can’t help the smile that crests on my lips as I nod. “Oh my God!” she screeches.

“What?”

“You have a boyfriend?” I open my mouth to deny her claim but don’t get a chance when my door is yanked open and I’m tugged out of the car by my arm. I shove the fucker but his hold doesn’t ease. Vivian rounds the car and smacks her brothers arm repeatedly until he lets me go. Vox keeps his glare on me. “What the hell are you doing?” she shouts at her brother.

“Get in the house, Vi,” he snarls, I narrow my eyes at the bastard.

“Vox, I am not?—”

“Get in the fucking house, Vivian, now!” he snarls. She jerks in fear and that shit pisses me off.

“Don’t fucking speak to her like that, asshole!” I growl, his eyes narrow in rage and I relish in the sight of it. Vivian whirls around and faces me with a pleading look. I sigh and roll my eyes, it pains me to walk away from a fight but I do it for her, not wanting to make shit hard for her at home. “Fine, text me later,” I say as I cross the lawn and head toward my new house. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful and huge but it’s just not me or Mom. We never needed lavish things. Thomas has a cook, pool boy, gardener and maid. I freaked out when I found the maid cleaning my bathroom on the weekend. I told my mom I didn’t like it but she just said I would get used to it.

I can see she loves Thomas and I don’t want to do anything to fuck things up for her but I can’t be sure he feels the same way about her. I’ve barely made it two steps inside before I hear my mom calling my name and summoning me into the dining room. Yes, there is even a formal dining room here that is used for entertaining only, not family dinners.

Thomas sits at the end of the table with his laptop open, a frown tugging at the lines of his forehead. I look to my mom on his left who is sipping on a fancy looking drink with a little umbrella. I hate that I can see the look of uncertainty in her eyes. Thomas won’t allow her to work because he says she needs to relax and let him take care of her, but she hates not being able to contribute.

“How was your day, Nunu?” I fight the eye roll at her nickname for me, wanting to unload all my problems of the day on her but I don’t. I know she would take it upon herself to help me fix the mess I have made and that would take time away from her being with Thomas.

“It was good, I made a new friend.”

Mom’s eyes light up. “Tell me!”

“Her name is Vivian Hatchett–” When Thomas snaps his gaze up, I clamp my mouth shut, sensing a change in his mood. Mom follows my gaze and when he sees her looking at him, he softens his features and plasters a smile on his face. I can see through the fake mask but say nothing. Something is going on with Thomas and it’s unsettling to say the least. I never got these vibes off him when he first started dating my mom but since we moved here, he has changed and not for the better in my opinion.

“They live next door, her brother is friends with your son.” I fight not to cringe at him referring to Nexus as my brother.

“Who am I friends with?”

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Thomas smiles at his son as he saunters into the room, looking like a rotten brat as he smiles fondly at my mom even though I can see it pains him to do so. “Vox,” Thomas answers.

“Ah, yeah, he’s one of my boys,” Nexus says.

“Nova was just telling us how she made friends with his sister,” Mom says happily.

“I have a lot of homework to do,” I say, ending the conversation. I choose to ignore the hurt look on my mom’s face as I turn and flee from the room. The second I close my bedroom door behind me, I lock it, then lean my head against it. Today has been a fucking lot and I am mentally wrung out. I just want to crawl into bed and avoid everyone but given the fact I need to play catch up on my school work, I am left with little choice.

I’ve been combing over the text for my history class when a knock sounds at my door. I flick my gaze to the window and curse beneath my breath, I hadn’t realized how much time has passed, it’s dark out. I jump up from my bed and open the door, thinking it’s my mom coming to tell me its dinner time but to my dismay it’s Nexus and he’s holding a tray with what looks like my dinner on it.

“Piggy, I have been instructed to deliver this to you and make sure you are okay.” I reach for the tray but he shifts, then barges his way into my room while I glare at the back of his head. He places the tray on the edge of my bed, then peers at all the textbooks that cover the space. When he goes for my laptop, I dart forward and push him back. His laughter grates on my nerves. “That wasn’t very nice,” he scolds mockingly.

“I don’t give a shit. Get the hell out of my room, Nexus, and stay away from me. Oh, and tell your stupid friends to stay away as well.” At the mention of his friends his brows slant.

“What have they been doing?” I can’t tell if the concern in his voice is genuine or not but I answer regardless.

“Being assholes. I have chem with Vox, gym with Ezekiel, math with Archer and English with Hayze. The bastards, tell them to stay away from me and quit being dicks, I don’t need or want their bullshit in my life. As soon as this year is over, I will be out of here and out of the five of your lives!”

“You aren’t going anywhere, piggy,” he vows before storming out of my room and slamming the door closed behind himself. I stomp my foot and groan in anger, then check the time on my phone and groan. I guess Waylen is showering with me again tonight. He always calls at nine sharp on a Monday, no idea why but it has become our thing. I scarf down my dinner, then smile as my phone begins to ring at nine on the dot. I chat with Waylen as I lock my bedroom door and head into the bathroom. I flick the camera off as I undress and fill him in about the remainder of my day while I wash the bad juju from it away.

“What are you going to do?” he asks as I condition my hair.

“Ignore the fuckers and hope they forget I am the shiny new toy in town,” I answer. I wait for him to respond but after a minute when he still doesn’t, I push the glass door open and grit my teeth.

Fucking Nexus!

My phone isn’t on the counter where I left it propped up. I dart my head back under the water to rinse the conditioner out so I can go after that asshole but the lights shut off. I’m not afraid of the dark but given the fact my stepbrother is clearly unhinged and has a death wish, I am worried about how much blood will be spilled tonight.

“I’m gonna make you wish your mother had swallowed you, you little rat!” I call out as I shut off the water and push the glass open. I reach blindly for my towel but grasp at air. A chill runs down my spine, if he managed to get in here to steal my towel then he definitely saw me naked and that doesn’t sit well with me. I wring out my hair as best as I can with my hands and take a deep breath holding my head high as I step out of the shower and squint my eyes to see better in the dark. The chill in the air has my nipples hardening and goose flesh dotting my skin but I don’t acknowledge it, I would rather freeze than give him that satisfaction.

An eerie feeling overcomes me as I step into my bedroom, I feel eyes on me. “Nexus, give me my phone and towel now or I will put my foot through your fucking windshield.” I step further into the room and my senses become heightened as fear begins to worm its way through me. I stop next to my bed and I brush my thigh against the comforter to better orient myself with the room. I slowly scan the room and try to see clearly but the fucker closed my blinds blocking out any light from the moon.

I inhale through my nose and slowly creep toward my wardrobe across the room, taking it slow so I don’t bang into anything. I feel the frame of the closet and exhale. Once inside, I reach blindly for a shirt or something, I refuse to turn any lights on to give the fucker a better view of my nakedness. As I reach out I still at the sound of the door clicking shut behind me. I feel him at my back and tense, my breaths turning ragged. I have two options, reach for the clothing or turn to face him head on.

My pride wins out, I drop my hand to my side and turn to face the fucker ready to tear him a new one but something is off. Nexus smells like fancy cologne and has an aura of arrogance that clings to him. The person before me smells like pine, cedarwood and… mint. I may not be able to make out any features but the dark shadow before me is definitely taller than my stepbrother. Dread pools in my belly, I am locked inside this tiny closet with a stranger. Fear urges me to curl into a ball and scream but my stupid fucking pride refuses to allow me to do either of those things.

“A favor is a debt owed.” His voice is low and distorted, I can tell he is using a machine of some sort so I won’t be able to recognize his voice. Still I begin to tremble with fear and to my utter disgust my body begins to heat. I have next to no sexual experience except Waylen. We both wanted to get rid of our V cards and decided to help each other out. It was awkward and we only did it a couple of times until we realized it wasn’t worth risking our friendship over. “The Filthy Few will grant you one favor.”

“I don’t need anything from you, asshole. Get the fuck out of my room and house now before I scream.” The last word has barely left my mouth before a large hand is wrapping around my throat. I claw at the fuckers forearm when he squeezes, not cutting off my air supply but restricting it. He leans in and I tremble when I feel the rough texture of a… mask. I can’t make out what it is made of but his voice has dropped when he speaks against my ear.

“We are the Filthy Few and will be forever filthy . A favor is granted to those who ask, should you need it all you must do is ask.” The bastard releases me with a hard shove. I stumble back and trip over my own feet, falling to my ass. I bat my hair out of my eyes as I gasp for air, the closet door is open and the bedroom light is on. My nakedness forgotten, I jump to my feet and race into my room, seeing the balcony doors are open and my room is empty.

He’s gone.

I spot my phone on the bedside table and rush to retrieve it, but what lays under it catches my eye. I gingerly pick up the post card looking thing—it’s matte black with the green writing.

Where they rest for eternal life is where a favor is asked.

The stone with the head is where you will be led.

Be certain of the favor you ask, no second is offered.

The debt will be collected when the favor is complete.

A favor asked is a debt owed.

A chill runs through me as I reread the words, I have no idea who the fuck that was but I am damn sure never asking anything of that creepy fuck. I toss the card into the drawer of my bedside table and force myself to forget about it as I lock my balcony doors and quickly get changed. There is no fucking way I am sleeping tonight. I’m tempted to call for my mom and force her to sleep with me but I won’t put her in danger if that fucker comes back. Instead, I facetime Waylen and make him stay on the phone with me until one of us falls asleep.