Chapter 1
"Welcome to your college career, my gem!" my mother announced proudly with a smile tugging at the corners of her almost plastic, tan skin face. She reminded me of those plastic dolls I would play with as a child before my mother 'misplaced' them.
I didn’t know what was worse, the fact she felt the need to call me her ‘little gem’ even though: I just turned eighteen this past summer or maybe it was the utter fact that she felt the need to greet me this way every chance at school, just to drive the point home of the reasons why they put me in the best Academy in all of Alabama because I was meant for greatness in their eyes, after all it is in my name. Not my choice.
I soaked in the sight of it. Even though I had seen it many times this year, the school itself still left a forever impact on my soul to the point I knew everything by heart. Even, I knew it was a dream come true on the outside, it made me want to pray to God to burn it all in flames for what I knew was waiting for me on the inside and how much it controlled my future.
“Radiant Star!? Are ya listening? Why ya starin' into nothin'!?” My mother snaps, squawking like a bird from the car window, her tone implies that I better choose my words carefully.
“Oh just praying to God to bless this day, mother” I reply drily in a sarcastic matter, knowing that God isn’t listening to me. Yet my answer seems to somehow satisfy her as she replies in a very sweet manner that reminds me of those overly sweet sugary drinks that makes your teeth chatter, “ Oh! Yes! May the lord bless ya and keep up this final year at the Academy!”
Mother had a habit of always making scene, some students even looked on in horror as she nearly hit a stop sign while pulling away from the curb. Her thick accent, singing out of key to her holy music in her mini van. This wasn’t out of character for mother sadly, it's nothing new. At least she stayed in the car this time. I try my best to ignore the onlookers gawking at me with such pity and snickers, the second hand embarrassment is too much for me to bare. Focus, I tell myself as I walk up the side- walk, leading into the Academy among the other students.
It was like any high level academy that one could dream of. Only best of the best or if you were lucky, you would get in by a family name. The front entrance was a stair way that leads to a pair of double glass doors. Near the stairs was a couple of stone tables and fancy polish chairs, dotted with fine authentic teacups decorated in little painted flowers. The double glass front doors, beckoning me forth with the golden plate letters emblazoned on the front.
Unrivaled Academy. It’s a name that gets straight to the point, that everyone is unmatched.
The curtains of the windows were drawn, giving privacy to the massive three-story Building. Equipped with a basement where I knew all the meetings took place, as well as a party room for the girls and boys to get together. Study parties. Drinking parties and food parties. I wasn’t sadly one of those people, not my choice mind you.
For example, most eighteen year old boys don’t worry about what to wear on their first day of school, how they should fix their hair or who they’ll sit with at lunch.
Not me. My life was already set in stone, from the moment I wake up to the clothes I wear, thanks to my family and their connections. Unrivaled Academy has a mandatory uniform, it makes finding clothes to fit my very lean and short height body a little easier. A simple pair of black pants with a jacket to cover my white dress shirt, and lastly a red tie top it all off. Also, as far as my thick, wild sandy blond hair is concerned under the August humidity in the south. As long as I keep it at shoulder length and my grades up, my family or the school won’t say a single word. It’s the only little freedom I have.
As soon as I walk past those doors, my body is on edge as my blue eyes dart around, making sure no one was near and if they were- no one would follow me. My polished shoes echoing though out the corridor as I try to make it to my locker with my notebooks in hand, hoping that I could have a good morning without any problems from HIM.
Yet, again, God does not hear me. When will I learn?
Then I hear it, the heavy footsteps of leather cowboy boots and then ‘he’ came around entering into the corridor, ‘Demyan Beatrice’ the name echoes in my mind, like that annoying jingle from a TV ad that I can’t forget.
Despite the fact, I exceeded everyone’s expectations that I am smart enough to meet the requirements to get in the Academy without my family’s help. Yet, I wasn’t very popular at school compared to others who clearly qualified by using their rich family's name or knowing powerful people.
The Beatrice family are a prime example of this. They own the town, buying everything they could get their hands on. Including small businesses which they would just sell to other companies.
It just so happened that there was a bully in my class with the same last name. The only son to the Mayor of the town. He was quite popular with girls because he was 6 feet tall and strong, with pitch black dark eyes and messy jet black hair. However, my height didn’t help my confidence either. I felt so painfully small more then I was already when I stood in front of Demyan, inhaling the addictive scent of his unique cologne.
Looking over him, I could see why so many girls fell for him, despite the scar over his rough lips and how intimidating his eyes came off as, he was very handsome with his sharp chin and smug grin. Not that I noticed, just paid close attention too, that’s all.
of course, he bullied me. He pushed me, tore up my notebooks and insulted me as he wanted, and also forced me to do his homework, the standard bully protocol.
The worse part, I never really understood why- it just randomly started after the first few weeks of school. Never even said a word to Demyan. However, at this point, I just wanted my morning coffee from the Café at the end of the corridor and maybe some god somewhere will give me mercy.
“– Hey, nerd, what’s up with my homework?” Demyan gives his normal greeting, his tone laced with deep hatred. I can’t help but roll my eyes in displeasure and handed him the notebooks of this week’s homework without complaint, the sweet aroma of coffee and mocha fills the air.
Almost there, I just have to bite my tongue and get threw this head ache. Scowling, his black eyes are glaring down at me, acting as if I spitted on him, Demyan then reaches out to take them from me. Yet, in a flash, the tall untouchable bully grabbed his stomach and collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain.
It all happened so quickly, it took my brain a moment to register what just happened. I even actually wondered if God had heard my prayers from earlier, ‘oh shit, did I just commit a crime?’ I shake my head at how ridiculous that sounds in my own head. Then carefully approach my tormentor, I asked uncertainly as I start to bend down, reaching out with my small hand to look over him, “ Hey man, are you okay?”
Abruptly, Demyan jumped up and pressing me against the wall with his broad chest and body. He was breathing fast, and his cheeks were flushed. Dusted with a dark shade of scarlet red on his porcelain skin, a slight perspiration was coming from his body. His eyes were slightly clouded, “ Love me~” I thought those two words were whispered past Demyan’s chapped lips.
My eyes widen in a mix of astonishment and confusion, did he just confess? No way. No way and not any how is this happening that the man who hates me more then anything is speaking these words.
However, I couldn’t stop my eyes from running over every single mark of ink that adorned his muscular arms as they caged me in. Most of them were black but there were a few shades of red, that highlighted certain parts of his porcelain skin. I spotted a loin, a tiger, and a bear. I wanted to take my time and observe every single mark and even a few scars to ask him what each one meant but I couldn’t. My breath caught in my throat as all I could utter, my voice cracking is, “W…what?”
“Love me, love me!” He mutters furiously, his voice is like a growl before capturing my lips in a heated kiss.
