Destroyed by Deception (Amethyst College Saga Book 1) Read online

  I shook my head and thrust the vacuum into her hands, before turning and walking away. “Tell Abe thanks.” I threw over my shoulder as I walked into my room and slammed the door. I realized that was her way of marking her territory and a shiver tore through me as I climbed into my bed, pulling my headphones out and plugging in my music to relax me.

  I lay looking at the ruined wall, knowing I’d need to buy some paint, but that it could wait a few days. I fell asleep listening to Death Valley and I dreamed about my mom, paint splashing and the beach. When I woke up a few hours later, I was more confused than ever, not knowing where I was and hearing disjointed voices from the common room.

  My earbuds were beside my head and I rolled over, plugging them back in before drifting back off to a dreamless sleep.

  I spent the rest of the day avoiding Liv and Abe, especially since I felt guilty about how I was with Abe, but he didn’t need to know why I was messed up and he obviously wasn’t too perturbed by my attitude. Every time I saw him, he was with the raven haired bitchy girl, Rachel. He smiled down at her, but as I passed them in the corridors or in the sitting area, his eyes flickered to me and he looked sheepish and turned away quickly. My first few classes went dreadfully, but once my professors learned more about why I wasn’t prepared, they were a little more lenient. I even made a few friends, although only in class. I didn’t hang around with anyone outside class because I didn’t want to put them on Liv’s crosshairs. She had seen me speaking to a girl in my language class and the next class, a few hours later; the same girl wouldn’t even look at me.

  As Wednesday dawned, the sky darkened with pewter clouds and I saw almost every hour on the clock. I’d had a dream about my mom and the day she died. Waking up screaming into my pillow was not how I’d intended to start the day. For a second I’d considered calling my dad, but he’d made his feelings towards me quite clear when he’d called his friend to get me my place. He’d glared at me the whole time he’d made the call, but Jimmy was there and had held my hand while we waited for the verdict. My eyes burned and I swallowed the feeling of a lump in my throat. I needed something to distract myself at three am and decided to go grab a coffee.

  As I padded barefoot towards our communal kitchen, Abe, and his neighbor had come into the sitting area. I ran like a rabbit in headlights, trying to avoid Abe, but it was useless. He’d already seen me. I stood in the kitchen staring at the water in the kettle as he came into the kitchen at my back.

  “Hey, beautiful girl.” He murmured from behind me and his hand slipped around my waist. He pulled me round towards him and after a second of struggling, I realized I wanted to see what he wanted, so I allowed him to spin me round. I glanced up into his ice blue eyes and saw desire burning there. He stared into my eyes for a second and leaned down, pressing his lips against mine and holding them there. “God, you are so addictive. Why can’t I get you out of my head?” He ran his tongue softly along my lips while his fingers tapped against the skin on my exposed back and I shuddered like a guitar being strummed.

  “Ella, you need to stay away from me. I’m bad news, but hell if I don’t want you.” He pulled back and the aroma of whiskey on his breath almost made me throw up. My body froze as memories assaulted me and he stepped away. “Ella, are you okay?”

  I shook my head, unable to speak as the image of Him surfaced in my head. He’d drank whiskey and forced me to drink some too, to help me relax. My body shuddered and Abe stepped back again.

  “Sorry.” He murmured before he turned and walked back to his room. My hands shook as I tried to swallow nausea as it rose in me, but I couldn’t hold back the sickness that overwhelmed me. I sprinted towards the bathroom, the darkness pressing against me and making me panic more. I made it just in time and threw myself into a stall, locking the door. My body heaved until my stomach was empty.

  After I finished, I needed a shower, so I tiptoed back towards my room. Abe was standing at his room door, speaking to Rachel and I tried to get by them without them noticing me, but as always Abe’s eyes flittered to mine and they hardened as they took in my pale face and sweat drenched forehead. “Abe?” I heard the girl ask and when she saw where his eyes were she turned towards me and her gaze narrowed.

  “Why are you looking at her?” She asked as she turned back towards him.

  He glared once more at me and dropped his eyes towards her, “no reason babe, she’s a freak. Come on in.” He pulled her by the hand into his room and closed the door as a wave of coldness washed over me. I was a freak; at least he’d finally figured it out.

  I tried to go back to sleep, but my eyes wouldn’t close. I didn’t leave my room again, but at six in the morning I dived into the shower room and had a quick scrub, washing my hair and plaiting it, down my back. As I made my way along the corridor, people were starting to wake and I dived into the kitchen, making myself a strong coffee. I also filled my coffee flask and went back to my room, packing my bag for the day. The library opened at seven in the morning so my plan was to head there. Perhaps, I thought, I could spend my time there studying since it was open until midnight.

  I could study until eleven at night and dive back into my dorm room when I knew that the psycho next door was definitely out. It seemed like a good plan and I decided that it was what I was going to do. I needed to stay as far away from Olivia and Abe as possible. I finished my coffee at six forty-five and walked out into the common room to everyone there.

  Rachel glared at me, Abe wouldn’t look at me at all, the person in the room next to Abe had just left if the door closing sharply was anything to go by and Olivia bumped into my shoulder hard as she barged into her room. I moved towards the door, my stomach free falling as I turned back and saw Abe kissing Rachel. It was clear he’d only kissed me because he was drunk. I spent the hours before my eleven am class, studying Shakespeare, since that was what my class was. I finished my coffee at ten and started to feel my tiredness on the way to my class. I grabbed a double espresso from the coffee shop and swallowed it as quickly as I could, scalding my tongue and running through the rain that lashed down.

  I double checked my map and knew I was in the right building, but I had to find the correct room. I arrived at two minutes before class and stood at the back of the group. The pretty brown haired girl waved at me from the front of the line and walked through the door, sitting near the front. I slumped into a table at the back of the room and only three people entered after me. Two guys, I’d never seen before and Abe. His eyes fluttered over my face as he followed the guys and sat down. He turned towards me, but I ignored him as best I could, composing my notes and focusing on what the professor was saying about the phrases that are now common speech due to Shakespeare.

  Class ended on an assignment, to write a short paper on how important Shakespeare was to the development of the English language, with examples of how his writings influence speech and written word to the present day. I noted down our assignment and gathered my things, but I didn’t get to leave class unnoticed. One of the boys who’d come in with Abe, came up and sat on the edge of my desk as I went to pass him. He grabbed my wrist painfully, “I heard you’re getting on my friends’ nerves and if you keep it up, we might need to have a little meeting in the dark.” I snatched my hand back and pushed up from my chair, refusing to show him any fear as he stood glaring at me. He licked his lips and dropped his hand which was moving towards my face. My fists clenched by my side and if he touched me again, he’d know how much I wasn’t going to play victim anymore.

  “Sid, you don’t take Shakespeare. What the fuck are you doing in my class?” Abe followed him out and spoke to him in a voice that made the hairs on my arms rise.

  Sid, threw his head back and laughed, “don’t worry, it was awful, Abe, so I won’t be back.” They left together and I swallowed against the fury that threatened to erupt. I raised a shaking hand up to catch the angry moisture falling from my eyes when the door opened again. My vision was blurry, but I recognized the smell as
Abe passed me.

  “Sorry, I forgot my jacket,” he spoke quietly, “Ella…” I moved towards the door trying to ignore him, but I didn’t get far. “Hey, are you okay?” He moved beside me, but kept his hands in pockets.

  “No,” I whispered brokenly, “I’m a freak.” A tear rolled from my eyes and I shot out of the door, trying my best to get away from him. He followed until his friends came into view and waited until I was beyond them, before he caught up with them. He said nothing and over the next few days I wouldn’t look at him or speak to him. He’d hurt me, just when I began to let my guard down again. I really fucking hated men.

  * * *

  The weekend was torture because Liv had a party on the Friday night so I had hidden in my room, playing DVD's, listening to music and reading. I wanted it to be over, but the party didn’t end until Sunday lunchtime, by which point I’d eaten all my food. I was completely exhausted because her friends kept banging on my door and anytime I went to the bathroom, I’d go back and people would be attempting to break open my door.

  Abe was at the party, but I’d found out his, whatever she was, was the queen of campus, Rachel Dickenson. Her daddy was some kind of football scout and her mommy was a former playgirl so she had looks, cash and was a spoilt brat. I was officially in her crosshairs when she noticed Abe smile at me at one of my bathroom breaks. There were more people in the room than the night before; including the guy who’d threatened me. A few people tried to get me to stay, but I couldn’t tell if they really wanted me to stay or wanted to make their target more visible.

  As I was pushed closer to the creeptastic dude from my class, his gaze swept greedily over me. My eyes shot around, which was when I caught Abe’s small smile. Rachel had been standing with her hand round Abe’s waist and I saw her face tighten as I squeezed through the room, heading for my door. Her gaze hardened and she laughed at me, shouting across the room full of people, “Don’t you have anything other than hobo clothes?” Abe glanced at her in horror and I shrugged at her, turning towards my room again as her voice called out, “take a shower sweetie, I can smell you from over here.”

  I tried not to run as I disappeared back into my room and escaped the staring eyes and drunken grins. My heart hammered, crimson fire bursting on my face and my vision started to blur with fury. I wanted to hit her, damn I wanted to do more than hit that snotty cow. The door clunked closed behind me as I leaned against it, my legs went weak and I felt myself sliding down the wooden panel until I hit the floor. I held my head in my hands, remembering when I had treated people like that, but then the tables had turned and everyone hated me. My faced burned with shame and embarrassment. Memories assaulted me, and I thumped my head back on the door remembering my awful behavior.

  Kerry had been a junior while I was a senior back in high school. She was petite, with auburn hair and had these bright green eyes. As soon as she arrived, I felt threatened and when I caught Jack smiling at her, I made it my mission to destroy her. He was mine. As she smiled back at him, I called over to her, “honey, don’t you know there are better shops than the dollar store? Her face went puce and she looked down dejectedly, as I walked over to Jack, planted my lips on his and kissed him hard.

  He smiled, knowing that he had made me jealous, “easy tiger,” he whispered in my ear as he took my hand and led me to the car. A series of loud bangs outside my door broke me from my reveries and I climbed back into bed with my laptop. I plugged my earphones in and finished all my class work for the coming week.

  Finally, everyone left and Liv crashed out in her room, so it was safe for me to leave mine. I decided to go for a run to clear my head and get my mind off the cluster-fuck that my life had become. I ran for three hours, enjoying the feeling of my feet pounding the pavement and listening to Fall Out Boy again on my iPod. I got back to the dormitory after nine at night, sweaty but relaxed. I strolled up the stairs and walked along with my earphones still in, letting the music keep me calm until I reached my room. I walked along the corridor, keeping my head down, wiping sweat from my brow as I went to my room to pick up my bathroom supplies. I was looking at the floor and humming along to my music softly when someone seized me from behind and slammed me face first into the wall.

  Stars shattered across my vision, I tried to lash out with my heel at whoever was holding me, but more hands held my wrists as someone took hold of my hair and slammed my head again and again off the wall. I went limp as my vision clouded over and my skull pounded again against the wall. I could feel something wet starting to run down my face, and at some point the earphones had popped out of my ears, dangling uselessly, Patrick singing away solemnly.

  I heard a door slam somewhere behind me.

  “Liv, Hannah, Meg for fuck sake! Let her go.” Abe’s voice broke through the fog and I felt the grip on me loosen. I began to slide down the wall until Abe’s strong hands caught hold of me. He lifted me up, taking my shoulder and lifting my head so he could look at my face. My eyes were closed as I struggled to stay awake. “Ella, stay awake, okay?” He sounded far away and he spoke again, shaking me gently.

  “Ella, stay with me. Open your eyes, please?” His voice begged and his fingers touched my cheeks, lifting my head gently, as I struggled to open my eyes. There were weight’s tied to my eyelids and I couldn’t seem to get my body to obey my commands to open my eyes.

  “For fuck's sake, this is getting ridiculous. I’m reporting this.” My body shook as his voice thundered overhead and my head rolled. “Stay awake.” His voice commanded in my ear and I fought against the fog, desperate to stay awake.

  “Ella,” his voice sounded again, this time closer to my ear, “come on.” I fought and opened my eyes, staring into his deep blue eyes. There was an emotion there, but my scrambled head couldn’t figure it out. My eyes swam as they fought to close and after a second, which felt like an eternity, where we stared into each other’s eyes.

  Liv spoke and her words caused Abe’s grip to tighten on my arms, and his eyes to shoot to her “Abe, come on! It was just a bit of fun!”

  He growled and spoke to her in a tone that would curdle milk.

  “This is not fun; hurting someone who has done nothing to you is not fun. She has a huge cut on her head and needs to go to the ER. Jesus Liv, I never thought you’d do something like this.” I opened my mouth to protest, knowing that I couldn’t go the ER, my dad couldn’t get another call and find out that I’d been hurt again. He’d blame me and commit me for sure.

  I couldn’t breathe and my breathing sped like a car on a racing track, hurtling towards the barriers. But the words wouldn’t come out when I tried. I needed to tell him no. I wouldn’t go to the ER, not after the last time. I swayed on my feet and his grip tightened on me.

  “Get out of here. I can’t even look at any of you.” Abe bit out and the girls left.

  “No…” I muttered quietly and after a few seconds, I felt, rather than heard, them leave.

  “What? I didn’t hear you?” He spoke softly to me, leading me gently into the sitting room. I blinked and tried to rub my eyes, my fingertips tracing over his abs as I moved my hand towards my face. His sharp intake of breath told me he hadn’t been expecting me to touch him. His body shuddered and I quickly lifted my hand, not expecting the jolt that shocked me upon touching the bare skin of his stomach. I hadn’t realized he was topless when he’d rescued me. He led me slowly over to the brown sofa and sat me down on it.

  “Wait here while I go and put a shirt on. Then we’ll go to the ER.” I shook my head, trying to clear my vision which was still blurry, but he had already left the room. After a few seconds fighting nausea again, he was back, pressing something soft and cold to my head. He pushed down on it and I winced in pain. He frowned at me, “Keep that in place Ella.” I nodded at him and moved my hand slowly up, lacing my fingers through his and he shuddered again, as the butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive. He squeezed my fingers gently and pulled his hand away gently. He lifted my arm over his h
ead and shuffled to the edge of the sofa slowly.

  As we stood, he slipped his hand around my waist and pulled me against his chest. He took a few steps and I followed, forgetting for a second where he was taking me. My heart hammered as he stared down at me and he leaned close to my head, his tall frame towering over me. My steps faltered and he paused, glancing down again. “Ella, come on. This needs to be checked.” He tugged a little on me and I froze as his eyes roamed over my face. His free hand skimmed my cheek and he pressed his palm against my stomach. His gentle touch calmed me enough to enable me to try again,

  “No ER…” I swallowed against the vomit, “please Abe, I can’t go to the ER.” He turned his head and looked into my eyes and I got lost in the vast ocean of deep blueness of his eyes.

  “Why?” His simple question almost undid me and I closed my eyes to hide the fear and pain that my eyes would portray. I didn’t want him to see the terror, the idea of going to the ER was causing me.

  “Please Abe, I can’t…” My throat tightened, lungs closing up and I started to slip under. His touch was the only thing that kept me awake as his hand skimmed my face, calming me.

  “Ok, we won’t go to the ER, but I think you have a concussion and your head needs looking at.” He shook his head and walked me back to the couch, sitting us both down on the edge. He kept a grip on me as he dialed a number on his cell. I stared unashamedly at him and he placed his free hand on my knee, causing my heart to race through me. He flashed a smile at my reaction, before turning his attention back to his phone call. “Hey Trixie, sorry it’s so late cuz, but could you do me a favor?”

  I heard a female voice groan in the silence, and then snap, “Jesus Abe, I was sleeping! I’m on the early shift tomorrow.”