The Damaged (The Insiders Trilogy 2)

Slay those other girls, Ser. SLAY.

She might not realize I meant that word almost literally, but I did. She texted back:

Consider them slayed.

That eased my gloom even more. I now matched the outside. It was more dreary, slightly overcast. A bit more than overcast. More like overcast with a good chance of rain. Stormy.

I needed to stop using weather analogies. And then I heard from Cyclone, my little brother.

Cyclone: I finished the robot. What are you doing today? I have school. They’re doing a robotics class and I got in. Did Dad tell you? I’m in there with a bunch of older kids, but I’m in. They said the robot sealed the deal. This year is going to be AWESOME!

Cyclone: Aunt Helen said we could all do pizza night tonight. You in? Tell me you’re in. I have to tell you about my robotics class. You and Kash have to come.

Me: You bet, buddy, and have fun today! You’re right. A robotics class is amazing. I’m not surprised you got in, and YOU’RE going to be AMAZING!

Cyclone: Okay. Calm down. It’s just the first day. Did Ser tell you that I grew again? I’m almost as tall as you.

I laughed. He probably was. I was five-six and he wasn’t too far beneath me. Even Seraphina had had a growth spurt and was nearing just an inch below me. Though, while it was obvious she could be a supermodel one day, it was pretty clear that I got the short genes and different body structure than the rest of the Francis kids. Matt was tall but lanky. Seraphina already had a little bit of a bigger bone structure than me. I was petite, like Chrissy, and I like to think I had the same feisty Hayes attitude in me. We packed a wallop if need be, but I got Peter’s hair and his eyes. We both had honey-brown eyes and jet-black hair with tints of blue in the right light.

The rest of the Francis kids were going to be tall and gorgeous.

And right on cue, as if they all got together and timed their texts perfectly, my little brother’s text did the trick. It ripped through the dark cloud. A streak of light shone through. He was a little genius, and he was excited to learn and grow that brilliance. I wasn’t as worried about him being bullied, because Cyclone was like me. He’d just hack them, and eventually everyone would learn to instantly fear him.

I loved the little tornado dude.

I’d been at Kash’s so much and I’d stayed away from the Chesapeake Estate. I couldn’t do that anymore. I needed my brother and sister. It hit me then just how much I needed them. There was a whole feeling burning inside my chest, making my heart squeeze. Painfully. After all the scandal that went down, with their mom being arrested for trying to kidnap and murder me, I’d been told that it might be a good idea if I steered clear from the house and Seraphina and Cyclone.

That was done. The burning just increased thinking about it.

I wasn’t staying away anymore.

Me: We gotta hit up the house before Naveah. There’s a robotics class I have to hear about and I need to make sure those girls were nice to Seraphina today.

Matt: Sounds good. Do your hacking thing, check those bitches’ social media stuff. Can you write a program where if they start talking shit about Ser, their computer gets fried?

Me: No, but give Cyclone a couple years. I’m sure he’ll be all over that.

I could hear Matt’s laugh in his response.

Forgot. I’m talking to the wrong genius in our family. Too many of you fuckers to remember.

I was almost, and I was stressing the almost, in a good mood when I saw we were coming up to the beginning of Hawking’s campus.

Gotta go. We’re here.

Hawking University was known around town for its football team, but not for me.

All I cared about was that it was where I’d get my master’s in computer information systems and then be on the way into my career creating security systems. That said, it was pretty to look at as we pulled up. Hawking was made up of gray brick buildings, most of which looked like castles. The building with most of my classes had a patio that stuck out over the rest of the building, and the roof looked raised, like it was the opening over a grand patio. Weird, but also kind of cool. The front doors were tall enough to cover two floors, and they were made up of metal and painted a dark orange. They looked almost burned, and I was guessing that was a latest trend, too.

Or I was assuming. I had no clue.

But ask me the latest trends for computer spreadsheets, program coding, or websites and I could list off a good two dozen, then give a bulleted list of pros and cons for each new trend, delivering it all with my sharp and snappy wit.