Falcon (Trinity Academy 1)

I begin to worry about all the work I’ll miss when Falcon slides down until he’s lying next to me, and pushing an arm under my head, he uses his other hand to pull me against his chest. “Stop worrying. I’ll take care of everything.” His voice is a low murmur, and with the way he’s holding me, I can almost believe he cares about me.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“It happened on my property. I’d do this for anyone.” The answer sounds well-rehearsed.

When I try to pull back so I can look up at him, he brings a hand up to the back of my head to stop me. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, he whispers, “Shh, Layla. No more questions.”

Giving in, I close my eyes and try not to think why Falcon is nice to me, or about anything that happened today.

Instead of being distressed about the incident, my last thoughts are of how calm I feel having Falcon by my side.Falcon kept his word. When I woke, there was only Kingsley who was lying half on top of me. She left soon after waking, and I’ve been cleaning my suite since.

A knock at the door has my eyes darting to it. Wondering who it could be, I walk closer. “Who is it?” I ask, which is something I haven’t done before.

“It’s me. Quickly, the bag is heavy.”

I yank the door open and can’t help but smile when I see her with a huge bag of candy, her laptop, and an overnight bag.

“We deserve a day of pigging out and pampering ourselves. I think I managed to bring everything.”

“It looks like you’re moving in,” I tease while closing the door. I follow her to the couch and watch as she dumps the bag of candy over the coffee table. “And you raided the candy aisle.”

“This is my private stash.” She opens her overnight bag and pulls out one facial product after the other from it. “I swear it feels like I aged ten years after yesterday.”

“You and me both,” I agree as I sit down next to her.

“No, get up. We need to wash our hands and faces first before we start.”

“But I just showered.”

Giving me a stern look, she points to the restroom. “We need to do a proper cleanse.”

Kingsley’s definition of a proper cleanse means scrubbing off a layer of skin.

“How can this be good for you?” I ask, following her back to the couch.

“We need to remove all the dead cells so all the goodness can soak in.”

Sitting down, she hands me a charcoal mask. “Trust me, once we’re done, you’ll feel brand new.”

Doing facials with Kingsley is a whole new experience, but it’s nice and just the distraction I needed.

“I heard he left the Academy,” she suddenly says.

“Who?” Only when the word leaves me do I realize who. “Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t have all the details, but apparently Falcon escorted him off the campus.”

“Where did you hear this?” I ask, worried that rumors are already spreading over the campus.

“I overheard two girls talking. Serena also told me Grayson called her to let her know he had to return home because of personal reasons.”

“She said that? Do you believe her? You don’t think he told her more? What if –”

Kingsley takes hold of my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Serena doesn’t know the real reason. She wouldn’t ask me if she knew. She’s the type who would tell the whole world. Don’t worry. I’m sure she doesn’t know about what happened yesterday.”

“What if he tells someone?” I voice my concern.

“I wouldn’t stress about it if I were you. I’m sure Mr. Cutler took care of it all.”

“It was really nice of the guys to help last night,” I mention.

“Yeah, but honestly, I’ve never seen Lake so upset before.” Kingsley opens a pack of Swedish Fish and pops one into her mouth. “The way he punched Grayson,” she chews and swallows, then laughs, “Grayson’s head went back like this.” She tries to show me but only laughs harder. “His eyes rolled back.” She lets out a snort then cracks up with laughter. “I think I just snorted a piece of Swedish Fish.”

I begin to laugh because Kingsley’s laughter is infectious. This girl walked right into my heart and staked her claim on it.Chapter 8FalconWalking to my next class, I slow my pace when I see Layla and Kingsley coming toward me.

Layla has managed to cover the bruises with makeup. Looking at her, it’s almost hard to believe she’s the same girl from three days ago. Her strength is admirable.

“Hi,” Kingsley greets and stopping in front of me she pops a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

“Isn’t it a little early for candy?” Even though the question is addressed to Kingsley, my eyes keep scanning over Layla’s face for any signs that she might not be coping with the incident.