The Silver Swan (The Elite King's Club 1)

“What’s going on with you guys?” Tatum asks, taking a swig of her water.

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“You locked Nate out of your room last night. That’s not nothing.”

“I don’t like Nate very much right now.”

Carter hooks his arm around my waist and pulls me into him. I know I should pull away. Nothing good will come from me leading him on. But I can’t help it. Having someone who is interested in me makes me feel wanted. That’s all a girl really wants, isn’t it? To feel wanted?

“Hey.” I turn to face him. “I’ll drive out on Friday. I just need to do a couple things beforehand.”

“I can come with you,” Tatum adds.

I shake my head. “It’s fine. I have Google maps or whatever. Just give me the details on where we’re going and I’ll meet you all out there.”

Carter looks to me. “You sure?”

I nod. “Yeah, positive.” He pulls out a piece of paper, squiggles down the directions, and then slips it across the table to me. “It’s about an hour and a half drive inland. The conditions are rough. It’s called The Myriad. It’s a water hole and is literally in the middle of nowhere. You have to park your car and then follow the manmade trail into the forest. You’ll see everyone’s cars, so it should be fine, but you don’t get cell phone service out there, so I’d suggest you take someone with you.”

“Carter, I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know.” Tatum chews her lip. “What about mountain lions?”

“This isn’t my first camping trip. I have my dad’s compass too. I’ll be fine. I’m experienced in the forest like you are at shopping in Barney’s.”

“Okay, fine,” she exhales. “Me and Tillie will meet you there.”

The lunch bell rings and I gather up all my trash, placing it onto my tray.

“Madi!” Bishop yells out to me. I ignore him, but it’s obvious I heard him as the whole cafeteria pretty much stops what they’re doing. Tatum looks at me, but I ignore her too. Walking to the other side of the room, I dump my tray into the garbage and push through the doors.

Fuck him. `

My phone vibrates in my pocket just as I hit my next class.

Tillie – Hey, chica! Are we still on for this weekend? How are we dressing?

Right. Halloween. Between everything else, the drama with Bishop, camping, and wanting to keep reading The Book, I forgot about what we’re dressing as for Halloween.

Me – Still a go! You’ll ride with Tatum. Dress wise, I’m not sure. I’m guessing Tatum will want to go shopping. What’re you doing after school?”

Tillie – Today?

Me – Yes.

Tillie – I can come.

Me – Okay, we’ll pick you up from school.

I haven’t been to Tillie’s school before. Never had a reason to. But suddenly, I want to see it. There’s so much to Tillie I still don’t know, but she fits in with Tatum and me like the missing puzzle we need. The day goes slow, and I pass my science test, even though I didn’t study for it. I’m walking out of class at the end of the day, when Tatum catches up to me, clutching her books and out of breath.

“Shit, bitch, slow down next time.” She huffs.

I giggle. “Maybe we should start exercising.”

We both pause and look at each other, then start laughing. “Maybe not.”

I nudge her. “Hey, we have to pick up Tillie. She wants to go shopping for this weekend.”

“Yes!” Tatum says, rolling her shoulders like she’s gearing up for war.

I stop. “What? Now you want to exercise your shoulders?”

“Of course,” she mutters. “Dad’s black card is about to get a workout.”

Walking out the front of the school, we wait for Sam to pick us up. Sam is my dad’s other driver, but she’s more my driver when Dad is away and takes Harry with him.

Since yesterday, I’ve ignored Nate and his wanting to give me rides to school. I have nothing really to say to them, and I don’t trust any of them, even less since they kidnapped me. Which Tatum still doesn’t know about.

We slide in, and Sam smiles at me in the rearview mirror. “Have a good day?”

I shrug. “Could have been better.”

“But…,” Sam prompts, knowing what I’m like. Sam has been our driver since as long as I can remember. She’s a fifty-two-year-old African American woman who has practically raised me since I was a child. Her and Jimmy both did. Jimmy is almost sixty, and I’ve been trying to get them together for years. If you ask me, I’d say they’ve been sporting a bit of a crush on each other for years now, but neither of them wants to act on it.

Tatum interrupts, “But she has boy trouble.”

“Oh,” Sam quips, pulling out onto the street. “What kind? The kind I’ll need a shovel and an alibi for, or the kind I should make pie and threaten to cut his balls off until he forgives you kind?”