A Hurt So Sweet Volume One (Elite of Eden Falls Prep 1)

I look at Brazen for help, but he snubs me like always. I shouldn’t expect him to be nice to me. He probably can’t wait to take someone’s side over mine again.

“Thanks, Kelley,” I mumble as Brazen climbs out of the car without saying a single word or taking his eyes off his phone screen. “See you after school.”

Our driver touches his hat in acknowledgment, offering me a heartfelt smile. The staff at Oakes Estate have warmed to me quickly. Probably because I’m less high maintenance than Bryony, who has estheticians, makeup artists and stylists coming to the house every day, more normal than crazy Tianna with her ever-changing personality, and less of a perv than Brazen. I’ve caught him feeling up maids’ ass-ets multiple times now. Gross.

I follow Brazen out of the car, readjusting my new designer bag higher up on my shoulder. Eden Falls Prep looms before me, a historic grey building with ivy climbing all over the walls. This place is rich with times gone by, times that I couldn’t care less about.

Brazen walks ahead of me on the steps, and I follow behind, my heart beating faster than ever. I’m aware of every pair of eyes on me as I make my way through the yard and toward the entryway to the building. Some of these people were at the engagement bash, but most of them are way beneath my status. That means they’re forced to respect me out of the sheer fear of what my father will do to them if they don’t. But nobody’s brave enough to approach me. That is, until I’m in the high-ceilinged classroom with amphitheater seating.

A girl saunters up to the spot I’ve taken up and plops down on the seat next to me. She crosses her arms and legs daintily, tilting her head to the side with a smile that probably breaks hearts all over this school.

She’s stunning. Like, the kind of stunning you see on the covers of magazines and tell yourself you can’t genetically look like.

Her long black hair is a sharp contrast to the near-porcelain skin with not a blemish in sight. Her eyes are wide, almond-shaped and tilted, with thick lashes that match her hair. What makeup she’s wearing is minimal, and only enhances her unforgettable beauty.

“Hi,” she says, extending a hand in greeting. “Araminta Fox. Your new best friend.”

“Excuse me?” My eyebrows shoot up.

I know who she is – I’ve been forced to learn the names of all the Firstborns in this town, and she is one of them. Her mother, Estefania, was one of the founding members of Eden Falls.

“Araminta Fox,” she repeats slowly, as if she’s speaking a foreign language. “Your. New. Best friend.”

“And what qualifies you for that position?” I ask her, my heart speeding up and hoping she doesn’t get offended by my response.

While I have the same status, I have a feeling a lot more people are going to listen to the pretty heiress over me.

“I was Lily Anna’s best friend,” she shrugs, pulling a Louis Vuitton diary out of her purse and opening it to an empty page, her feather-tipped pen poised over the paper. “You are Pandora, right?”

“Right,” I nod, my smile losing some of its sharpness.

She’s the first one besides Dex and Brazen who’s used my name. And she didn’t do it to hurt me. She seems to understand I prefer the name I grew up with.

“We girls gotta stick together,” she winks at me. “Besides you and me, the only other Firstborn girl at Prep is Coco Rose. And trust me, you do not want to get on her wrong side.”

She motions to a girl sitting a row in front of us. She has flowing black hair, straightened to perfection but somehow still managing to have more volume my locks have ever held, and bronze skin covered in freckles. She’s just as beautiful as Araminta.

“Wow,” I mutter under my breath. “Fuck me, nobody said I’d have to get plastic surgery to be pretty enough to fit in here.”

Araminta laughs at my remark, throwing her head back. There’s something sexy about her – she’s so relaxed, so confident. I’ll never be this comfortable in my own skin. Not even if I look half as good as her.

“Look, you just desperately need a haircut,” she shrugs at me, giving me a wicked grin as I mock-gasp. “And some highlights. And you really, really need to get your nails done. Are they not even… polished?”

I glance at my hands, suddenly self-conscious about my nails. They’re short and stubby, and they always have been. I keep my toes painted, but I always forget about my hands.

“Why don’t we go out?” Araminta suggests. “You’re new in town and I doubt your little sis is willing to share all the best beauty places in town. I’ll take you to my stylist, too. It’ll be fun.” She flashes me a perfect smile. “Bring your dad’s card, it’s got a bigger limit.”

“You think my father’s going to be okay with that?” I ask her, biting my bottom lip. “He hasn’t been very approving of me.”

“Trust me, kid,” Araminta smirks. “You can twirl him right around your little finger. Speaking of which, let me see the ring!”

She grabs my hand and balks at the size of the diamond on my ring finger.

“Holy shit. He really went all out.”

At that, the professor, a tall man in his fifties wearing a clean-cut suit, enters the classroom, and everyone but Araminta stands up to greet him. I follow a second behind them, flushing because of my faux pas, but Araminta tugs on my hand and makes me sit back down.

“You’re a Firstborn, babe,” she tells me softly. “We’re above the teachers. No need to stand up.”