1
White Rabbit
They call him a god.
Tall. Handsome. Charismatic.
Every girl’s dream boyfriend.
Not mine. I know better. To me, he’s a nightmare. A snake in the grass with sharp teeth and an even sharper tongue. Vicious. Violent. Fucking crazy.
Land McPherson.
Most popular guy at school…and my enemy.
He’s a hunter and I’m his prey. I’m pretty sure he designed his annual “hunt” just so he can practice for the day he’ll chase me. It’s inevitable. A fate woven in the fabric of our very beings, he and I.
It’d almost be romantic if it weren’t something pulled straight from the horror books.
Not to mention, I’m not exactly his type.
Last I saw, he had his tongue down the throat of some junior with big tits and silky brown hair. Tan skin from too much time in the sun. Beautiful. His cruel brown eyes were on me though. Watching. Waiting. Calculating. I’d been snared in his visual trap, forced to watch him tongue-rape the varsity cheerleader. She was totally into it.
Maybe in another life, I’d be into it too.
I used to crush on Land just like any other girl in his presence. He’s the hottest guy any of us have ever known. Ever. But it wasn’t like that for me. I couldn’t be into him. Not after the day he decided to start his hate crusade against me.
One day in middle school he twisted his perfect lips into a mean smile and called me White Rabbit.
White.
Rabbit.
Such a silly, innocent name.
But to me, it stuck. It stung. It bled. Still bleeds.
I’m albino.
Alabaster. Snow. Blank.
Stark and blinding and jarring.
I’d heard all the names as that’s the way it goes when you’re albino. Casper was a favorite among our peers, but White Rabbit was the one that got to me.
It’s not just the color of my skin. It’s everything. My hair. My eyebrows. My lashes. My freaking pubes. White as white can be.
White. Rabbit.
I sat at the lunch table all alone as was the usual for my seventh grade year, dipping my baby carrots in ranch, when he sat at my table. I’d stared hopelessly at his wicked smile, imagining for one second it was truly meant for me.
Sometimes my naivety is embarrassing.
His brown eyes flashed and then he bit on his bottom lip with his front two teeth and scrunched his nose, mimicking an animal.
“White Rabbit likes carrots.” The mocking tone in his voice echoed through the lunchroom, sending cackles chasing after it.
Horrified, I dropped the carrot into the container of ranch and pressed my lips together in an effort to hide my two front teeth that happened to be slightly large for my face. Dad said I’d grow into them. Obviously not soon enough.
Four years later and the name is still all mine.
I’m not even sure if Land even knows my real name.
But he knows my father.
Satisfaction roils through me. Dad is the sheriff in our town. And Land, because he’s a little shit starter, has had more than a few run-ins with the sheriff. His grandfather always swoops in to save the day, throwing his money and his clout around, but Land is on Dad’s radar. There’s no getting off once you’re there.
I may be the white rabbit and Land may be the hunter, but I’m smarter. Wiser. More calculating than he’ll ever be. Dad may not be able to pin down the biggest brat in our town because of red tape and blackmail, but I’m no cop.
I’m a journalist.
Well, I aspire to be one.
With the Internet, kids nowadays can be whatever they want, whenever they want. I’ve wanted to hunt down truths and expose them to the world ever since I was a little girl. Having a cop for a dad instills that desire in you.
“Are you haunting my son, little ghost?”
The voice, gravelly and deep, reverberates down my spine making me jolt. I’m thrust to the present. The hunt. Halloween. I’m inside Land’s house at his annual Halloween party. Uninvited.
“W-What?” I squeak out, swiveling around to face the voice.
I cringe when I finally lay eyes on him. Land’s father. Gabe. I know all about Gabriel Sharpe. I’ve researched him the most. Though he goes by his wife’s maiden name for legalities, as does Land, I know the truth. They’re all Sharpes. Gabe, Hannah, Toni Lynn, and Land.
He’s the older version of Land. Scarier if at all possible. Unhinged. Impossibly good looking at his old age. I’m half convinced he’s a vampire because no one his age should be so…preserved. The older Land gets, the more they look alike. One day they’ll look like brothers and that’s frightening to think of them both out there in the world wreaking havoc. Together. Like little monsters.
Quite frankly, the Sharpe family is nuts.
Certifiable.
Loony as fuck.
The mom, Hannah, even did a stint in an asylum.
To say I’m obsessed with this family is an understatement. From the moment Land called me White Rabbit, it’s like he drew a line in the sand. He started a war and my daddy didn’t raise a quitter. I suited and booted up, ready to fight this motherfucker until the end. The battles he chooses are daily mean boy tactics. Bullying. General asshole shit. Every year, his battles get bloody…for someone else. I keep waiting for my moment. The moment he paints my crimson blood along my pale skin and claims my last breath.