one
Crystal
It’s time to go back to school. Time to stop hiding. Time to make the power grab that all this was leading to. But I no longer care. When I look at the perfectly made up face of the girl in my mirror, I see a stranger. No, not a stranger. A doll. She’s beautiful, but she isn’t real. She’s hollow, while the real Crystal is full, bursting with emotions, with chaos, with pain. The real Crystal is a broken mess, bruised flesh and broken bones jutting from torn skin, all hot blood and solid meatiness. This girl in the mirror? She’s so unsubstantial she floats. An illusion that could be whisked away by one stiff breeze.
A tap on my door brings me back to reality. I slip my phone into my bag and stand from the stool in front of my vanity. One last look in the mirror shows me what I’ve already seen, the girl who is all put together, who looks like a life-sized cutout of me.
“Crys, you ready?”
It’s King’s voice. My brother, my protector, my keeper. He sounds like this is any other day. Like it’s not the day when they get everything they’ve wanted. The day when the Darlings’ throne begins to crumble.
“Coming.” My voice is normal, too. Everything is normal outside of me.
But I look at my window before I go. I left it unlocked. Some sick, terrible part of me thought he’d come. Maybe even wanted him to come. But he didn’t.
“We’re going to be late,” Duke yells, thudding a fist against my door.
“Calm your tits,” I say, pulling open the door.
All four of my brothers stand in the hall. I wait as they look me over, making sure I meet their approval. Apparently, I do. We all head down and pile into Royal’s Range Rover, though King takes the wheel. It’s so normal, and yet, nothing feels right anymore.
“I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when we walk in today,” Duke says, laying an arm over my shoulders. “You did him so good, sis. Like a savage.”
I nod numbly. I pray for Royal to turn around, like he used to, to let me lose myself in his coffee eyes, to tell me it’s okay. But his face stays turned to the window as we drive.
“We’re on the team,” King says. “As soon as your ribs heal, Royal, you’ll be good to go. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure Devlin’s off the team. You’re my QB1. Always.”
He holds out a hand, and Royal turns to give him knuckles.
We’re almost there. Ready to take our spot at the top. Preston is injured and will be out for the rest of the season. It’s already November, so there’s no way he’ll have healed by the time football is over. Devlin confessed to kidnap and imprisonment of a minor. He’ll probably get out of the charges, but it’s enough to get him suspended from the team, I’m sure. This town is all about image. They won’t want a guy like him representing them.
Which leaves Colt. I may not know him as well as I know Devlin, but he’s not a leader. He just wants to have fun and live his life. He craves the spotlight and enjoys the benefits of being at the top. But if it’s him against my four brothers, he won’t fight. He’s not stupid. He’ll know when he’s defeated.
“What about you, Crystal?” King asks, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “When’s that cheer tryout?”
“I missed it,” I admit. It was last Friday, when I didn’t go to school.
“That’s okay,” Baron says, giving my knee a quick squeeze. “Coach Snow will understand.”
“Make it for this Friday,” King says. “You can cheer for us at the game.”
I nod, not bothering to argue. Sometimes, you have to choose your battles, and this one isn’t worth fighting.
We pull up to the school. The first parking spot, the one the boys fought over for the past month, is empty. King parks the Rover, and we all climb out. I can’t help but feel jumpy and edgy being back at Willow Heights. The last time I was here, I was searching for Royal, terrified that I’d find him dead in the office of the Midnight Swans, some fucked up secret society Devlin’s family belongs to.
I reach for my twin’s hand, but he draws away. It’s not a blatant rejection, just a slight turn, a move so subtle I might miss it if I didn’t know my brother so well.
“Are you okay?” I murmur to him. But of course he’s not okay. The parking lot has fallen silent, and everyone is staring at us. Everyone is watching.
I can’t help but wonder if the Darlings are about to show up and throw down. It seems so quiet without Devlin’s car here, without the Darling cousins sitting on it, lording their status over the school before anyone even steps through the doors.
“Let’s go,” Royal says, his shoulders square and broad, his head held high. I’m not the only one who puts on a fake face every day.
We fall into formation next to King, but it’s all wrong. I cling to my twin, which leaves the younger twins to fall onto his other side.
“What’s wrong?” I hiss at Royal. “Are you just upset about being back here, or are you mad at me?”
I know it’s selfish to even ask that question, but he’s been freezing me out all week. He talked to everyone but me.