AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Keep up! Would hate for you to get lost, Ms. Forester.”
“It’s Forest, ma’am.”
“Right, well, same difference. Let’s move it. Chop chop.”
I practically run to keep pace with her.Man, how is she so fast?She has to be close to the age of sixty. She reminds me of my Gram before she passed. Gray hair in a tight bun, small black frames resting on her nose, and a very stylish pantsuit adorn this woman in front of me.
“Now as you can see, there are two sides of the staircase. One side for the girls, one for the boys, and you. It seems you’ll be in Alistar House among three men, which is highly unorthodox.” She gives me a once-over before muttering something under her breath.
Right. I’ll be living with my future suitors: Wellson Birch, Jax Arrow, and Donovan Blake. Three guys I have never met before, had never even heard of until recently, but who are somehow of importance to my future. To say I’m nervous would be an understatement.
I follow Headmistress Bell until we reach a small cottage at the back left of the property.
“Now, this is where you’ll be residing. I’ll give you an hour to settle in, then I expect you to meet me in the library. We passed it on our way so you shouldn’t have any trouble. Nevertheless, there is a map on your bed, along with your schedule and other important papers you will need during your time here at Alistar Academy. Now that that's all handled, I’d like to say we are happy to have you here, Silver. I hope you accomplish many great things under our guidance. You'll be extraordinary. I can tell.” She gives me a beaming smile, before spinning on her heel and walking out, leaving me speechless. Talk about a complete one-eighty in mood.
I take a deep breath, then use the key she handed me to open the door to my new home for the next three years. Stepping through the entrance, I walk into the most spacious open-plan living space I’ve ever seen. Wow. Looks really can be deceiving. From the outside, you would just think this was a small, quaint cottage.
I drop my bag on the counter, and move forward, taking everything in. There is a massive leather couch, and an even larger flat screen TV hanging above an enormous fireplace.Who lives here, giants?I can immediately tell me moving in is going to cause some stress. This is a total man cave.
The lights are on but I don’t hear anything. I really hope I don’t run into them yet. I look a mess for one, and I still don’t even know what to say. I only just found out about these guys last night. I probably should have gotten a decent night's sleep but all I seemed to do was toss and turn.
Since losing my family, I’ve been staying with Auntie Anita. She’s not really my aunt but she's been around my whole life. She’s a widow and never had any children, so she took me in and has turned into more of a friend than an aunt this past year. She’s a bit odd—she claims she has the sight—but I love her and I don’t know what I would have done without her.
Like me, she just missed the grim reaper that night. She always joined us for Friday night dinners, but was running late; she arrived just as the paramedics were wheeling me to the ambulance.
“Stop! Where are you taking her? What happened?” Anita races to my side in hysterics.
“Ma'am, please let go.We need to get her to the hospital. Are you family?” the EMT asks while prying her hand from the side of my stretcher.
“Yes. I’m her aunt and godmother.”
“Ok, then hop in. Or you can follow the ambulance, whatever you want, but we have to go now.”
She jumps up and sits along the edge of the bench seat, grasping my hand so tight that my fingers start to tingle.
"Silver, what happened? Where is everyone else?"
The tears continue down my face. "There is no one else," I whisper.
“Oh, baby. It’s going to be okay. We will get through this… together,” she sobs, clutching me in her arms.
Since that day, it's just been the two of us. I may be almost twenty-one, but I don’t think I’m really ready to be on my own here yet. I mean, technically I’ll have three housemates, but this is the first time I’ve been away without someone I know beside me.
I grab my bag from the counter and move forward, trying to be as quiet as I can just in case someone is here.
I really want to shower and actually put some proper clothes on—I’m just rocking some yoga pants and a tank top. No wonder Headmistress Bell was giving me dirty looks. I told Anita I should’ve dressed up, but she thought it was hilarious that I was going to wear a sundress and full makeup for a six-hour car ride. Which I agree that would have been a tad uncomfortable, considering I passed out for four of those hours.
I pass the kitchen and see a long hallway—I’m assuming this is where the bedrooms are. All the doors are shut, except the one at the end of the hall. I really hope that's my room. It would make this whole experience a lot more bearable if I’m not crowded in with the guys.
A noise pulls me from my slow exploration.Is someone crying?I stop in front of one of the doors, listening.Ew no, that's definitely moaning.
I run to the last room like someone has lit a fire under my ass.Oh thank God, it is my room. I can see the boxes I had shipped last week piled in the corner. Three boxes. That’s all my life consists of these days. I lost everything in the fire. All the mementoes of Luna and my family—gone.
“Babe, what’s wrong? I’m sorry! Seriously, Donovan. God, you can be such an asshole!” someone squeals from down the hall.Shit, she has an irritating voice.I walk back over to my door to try and get a peek of who's having such a fit.
“Who the hell are you?”
Shoot, busted. I go to shut my door but I’m not fast enough—it slams back open, pushing me back toward the bed. What the fuck?
