A Vision of Green (Florence Vaine #2) (3 page)

Frank draws away from me then with effort. He studies my face. “You seem tired, how did it go with your dad? If he so much as looked at you the wrong way I'll end him.”

Oh he looked at me the wrong way numerous times last night, not to mention bullied me into drinking a truckload of beer and brandy. Just thinking about that makes me nauseous. I still haven't eaten yet this morning.

I really don't want to tell Frank about what happened last night, because I know he'll be furious, and Frank's fury tends to end with people getting their necks snapped. It's odd that this doesn't make me fear him. He's like Dexter, he only kills the bad guys.

I curse myself for my built-in need to protect my dad, who makes it his mission to destroy me on a daily basis. Perhaps it's the reverse version of all those mothers who cry and mourn for their serial killer children when they get sent to prison. Sometimes, when it comes to family, we just can't help ourselves but to feel an emotional connection.

“
It was okay. D-don't get me wrong, my dad's still an arsehole, but I think I c-can handle him now.”

A ghost of a smile touches Frank's lips. “You think so do you? Okay Flo, I know you're strong but the second he even raises his hand to hit you I need you to leave the house and call me. I'll be there in a heartbeat. You're never going back to the way things used to be.”

“
Thank you, for c-c-caring,” I whisper.

His protectiveness saddens me, for some reason I feel like I don't deserve it. I have this unshakable inferiority complex. I lift my hand and run it along his jaw, and a dash of light red swirls within the flames of his aura as he shudders at my touch. It's still weird to me that I have the ability to affect him in this way. His desire for me is clear. His eyes remain locked on mine, as I let my hand trail down his neck before resting on his chest, just over his heart.

His aura blazes and he pulls me flush against his body, pressing his lips to mine and a small gush of breath leaves me, sounding a little like a sigh. God how embarrassing. It only encourages Frank to continue kissing me though, sliding his tongue inside my mouth and grinding his hips against me.

I pull away from him breathlessly. “We really should get to class if we don't want to be late.”

He pushes a stray wave behind my ear. “I don't think I care about that right now, but okay let's go then.”

His body is in contention with his words, because he doesn't move a muscle. His hands are pressed against the wall on either side of me, caging me close to him, when the door leading into the stairwell swings open and some guy with a shaved head emerges. It takes me a moment to realise it's Josh, and I mostly only recognise him from his aura. His blond highlights are gone, and all that's left is a tightly cropped cut, showing off his natural dark brown hair that was once hidden beneath the dye. I wonder what spurred him to make the change.

He takes in the sight of me and Frank and smirks as he passes us by. “Getting it on with guys in empty stairwells Flo, I didn't think you were the type,” he calls up as he descends the steps. If I didn't know any better I'd swear I saw a tiny splash of jealousy in his colours.

A frown marks my expression, but Frank isn't even focused on Josh, he's looking right at me. “He's a mouthy little shit, don't pay him any attention.”

I smile up at him. “I'll try not to.”

When we get to the classroom I'm surprised to see Caroline and Alex sitting next to each other on one side of Miss O'Brien's trademark circle. Caroline's wearing a grim expression as Alex recites some joke. She's clearly trying to resist his charms. Perhaps he's finally realised the pointlessness of pining after Layla. She's obviously completely in love with Ross, that was clear from how she reacted when he almost died after being taken by Diana and her coven of witches.

I sit in next to Alex, since the seat on the other side of Caroline is already taken. Miss O'Brien immediately starts talking about a project that we have to do based around the charitable organisation of our choice. We'll be working in groups of six, groups that she's chosen for us.

She whips a sheet of paper from the plastic folder on her desk and begins calling out names. In a rare stroke of luck I end up being teamed together with Frank, Caroline and Alex, the downside is that the last two members of our group are Ingrid and Josh. It couldn't be any more poetic, because they are also the
last
two people I would want to work with out of all of the students in this class.

I catch the two of them smirk at each other as they make their way over to join us. Miss O'Brien has instructed us to get into our groups and talk over what we might base our projects on. I momentarily wonder what they could be smirking about. Perhaps they're silently agreeing to do their best to make this whole thing as difficult as possible for everyone.

“
Well aren't we the cosy little sextuplet,” says Alex with a wide grin, his eyes levelled on Josh.

Frank casually drapes his arm over the back of my chair and tilts his head to his foster brother. “Is that what it's called?” he asks, with a hint of a smile.

“
I thought a sextuplet was only used for babies,” Caroline interjects, “you know when women miraculously give birth to six kids in the one pregnancy?”

“
I'd s-s-say you can use it for any grouping of six,” I quietly respond, as Frank ducks his head down to give me his full attention when I speak. I blush and look away. I can tell he's smiling now. He seems to enjoy it when I get uncomfortable with his attention.

Josh rolls his eyes at Ingrid and she nudges him with her elbow flirtatiously.

“
So what's with the new GI Joe haircut, Carter?” Alex asks, he's currently got a toothpick sticking out of his mouth.

Josh's aura immediately darkens and his face becomes angry. “None of your business, dickhead.”

“
Woah, touchy subject is it mate?” Alex leans forward in provocation. “Did somebody shave your precious golden locks off in your sleep or something?”

“
Ugh, can we just get started now please?” Caroline requests with a sigh. She turns over to a clean page in her notebook and writes something down at the bottom of it. She taps Alex on the shoulder and nods to what she's written. He glances over the words and grins, flicking the toothpick between his teeth. Caroline smiles sheepishly back and immediately begins scribbling out the message. Now I want to know what it said.

Caroline clears her throat. “So, does anyone have any ideas about what we should base the project on?”

“
I think we should focus on that “Not Ever” campaign,” says Ingrid immediately. She always seems to have this note of superiority to her voice, especially when she's talking to anyone outside of her exclusive circle of friends.

“
Oh, I've never heard of that,” Caroline replies. “What is it?”

“
Well I remember reading a story about it in some magazine once. It's a campaign against rape, with the message being that a girl never asks to be assaulted because of what she's wearing.”

“
Sounds interesting,” Caroline agrees.

I don't say anything, but my eyes wander to Josh, who's already watching me like a hawk. We're both remembering the same thing, when he'd almost assaulted me in the storage cupboard that time. It was all because he'd been so angry that I'd flipped him off in front of everyone. I'm surprised to see shame sweep over his colours.

“
Trust you to suggest we do the project about girls wanting to dress like sluts,” Alex snickers. “Not that I have a problem with that or anything.”

Ingrid sighs and folds her arms across her chest. As it happens, she's wearing quite a revealing purple top with a frilly lining that emphasises her cleavage. Her blond hair is tied up in one of those intentionally messy buns, with her make-up expertly applied. It reminds me that I didn't have the chance to put on any this morning before I rushed out the door.

“
Look, if you're not going to take the project seriously then that's fine by me. That bitch Miss O'Brien is probably going to fail me anyway,” she says, her dark blue eyes fixed on Alex.

“
Aw did I hurt your feelings?” he asks, leering shamelessly at her chest.

“
Does anyone else want to offer a suggestion for the project?” says Caroline, exasperated. She seems to have designated herself the team leader here, but she's going to have a hell of a time trying to keep Alex, Ingrid and Josh in line.

I do actually have a suggestion, but I don't want to draw attention to myself right now. I'm feeling kind of crappy confidence-wise after last night's episode with Dad. However, in an effort not to let him get to me, I plaster on a brave face.

“
Um, I think w-w-we should focus on a children's charity, one of those ones that r-raise money for kids who've been victims of abuse or who come from broken homes.”

Okay, I know this subject is a little close to the bone for me, but I feel the need to accept what I've been through in some way, and perhaps learning about it more through this project could help. I notice Ingrid smirk at how I stammer. I still haven't forgotten some of the awful things she and her friends have said to me since I started at this school.

Frank softly squeezes my shoulder. “I think that's a great idea, Flo.”

Caroline smiles. “Yeah me too, I like it. I think we should go with Flo's suggestion.”

Ingrid rolls her eyes to the heavens. “Fine. Whatever.”

“
So Miss O'Brien said we all need to meet up at least once a week for the next month until the project is done, what place is good for everyone? I'd say we could use my house, but Mum's having a new kitchen put in this week so there'll be builders everywhere and way too much noise.” Nobody volunteers and there's an awkward silence.

Caroline desperately looks to me and asks, “What about your place Flo?”

I almost sputter a laugh at the idea of trying to hold a study group in Gran's house with my dad around. That would only end in disaster.

“
My d-dad's visiting, and trust me you don't want to meet him. He's...not very sociable.” That's about as vague as I can put it.

“
We can go to our house, can't we Alex,” Frank volunteers and relief washes over me.

Ingrid's eyes widen at this. Not many people have been to John Danson's foster home, which probably makes it a location of intrigue for gossipy girls like her.

“
Great,” says Caroline. “So we'll meet up there this evening after school to make a start. Might as well get the first meeting out of the way as soon as possible so we can begin working on the project.”

“
Yipee,” Josh chirps sarcastically, a dour expression on his face.

The rest of the class passes in varying levels of awkwardness and aggression between the members of our group. Miss O'Brien couldn't have put together a more volatile bunch. I do notice, however, that I'm not as overwhelmed by auras today as I normally am when I'm at school. It's probably because the alcohol from last night is still dulling my senses a little. Something to think about, I suppose.

I don't see Frank again until lunch time, when I suddenly realise that I have zero money for food. Normally Gran would give me some before I left in the morning, but she's gone now. I try not to feel sad about that, but I do. She was just a desperate old woman who wanted to be able to see again. People have sold each other out for a lot less than that in the past. Anyway, I'm going to have to do something about my cash situation, since I can't exactly rely on Dad to provide me with anything. Back in Tribane, I'd normally just bring some food from the apartment to school with me, but I've gotten used to getting my lunches from the canteen here in Chesterport.

The headache pills I took this morning have well and truly worn off, if they ever worked at all, and my head feels like it's been hit with a club bell. I find an old packet of crackers that I didn't eat last week in the front pocket of my bag. I take them out and nibble on them as I make my way over to Frank, where he's sitting with Kevin, Benji, Alex, and surprisingly, Caroline. She and Alex seem to have properly mended their bridges. Ross is still at home recovering and Layla has made it her mission to nurse him back to health, so she's absent too.