Beautiful Sins: Leigha Lowery (11 page)

"I'll leave you alone; you deserve some normality during the day. I'll see you at lunch." Mina said, winking at me as she turned the corner to head to her locker.

I was happy to see Maria, waiting for me once I reached my locker. She stared at me dubiously, appraising my new appearance. I shrugged as Maria's smile widened, and she reached out to fiddle with my long thick straightened hair. I shrugged, nonchalantly.

"Mina wouldn't let me leave the house unless I was willing to compromise." I grumbled.

"Well I like the look. It's very bad-ass." She chuckled. I pulled my hair back, brushing it pass my shoulders.

"Wait, I'm not even supposed to be speaking with you. You've been acting like what happened to us in the forest was just a figment of my imagination." I chided.

"Leigha, trust me. It's not because I want to. It's because I have to." She said. I stared at her blankly.

"That doesn't make any sense Maria." I grumbled, slamming my locker shut. For the first time in years, I was actually eager to get to my next class. Maria followed behind me, as I walked past all the gawking students to the library.

"Don't be like this Leigha. If I could tell you what's going on, I would. But trust me, you wouldn't be happy even if I told you."

"Well, I'll say this… The truth is far better than all these secrets and lies."

"Leigha…." Maria called out, as I limped into the library. That was our parting ground until sixth hour.

I had been hoping for a quiet hour, time for myself to think about what was really going on, and why everyone was being so cryptic. But apparently, study hall consisted of my trio cheerleading friends. They were dressed up in their uniforms, ready for perform.

"There must be a game tonight." I grumbled, as I walked over to the table of the waving girls.

"Welcome back." Naomi grumbled.

"Thanks." I murmured, giving her a sarcastic smile.

"How's your ankle? I heard about the attack in the forest. The entire school has been talking about it." Tiffany gossiped.

"What have you heard?" I asked curiously.

"Well, a girl in my third hour overheard Mina chatting with Caleb about your recent attack. She said that you and Maria had been mugged, and if it wasn't for the Prince again, there's no telling what would have happened to you." She explained. I rolled my eyes. How typical of them to have some backup plan. I sighed. In reality, they were actually doing the right thing by not frightening the public. There were enough freaky stories going on about the Coast. This would only add fuel to the fire, and ruin the King's chances of fully restoring the lands. Another secret, added on with a lie. They just kept coming and coming.

"Yeah, that's about right. However, I don't think the Prince is very happy with me right now." I murmured. Well, that was partially true. However, just how angry he was at me, I would find out later.

"Well you should be more careful Leigha. You hold no value to your social standing. And to hear that you were out there to cover a story…" She shook her head dubiously. "It just upsets me. I swear, if it were up to me, you'd be removed from the paper." Tiffany grumbled like an angry parent. I smiled at her. Just the fact that she was so caring, meant more to me than her constant fussing.

"You're right Tiffany. It was stupid of me to go out there alone. I promise you, I'll try to be more careful." I said in an assuring tone. She sighed in relief. I wasn't sure why she was so concerned about me, but the way Naomi and Jenny seemed to agree with her, I was sure that my social standing had something to do with it. I decided to clear the air, by changing the subject.

"So, how have things been?" I asked.

"Not good." Jenny frowned.

"What's wrong? Are you guys failing French or something?" I joked.

"One of the cheerleaders has gone missing." Naomi answered in a harsh tone.

"What do you mean by gone missing?" I asked curiously.

"Well, we were in Forest Grove, cheering for a varsity basket ball game. We had won of course, and on the way back to the buses, I realized that Amber had gone missing." Tiffany explained.

"No one has been able to find her for days. The Police have sent out a search party. We all think it's the Forest Park Killer." I frowned at that. I knew exactly who the killers were and they had to be stopped. However, this was a secret I would have to keep. The girls would think I'm crazy if I told them anyway.

"Well, where's the game you are having tonight?" I asked curiously. They looked to me fearfully.

"Forest Grove High." Tiffany murmured.

"Well, I heard some of the girls say they weren't going." Jenny gossiped.

"Well we can't let this killer stop us having a life. The police will catch him." Tiffany assured. I was scared out of my mind. My friends, putting themselves in danger again. And who was to say that the pack of monstrous dogs wouldn't decide to make Banks their new home. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"Just be careful girls. You have no idea what you're dealing with." I warned.

I made it all the way to lunch, nervous to what I was going to bring up before Mina and Caleb. What if I was losing my mind? I had to shake that thought off, because too much of what I had been witnessing, observing was true. I was going to tell her what I knew, and demand her to tell me what was going on.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I had decided that my hunger would have to wait. I quickly hurried over to their table, and pulled a chair in front of them. I slammed the Chronicles down, and pushed it towards them.

"Leigha?" Mina called out to me a bit confused.

"You're not joining the girls for lunch?" She asked curiously. Caleb frowned, took the catalog from Mina's hands, and slid the Chronicles closer towards her.

"I believe Leigha wants to have a more serious conversation." Caleb announced. Mina rolled her eyes.

"I know you are not like everyone else. The pale skin, the odd eyes, and the cold skin. Shall I go on?" I threatened. Mina drew in a deep breath, and placed her pale slender fingers over the book.

"Leigha, this isn't the time nor the place for this." She said sternly.

"Fine. Then you'll have to answer one question for me. And I want it truthfully, or you will have hell to pay." I warned. Caleb grinned wickedly. They both seemed unperturbed by my threats.

"Well then… let's hear your question." Caleb spoke.

"The wild animals in the forest… Were they a part of the Chronicles?" I asked, gesturing towards the book.

"Leigha. You will not want to hear the truth." Mina warned, her amber eyes burning into mine. I could feel the fear flowing through my body.

"I want to know. I'm sick of all these secrets and lies. Now answer the question." I said sternly. Mina smiled, and her teeth seemed more canine like.

"Yes." She said in a whisper. She pushed the Chronicles back toward me. I could feel my breath coming out uneven, and I was brutally frightened to say the least. I leaned back in my chair, trying to maintain my composure. Caleb stared at me warily, ready to catch me if I fainted. I wanted to faint; my entire body was telling me to give out all forms of consciousness.

"See love, I told you she would handle this well." Mina murmured to Caleb.

"You should eat something." Caleb suggested.

"At this point, I don't think I can." I countered. Caleb looked to Mina and she shrugged.

"Leigha, I have to report your behavior to Alexander. You wouldn't want to worry him by not eating right?" She asked.

"No." I said quickly. My mind was too busy registering the fact that I had been conversing with the son of the "first evil". Let alone, I was the stepdaughter of the King's physician.

"I'll go get her something." Caleb said, reluctantly leaving Mina alone with me.

"I suppose you don't have any further questions?" Mina asked, pulling her fashion catalog back out into view. She glared at me for a long moment, awaiting my answer. I couldn't speak. There was something caught in my throat. I just shook my head, and stared down at the Chronicles.

"Good then. Make sure you eat ALL of your lunch." She stated clearly, as she began to focus her attention into her catalog. Caleb suddenly arrived with a small salad and bottled water.

"I figured you wanted something small." He said, trying to clear the air. I forced myself to have an appetite enough to enjoy my lunch. The fact that I was sitting beside two Vampires seemed to be a very casual thing. Caleb and Mina stayed in their usual positions. Mina continued to fiddle with her fashion catalog, while Caleb absorbed himself in admiring her beauty.

The day seemed to fly by, and I was happy to finally be in my sixth hour class. Maria fiddled with some newspaper clippings, as I joined our table.

"So, how was your day so far?" Maria asked, as she began to work on her research.

"Oh nothing, just found out that the Chronicles are real. Nothing big." I said nonchalantly. Maria dropped her folder, scattering clippings all over the floor. I shrugged nonchalantly, and pulled out my laptop. I had some research of my own to do.

"Maria, is everything okay?" The Instructor asked.

"Yes, Leigha just surprised me that’s all." Maria answered.

"Yes, it is good to have you back Leigha." The Instructor spoke. I nodded and smiled as I went back to work. I had to pull up all the case files on the Forest Park murders.

"Leigha, I wanted to say something…" I didn't give her a chance to finish.

"Do you want to make it up to me?" I knew it was wrong to bribe her into forgiveness; she owed me big time. Maria sighed.

"How much trouble are we going to get into now?" She asked. My smile widened as I closed my laptop.

"Heaps." I murmured. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she began to retrieve her papers from the floor.

After class, Maria walked with me towards my locker. I handed her a note with a foreign email address. Because of the superhuman powers of the two annoying Vampires, we would have keep things as quiet as possible.

"So, how are you going to sneak out this time? I'm pretty sure the Prince will probably be back at your place tonight." Maria wondered.

"Don't you worry about that, I've got it covered. Just make sure you're outside when I get out."

"This is a really stupid idea. Not only could we be killed… We could be tortured in the process." Maria complained.

"Do you want to actually solve a case for once?" I asked. She frowned and nodded.

During the drive home, Mina seemed perturbed about something. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but she was quiet the entire drive. Even Caleb was concerned, but he didn't dare to break her from her reverie at this point. As we turned onto my street, Mina's worrying became clear to us all. It seemed as if the entire neighborhood was encircling my home.

"Mina doesn't like all the attention." Caleb explained. I tried to stifle a laugh.

"This must mean that the Prince is back." I groaned. He would only make getting out of the house more difficult. Now, was the perfect time to put my plan in action. All the cards were going to be put on the table. I would take no exceptions.

As we pulled into the garage, Caleb assisted us out of the car and Mina followed me inside through the kitchen. The house smelled of freshly baked cookies.

"Leigha, we're in the living room dear." My mother yelled.

"Shh. It's impolite to shout." Someone chided my mother. I walked curiously into the living room. Alexander's face lit up the moment he saw me. He seemed elated about something. What could put such a smile on that glorious creatures face? I was so absorbed in the Prince's beauty that I didn't notice that the towns Socials were in my living room.

"Huh?" Was all I could manage to say. My mother jumped from the sofa and hurried over to me.

"The ladies decided to stop by and welcome us to Banks." My mother said happily. Oh, I remembered how much my mother dreamed of becoming part of a social group of rich snobs. I smiled, feigning interest as she pulled me over to the group of uptight women.

They were all dressed in expensive clothing, their hair cropped up into sophisticated buns. Mina entered the living room along with Caleb, and they joined the Prince's company.

"Mina, yes… The ladies have been asking about." My mother chanted, pushing me out of the way, as if I was no longer standing in the room.

My plan was being faltered. I couldn't let this happen. Mina frowned as my mother quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the sofa.

I looked over to Alexander, whom was gazing at me. I couldn't help but to stare back. He was the most beautiful figure in the room. As much as he annoyed me, I couldn't deny the butterflies he put in my stomach. He was so wonderful to me. The fact that he was a royal figure was a big bonus. I pulled off my jacket and excused myself into the kitchen. I had to text Maria and let her know we would have to assume plan b.

"Is something wrong Leigha?" Alexander asked. Damn, why did he have to follow me into the kitchen?

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