Sins of the Fallen Read online

  “Your words are wise, but mine are wiser. Always remember Loran, live before you teach, because you cannot teach what you have not lived. With that said, I think we should wrap this up for another time. I want to meet with the both of you.”

  As they were preparing to go their separate ways, I started backing away to my room when the floor creaked underneath my feet and they froze in place. Damn these wooden floors.

  They looked at each other immediately and in unison, looked up to the stairs where I was watching them.

  Knowing my cover was blown, I built up the tiny bit of courage I did have, walked down to the kitchen and turned on the lights.

  “What’s going on?”

  Jones stared at my dad for guidance.

  “Maximillion it’s late, you should be asleep.”

  “Dad, I heard you guys. What’s going on?” My voice was unwavering, pushing enough fear aside for me to sound confident.

  “Son, come and sit at the table. We need to have a talk.” I hesitated before taking a seat between them. They were still staring at each other.

  “Loran.” My dad’s voice got deep and unfamiliar. “Wipe his memory clean.”

  “But Xavier—” Jones protested without losing eye contact.

  “Do it!” His voice rose to an alarming rate.

  I looked at my dad like it was my first time seeing him and stood up to run. All of my senses were telling me to get out as fast as I can. Before I got the chance to turn around, Jones grabbed my shoulders and slammed me back into my seat with incredible strength and speed. I felt the pressure of his force all the way to my bones.

  “I’m sorry man.” He looked at me with pity and I knew he saw the fear in my face. Suddenly, Jones hands were at the sides of my head and everything went black.

  2

  The final bell rang and I barely made it to the boy’s locker room on time. Mr. Delaney wouldn’t stop rambling on about a new student and their anthropologist parents and blah blah blah.

  Mr. Delaney’s the oldest teacher in school, which is funny since he’s the U.S. History teacher as well. He’s lived through most of what he teaches. His excitement for this new kid was just weird and, honestly, I couldn’t wait for gym. I almost didn’t get out of bed this morning because of a headache as big as Canada. I couldn’t even remember how I got to bed, or if I even studied for today’s chemistry exam. All that didn’t matter now, gym class was my favorite part of the day. I’ve never been allowed to play any sports because it would interfere with school work. So this was my release. No matter how many times the football coach came over to my house, it never convinced my dad to let me play. Sophomore year, the whole team came to my house to give it a try and no luck. My dad was never rude and he never got angry. He was so calm and polite when he declined it was sort of creepy— like one of those robotic stepford people.

  Coach walked into the gymnasium and announced we would be playing flag football and I was relieved. With the way I was feeling, I needed to release some pent up stress that had me all out of whack today.

  I ran out of the locker room to be the first picked, when something slammed into my left shoulder, well not something, more like someone.

  My eyes flickered open. I was dizzy and couldn’t see straight. Lying flat on my back I tried to sit up but my vision got even worse. Whoever hit me must be on the football team because he knocked the wind right out of me. I felt the body heat of someone hovering over me. Blinking as much as I could to get a better look, I saw who it was. Angela, my next door neighbor.

  Her midnight curls were picked up in a ponytail and I could see her green eyes clearly. Her sun-kissed skin was flawless and she couldn’t look more aggravated than she was now.

  “You okay?” Her voice was gruff as she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. A little too fast for my liking, I stumbled to regain balance but the feeling of skin to skin contact sent electricity up my bones.

  “Yeah, are you okay?” I said, feeling stupid. I was the one who had been lying on the floor, of course she’s okay.

  With a puzzled look on her face, she set me down on the bleachers. I didn’t even notice we had been walking—my legs felt like jelly.

  Filled with dry sarcasm, she responded. “I don’t think you did much damage, I’ll survive.”

  I could feel the heat rush to my face and I started to get nervous. “Well I’m sorry I bumped into you. Or you bumped into me or whatever. It doesn’t matter. Um…my name is—” Before I could finish rambling on, she cut me off.

  “I know who you are, no need for introductions. Just watch where you’re going next time.”

  I saw as she turned around and walked away. Leaving me speechless, I didn’t bother to get up. I sat there until gym class was over.

  I hurried to my locker to get my textbook before my chemistry exam. Still stunned by the encounter in gym, I didn’t notice Jones standing there with two girls until I reached my locker.

  “Hey man, hurry up with whatever you have to say because I am late for chem.” I wasn’t in the mood for any of his charades today.

  “Well I just wanted to know what time we were picking up these gorgeous women tonight for the party.” I had to give Jones his credit. He really made girls feel special. They both started to giggle at one another after his comment.

  “Well the party doesn’t start till after 9pm so I guess around that time, right?” I said, my patience cutting short because I already sensed I was going to be extra late for class.

  The twins were average height with blonde hair, definitely bikini bodies, downright Jones type and utterly distracting for someone who was in a rush.

  The one on Jones left side came up and wrapped her arms around me from behind while I closed up my locker.

  “I hope I get you tonight. You’ll make for an interesting boy toy.” She kissed around my neck until she started to nibble on my earlobe.

  He was right on calling them women, her touch made me shiver and she winked at me in response.

  Jones motioned for them to leave with a wave of his hand and they hooked their arms into one another and giggled their way down the hall. I couldn’t help but watch them go. Her touch on my neck lingered and I didn’t know how I felt about that.

  “Why the hell did you get the twin I wanted?” Jones gave me a friendly shove as we ran towards the science hall.

  We drove in silence all the way to Anthony’s house. No matter what we said, the twins in the back seat just giggled. We could have said the car was on fire and they would have kept on laughing and smiling. I was starting to get irritated. The day dragged on and worsened when I had to work a full shift with Brittany at the store again. Irritated and all, I couldn’t deny how amazing the twins looked, in matching tight little black dresses and smooth long blond hair without a frizz in sight. I had a feeling it was going to be a wild night.

  Anthony always threw a party on the weekends. His parents owned most of town and were always gone on business trips. This was the place to be, and if you weren’t invited, well, let’s just say your social life took a serious nose dive. And that was saying something because everyone was here: from the band geeks who pretended to get drunk off of ginger ale, to the nerds who do Anthony’s homework.

  He lived in a huge Tuscan villa style mansion right off the Atlantic Ocean with another house connected by a walk way on the second floor. We pulled up to his upside down U shaped driveway that was filled with cars. In this town, you couldn’t get richer than this.

  Anthony was standing at the entrance wearing mardi gras beads around his neck and holding two cups of what was most likely cheap beer in his hands; welcoming everyone as they came in.

  “If it isn’t the Oreo brothers and the Anderson twins. Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is a match made in heaven.” Anthony yelled to everyone and they all cheered to his drunken comments. To the football team, we were known as the Oreo brothers. Quick explanation: I’m white and Jones is black or half black or whatever. Not creative whatsoever,
but we didn’t really care.

  “Fellas enjoy yourselves. Kegs are in the kitchen and the chicks are in the pool. Though I doubt you’ll need them.” He winked at us gesturing to the twins. He was so drunk I doubted he’d remember this conversation. His parents held so much authority in town that not even the cops had the balls to show up and break up his parties. If there was one thing you wanted to have in this small town, it was power. You could control anything and anyone.

  We crossed the foyer and the smell of sweat and alcohol hit us. There was not one person here that was sober beside the band geeks. To my right was the kitchen where people were playing beer pong and to my left was the living room where a DJ was playing all the top hits as people gyrated to the over-bassed music. The feeling of not belonging always got to me here. Even though I was seventeen and this was what I was supposed to be doing, I really didn’t want to. The thought of being home was more of my liking. The alcohol, the partying, and the supposedly sleeping around was just what I’m required to do— you know, the whole high school experience.

  “Alright you kids have fun now.” Before I could get a word in, Jones was already halfway up the stairs, dragging his twin behind him, probably looking for an empty bedroom. That just left me with the freak of a date that kept sizing me up like a Popsicle on a hot summer’s day.

  Letting out a deep sigh, I rocked on my heels trying to think of something to say or do. How advanced she was only made me more insecure. I should have known she would be the one to make the first move. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she looked up at me and then leaned in to whisper in my ear.

  “So, you want to do this upstairs or downstairs?” The question lingered in the air as I let it process in my mind.

  “Actually, I was thinking about us maybe dancing a bit, you know. I don’t really know you, and contrary to what you might believe, I’m really not that fast.” I unwrapped her arms from my neck and tugged her along to the living room, hearing her huff and puff as we swerved through the crowd. It took us a while as people from school kept coming up to us and the players from the team kept shouting my name from all parts of the house. I finally found a pretty decent spot by the DJ booth but far enough away from the speakers so we could actually hear each other.

  Once again, she beat me to the punch as she circled around me, swaying to the music. It was hypnotizing. Her black eyes sparkled in the dark and her smile was seductive. She licked her plump red lips and bit the lower half and if I didn’t have so much self-control, I would have dragged her upstairs like Jones did to her sister. She was hot. There was no denying that.

  Her finger traced an imaginary line around me, sending shivers up my spine, until I noticed I was swaying with her. We moved around following our own beat. Never breaking eye contact. The music was fast and loud, but it sounded distant. All I saw was us, the thought of Angela with another guy probably in one of the upstairs bedrooms drifted away from my mind. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “To hell with self-control.” Finding the nearest speaker, I pushed her towards it and lifted her on top of it. My lips met hers as she wrapped her legs around my waist and I clung to her. If anybody was watching, it would be the talk of the school by Monday morning along with a million other things that probably didn’t happen.

  She gripped a chunk of my hair, forcing me closer and rougher, while I gripped her thighs. She pushed back first and I tried to catch my breath. We were drunk on our excitement and I didn’t know how long we’d been making out.

  The room was so packed, we were sweating. Her hair stuck to the side of her face and I pulled a loose strand behind her ear following with small pecks on her cheek. I couldn’t get enough of her now.

  “How about I get us something to drink?” She sounded almost exasperated as she slid off the speaker.

  “No, don’t go.” I blocked her in, kissing down her neck and grabbing her waist. I felt drunk, without consuming an ounce of alcohol.

  “Don’t worry I won’t be long, Max. I’m just thirsty and I’m sure we can continue this upstairs.” She slid away from me like butter and it was a blur watching her go.

  As I waited for her, I looked around the living room and everyone was having a good time. Everyone except one person. I couldn’t make out who it was from the back, but she had pitch black hair pinned up in a tight bun on top of her head. She looked bored and impatient, constantly checking her cell phone. I wanted to go up to her and find out what was wrong, but I saw the Anderson twin holding up two red plastic cups over her head as she tried to maneuver through the crowd. That was quick. How long had I spaced out?

  The crowd had gotten twice as big since we first got here and I didn’t notice the time going by so quickly. She stood in front of me in seconds, handing over a cup. From the smell, it was beer.

  “I don’t know. Jones and I haven’t decided who the designated driver is yet. I think I should maybe get some soda.” I handed it back to her as she pouted in disagreement.

  “One cup won’t hurt. I promise.” Her eyes gleamed in the dark and I couldn’t say no. My attraction for her grew so fast, I realized I didn’t even know her name. I didn’t know anything about her.

  “Crap, I feel like a total tool. Don’t get mad but I don’t know your name.” She flinched a little but contained her composure.

  “Don’t worry angel; you don’t need to know it just yet. Drink up. We got all night.” She smiled and her perfect white teeth gleamed in the darkness as she bit on her straw. She was so tempting I chugged the whole cup just to be able to have her full attention again.

  Caressing my face, I leaned into her hand and lost my balance. She caught me before I could fall. I might have drunk too fast and caught a minor buzz. But off of one beer, that was odd.

  Where’s Jones? Is that my neighbor? I couldn’t keep my thoughts together. I felt them all scatter in different directions.

  “Let’s go to one of the bedrooms, Max.” She rubbed on my arm and it soothed me to submission.

  “Okay,” was all I could respond as I followed her like a lost puppy. I didn’t know if we were headed upstairs or across the house. But I could feel the night breeze as the Florida summer welcomed the fall weather. It was almost like I was walking with my eyes closed and half asleep.

  “Hey, I’m not feeling so good. Actually, I feel really tired. I think we need to find Jones,” I said as I noticed we were in the driveway. Glancing up at the mansion I could see Jones in the second floor window looking confused. Trying to lift my hand to wave him down—I couldn’t. It was heavy and exhaustion was consuming me.

  She moved her hand to my face and forced me to look at her.

  “No, I think it’s time for us to finally get to know each other.” I looked up one last time to see Jones banging on the window screaming something I couldn’t hear.

  Before I could say anything, my tongue swelled up and got drier than a cotton ball. Blinking away the sleepiness, I couldn’t hold out much longer until I collapsed on the grass.

  “It’s okay, Maximillion. You’re home now,” was all I heard as I fell asleep in her arms.

  3

  The cure for hangovers was simple. Take some Advil and drink lots of water before you hit the sack, to avoid situations like these. Or at least have a greasy bacon sandwich in the morning. Either way, my head felt like it’d been run over by a five ton truck— over and over again— I could barely open my eyes. I couldn’t even remember getting into bed—again. This was happening too often now. I can’t believe I’m still wearing the same clothes from last night.

  I reached over to my night stand to turn on the light, and nothing. My room was pitch black and my lamp was missing. I was probably so drunk last night that I knocked it out of place, though I don’t really remember drinking. Hopefully, my parents didn’t see me come in. I felt the blood rush down from my head as I tried to sit up but I slammed back down on the bed, making it creak from the impact. Odd, my bed is brand new. I reached for my basketball shorts under the bed, an
d grabbed an ice cold frame that didn’t belong to me.

  This wasn’t my room.

  I tried to get back up but was hit with vertigo falling off the mattress, getting hit with rocks and dust. I started to cough and dry heave. It was dark and my mind was spinning from the disorientation. Not able to stand, I got on all fours. If I didn’t find a way out of here or at least a light, I knew I’d have a panic attack. My lungs felt like they were going to collapse with the thought of being stuck here.

  The worst part was I couldn’t remember a thing.

  There was no breeze or stars, so I must have been indoors. My body felt heavy as I crawled across the ground, scraping my hands and knees looking for a wall or door. I couldn’t hold myself up any longer and I collapsed to the ground; my face landing on layers of rock.

  Grabbing what I could, I dragged myself for what seemed like an eternity until I felt a solid surface.

  The wall was so cold, a shiver passed through me as a million thoughts ran in my mind at once. This wasn’t a dream— not even close. I mean, for someone who’s seen enough apocalyptic movies, I should know what to do. But TV was nothing compared to fear in real life. I must have been drugged because there’s no way I should have been feeling this sick and weak. I needed to find a door. How did I get here? If I could just stand up without falling over, it would help. My thoughts were everywhere and panic was settling in. I had to get myself under control. Think Max, think.

  I ran my hand along the wall for a door knob or even a crack; anything.

  There.

  I grabbed the handle and I could almost see it. Maybe I was just imagining it. And since I had the greatest luck, the door was locked.

  Great.

  This was such a cliché. All I could do was laugh at myself and I felt a little hysterical thinking about all the ways I could die in here.