Legion MC : A dirty Fae Series

Bloody Bones 2

Briella

“Bri…”

The principal’s strident voice grated on me.

I had always thought of my name as pretty. The kind that rolled right off the tongue. That was until I started working with her. Until that middle-aged, uppity hag had shortened it to Bri. Every time she said it, it was like somebody raking the nails down a chalkboard.

Not that I could ever do anything about it. I couldn’t even correct her when she shortened it. I needed my job. It was the only thing keeping my family afloat. The only thing keeping a roof over our heads.

My father seemed to be on a one-man mission to make sure we lost everything. He had never been what you could call reliable, but after the death of my mother, he had spiralled out of control. Between the drinking and the gambling, it wasn’t long before the debt collectors started knocking on the door.

I had lost count of the number of times I had bailed him out. And I never begrudged him for it. He was my family, and he needed someone to look after him. It was what my mother would have wanted. Six months after my mother’s death, I gave up everything. My home, my job, my relationship, and I moved back into my family home. I did it for my two younger brothers. Or at least, that’s what I told myself.

It was always meant to be temporary. The plan was just to look after them long enough to get back on their feet, and then leave again. I planned to follow the dreams I had. But months turned into years, and then my brothers left. They carved new lives for themselves far away from me and our no-good father. But I stayed.

I told myself that it was what my mother would have wanted, but deep down I knew that was a lie. She would never have wanted me to be so miserable.

“Bri...Miss Stokes.” The headmistress's voice rose, echoing around the almost empty corridors. With my stack of marking clutched to my chest, I turned, a smile plastered on my face. I had been hoping that I could sneak away without speaking to her. But luck was most definitely not on my side.

“Mrs…”

She didn’t let me finish. Stomping over to me, she placed her hands on her narrow hips, looking down her nose at me like I was one of her students and not one of her colleagues. She always looked at me like that. Like I was somehow below her. A bug to be squashed. And boy did she try.

“I need you to take detention this evening.”

I frowned. I had taken Friday night detentions for the last six weeks, even though I was meant to only cover one a month. I hadn’t complained. I didn’t dare. She was looking for a reason to terminate my contract. But that Friday I had plans. Plans that I had waited months for.

“I can’t.” I kept my voice apologetic, but her eyes flashed angrily. “I’m really sorry, but I have other plans.”

“Change them.”

“I can’t.” I tried my best to keep my voice steady. Strong even.

Maybe if I stuck to my guns, she would find someone else. But the moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was hopeless.

The unmasked hatred in her eyes was undeniable. I had always suspected that she didn’t like me, but I had never realised just how much she loathed me. I sure as hell hadn’t done anything to warrant such hatred. Not that I could remember anyway.

“It’s in your contract, Miss Stokes. I thought this job was important to you, and-” her eyes raked over my body, and her lip curled, “your family. I was under the impression you needed the regular income.”

She knew I did. I had never lied about my family's circumstances. I had never been ashamed of doing the right thing and looking after them, but I felt shame with her lizard-like eyes squinting at me.

“I do...” My voice faltered, and I shuffled my feet on the floor. Something tacky made my heel stick. Gum. I had stepped in gum, but it might just as well have been quicksand. The look she was giving me froze the blood in my bones. It was more than hatred; it was like she wanted to wipe me out of existence.

My heart slammed against my ribs, fear paralysing me.

Just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. I sucked in a deep steadying breath and frowned. What the hell had just happened? I couldn’t even be sure. Maybe lack of sleep had made me imagine things. The woman in front of me looked just like she always did. Snobby and far too thin, but nothing to be scared of. And yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should run, get as far away from her as humanly possible.

Shaking myself, I forced myself to meet her eyes. “I really can't tonight, Mrs Smith. My plans can’t be put on hold.”

“Then you shouldn’t bother to come in on Monday morning.”

I blinked at her in surprise. Was she for real? Firing me because I couldn't cover? I sighed.

“Are your plans more important than your job, Bri?”

The hackles on the back of my neck rose.

“Your younger brother is in his final year of college, correct? Can you really afford to lose your job now?”

I couldn't and she knew it. My shoulders slumped in defeat. “I can only stay until five. No later.” I glanced down at my watch, the leather strap fraying. The hands had stopped. The ticking that always reminded me of my mother’s heartbeat had been silenced. “I have dinner reservations with my brothers at six.”

It had been months since I had seen them. Both of them were off doing their own thing as they became men with their own lives and families. And I missed them.

Something unreadable flickered across her face. It looked oddly like triumph

“It will all be over long before then. You are the eldest in your family right?”

I nodded mutely. She knew I was. It was all in my file.

“I thought so, and you have given up so much for them. It’s really commendable. Not many people would do that these days.”

“I just did what any good daughter would do. What my mother would have wanted me to do.”

“Yes…sacrifices must happen sometimes. Even though they might be painful for us, it’s all for the greater good.” She didn't let me speak. “The students are already in their normal room. I will let you go now, Bri, good luck.”

Good luck? I stared at her retreating back. I had been working in that godforsaken school for seven months, and my previous school for five years, and not once had I been wished good luck when dealing with a group of students.

I was good at my job, the kind of teacher that was approachable. I had always thought I was pretty well-liked by the student body, so why would I need luck?

***

Glancing around the room, I frowned. Though I had taken the after-school detention class before, the faces that greeted me when I opened the door weren’t the ones that usually greeted me. Instead, the room was full of faces I barely recognised.

Honour students.

Kids that kept to themselves and out of trouble.

It was all very strange.

But it wasn’t my job to question why they were there, just to watch over them and make sure they did the work that had been set.

Straightening my shoulders, I made my way to the desk at the front, my heels making loud tapping noises on the tiled floor.

“Books out,” I sighed loudly as I settled myself into the hard plastic chair, placing my pile of marking onto the scarred wood surface in front of me. At least one good thing would come from having to cover on a Friday, I could get ahead of my marking. Ultimately giving me more time to spend with my brothers over the weekend. “You know what to do.”

There was a moment of silence and then the air was full of murmurs and students whispering to one another.

I glanced up sharply as the whispers turned into something louder. My eyes scanned the room.

“What’s the problem here?”

No one answered me, instead, at least twenty pairs of eyes fixed on me. Some were angry, but mostly they just looked confused.

“Why are we here?” Finally, someone spoke up - a boy in the senior year that I had never seen in detention before. I wasn’t even sure I knew his name.

“Detention.”

“But why?”

His question confused me. Frowning, I folded my hands on the desk in front of me, my eyes narrowing as I stared at him. “I don’t know why your teachers sent you here. Believe me, I want to be here even less than you do.” I yawned.

Tired.

I was suddenly so tired. My eyes felt gritty with the effort it was taking me to keep them open. It came out of nowhere. Glancing around, I saw more than one of my students cover their mouths with their hands as they yawned as well.

It was like the room was sucking the energy from us. It happened almost instantly. I hadn’t been tired before getting there. But one minute after sitting down, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. And I wasn’t the only one.

“Miss.” A girl spoke from the back of the class, and I blinked at her stupidly.

Why was it so hard to concentrate suddenly? Fear gripped me, but I shoved it down as I clambered to my feet, swaying where I stood. My head was suddenly so foggy that it was hard to stand upright.

My students were afraid as well. They could all feel what I was feeling. And my first priority had to be their safety. That was my job.

Clutching the edge of my desk, I tried to force myself to concentrate. Still, the words came out slurred.

“Out,” I mumbled. “I think there’s a gas leak.”

It was the only possible explanation.

“Out now.” Letting go, I took a stumbling step forward. My ankle turned over and I fell forward. The tiled floor rushed up to meet me, and I was powerless to even put my hands out to save myself.