Where The River Flows Red

Four

Blondie- Heart of Glass (The guy pulling the cord at the keyboard cracks me up)

    "I'm so glad there was an opening for you," Silas said as we began the research for our paper. Collum had bailed on him for one of the girls in our class. I had checked in after my transfer.

    "Mostly because I'll be doing most of the work?" I asked. He laughed. 

    "You know it short stack," 

    "Shut up. I am not short," I pushed him away. He laughed. 

    "So, we're going to be working together as well. What do you think of that, Doctor Frankenstein?" he smirked.

    "Don't call me that. I am not going to reanimate anything. Maybe I should learn how to though. Just to be on the safe side since you're going to be a doctor and all," 

    "Aww, f**k you," he laughed.

    "Dad seemed excited," I changed the subject.

    "Of course, he does. We were chosen by his brightest. He has bragging rights," he shrugged.

    "Does mom know?"

    "Yeah, she was really happy," he nodded.

    "Um, hello. Tweedle Dee and tweedle dum. We have class in five minutes," we both looked over at Collum. I looked down at my phone. 

    "No, we don't. We have class in forty-five minutes," I shook my head. He sat down a little out of breath. 

    "Oh," the smell around him is a little gross. I pulled out my body spray and sprayed him with it. 

    "You're so gross," I said.

    Silas looked over at me about to ask me a question when something behind me caught his attention. I turned around to see Elijah and Zach walking in. I turned back and looked down at my paper. I tried not to think about the dream, but the ache made me shudder. I gathered my things and put them in my bag. They sat at the table across from us. I have a clear view of them. 

    "You okay?" Silas asked. 

    "Yeah, I just need some air," 

    "Did something happen?" Collum asked. 

    I got up and walked out as fast as I could. The ache in the pit of my belly is choking me up. A wave of emotions flooded through me as I pushed the doors open to get outside. The fresh air didn't help if anything it amplified this feeling in me. 

    "Are you alright?" 

    I turned to see a girl standing behind me. Texts books in one hand a coffee in the other. Two books bags. Her blonde curls are up in a messy bun. The thick glasses make her super adorable. There's something very familiar about her. 

    "Yeah, I just feel like I got hit by a garbage truck filled with hot garbage juice," I said rubbing my chest, she giggled. 

    "That's called heartbreak. Is this your first time?" she asked. 

    "I don't think it is. I'm not in love," I waved her off. She grinned.      

    "Sometimes your heart feels it before your brain knows. It can be instant. A glance and you're done. It sucks," she sighed heavily. I smiled at her. 

    "I'm Tobi Bourne," 

    "Cassidy Collins," 

    "Collins as in possibly related to Elijah and Zach Collins?" I asked. She nodded. 

    "Those two thick brains are my older brothers. You know them?" 

    "Not exactly. I've run into them,"  

    "Bourne as in Lupine or Bourne as in Ubiet?" 

    "Ubiet," I answered, my hand going to the necklace around my neck. She looked me over. 

    "Funny, I pegged you for a Daywalker," I laughed. This Clan stuff is annoying. 

    "Do you need help with your...?" I asked motioning her books. She smiled. 

    "Would you? I can't with all of this," I nodded taking the four textbooks from her and a book bag. She rotated her shoulders. "Thank you so much. I was about to go to the study room to meet my brothers. Come with," 

    "Yeah, my brother is there too," I sighed, wanting to be anywhere but there. 

    "Cool, you're related to Silas Bourne correct?" 

    "Yeah, he's my brother," I boasted. "You know him?" 

    "Everyone knows Silas. He's kind of a big deal in the clans. Just like his father or well your father. Bruce," she nodded, opening the door. We both walked in. I wanted to ask her why they were such a big deal. 

    "Troublesome girl," I looked up to see Elijah. 

    "I get that a lot," I said. He took the books from me and a book bag. 

    "Not you. This one," he said looking at his sister. The adoring way he looked at her made me smiled. 

    "Right," I said feeling a little dumb. 

    "Tobi," I looked over at my brother who had stood up. 

    "It was nice meeting you, Cassidy. Try to ease up on the books," 

    "Improbable, but thank you for the advice. I'll take it into consideration. Don't be a stranger," she winked. I nodded. 

    "Goodbye, Elijah," he took a deep breath his eyes becoming hard like he didn't like hearing it. 

    "Goodbye, Amelia," he stated before turning to his sister and walking off. I stood there frozen. It's a coincidence. It has to be.

    "That's not staying away from them," Silas scolded.

    "I met their sister outside. She needed help. I didn't know she was their sister until she told me. It was too late by then. So save it," I bit out angrily. Why am I angry?

    "You've never been one to break Dad's rules. I think you should keep it that way. They trust you a lot more than they trust me. You don't want them on your ass about direction. Trust me. It sucks," he warned. I nodded without saying anything. 

    Once it was time for our next class, the three of us got up. Fighting every fiber of my being, I was able to walk out of there without looking back at them. That is until Cassidy walked in after us and took a seat next to me. Elijah right behind her. I tried so hard not to laugh at my brother's expression. 

    "Hey, we have a class together. How cool," she beamed. 

    "Very cool," I said sarcastically.

    "My mom teaches this class," she informed me. I let out a laugh. 

    "Really?"I asked. She nodded. I looked over at my brother. He groaned and let himself fall on the wooden desk. I laughed. 

    "Welcome to Philosophy one oh one. I'd like for everyone to keep their deepest beliefs outside of my class. Keep an open mind because what you will learn here will test your faith. Have a seat. We will begin shortly," 

    "This is going to be fun," I smirked, looking at Silas. He glared at me. 

    "Dad is going to be pissed," he shook his head, sitting back. 

    As professor Collins began the lesson, I started to go over the syllabus. I noticed that despite the fact that the teacher was their mother Elijah and Cassidy gave their mother their undivided attention.

    "What are you doing after class?" Cassidy asked. 

    "Work," I said and felt all tingly inside when it came out of my mouth. 

    "You work?" she asked extremely surprised. 

    "Kind of. It's an internship for my dad's company," 

    "Really? How prestigious? Do you like it?" 

    "Well, it's my first day. It's a new program," 

    "Won't that get in the way of your night class or does your father's company work around your schedule?" Elijah asked. It was rude. His tone made me feel like he was accusing me of something.

    "I dropped the night class. There's room for me in the morning one and I didn't get the internship because of my dad. I got it because I worked hard for it. If that's what you're implying," 

    "I didn't mean to offend you, princess. I was just asking," he smirked pleased with himself. I wanted to slap the smug look right off his face. My heart began to race with anger. Like before a few students turned back to look at me. 

    "You're such an ass. This is why I don't have any friends. Between you and Zach people run for the hills when they see you coming. I don't know why I thought this would be any different. I am so sorry, Tobi," 

    "It's fine. I'm kind of used to it," I waved it off. She looked at her brother and scoffed as she put her things away and got up to leave. 

    "Is everything alright, love?" we all looked up to see we had caught Professor Collins' attention. 

    "No," Cassidy said. "Your son is an i***t," 

    "I didn't say anything wrong to her," he defended himself, putting his hands up in surrender. 

    The smirk made me angrier with him. Cassidy stormed off. I looked at Silas and right away he sighed and shrugged. I got up and followed her out not missing my chance to shoot a dirty look at Elijah. Which only served to feed his ego because his smile grew broad.

    "Cassidy," I called after her. 

    She turned to look at me and it broke my heart. My stomach felt like it was going to fall out of my butt. Her eyes are rimmed red and tears were streaming down her face. She was catching the attention of others around us. I grabbed her hand and lead her to the restroom. I grabbed some tissue and handed it to her. She pulled her glasses off her face and began to dab her cheeks and her eyes.

    "My brother is an i***t. I swear he's usually not like that," 

    "It's fine. I get that a lot. People assume that because I'm the boss's daughter that I get whatever I want. What people don't know is that I became the boss's daughter by law. I'm adopted. So I have this weird need to push myself, to earn my way even if they are my family now," 

    "That only makes me feel worse for what he said," she cried. I laughed. 

    "It's okay," 

    "No, it's not. You shouldn't be okay with people treating you like that. Especially my brother. He's an ass," 

    "I think we've established that," we both laughed. 

    "Your brother isn't a d**k," 

    "My brother can't afford to be. He wants to be a doctor. He starts the program next year," 

    "Wow, superhero all the way around," she said mostly to herself. I smiled. My brother has a fangirl. 

    "Come on let's get back," 

    Everyone watched us get back to our seats. Because I didn't want another episode like this I made her sit between Silas and me. She handed me my things and placed hers on the table. Silas explained to her what we had missed. All I had to do was look at the board. 

    "Drama momma," Elijah whispered. 

    "Ass hole," she shot back. I laughed as quietly as I could after giving him a look. He smiled at me and continued his work. 

    "This is harder than I expected," he whispered. I glanced at him. His mother is looking right at us. "Can't seem to part," 

    I didn't say anything. I pretended like I didn't hear a single word he said because it just made this in my chest feel never-ending and I want it to go away. There's no way this is heartbreak. I don't even know the guy. So what if I had a crazy dream about him and he's constantly coming up. My parents made it perfectly clear, though. I am to stay away from him. Whatever this money feud between our families is, I don't want to get caught in the middle. I just want to get through school without having a mental breakdown or at least a minimal amount of breakdowns.

    "I'd like to thank you for your kindness," 

    I looked up to see everyone was clearing out the room. Silas glanced at me before he got up and followed behind Collum. He pointed to the hall letting me know he was going to wait for me out there. 

    Professor Collins is beautiful. The twins and their sister get a lot of their sharp features from her. She doesn't really strike me as a professor. More like a model who would eventually end up the top shelf trophy wife of a billionaire with exquisite taste. She is utterly and painfully beautiful. It's kind of unfair that she's super smart as well. 

    "I fight with my brother sometimes. He can be a real knucklehead," I tried to dismiss her as she took the seat her son had been in before I dove into my classwork. I didn't even see them get up. 

    "Your family isn't the type to be kind to mine and vice versa. It's an instinct really. Something trained from a very young age. You wear this pendant, but I can see that your heart does not belong to it. In this world, we all have a place, a motive, a belief, maybe even a calling. This one is not yours. You are not like them and I know you may feel that you owe them for taking you in and giving you a home, but you owe no one anything. The only person whose toll you should pay is your own," 

    "I don't understand," 

    "Yesterday, my sons asked you what Clan you belong to and both of them found themselves wishing it was theirs. You are not a Slayer. You are far too beautiful and far too intellectually gifted to be a soldier. You show kindness like a daywalker and there is anger in your heart like a night stalker. You are meant for greatness in eternity, not a mear mortal existence. I hope you can come to me with questions you may have about this new world. I will gladly answer them. Your bloodline was dear to us," 

    "My bloodline?"

    "Yes, Elijah informed me of your true surname. Lockwood," my heart sped up as she got up and walked down to the bottom of the classroom. I grabbed my things and rushed out of there as fast as I could. 

    "What did she say to you?" Silas called after me. 

    I stopped when I came face to face with him. He looked at me confused. There is no way she had said that. There has to be something wrong with me. It was a dream. A dream got dammit. Nothing other than my subconscious 

    "What are you doing to me?" I almost shouted. "You were in my room last night," 

    "I think you're mistaken. I don't even know where you live, Princess," Elijah smiled. 

    "Tobe," I heard Silas getting closer. 

    "What is this? What's happening?" 

    "It was just a dream," 

    "How do you know about that? Why...?" 

    "You need to calm down. I'll see you tonight. Try not to be a night owl. We have an early class tomorrow," he walked away just as Silas caught up with me. 

    "What's going on?" he asked turning me around to face him. 

    "That's what I want to know, Silas. What's going on? I know you know what the hell is happening," I demanded. He rubbed my arms trying to calm me. 

    "Tobe, it's not safe for you to know. I'm protecting you. We all are," 

    "We? You mom and these people?" 

    "These people will hurt you, Tobe. No matter how pretty or how nice and sensitive they seem, they're monsters. They aren't here to be your friends," 

    "Just tell me. Tell me what's going on or I'm going to lose my mind," I'm on the verge of crying and I don't even know why.

    "You won't. I'm going to make sure of that," he pulled me into his arms. "Now, we have to go before we're late for our first day of work,"