Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“Hello?”
“What the fuck is going on?” she says. “Do you check your texts at all?”
“Um, not since last night, why?”
“Well, check them now,” she says.
I sigh, then bring up my home screen and click on the messages app. I click on her name, and I’m assaulted by a barrage of messages, but my eyes settle on an article titled “Who is Luca De Rossi’s New Girlfriend?” with a picture of the two of us kissing at the restaurant last night.
Shit.
“Okay ” I say. “What’s your question?”
“My question is what the fuck is going on? That’s you in that picture. The last I heard from you, you said you would be unavailable for a few days but that you were positive these people were murderers, Teagan. Nowwhat? He’s your boyfriend? That’s what the article saysthe source says they overheard him saying the two of you live together. How the fuck is Luca De Rossi your boyfriend?”
The last part stings a little; I don’t miss her subtext, but I don’t address it. “I was wrong, okay? I was wrong about them, and you were right. I’ve just read too many books. But I’m having a good time, and I want to hang out with them a little longer.”
“I’m sure you do, but you can’t.”
“Pretty sure I can,” I tell her.
“You’re just into it, aren’t you? That was always it. You’re into the fucking blood and shit. God, Teagan, I”
I’m starting to think Declan might be right about cell phones.
“I have to go, Blake. I’m with my friends right now.”
“Your friends? What”
“Bye,” I say before ending the call. Sighing, I shove it back into the front pocket of my hoodie.
“You okay?” Hazel says. “That looked intense.”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “It was my sister; she’s always intense, nothing new.”
“Well, we’re going to go upstairs to get ready. We’re going to explore the market and downtown for a while before heading over to the venue. Do you want to come with us?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Okay, great,” she says, and we walk toward the elevator. “We’re in 763 right now. Just come down when you’re ready.”
We move in opposite directions when we get to the seventh floor, and once inside the room, I sit on the edge of the bed and pull out my cell phone. I finally read the rest of my sister’s text messages and listen to my mom’s voicemails. They all pretty much say the same thing.
Come home, you’re stupid!
That’s what Alana told me, too.
I bring up the picture Declan took of me on the ladder in the library and think again about what she said. I post it to my socials with a message that I’m going to be taking a break for a while.
When I meet River and Hazel in their room later, I don’t bring the phone with me.
I’m not sure I need it anymore.
The four of us spend the day doing touristy shit downtown before taking a bus to the concert venue. We slip in through a backdoor and then into a room backstage, where Rhett brings us all beer before kissing Brady and quickly leaving the room.
I take off my flannel and tie it around my waist, warm from both the change in temperature and the slight buzz I already have from our stop for dinner. I adjust my skirt, then sit on the sofa, curling my legs under me.
I don’t see the others, but I can’t help but look for them. Each time I hear footsteps in the hallway, my eyes dart toward the door.
I think I miss Luca.
Hazel sits on the other side of the sofa, and River lies across both of us with her head in Hazel’s lap and her feet on mine. River closes her eyes as Hazel runs her fingers through her hair.
See? I know what love looks like.
I must be staring, lost in thought because Hazel’s voice startles me. “Teagan? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell her. “I just had a really good day, that’s all. I’ve never really had friends before, and I’ve only ever traveled alone or with my parents, so I don’t usually do stuff like this. It was fun.”
“Well, we’re family,” River says. “Every day can be like this.”
“How do you deal with your own families?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Like my parents and my sister. They’re upset. They think I’m crazy; they want me to come home. I don’t think they’ll ever be supportive or understanding you know? They think I have problems anyway.”
“Well, what kind of problems?” River asks.
“Like social problems.”
“We don’t really have families outside of this one,” Brady says.
“River and I met in a foster home in high school,” Hazel says. “Brady’s dad threw him out when he was seventeen, and they haven’t spoken to him since.”
“Oh I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, so. We can’t really relate to you in that respect. But they’re your family, right? You told us that your sister is your friend. And you’re their child, so they want you to be happy. Just tell them you’re happy,” River says.
Brady laughs hard. “Oh, god,” he says. “That’s a good one, Riv. I swear to god, you have to be perpetually fucking high for some of this shit to come out of your mouth.”
“What?” River says. “It’s true, right?”
“It’s a nice idea, baby,” Hazel says.
“They’re letting people in,” Brady says. “We should go out there.”
“I’m going to use the restroom back here first,” I tell them. “I don’t want to wait for the one out there later. I’ll meet you guys out there.”
I grab my purse and walk down the hallway toward the bathrooms I passed earlier. I’m on my way back out when a security guard grabs me by the arm. “How the hell did you get back here? You’re not supposed to be back here,” he says.
“I’m with the band,” I say, trying to slip out of his grip. “You’re hurting my armlet go of me.”
“I don’t think so,” he says. “You know what, though? If you show me your tits, I’ll let you back into the show. And if you suck my dick, I’ll let you backstage afterward.”
“No! Get off of me!”
“Come on,” he says. “This isn’t my first time working a Gods of Tomorrow concert. I know how you all are. What is it they call you? Bloodsluts?”
“I’m not a fucking bloodslut.”
“I could just make you, you know.”
“Hey!” Declan shouts. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.