The whispers in the hallway at st Jude academy were the only thing more expensive than tution. I walked down the hallway my eyes fixed on nothing in particular I was clutching my biology textbook to my chest I walked towards my locker which was at the end of the hall having to pass through the stares and whispers of my school mates,I finally got to my locker trying to shove my heavy Biology and Calculus texts into my bag before the "Royalty" arrived to claim the hallway.
"Look, it's the Curve-Breaker," a voice snickered from the gym entrance.
"Nerd," another boy coughed, followed by the sharp, mocking laughter of his friends. "I bet she has a favorite periodic element. Do you think she even knows what a boy's hand feels like, or does she just read about it in her Greek tragedies?"
I ignored them. I was used to it. To them, I was Joan Wilson: the ghost, the girl who was only useful when a lab report was due.
"Ignore them, Jo-Jo," Alice said, sliding her arm through mine with a bright, plastic smile. She looked effortless, her blonde hair perfectly tousled. Around her neck, she wore my mother's vintage silk scarf—the one she'd 'borrowed' three weeks ago and seemingly added to her permanent collection.
"I'm fine, Alice," I murmured.
"You're not fine. You're a masterpiece hidden in a baggy cardigan," she teased, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. I felt lucky to have her. I didn't realize then that Alice didn't love me; she just loved having a "nerd" around to make her look like a saint and keep her GPA above a 2.0.
The hallway went quiet as Susan and her squad sauntered in. Susan was the undisputed Queen of St. Jude, draped in designer labels. She stopped right in front of us, her eyes raking over Alice with a smirk.
"Hi, Alice! Love the scarf. Is it new?" Susan asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.
"Thanks, Sue!" Alice chirped, her voice shifting into a higher, more popular register.
Susan's gaze flicked to me, her expression turning into pure disgust. "Oh, and look—you brought your pet. Does the Nerd even speak, or does she only communicate in equations? Honestly, Alice, I don't know how you stand the smell of library dust. It's pathetic."
I looked at the floor, my face burning. Alice didn't defend me. She just laughed along, a light, tinkling sound. "She's harmless, Susan. Plus, she's helping me pass Trig."
Suddenly, the glass front doors swung open. William Moretti walked in. He moved with a slow, lethal grace that made the oxygen leave the room. Behind him was his crew—the boys who handled the Moretti family's "darker" business.
Susan immediately dropped her mean-girl act. She practically sprinted toward William, her face lighting up with a desperate hunger. She threw her arms around his neck, leaning her body flush against his.
"William! You're coming to my party tonight, right?" she purred. "I've been planning it all week just for you."
William didn't hug her back. He didn't even look at her. His cold, bored eyes scanned the hallway until they landed on me. For a split second, I felt like I was being hunted. He looked through my cardigan and straight into my soul. Then, he looked away, but the heat stayed on my skin.
While Susan was busy being clingy with William, Alexxus—one of William's guys—stepped toward us. Without a word, Alice stepped away from me. She walked straight to Alexxus and pulled him into a deep, lingering kiss right in the middle of the hall.
I stood there, stunned. Alice was dating a Moretti boy and hadn't told me?
"See you tonight, baby," Alexxus whispered against Alice's lips, his eyes flicking to me with a dark, knowing smirk before he followed William.
The Setup
"Alice, you're dating him?" I hissed once they were gone.
"He's the best, Jo," she said, her eyes bright. "And he's why you're coming to Susan's party tonight. No more books. We're going to my house right now. I've already picked out your outfit and I am not taking 'no' for an answer."
An hour later, we were in the master bath. Alice had turned on the gold faucets until the room was thick with jasmine steam.
"Get in," she commanded.
I stripped, feeling small under her gaze, and sank into the scalding water. Alice sat on the edge of the tub, picking up a sponge. She began to wash my back, her touch slow and deliberate. She leaned over,
"You have such a beautiful body, Joan," she whispered. "It's a crime to hide it. Tonight, we're going to make sure everyone sees exactly what they've been missing."
"Now hurry up. We have a party to get to, and I still need to find my diamond studs."
I didn't tell her the diamond studs were already in her ears—the ones she'd 'borrowed' from my jewelry box that morning. I just followed her, the lamb being led straight to Susan's house.
We got to Susan's house the music house, the music hit us before we even opened the door, a heavy beat that made the windows of Susan's massive house shake in their frames.
Alice just pushed her way in, like she owned the place, her heels clicking confidently against the floor tiles.
I followed a step behind clutching the Gucci bag Alice had practically forced into my hands. The air inside smelled like expensive perfume and youthful mistakes. Everywhere I looked was pure chaos. Couples were tucked into the shadows and under the staircase. I saw a senior from my maths class practically being swallowed by a dark corner with a girl I didn't recognize.
"Joan?! You're actually here?" I'm shocked, what got you out of your books tonight nerd?
It was Susan, she was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at us like a queen surveying her kingdom. She looked at my outfit and her eyes widened just a little.
"Nice look" she sneered, thoughlike a challenge than a compliment.
"You're just in time. We're starting the game in the basement. And since you're a perfect scholar, I've got a very special turn in mind for you." Alice squeezed my arm, her eyes sparkling. "See?! I told you you'd fit in."
"Yeah, I fit in alright" I said with sarcasm.
"Now let's go make some memories." she said ignoring what I said.
Susan took us to the basement everyone was already there it looked like they were waiting for us to arrive.
The basement was dim lit only by the glow of a dozen phone screens. The smell of sweat and expensive cologne was even stronger down here. In the center of the room a massive circle had formed on the rug. "Look who decided to join the mortals," Susan announced, her voice cutting through the bass of the music upstairs, what followed was an eruption of laughter, all pointing towards me, she sat there on an armchair like it was a throne, spinning an empty glass bottle between her fingers.
Alice pulled me down into the floor next to her. I felt exposed in the clothes Alice picked out for me, with half my senior class staring at me.
"So we are going to start the game but since some of us don't know how to play I'll explain" Susan said with a smug expression on her face and I know it was a direct hit on me.
"I'm going to spin the bottle, and whoever the top lands on will play and there are dares only tonight."
She rolled the bottle on the ground and it landed on me, oh good riddance I thought.
"Wilson" Susan smirked, leaning down to look at me, "your dare is to go into the kitchen and get a kiss from William Moretti. But here's the thing, tell him you're his wife, yes the exact same words." The room erupted in low whistles because everyone knew Moretti was a bad catch, someone you can't joke with he could throw you out of the states if you crossed him.
Alice squeezed my hand, "You go girl you can do it".she said trying to reassure me. But I know she knew that the Morettis weren't just rich, they were the shadows that owned the city.
I stood up. "I can do it Susan" I said trying to act cool but my legs were shaking in those heels. I made my way to the kitchen, passing couples or maybe people who hooked up pressed against walls in heated messy, steamy make out sessions. All I could smell was the stench of alcohol and cigarettes being burnt down.
I got to the kitchen, William was standing by the marble island, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He was devastatingly handsome in a way that felt scary and cold, almost like a greek god statue. He looked at me with an aloof expression on his face.
"Hey I'm Joan, Um I'm you're future wife and I want you to kiss me." I managed trying to sound bold but my voice was trembling. His eyes darkened almost instantly, a smirk on his mouth and a flash of something sinister crossing his face.
He didn't laugh, just stared at me started coming closer,his shadow swallowing me.
[William's Pov]
She has no idea. It's kind of funny to me she's repeating something that binds her, controls her so carelessly without knowing, she has no idea what she's getting into. My wife, huh funny the world I will bring her to will have no room for studies or shit just survival.
I didn't kiss her, I leaned down my breath hot against her ear, and whispered "Go home Joan, before the wolves realize you are here."
[Joan's Pov]
Embarrassed from his rejection, I turned and bolted. I didn't look for Alice, I just needed air. I pushed through a side door into a dimly light hallway looking for what I thought was the exit.
A hand suddenly clamped over my mouth, slamming me against the cold wallpaper. It was a guy I didn't think I've met before he smelled of strong liquor and some kind of chemical. "Hey baby come on want to have some fun?" he hissed at me. Before I could scream for help he stabbed my neck with a needle, pushing some substance in my veins. My vision became blurry instantly a terrifying heat radiating through my body "stop" I whimpered but my limbs felt like marshmallows. He wasn't listening either. He gripped the front of my top and tore the fabric down, the sound ripping the silence in the hall. He tore my bra down, I gasped, as the cool air hit my skin, but it was replaced by a disturbing sensation as he latched his mouth on my nipple biting down. The drug hit my brain, I was terrified, but my body was turning against me, a forced arousal clawing through my veins.
"I need.... I want..." I couldn't even finish the thought in my head before my vision blurred.
Suddenly a loud voice brought me back to reality. "Get your hands off her."
The voice was like a roar tearing down the defense of my attacker. It was William. He didn't just pull him off he was violent, his fist making an uncomfortable sound against the jaw of the attacker until he passed out on the floor. He turned to me, his eyes wide with a mix of rage and something I couldn't quite pick at. He saw my torn clothes, my breast peeking out, and the marks on my skin. I was shivering, my hands roaming round my body as the drug took over my sanity.
"William is that you?" I choked out, my voice sounding foreign to my ears.
"Yeah it's me" he choked out.
"Help me... it hurts... I feel... I need... I want you." He knew exactly what had been on that needle. His jaw set, he picked me up, carrying me toward a private room at the end of the hall. He knew that to stop the repercussions of the drug, he had to satisfy the urge the drug was giving me. He laid me down onto the silk duvet, the contrast of the cool fabric against my skin made me let out a broken whimper. The drug was running through my veins like a forest on the desert, turning the room into a blur of shadows. William at that point was the only thing that felt solid.
"Joan look at me" he commanded, his voice a low rough growl. I really couldn't understand what was happening but I looked up, my eyes blown wide. He was already removing his jacket, his movements efficient and rough.
When he saw the jagged tear on my bra and the way my skin was flushed a deep feverish pink his face turned to that of an animal whose meat was stolen.
"He touched you" he hissed, his thumb brushing against the mark on my breast, the touch sent a bolt of electricity straight to my core. "I'm going to kill him for touching what was mine, but first let me get this out of your system."
He didn't wait. He leaned down, his mouth crashing against mine, in a kiss that tasted like raw possessiveness. It wasn't the sweet, attentive kiss I had imagined for my first time, it felt like it was a claim. His tongue entered my mouth, demanding everything while his hands removed the rest of my clothes off. When he finally moved down, his face buried between my legs, I arched my legs towards his face and ran my fingers through his dark hair tangling and making a mess of it. The sensation was overwhelming every lick, every flick of his tongue felt like a lightning strike flowing through my body because of the chemicals moving its way through my hormones all I could think about was pleasure and pleasure. I was begging in words that didn't make sense but it was spilling out of my mouth as I buckled against him wanting more.
"Please... I need more" "Please... I need... you..."
He looked up, his eyes dark with a hunger that matched my own. "You're mine Joan, you're mine." He rose over me, his muscles tense he entered me, then a sharp pain echoed through me I let out a sharp cry a mix of the painful pleasure I felt and the sudden fullness that followed.
He paused, hovering above me, his sweat dripping down onto my breasts forming a pattern he could read. "Look at me" he groaned his voice strained "I want you to know exactly who is making you lose your mind."
I forced my eyes open half understanding what was going on, I locked my eyes onto his then he began to move. It was a deep rhythmic movement that was painfully slow at first driving me to the brink of insanity. Everything felt like it was reaching down into the depth of my soul rewriting who I was, all my ideals burnt away in the heat of that room. My pace quickened, and I couldn't help but milk out in pleasure, his breath hitching in my ear as his movement became frantic, my walls clamped around him triggered by the sheer intensity of his touch. I felt the heat inside me thicken until it snapped, a hot explosion of a type of pleasure I haven't experienced or even imagined exploded through my body bursting through my veins. I screamed incoherent words onto the quiet room, my body shaking with aftershocks.
William obviously had reached his peak let out a low roar burying his face in the crook of my neck as he followed me down the edge his weight pinning me to the bed as the world went black.
But something within me knew, everything had changed.