Hailsmith Academy

Chapter 29: Twisted purpose

Well, there she was. The she-devil herself. Jeremiah's freaking mother.

The woman who abandoned her son on Christmas, Thanksgiving and countless other occasions. The woman so engrossed in her business, she never seemed to remember that she has a son. The woman, who perfectly lives up to her reputation as cold, heartless and cruel.

Kirsten Evans.

It took me a few moments to recover, and then I cautiously extended my hand. "Nice to meet Mrs. Evans. I'm Luke."

She simply regarded me with her cold, dead eyes; looking me up and down like I was dirt under her shoe. She openly scoffed, completely ignoring my hand hanging in the air. "Don't even try. We both know this was not a nice interaction."

This woman and her audacity seemed to be limitless. I glanced towards Jeremiah, who had an exasperated look on his face, like as if he dealt with this all the time. He shrugged at me apologetically, shaking his head. I was getting just about ready to tell this woman off, but we were interrupted by someone talking loudly behind me.

"Mrs. Evans! I didn't know you were coming?"

I whipped my head around, only to see Jason walking up towards us with a huge smile on his face. Mrs. Evans' face immediately lit up, as she embraced Jason in a hug. They both even did that whole European kiss on the cheek thing. Ugh.

"Jason my dear, how are you? I know Hailsmith's head boy, lead lacrosse player and stellar A+ student, must be up to great things."

Jason laughed, his fake smile more evident than ever. Kirsten Evans didn't seem to notice it though. The two of them continued to chat away about all of Jason's accomplishments, and Jason pretended to swoon over Kirsten's work, complimenting her dress, her hair and everything else. What a fucking kiss ass.

Both of them seemed to have forgotten I existed, slowly walking off towards another table and talking excitedly. Of course, she bloody loves Jason. He's the perfect son that every rich mom wants.

Jeremiah still stood next to me, his face stoic. He grabbed me by my wrist, pulling me out of the hall and all the way down to a dark, empty corridor. Once we were alone he turned to me, his face buried in his palms. "Oh my god, Luke- I am so sorry about that. My mother can be-"

"Hey- relax, it's okay. I'm good." I smiled at him, putting an arm on his shoulder to reassure him. He finally smiled back, letting out a huge breath he was holding in. "God, I'm so stressed. I can't believe my mother just showed up. Without any fucking warning."

My eyes widened. "Woah. For real?"

Jeremiah nodded, pouting like a child and resting his forehead on my shoulder. "I see my mother twice a year at most. I... I don't know what to expect. I'm just waiting for her hidden agenda to smack me in the face. She'd never make a visit out here without some kind of sick, twisted purpose. Not to mention the fact that she loves my best friend more than me."

My body tensed when he said that, and he must have been able to tell- because he lifted his head from my shoulder, giving me a small smile. "Sorry." He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, smiling at him. "It's okay, Jere. You can get through this visit. Maybe she doesn't have a hidden agenda this time."

Jeremiah scoffed. "Yeah, like that would ever happen."

I took his hand in mine, pulling him in for a small peck on the lips. "It'll be okay. Don't worry."

"God, I hope you're right."

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jeremiah spoke again. "We should head back. My mother may not know me at all, but she never misses a thing. She'll get suspicious if I'm not back soon."

We went to the hall after that, both of us entering at different times so it wouldn't make anyone think anything. Jason didn't seem to be talking to Kirsten Evans anymore, and instead was standing in the corner frowning at everything, with Jackie standing right next to him.

I grit my teeth, freezing in place for a second, despite my better judgement. My eyes trailed down to Jackie and Jason's intertwined hands. It was like someone had driven a knife through my chest all over again, only it was different. It was a different kind of hurt, seeing the person I once poured my heart into, to be with the person I hate the most. Looks like their relationship isn't just hookups anymore.

Before I could turn away, Jason catches my gaze. Something that looks a whole lot like anger flashes in his eyes, before he removes his hand from Jackie's and pushes her away from him slightly. She looks hurt, giving Jason an angry look before stalking off. Holy shit, that was a messed up relationship if I've ever seen one.

"You."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice spoke right behind my ear, harsh and angry. I whipped around, my eyes meeting the cold, dead glare of Kirsten Evans' green ones once again. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off before I could. 

"I know all about the effect you have on my son." She smiled, her tone dangerously low. There was nothing genuine in the way she was smiling at me; only pure hate. Loathing.

"I highly recommend you drop it now. If you think my son could ever be genuinely interested in you, I'm afraid you are gravely mistaken. My son, does not have relationships with people like you."

My heart was beating out of my chest, perspiration forming on my brow. God, this woman is terrifying.

"I knew the moment I heard that Jeremiah was behaving more differently than usual, I had to come see what it was." Her tone turned even more seething. "I don't care who your parents are, the only reason I'm not taking action as of this moment, is because of your relation to Jason."

She leaned in, making sure I was clinging on to her every last word. "Stay the hell away from my son."

Then she walked away.

I was speechless. Absolutely fucking speechless. Did I just get threatened by Jeremiah's mother? In the middle of a gala? Just with one interaction, the woman seemed to have decided that I was scum walking the earth. A poisonous seed of the brilliant Hawthorne bloodline. And, she thinks I'm bad for Jeremiah. However, there was only one thing going through my mind at the moment.

How the hell did she know?

No one except my friends knew, and they would never tell anyone, let alone her. Jeremiah told me he'd never mentioned it to anyone either, not even Jason. So, how on earth did she figure it out?

Panic rising in my chest, my gaze turned back to Kirsten Evans, who was standing across the room, speaking to the dean. She must have felt me looking at her as our eyes met, and she gave me a small smile before turning away. Jesus Christ.

She was just that good.

"Hey dude, are you okay?" Spencer walked up to me, his eyebrows knit together in concern, and confusion. He stood next to me, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Want to get out of here?"

"Definitely."