Serenity Falls

Chapter 26

Another chapter for you all... I hope you like it! Big drama in this one, but you'll just have to read it and see :D

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The afternoon sun had not lasted long and by the time the bell rung, signalling the end of school, the clouds had returned and rain was pouring down. The air was cooler now, the ‘smothering’ feeling of the humidity had passed, and the rain was refreshing, particularly to the plants and shrubs in the area, which had suffered during the recent dry weather.

In the quiet estate where the Taylor mansion was situated, the rain pounded on the pavement and soaked the lush greenery that adorned the grounds. The rain battered Alyssa’s window, as if packing severe punches with every drop of water that happened to land on it, and the wind tugged at the tall trees that surrounded the gardens, threatening to pull their leaves off the branches. The sudden change in weather had been, to say the least, unexpected after the warm, dry spring weather that they had been past experiencing.

Courtney and Kayla were both inside Alyssa’s room, and the three of them had spent the afternoon ‘studying’, although no textbooks had been opened and the majority of the time had been spent gossiping (and bitching) about half the girls at Serenity Falls. This was, of course, one of Alyssa’s favourite pastimes.

"Have you heard the news?" Kayla asked, glancing at Alyssa as she fell back onto her friend’s soft king-size bed and kicked off her shoes. She rubbed at her ankles, which were sore from walking around in killer heels all day, and winced as she pulled down her white over-the-knee socks to inspect the damage.

"What news?"

Alyssa, who was in the middle of applying shiny pink gloss to her lips, paused and turned her head to look at Kayla. It was a rare occasion for Kayla to know something she didn’t, as Alyssa was usually the first one to hear gossip at Serenity Falls, and if she wasn’t, she was the one spreading it.

Kayla smiled smugly, revelling in Alyssa’s suspense. The words rolled around her mouth, so sweet she could almost taste them on her tongue. "Sammi’s back."

Alyssa’s expression at that moment was priceless. Her bright eyes widened and her mouth, only half coated with gloss, shaped into a small O. It seemed likely that the lip gloss wand would fall out of her hand and onto the white carpet, but it stayed in her grip. "You mean... Sammi Sammi?"

"Uh huh."

"I heard that too." Courtney looked up from her Blackberry, which her eyes – and fingers – had been glued to for the whole afternoon. She had been fully engaged in a texting marathon with Carter, although the other two girls were completely unaware of this. For the whole afternoon, she had been dreading the moment when they finally asked who she was texting. Thankfully, that moment had not come yet, but it was hard to concentrate on two things and she had been, to say the least, somewhat withdrawn from their conversation up until this moment.

"No way!" Alyssa’s mouth was still fixated in a small O. Her shocked expression couldn’t be hidden, even under all the make-up she had piled on her face. "As in Ethan’s Sammi? What the hell’s she doing back? And where did she go, anyway?"

"I have no idea," Kayla said, shrugging aimlessly. "I don’t think anyone’s even talked to her since she left. But to be honest, hardly anyone likes her anyway."

"Didn’t she get pregnant or something?" Alyssa frowned. "That’s what I heard, and if it’s Sammi we’re talking about, that’s not unlikely."

"With Ethan? Nah." Courtney shook her head.  "I heard she got arrested." She looked up from her cell phone again. Her thumb was poised over the back key, ready to exit out of her messages as quickly as possible if either of the girls happened to look over or ask what she was doing. There was no way she was taking any chances with this one. It had already come close too many times, and there was definitely no way she was letting herself get thrown out of this clique. Not now, not when she had worked so hard to get there.