Secrets are Hard to Keep

Chapter 1

Avery's P.O.V.

BEEP..............................BEEP..............................BEEP..............................

The constant beeping terminates as I painfully slam my hand against the off button on my alarm clock.

I. Hate. Mornings. I swing my legs out of my warm, comfortable cocoon of blankets and stand up.I fight my eyelids as I grab my towel and head for the bathroo to take a shower.

Once I walk back into my room my cell phone starts to vibrate, creating a loud, annoying sound on my nightstand. The lit-up screen of my iPhone displays 'Incoming Call: Addy'.I let my lips form the smallest of smiles.

Here we go. Every morning, my brother, Adam, aka Addy, calls to see if I am up. He is 22 and lives in an apartment only a few blocks from mine with his best friend Jasper. We are really close, and we always have been, but he is so protective. He became even more so when I moved to my studio apartment about a year ago when I got emancipated. So every morning I expect a call from my big brother Addy, for his morning check in. Not that I mind, I love knowing someone cares that much about me.

"Hello,wonderful brother of mine," I say in an over enthused voice when I answer the phone. "How may I be of service to you this fine morning?" I ask.

"Ha. Ha. Real cute RiRi. You know I was just checking to see if you were awake, like I always do, and you are so I have to go. I have an early shift, but I will call you after you get home from school. Bye!" he says all in one elongated breath, then the line goes dead.

I roll my eyes and look for an outfit. I slipped on my light blue skinny jeans, flowy grey top, black high top converse and leather jacket.

My gaze travels across the room and lands on my reflection is my full length mirror. I look at myself and allow my gaze to travel down my body. I look at the blonde hair, angular shaped face, and fairly skinny body, until my gaze lands on my emerald green eyes. The eyes that will forever haunt me. Never being able to escape the eyes that we once shared. I look away knowing that if I don't, I would begin remembering and no one wants that.

I grabbed my backpack and headed for the kitchen. I looked at the clock. It's 7:10, it takes about 7 minutes to drive to school, and school starts at 7:45. I have plenty of time to make myself a nice breakfast.

After my wonderfully tasting ham and egg sandwich, I am walking out the door, and it is 7:25. Perfect. Once I am comfortably settled in my black Chevrolet camaro I turn on the radio. 'When I'm Gone' by Anna Kendrick was playing and I begin to sing it. "I got my ticket for the long way round. Two bottles of whiskey for the way..." I started off to school.

**************************

I violently open my stuck, stubborn locker as I do every day. I hang my backpack on the highest hook and take out my Algebra 2 textbook. I grab my binder out of my bag, slam my locker shut and begin to walk to class, but I am stopped by what felt like a hard solid brick wall, and go tumbling to the hard floors. When did the school put a wall in the middle of the hallway? I look up and see a very handsome guy staring down at me with the most luring sea-blue eyes. I stare right back.

"Well? Aren't you going to help me up, like a gentleman?" I ask the stranger in a rough tone, but I show a hint of a smile so I hope that he knows that I'm just kidding.

I am not much of a people person. I don't have any friends that go to my school, but I have a few that go to my gym. Even then, I didn't become friends with them right away. It took about a year for me to just talk to them. I tend to keep most people at a distance...okay I keep pretty much everyone at a distance. Except Adam of course.

The mysterious and hot stranger shakes his head, as if getting out of a trance and offers me a hand. Looking at his outstreched hand and then at his kind and gentle expression. I hesitently take it and stand up."Yeah sorry about that. I didn't see you. Ummm.... I'm a new student here and I am not sure where to go. My name's Adien." he say, while picking up my books and papers off the ground as I just stand there dumbfounded that this beautiful boy was acually speaking to me.

Even with the slight shake of nervousness in his tone, his voice was deep, husky, and inviting. He looks at me, as if expecting me to respond to him. I turn to the side to shake off my disbelief and look back at him.

"Well I'm an old student and I don't give my name out to strangers." I say, more harshly than I had intended.

He smiles and lets out a hardy laugh. "You are funny. Okay, so what is it that I have to do to learn this name of yours?" He asks me teasingly.

Before I could even attempt to respond to Adien, I was cut off by the most annoying voice in all of North View High.

"Oh, you don't want to know her name sexy." said Ashley Reed, the biggest airhead in our town as she clings to him like a second skin. She is also the most popular girl, and sluttiest as well. She will do anything, and I do mean anything, to get with a guy.

She wasn't always this way. Once upon a time we were friends, but that changed when when the incident happened and people started bullying me and she started in on the fun. She turned into an utter bitch and I kind of hate her now.

She became totally fake and a whore. With her bleached blonde hair and heavy make-up, most guys take her up on her offean utters, but apparently not this one.

"Actually," Adien says pointedly peeling Ashley's body far away from his, "I do. So what do you say? Will you tell me your name?"

The awed expression on Ashley's face was priceless. I turn back to Adien with a smirk and say, "You're going to have to work for it." I turn and walk swiftly down the corridor to my first period.

*******************************

I walk into the cafeteria after fourth period, already exhausted. I snag the end of a random table, and take out my lunch.

"So, how about that name?" a familiar, husky and masculine voice speaks into my ear.

I smirk and reply, "Like I said, you're going to have to work for it." He chuckles, as he swings his leg over the bench to sit, and begins to take out, what I assumed to be, his lunch.

"And what kind of work will I have to do exactly?" He teases. "I mean, come on, I already told you my name and that I am a new student. What else would you like to know?"

"Well, you really only have one thing going for you there considering that I already told you that I am an old student, remember? Besides, what makes you so sure I want to know anything about you?" I inquire, slightly raising my left eyebrow.

His grin grows as he says, "Well, you seem like the kind of girl that, if you didn't, you would have set me straight the minute you met me. Am I right?"

He was right, not that I would tell him that. "Maybe." I answer, simply.

"So, come on, what do I have to do?" he asks again. He sure is a persistent one.

"Okay, okay! Meet me tomorrow outside the front gates after school. Then I'll tell you." I say mysteriously, and I get up and walk out of the cafeteria.

He is so...different. Not like anyone I have ever met before. He kind of intrigues me though. Not that this fact changes anything in my life. It does not change that I can't get close to him or anyone for that matter.

Alone. That is how I must spend my life. Alone.