Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 11 - Arisa

Loyal Wilson carried me over his shoulder like I was a bag of rice he had purchased from the corner store. The worst part was not knowing where he would drop me. He almost took my life on the rooftop. So, I had every right to worry, to assume he might threaten to push me out a window. I could survive the fall but not without breaking a couple of bones.

"Let me go!" I said, kicking and screaming. I threw a tantrum hoping someone nearby might save me but no one intervened. Not the students or any of the teachers. I didn't think my first day at Jackheights could get any worse but the jerk had somehow turned it into a nightmare. I didn't know what was scarier, the thought of being crippled for a few months, or my mother finding out no one at the academy tried to save me. I felt sorry for the fools who went up against her in court, she would eat them alive. I channeled my mother's bravery and cleared my chaotic thoughts.

I provoked him. I made him mad. I brought up a sensitive subject that he clearly didn't want to talk about in front of his friends, but how was that my problem? What kind of idiot tossed an acceptance letter without blacking out his name and home address? Honestly, Loyal was lucky the paper plane landed in front of me and not someone else. My eyes darted to the front as my kidnapper pushed open one of the doors to the science rooms, and slammed it behind us.

"Okay, you need to calm down!" I said, frantically.

He sat me on a long marble counter, next to a stainless steel sink and faucet. He grabbed my legs, pulled them towards his own and secured them there. "Give it back," he ordered.

"I don't have anything to give back."

"Stick to the truth," he said, seeing through my lie. "I don't have time for your games."

"I told you I don't have it!" I said, lying through my teeth. "What do you think? I've been carrying it in my pocket all day? You're not that important."

He pulled me off the counter so quickly, it gave me goosebumps. He reeled my body into his arms, and lowered his lips to my ears, "Lies are not something I tolerate." I felt his right hand gently trickle down my back and into the pocket of my jeans to snatch the folded paper plane away.

"H-How did you—"

Loyal ripped the acceptance letter into confetti. He turned the faucet on and drained the pieces down the sink. It was not a good day for the environment. How did he know? How did he call my bluff and then retrieve the letter from the one place I made a point to say it wasn't in? This guy—was he really a human lie detector? I thought the students were being a bit dramatic calling him that but I couldn't deny my own experiences.

"I'm interested in you," Loyal nodded, surprising me with his words. "I'm interested to know what kind of person you are, what kind of limits you have, and more importantly, what kind of trouble you will be cooking up while you're at this academy."

Oh god. Did he know about the photo on my phone? It was a judgment call on my part. Hearing those seniors talks about Loyal being a formidable guy made me want to have leverage over him. Even if he found a way to retrieve the hard copy. It was better not to think about it, or to lie about it, not after what I witnessed. It was better to keep my mouth shut than to give away all my secrets.

"I can't remember the last time I was this fascinated by a girl," Loyal's voice was daunting. "But don't let that fool you for a second. Get in my way again and I will make your life at this school extremely difficult. You're no different than the rest. You twist the truth, you lie, which makes you no better than them."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Are you threatening me or hitting on me? I can't tell."

Loyal cornered me against the counter. I searched his eyes, hoping to find reason, but they haunted me instead. I felt my face burn red as his mouth inched closer. "I'm telling you to think twice before you fib," he said. "If I hear more nonsense from those lips of yours, I'll have to seal them up."

I couldn't stifle my laugh. "You should work a little harder not to say everything you're feeling. If you're this straightforward with girls, they might not respond well."

"I don't have time to worry about other girls when my hands are full with you."