Chapter 8

SCARLET'S POV

"What do you want?" I question Adam, getting straight to the point. I take my earphones out, close my book then lean back in my seat, folding my arms.

"I just want to apologise. I'm sorry for talking about your father. I'll avoid the subject from now on." I ponder his words. I mean, it's not like he knows all the bad things Silas has done to me and others. He thinks we have a normal father-daughter relationship - like the rest of the public think.

"I accept your apology." He looks relieved. He lets out a sigh of relief and his muscles relax. He leans back in his chair. I have a feeling he's not done yet.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah. What makes you say that?"

"You look unwell. You've got dark circles under your eyes,"

"I'm fine. I was just struggling to get to sleep." I put my earphones back in and continue to read, ending the conversation. Adam leaves.

'Finally!'

I'm internally celebrating, but it's short-lived when he sits back across from me again. He's got a comic with him. I pause my music.

"What are you doing?" I question.

"Keeping you company. You look lonely,"

"Y-you don't have to. You don't have to waste your time with me because I have no friends,"

"Don't say that. I'm your friend,"

"You're just saying that,"

"I'm not,"

"So you don't care about who I am?"

"No. Why should I?" I am startled. He doesn't care about my reputation. I wonder if he's really dumb, or just genuinely a nice guy.

We sit there at the table, both reading in silence. I wrap my earphones around my phone then shove them in my trouser pocket. Thankfully Adam likes some form of reading! I wouldn't be able to handle it if he got bored and interrupted my reading!

Although the atmosphere is nice and peaceful, I can't help but glance at Adam. I feel skeptical. Why is he here? What is he going to gain from this? Is he going to get some secrets off me and release them to the press?!

I resist the urge to slap myself. I take deep breaths to calm myself down and focus on my reading. I keep telling myself that he's not doing anything, he's just reading. He's not trying to gain anything from this. He's just your average new kid trying to make some friends.

As I try to get back into my book, I feel him lightly kick me under the table. I look up at him and raise an eyebrow.

"I didn't touch you," he jokes, holding his hands up in surrender. I kick him back and he frowns. I giggle as his angry face reminds me of a child. I bite my lip to stop a random surge of giggling come on. Although I may seem completely cold, I get the urge to laugh at the most random things for no reason. I can laugh my ass off at literally nothing.

I don't know how long we've been reading for. All I know is that I feel the effects of not sleeping last night. My eyes hurt and keep closing. My head is killing me. I feel like I can't move. Unconsciously, I lean my head forward until it's resting on the table. I use my book as a pillow as my eyes shut. I try to open them and snap out of it, but they're stuck. I lose the ability to think properly as sleep overcomes me.

ADAM'S POV

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. I look at Scarlet, unsure of what to do. I didn't expect her to fall asleep right in the middle of the library. Thankfully, there's little to no people here.

I sit next to Scarlet and look at her sleeping form. I giggle as I see her drool slightly. I gently take the book away from her then give her my bag as a pillow. She moans and I jump back, not wanting to wake her. She seemed exhausted earlier. I then remember that Mathew told me she was going through some personal stuff. She must be tired because of that.

I glance at Scarlet again. I think about her behaviour. Whatever she's going through, I'm going to help her. I can't just sit there and leave her alone - especially when I know something is up.

'I'll help her. Yeah, Imma help,'

"Yeah! Let's do this!" I stand up and put my fist in the air. Scarlet moans again and I push my glasses up my nose before quietly sitting down.

I grab my jacket then gently place it around Scarlet as a sort of blanket. I look around the library as I let her sleep. My eyes meet the book she was reading. I grab it and read the title before reading the back. The book seems dark. I decide to give it a read to see what kind of stuff she likes to read, and also to pass the time.

***

I don't realise the time go by. I get sucked into the book. Despite it being dark, it's a good book. I'm going to have to ask if I can borrow it once Scarlet has finished reading it.

I hear soft moans, then see Scarlet lift her head. She looks around the library confused. She turns to me and I giggle. She's got drool on the side of her face and she's got marks on her face. She lets out a big yawn then rubs her eyes. I put the book down.

SCARLET'S POV

"Wh-what's going on?" I tiredly ask.

"You fell asleep," Adam replies with a big smile on his face.

"I did?"

"Yeah,"

"Ohh..." I yawn again, then stretch. I hear something fall to the floor. I look down and see a jacket. Adam picks it up then places it on the table. He looks inside the pockets.

He takes out a tissue and brings it to my face.

"What are you doing?" I ask, moving my head back.

"You've got some drool on your face,"

"What?!" I finally come to my senses. My face flushes red with embarrassment. Adam gently wipes it off. I don't look him in the eye. I'm too embarrassed. First, I fell asleep in front of him. Then, I drool like an idiot.

Adam walks away to throw the tissue in the bin. I wrap my arms across my chest and hang my head down, shaking with embarrassment. Adam comes back and sits next to me.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," he reassures. My shaking increases. He leans forward and tilts his head up to look at my face. He's all smiles - as usual. I turn my head away.

I feel him place his fingers under my chin then lift my head. I jump at the contact. He's giggling again.

"What now?" I complain.

"Oh, nothing. You just looked cute when you were sleeping,"

"What?!" My face turns even redder, "I-I'm not cute!"

"You looked like a lost cat when you woke up,"

"Hey, leave me alone!" I whack him gently on the shoulder and he continues to laugh. I grumble and grab my book to resume my reading.

"You're gonna need to let me borrow that. I was reading it while you were asleep. It's so good,"

I am surprised, but excitement overwhelms me, "Innit! It's amazing!"

Before I can talk about the book, I see some students leave the library. I realise that I'm in school. I grab my phone and check the time. Shit!

"We're late for class!" I scream and start packing my stuff. Anxiety washes over me. I panic as the thought of having to face all those people in class overwhelms me.

'Everyone will stare at me when I walk in! What if someone's sitting in the seat I usually sit in?! What will I say to the teacher?! Where will I look when I walk to my seat?! What is everyone gonna think?! What if I get in trouble?! What if the students say something?!' I don't want to go to class but at the same time, I don't want to miss it. I turn to Adam. He's waiting for me. I ask him what class he's got - he's got the same one as me. I feel somewhat reassured that I won't have to walk into class alone.

"L-lets go!" I speedwalk out of the library. I hear Adam running to catch up with me.

I start shaking like mad when we enter the classroom. My palms are all sweaty. I keep my head down.

"Sorry we're late." Thankfully, Adam is doing the talking. Not surprisingly, the students begin to whisper. They're shocked that a "nerd like me is late", and the fact that I was with someone. I hold back the urge to rip everyone's vocal cords out.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again. Anyway, sit over there where Mr Marshall is." He motions his head to Viktor. He gives me a knowing look. I can tell on the inside he's proud of me for being with Adam.

We both walk to the back. I end up sitting in the middle of both Viktor and Adam. My body is still shaking. I put my arms on the table and clench my fists to calm myself down.

"So, why are you late? That's unlike you." I jump at the sound of Viktor's voice.

"Uhh... I fell asleep." He bites his lip and turns his head away, his body shaking with laughter. I give him a kick under the table then grab a notebook and pen out of my bag. Adam does the same.

"Anyway, here are the notes you missed." Viktor slides me over his notebook. I begin to scribble the notes in mine.

I feel like I'm going to fall asleep again. I struggle to focus on the lecture. My eyes keep shutting. I keep yawning. I'm resting my head on my hand. It's a bad idea because I feel like I'm going to fall asleep and my head will land on Viktor's shoulder.

"Psst! I'm bored. Wanna talk?" I jump up in fright.

"Don't scare me like that!" I whisper shout back to Adam.

"I'm sorry." I roll my eyes and zone out again. I jump up again when I feel Adam poke my cheek.

"What do you want?" I turn to face him, scowling.

"You look like you're gonna fall asleep,"

"You don't need to poke me though,"

"How else am I supposed to wake you up?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Come on. Don't be like that. We can't have you drooling all over the table,"

"Hey!" I slam my fist against the table. Adam is struggling to hold back his laughter.

"Scarlet King! First, you come into my class late then you disrupt the other students by talking." For the third time, I jump up. The teacher is standing beside my table. He's got his arms crossed and is glaring at me. I can see Adam shaking with laughter at the corner of my eye.

"Ooooohhhhh," the whole class announces. I feel my anxiety rise and I start shaking. I'm too nervous to make eye contact.

"S-sorry Sir. It won't happen again." I hang my head down, trying to cover my tomato-red face. I hear the teacher walk back to his desk.

The students start to whisper. They're all shocked that I got into trouble. I bite my lip as the whispers gradually get worse. I clench my fists to contain my anger, but it's proving to be difficult - just like every time I need to control my anger.

"She was probably late because she was fucking another teacher for the grades." The entire class bursts out laughing and keep adding disgusting stuff to that comment. The teacher is struggling to calm the class down. I clench my fists and bite my lip to contain my urge to snap. I feel my fangs appear in my mouth and I bite the inside of my cheek to calm myself. I don't want to lose control in the middle of the classroom. There will be blood, limbs, dead bodies and insane people everywhere.

I breathe in, and out, in, and out multiple times. My fangs retract. The teacher continues the lesson and I scribble down notes to distract myself. As usual, I'm struggling to control my anger. I'm struggling to control my powers. My note-taking becomes more and more aggressive. My writing becomes scrawled. I almost tear a page off as I turn a page in my notebook.

"You okay there?" Adam smiles at me. I put my finger on my lips as an indication to be quiet. I don't want to get in trouble again.

Once the class ends, I shove my stuff in my bag. I can hear people whisper, saying that I would probably stay behind and make up for my lateness. I shove past Viktor and speed out of the class.

I storm through the corridor, hands in pockets. I feel a hand rest on my shoulder. I turn my head and meet Viktor's concerned gaze. I stop walking and turn to face him.

"I take it you're pissed by what them guys said earlier,"

"Of course I am," I reply in a harsh tone, "I don't need to fuck the teachers to get good grades!"

"That, I know. In reality, it's them who need that kinda help. They suck,"

"You don't say,"

"Anyway, let's get you outta here before you kill someone." Viktor rests his hand on my shoulder again and guides me out of the building.

We enter the campus and I flop on the bench. Viktor sits next to me. I take advantage of the peace and quiet to sort out my emotions and control my anger. I want to smoke but I don't want Viktor to inhale it, so I hold back for now. Instead, I play with the little rocks on the ground using my telekinesis. I make them fight each other. I make them charge into each other. Viktor moves closer to me. He looks amazed as he looks at my hands. I don't need to use my full palm when using my telekinesis. I can just use my fingers to move objects - a thing most demons can't, as it required loads of strength and energy. Right now, I'm using two fingers for each rock. It makes me think of Silas's power. He could lift multiple objects with just one finger. I don't know how that was possible, considering how small a single finger is compared to multiple objects, varying in size. I don't always admit it, but his power had impressed me. He was capable of doing many things, given how powerful he was. If only he used his powers for good, instead of his own sick, twisted ways.

***

I go to my locker, relieved the last class of the day is over. I open it and gather my things. Of course, Adam is with me. Being the annoying person he is, he kept following me. He laughed when I yelled at him, and that irritated me all the more.

Adam's got a smile on his face. I raise my eyebrow suspiciously. 

"What?" I fold my arms as I question him.

"Where are you going now?"

"Back to my dorm,"

"Can I come?"

"No,"

"That's mean." He hangs his head down, pretending to look sad. I roll my eyes. This human is irritating the hell out of me. It's like he wants me to get angry at him.

I turn on my heel and leave. I hear Adam running after me.

"What now?!" I roll my eyes and sigh in exasperation.

"It's boring staying alone in my dorm,"

"So?! You can be productive and study or something,"

"But that's boring,"

"Even better, you can learn how to stop annoying me,"

"That's not fun either,"

"It'll be fun for me though. I'll finally get some peace." He frowns, then pokes me in the middle of my forehead.

"What the hell?"

"You frown too much,"

"And?"

"You should really stop,"

"If you left me alone then I'll stop frowning,"

"Well, that's not gonna happen anytime soon." I roll my eyes and speedwalk. I can hear him running after me but I ignore it.

I quickly make it to my dorm and slam the door shut as soon as I enter it. I enter my room and slam the bag on the floor. I flop on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Huh, it's quiet. It feels weird. I toss and turn, thinking of ways to entertain myself. I can't be bothered moving.

I get a notification and quickly check it. It's a reminder saying I have to deal with some random guy who owes me money. I sigh, roll over and bury my face into my pillow. I keep telling myself that I have to quit this Mafia shit, but I keep forgetting. It's a good outlet for my anger, and somewhat fun and addicting. I can't seem to stop, no matter how much I want to. It's the only place I can let go and let my psychopathic anger out.

"Right! Starting tomorrow, I shall not do anything related to Mafia. It's stupid and time-consuming!" I blurt out. I know I'm not going to listen to myself. Ugh! It's all Silas's fault. The stupid idiot!

***

I sit there in the office chair with one ankle resting over my other knee, casually leaning back. I've got a cigarette in one hand, and important documents in the other. I take a smoke as I read the paper, waiting for that idiot to turn up.

'How the fuck does one do paperwork! What do they need to write?!' Fucking hell, it's so confusing!'

The door finally opens to reveal the man I've been waiting for. I look at him and smirk upon seeing his terrified face.

"Scarlet?!" 

"Look who finally decided to show up!" I don't bother hiding my irritation in my voice. It makes the cunt even more scared.

"What brings you here?"

"You see, you probably think you can forget, but I don't forget easily," 

"What are you talking about?"

I get up from the chair and slam the documents on the table. He jumps and backs away as I approach him. His back touches the door and he places his hand on the doorknob. He's not being discreet about trying to escape. However, no one can escape me. I rest my hand on the door handle to make sure he can't escape. He jumps as my hand touches his. I get as close to him as possible to freak him out. He flinches as I rest my other hand on the wall next to his head. His short frame makes it easy for my tall stature to tower over him. I smirk and make sure my face is close to his nervous sweaty one.

I feel it. That thrill. The adrenaline rush. That feeling of being in total control. The feeling of pure power. I feel all of my power as I get in people personal space, scaring them to death. When they shiver at my mere presence, then proceed to violently shake as my body is inches from theirs. When fear fills their eyes. When they look for ways to escape and beg me for mercy. I feel it. The ability to let go and succumb to my dark, psychotic side. It fuels me up.

"Remember that time you wanted me to... What was it? You wanted me to murder your enemies?" I tilt my head to the side and my smirk widens. 

"Y-Yeah. What about-What about it?" 

"You didn't fully pay me,"

"I did!"

"Only half." My tone of voice becomes firmer. I take a smoke and blow smoke on his face. He coughs and waves his hand to blow it away.

"Now, would you be a dear, and pay me the other half. You've got no excuse now. I gave you more than enough time." I take my dagger out, place it under his chin and lift his face so he's making eye contact with me.

"You're in my base, yet you're giving me orders." He puffs his chest out like a little boy. I stop smirking and give him a serious look.

"Do you wanna know what happens if I were to drop this burning cigarette?" I hold the cigarette on the edge of my fingers, and I sense this guy's fear rise even more.

"What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Now, you either pay me the other half, or you'll see the real reason why you shouldn't play with fire." I give him a wink and he lets out terrified moans.

"I don't have the money!" He squeezes his eyes tightly shut.

"You don't have the money?" I reply in a mocking tone.

"Please Scarlet! Don't hurt me! Don't use your torture skills! I'll have the money for you in a week!"

"Is that so?!"

"Yes! I promise! Please go home now!"

"You better do. I do not like liars. If I don't get it..." I grab his wrist and put the cigarette out using the palm of his hand. He yells in pain it makes contact with his skin. I chuckle and twist it around.

"Remember, one week! You'd better have the money!" He timidly nods, whimpering in pain.

"Of course, Miss King!"

"I'll let myself out." I throw the door open and he falls to the floor. I exit the room and look over my shoulder to say one last thing.

"What's your wife gonna think when she sees all those porn magazines in them drawers?"

"Don't tell her! Please!" I cackle then slam the door shut. I wave to the people I walk past in this base. Everyone either runs away or whimpers. I chuckle, enjoying the feeling of being stronger than everyone in this room.

***

When I get home I change into my pyjamas and watch TV. I put my feet up when I finally find something decent to watch. I grab a cushion to hug as the movie gradually gets darker, containing things that trigger me. There's child abuse and rape. I feel a sick feeling in my stomach. I hug the cushion tighter. All of these remind me of Silas.

"Calm down! It's not real! Silas can't do that to you anymore! He's dead! He can't hurt you anymore!"

When the movie ends I sit there, feeling sick and empty. I walk over to my bedroom and turn on the light. I use my telekinesis to turn the light off in the living room. I'm not someone who gets scared of horror movies easily, but that shit triggered the hell out of me.

I throw myself under the covers and hug my teddy. I sense the room to make sure no one's here. I turn on my bedside lamp, then turn the bedroom light off with my powers. I struggle to get to sleep. I can't stop thinking about Silas. My eyes feel heavy, but I don't fall asleep. I shut my eyes and try to be positive like Adam always it. However, nothing works. The trauma and flashbacks are all-consuming...

I am my 14-year-old self. I was lying on my bed, in my room. I was out of energy. I was weak. Vulnerable. A burning pain had taken hold of my body. Tears pooled out of my eyes. My breathing was irregular. My whole body was trembling. An ice-cold thumb was wiping my tears away. I was staring into psychotic, black eyes right above me. The eyes of Silas. There was no humanity in them. There was no remorse in them. There was no guilt. I cried even more. How could he do this to other women?! How could he have done this to me?! Again! I'm his daughter! It didn't matter if I disobeyed him! He shouldn't have done it, full stop!

I placed my hands on his bare chest and tried to push him off me. Of course, he didn't budge. It made me cry all the more. I yelled in pain as he put pressure on a bruise he had given me earlier. He chuckled. He found all of this amusing. He didn't care if I was his daughter. In fact, he didn't see me as his daughter at all. Just an obstacle in his way...

***

I feel sick as I sit there in the school cafeteria. I didn't have breakfast - I was afraid I was going to throw up. I wanted to be alone, but Viktor and Isabel found be before I could do anything. They're encouraging me to eat, but I don't want to. I can't. The nightmare flashback of Silas is still fresh in my mind.

"N-no more..." is all I can mutter out as a response. I'm afraid Silas is going to appear out of nowhere and hurt me. I anxiously keep looking around the place for any trace of him. I anxiously sense my surroundings, checking to see if his aura is lurking around.

"There you are. I was looking for you." I almost fall out of my seat and drag Viktor in front of me. I hide behind him, afraid of facing Silas's wrath. I shake even more and feel like crying. Isabel takes my face in my hands and I cover my mouth as I scream.

"It's okay, Scarlet. He's not here. It's just Adam. He came to see you." She points in his direction and I look at him. He looks so concerned. He approaches me and takes my hand in his.