Saint (Angelview Academy #1) - E.M. Snow Page 0,102

forth, back and forth across the pool.

It’s only when I’m in danger of cramping up and drowning that I finally stop. Resting my arms on the side of the pool, I let my legs dangle in the water as I catch my breath.

I feel better, somewhat. Calmer, at least. My head’s a little clearer, though my heart is in agony.

I suppose I should’ve expected this. Try as I might, a part of me always knew I couldn’t run from the past forever. My secrets weren’t going to stay buried, no matter how deep I dug the hole.

For the first time in months, I let myself think back on that night. It had started easily enough. I’d been at home by myself, reading and trying desperately to get over the terrible nausea my pregnancy was causing me. Jenn had been out somewhere, likely getting high, but it was better when she wasn’t around. I wasn’t afraid to come out of my room when the rest of the house was empty of her and her fucked up friends.

I remember telling myself how it’d only be a little while before I was free of her. I was turning eighteen in a year, and the moment that happened, I was gone. In the meantime, though, I kept my head down and focused on school, avoiding Jenn and her shit as much as I could.

Sometimes, though, she made that impossible. Like with what she was doing in the basement. I knew what was happening down there, but I never tried to stop it because I had nowhere else to go.

My phone had rung. Jenn’s name flashed across the screen. For a second, I’d considered not answering it because no good could come from a phone call from my mother. I’d worried that she might be in trouble, however, so reluctantly, I’d answered her call. Her frantic tone that night haunts me to this day.

“Mallory! Fuck, are you at the house?” she’d asked hurriedly.

“Yeah,” I’d replied with a frown. “Why?”

“The cops are on their way!”

My blood had turned to ice. I wasn’t naïve enough to think I’d get out of a police raid scot-free, even though my mother’s drugs had nothing to do with me.

“What do I do?”

“Destroy the evidence,” she’d snapped. “I’m still an hour away, but you need to get rid of everything!”

“How?” The basement was full of shit. No way would I be able to get everything out on my own.

“I don’t know!” she’d cried. “Just fucking do it, you idiot! If they find that shit I’m going away. For good.”

She’d hung up after that, and in my panic, I’d set the house on fire. After collecting the few things that I wanted to keep that were precious to me, I’d poured kerosene all over the place. Then, I grabbed one of Jenn’s vodka bottles and stuffed the top with a dirty old rag, like I’d seen in some movie. Opening the basement door, I’d lit the rag and tossed the bottle down the stairs. Before it hit the concrete floor below, I was already sprinting for the door.

I cleared the house before the first explosion, but the force of the blast knocked me forward and off my feet. I’d hit my head on the ground, hard, and the impact knocked me out. When I’d come to, the fire department was there and paramedics surrounded me.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” one of them, a woman with dark hair, had asked in a gentle voice.

I was confused, my head throbbing from where I’d struck it. I’d shaken my head.

“I-I don’t know.” But I felt the wetness between my thighs. The proof that I was not okay.

The paramedics had put me on a gurney and were in the process of rolling me to the ambulance when a familiar face emerged from the shadows and lights of the gathered vehicles. It’d been Dylan, and he’d appeared frantic.

I’d been overjoyed because I’d thought he was there for me. He hadn’t spoken to me much since I’d told him about the baby. I’d hoped he’d realized how much he really cared and come to find me when he’d heard of the fire.

“Mallory!” He’d been breathless, his tone fearful. “Where is he?”

“Where’s who?”

“James!”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. “I haven’t seen him all night.”

My disappointment had been immediate. He hadn’t been there for me after all.

He’d grabbed my shoulders, despite a paramedic trying to push him away.

“We had a fight,” he’d said, his eyes glassy with terror. “He