Page 3 of Eternal

He’s waiting for something, and it doesn’t take long before he seemingly gets what he’s looking for.

The gate at the end of the courtyard creaks again, and a blonde girl wearing a pleated skirt and fluffy green sweater walks through it. She’s on her phone like he is. Texting or checking social media. She’s not paying attention, even though it’s the middle of the night, and there’s only a single bulb lighting the path to the library.

Unlike Talon, who I had to name due to lack of recognition, I know who the girl is. Still, I decide to rename her for the sake of whatever fantasy I’m playing out in my head.

Ivy Martin.

First and last.

Sweet and simple.

It sounds nice, and I can imagine it on a news headline in the morning.

Ivy doesn’t notice Talon standing in the shadows as she makes her way toward the library, which is still open.

More proof the campus rules don’t make sense.

So many things don’t make sense. Then again, people tell me I don’t either.

Ivy finally spots Talon at the last second. He doesn’t immediately move, so I think maybe I misjudged him. Maybe I’m conditioned to expect evil over innocence. My mother always says I have a bad habit of seeing the worst in people.

But then she smiles, and Talon rushes her, grabbing her by the back of the hair and sealing her mouth with the other as he drags her back toward the brick wall.

She scratches and kicks at him, so he traps her arms with one of his, pinning her in the darkness where it’s harder to see them now.

But I hear them.

Muffled screaming.

Shoes crunching on concrete.

Scuffling.

Real, grounding sounds that drag my mind to this moment. To this bench. To this night.

Maybe that’s why pain fascinates me. It cuts through the numbness when so few things have the ability to do so.

Ivy fights Talon. Two bodies battling it out in the darkness. And he wins as he shoves her to her knees, and her entire body winces.

Shefeelsit.

What I would give to feel anything.

What I would—

“Boo!” A hand covers my mouth, muting my scream, while another wraps my throat.

I was so focused on the scene in front of me that I didn’t hear anyone sneak up from behind. And as my head is pulled back, forcing my face up to the sky, I’m met with ice-cold, soulless gray eyes.

Declan Pierce.

2

Burn In Hell

Teal

Declan Pierce has beenthe bane of my existence for as long as I can remember. While every other girl on campus seems to be blind to his demonic ways, I see him for who he is. A sadist. A bully. The biggest fucking asshole to grace the Briar Academy campus.