Look out for the<>!

Gray POV

I stumbled through the front door of the house as my mind flashed back to what just happened at Churchwell Academy after the tour. I knew that there could be some hostility towards me attending, but I never thought the students would mug me. Churchwell Academy was supposed to be better than what I was experiencing here in Jackson. I was supposed to be freer over there, but over there they blamed me for all that my father did.

Every whip used, every punch thrown was done for revenge for what my father did years ago. It was as if I was him and they were doing this for their parents that suffered. I took it too because if that made them feel better, let them. My father was terrible and what he did towards the end of his supposed life was crushing to all of Churchwell. I made peace with the destruction my father did, but they needed to go through the same process. I hoped that this at least helped them in their road to recovery. But as I struggled to walk, I realized that I should have at least tried to stop them a little more than I had.

I think they would have continued if I didn't push them away as I went through the gate. I thought I was escaping them, but when I walked through to get to Jackson, I ran into a new problem. Stella. She saw me walk through it and saw Churchwell Realm as well. I was so worried about getting away from the students that I didn't check if the coast was clear on this side of the gate. Mental swearing at myself, I should have because now I messed up what I had with her. I didn't want to push her away like that, but I had no choice. She saw too much and mom was right, I shouldn't have gotten so close to her.

But pushing her away didn't solve all my problems. She still saw me walk through that gate. There was no way for her to forget that, nor the condition I was in. She wouldn't deny what she saw and she wouldn't stop asking me questions. I panicked. I shouldn't have been too harsh with her, but at least she knew the truth about my friend. At least she would stay away now that she saw me as a killer.

But that didn't put me at ease because I didn't want that at all. I wanted her friendship, and I wanted what we could have had. At least the thought of keeping her safe away from me gave me some comfort.

With each slow step, my body screamed at me in pain. Finally, I made it to the bathroom, where I saw my bloodied reflection in the mirror. Bruises were already forming across the side of my face, and my arms would take weeks to heal completely. Suddenly, I was glad that winter was coming and I wouldn't need to show my arms at school.

I leaned into the sink and spit the blood I had in my mouth in the drain. I turned the water on and wiped my face, but it did little to make me look better. As I hung until the sink, I knew I didn't have enough strength to continue washing up, so I turned back out of the room and stumbled to the first padded seat I could reach, the couch.

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There on the small comfortable couch, I would stay until sleep pulled me under. I took a deep breath and knew that at least one rib was broken. Anger took hold as I thought about what happened. I thought I was going to be safe there, that I could finally be myself, but clearly I didn't belong anywhere. Not here nor there. Was my life going to be forever like this? I couldn't help but think about the possibility, and it scared me.

A few minutes ticked by as my anger and worry increased until Else came barging into the house franticly. "Gray! Are you here?" Else asked with concern.

I tried to sit up a little straighter as she looked around the room trying to find me, not seeing me on the couch. "I'm here," I said, unable to stand up from the couch I sat on.

She turned her attention to me and frowned as if she never realized the state I would actually be in. In an instant, she was to my side, looking at the damage those kids caused. "Oh Gray, I heard what happened after the tour. I shouldn't have left you alone. I am so sorry. Those kids are going to pay for what they did."

I nodded as she continued to talk with regret in her voice. Churchwell Academy should have been a safe place for me. It was safe for everyone else, so why not me? There was no reason she needed to stay by my side the whole tour. I didn't blame her for leaving me because I would have left me too. "It's ok."

"I'll get some herbs going, get some of these wounds to heal quickly."

"That would be nice," I said, knowing that school was tomorrow and if I planned on attending, I needed to at least look like I wasn't in a car crash. Although Stella would notice, she noticed everything, but if we weren't talking, then it shouldn't matter much anyhow. That little thought caused me to frown, although I convinced myself I was doing the right thing for her. This was better for all of us.

As she ground herbs up in the kitchen, I sank deeper into the couch, feeling it hold me like a warm hug. We were silent for a moment as she worked away and I stared at the wall as I thought about today.

Churchwell Academy was exactly how I remembered it, the campus was small but looked as if it was from a castle in eastern Europe, with its large looming structure standing tall next to some rugged cliffs. I met the dean and I couldn't help but feel excited about the classes I would take. I had waited so long to return to this place and for a second it felt like I was home, that I was finally where I needed to be.

We walked around the grounds, and he showed me the campus. I tried to be amazed at every location he showed me, but I still remembered it from the years I walked the campus as a child. He was nothing but kind to me, making me feel like I did belong here, that I always did. When he left me at the quad, I thought I would have a chance to feel more at home, maybe talk to some people, feel like an actual student. But those kids were waiting for the dean to leave me alone. They probably had been waiting since I arrived to attack.

"The whip they used was enchanted. I don't think herbs will help heal it," I frowned as I looked at my exposed arms.

She frowned with a nod, then continued to work silently. I knew she felt bad for me, but the silence wasn't helping anything.

"How did you know they attacked me?"

"I ever heard the kids who did this to you. They were laughing about it as if this was a joke. I made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it."

I nodded as rested my head against the back of the couch. "I don't know if I'll ever fit in at Churchwell. Everyone still remembers me as my father's son."

"They just don't you know. Their opinions will change once you are around more often," she whispered as she walked back into the family room. Quickly, she put cold paste on the side of my cheek.

As kind of a thought it was, I knew that wouldn't happen. People wouldn't forget what happened. They wouldn't stop thinking about me as my father and the crimes he committed. The thought of him in the field last night came flooding back to me once again. I waited for Else to come back so I could tell her, and here was my chance to let her know.

"This will help with the bruising," she said as she continued to work.

For a moment we were silent until I spoke up. "Else, I saw him."

She put down her bowl of herbal paste and stared at me for a moment. "Who?"

I gave her a pointed look to test the waters. She knew exactly who I was talking about; but was playing dumb with me. She had to know that my father was alive. I think all the leaders did, they just told the story of his death to put all the other people at ease, hoping that he wouldn't come back anytime soon.

"Oh."

Exactly, oh. Although I thought she would say more than that. "Yeah."

"When did he make contact with you?"

"Last night."

She nodded with a frown as she continued to rub the paste on me. For a second, she was silent as she thought about what she could say to me. "For so long, I really hoped that he was dead. People believed it and though I knew the chances of him dying were small, I wanted to believe it. He caused so much damage to Churchwell. I just wanted all that pain to stop with him. I wanted Churchwell to move on and heal after all that heart ache he made."

My father wasn't always bad, there was a time he was a leader for good. But by the end, it was as if something snapped in him. He turned to destruction, claiming it was for the greater good, killing thousands without even thinking about it. "He looked the same as when I saw him last." I said as the memory haunted the back of my thoughts like a ghost in an empty house.

"What did he want?"

"Me. He wanted me to join his side. He's planning something, and he wanted me to be with him. Why does he want me? I am a no one. I don't even have enough training to stop one Darkling. So I don't understand why he would show himself to me."

She gave another sigh. "Well, Gray, you are his son. His blood flows through you and I think he wants support. You are his son and he sees that. Gray, I have told you before, you hold more power than you realize and he sees that."

"Power or not, I am untrained. Coming to me still makes little sense in my mind. He's been gone for years, living just fine on his own. He doesn't need me. Plus, he should know that you are more of a parent than he ever was. How could I join him when I know all the terrible things he's done?"

She put her bowl down as she looked away the back at me. "I don't understand a lot of things your father did. Some things never change."

"You know, when I saw him, one of his hands was blackened as if it was infected by Darkling toxin. Do you think the Darklings are connected to him?"

She bit her lip as she thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. But I'll have to tell the royal family and council about this."

I nodded, knowing it would come to this. She would go off and talk about what I saw, then relay the information back to me. It was not efficient, but I was glad she at least told me what was going on.

"I want you to come to the meeting this time."

"Really?" I asked, not expecting that she would say that. This was an important meeting. I never thought that they would let me do something so big so quickly.

She nodded. "Yes, as soon as these heal up a little more. I can schedule something for next week. For now, I need you to stay still and rest."