Page 57 of No Longer Mine
Once upon a time, the second story housed all of the musical instruments, art supplies, and anything else needed for the gifted to thrive here.
Now, it was nothing but decay.
The thick scent of mold clung to the air, mingling with dust and rot. My boots creaked against the warped wood as I stepped carefully around the debris, my fingers grazing the splintered banister.
The sound of music and laughter had once filled these halls. It was hard to think of anyone enjoying this place when my memories were full of terror and fear.
I stepped through the remains of a doorway, the door itself barely hanging on its hinges. Inside, broken violins lay in the corner, strings snapped, bodies cracked. A grand piano, or what was left of it, sat in the center of the room, its lid missing, its keys warped and yellowed with time.
This had been Vivi’s favorite place. She used to sneak in at night, her fingers dancing over the keys, playing softly enough that no one would hear. I remembered sneaking in after her, sitting beside the piano, watching the way her eyes fluttered shut as she got lost in the music.
It had been one of the few beautiful things in this hellhole. I crouched down, brushing my fingers against the dust-covered keys. A soft, broken note echoed through the empty space. I clenched my jaw and stood up. I wasn’t here to relive the past. I wasn’t here to mourn.
I was here to remind myself why I kept moving forward.
With a deep breath, I turned on my heel and made my way down the hall, past rooms that used to be filled with brushes and canvases, clay sculptures, and sheet music. Everything had been stripped away, either by time or by scavengers. There was nothing left but echoes.
I reached the last door at the end of the hall. I hesitated, my fingers tightening into a fist. I didn’t need to go in there. But I did. The door groaned as I pushed it open, revealing the ruined remains of the dormitory. Rows of rusted bed frames lined the walls, the mattresses long since rotted away. The window at the far end was shattered, letting in a sliver of sunlight that illuminated the floor.
My bed was still in the same place.
The blankets were gone, but the frame was still there, the marks I’d carved into the wood with a stolen pocketknife still visible. A tally of stolen days. A reminder that I had survived. I stepped closer, running my fingers over the notches. Eighty-six. That was how many days I had counted after the first time Jameson laid his hands on me. Eighty-six days of holding my breath, of flinching at shadows, of waiting for the next time. Until I stopped counting. Until I made sure there wasn’t a next time.
“I said, ‘don’t touch me again’.” My voice shook, but I didn’t care. I was tired of being taken advantage of.
The headmaster let out a breath as his fingers ghosted over the back of my neck, and he walked back to his desk. “You would be dead if it weren't for me.”
“I would rather be dead than let you continue to touch me, defile me.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head but moved away from me. Had standing up to him actually worked? “Scarlett, if you decide to continue on this silly mission of yours. You will find yourself dead.”
I pressed my lips together. “You would kill me?”
He ran his fingers through his thick hair. When I was first brought here, I thought he was pretty. I was flattered he paid so much attention to me. I thought he was a man I could trust. He was a man I wanted to trust. “No. But you wouldn’t survive out there. You will be picked up by a thug or a gang, and you’ll be used and defiled much worse than what you say I do.
I swallowed thickly. Was it that bad out there in the world? I didn’t know. This was all I’d ever known. Was I making a mistake?
I clenched my fists. “I’d rather take my chances.”
The headmaster sighed as if I were a particularly frustrating child. “You’re too naïve to understand the dangers out there, Scarlett. But you’ll learn soon enough.” He turned toward his desk, flipping open a ledger, dismissing me like I was nothing.
Like I hadn’t just threatened him.
I turned on my heel and marched out of his office. Once I was far enough away from the headmaster, I took off running. I didn’t stop until I found Cleo in the gardens. She was digging up something, but I didn’t care what it was. I collapsed at her feet, the tears I’d been fighting back leaked from my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. “We have to do something.”
Cleo yanked me into her arms like she wasn’t two years younger than me. She was more of a child than I was, but she held me like a mother would have. She ran her hands down the back of my hair. “I told you I had a plan.”
“I’m all in.”
I exhaled sharply, yanking my hand back like the frame had burned me. My throat felt tight, my pulse thrumming too fast beneath my skin. I strode toward the door, my footsteps loud against the silence. I didn’t stop as I walked down the stairs. I didn’t stop as I stepped outside. I didn’t stop until I was back on the road, my heart hammering against my ribs. I looked back over my shoulder at the garden we had planned in and let a few tears roll down my cheeks before I swiped them away and yanked my phone out of my pocket. I should have dialed an Uber a long time ago, but now I would have to wait at the side of the road. I didn’t mind. It gave me time to think about what I was going to do next.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dimitri
I’d called an emergency meeting.I was furious but I needed to know that none of my brothers were involved with our father. I needed to know that they would do what was right, at least for women—if for nothing else. We’d been taught so much better than what our father was doing. Did our mother know? Grandmother? Nana? My head spun.
I sat at the head of the long mahogany table in my brownstone, my jaw locked so tight I thought my teeth might crack. The air in the room was thick, heavy with the weight of what I had discovered. My hands curled into fists against the cool wood, my nails pressing into my palms as I leveled each of my brothers with a glare.
