Temptations (#Wattys2017)

Nine

A detention would have been fine. A detention would have been a blessing, compared to the punishment both Saskia and Jessica had been given—mucking out the stables across the campus, at 6am tomorrow morning. To say that Saskia was fuming was an understatement.

Why did she have to start a fight? She should have risen above it, like a sensible person. Oh who was she kidding, Saskia had never been called sensible in her entire life.

She threw open the door and stalked outside, lost in her swirling thoughts. It took her a few minutes to realise that whilst she was being reprimanded by the headmaster and stifling her urge to go for round two with Jessica, the skies had transitioned to a murky grey, and rain now lashed heavily against the ground.

Cursing vehemently at the bipolar weather, she glanced down to see that her white shirt had now gone completely transparent. Saskia grumbled to herself, holding her bag over her head as she began to dash towards the dining hall, where lunch was being served.

"Saskia, hey!" A familiar voice called from behind her.

She turned to observe Caleb jogging towards where she stood, rain dripping from the dark blonde hair he pushed back from his face. Subtly sweeping her eyes over him, she raised her brows in a silent question. He'd abruptly disappeared on her earlier, which she didn't entirely appreciate. Caleb stopped a few feet in front of her, his eyes focused on the blue-purple bruise that had quickly emerged over her sharp cheekbone.

"I heard what happened in PE, are you okay?" He asked, concern lacing his voice as he gestured to her face.

Saskia crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm fine, did you really think I'd be taken down by someone like Jessica? I'm slightly offended," she scoffed. His eyes followed the movement, and she watched as he finally seemed to notice the lacy black bra that was distinctly showing through the soaked shirt clinging to her skin.

His gaze heated slightly as he took another step closer to her, and she tilted her chin up, maintaining eye contact. She decided she had nothing to be ashamed of, so she uncrossed her arms.

"Seems you came out on top... literally," he smirked. "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Caleb's molten brown eyes lingered on her body.

"You'd be smart not to," she agreed, stepping closer so that only a small space now existed between them. He raised a hand and tentatively brushed over the bruise, her skin blazing where he touched her. Saskia inwardly scolded herself to keep it together.

"Be wary of Jessica. She's even more sly than she seems," he murmured, still not moving his hand away.

"I can handle it," she assured him. He smiled, and lowered his hand as he began to remove his blazer. "Here, put this on," he insisted.

"But then you'll be in the same situation I am," she pointed out, the rain already beginning to soak his shirt too. Saskia tried hard not to stare at the muscles showing beneath.

"You're right. I don't think people can handle this amount of hotness," he mused jokingly. "But I'll make an exception for you." He helped Saskia into the blazer, and the scent of him enveloped her.

"Well thanks, now I don't have to display myself to the entire school," she grinned, looking up at him through her lashes as she pulled the borrowed blazer tight around her.

Caleb returned the grin, placing a hand on her lower back to steer her in the direction of the dining hall. "Come on, let's get some food, I'm starving..." he announced.

As they made their way towards the warmth of the hall, Saskia noticed a movement in the hedges lining the gravel pathway—a head of auburn hair peeked out between the emerald green leaves, and she locked eyes with Jessica herself. Those icy grey eyes glared at her furiously, before she walked away in the opposite direction.

***

The next morning, Saskia sat along one of the lengthy wooden dining tables, scarfing down a blueberry muffin after finishing her punishment in the stables. She considered it an achievement that she hadn't pushed Jessica into a pile of horse manure by the end of the hour. The girl had merely flounced around, refusing to do her part until Saskia had snapped and chased after her with a manure-coated shovel. Even though she had showered since, she still couldn't quite get the stench of horse shit out of her hair.

Caleb sat opposite her, working through his bowl of cereal as he chatted to one of his team mates—Jack, she thought his name was. He was good looking, as was the rest of the football team. She wondered if that was one of the requirements to make the squad. Jack smiled as he noticed her staring, so she returned it, before quickly turning her attention back to her breakfast.

"Have you guys seen this?!" Lucy demanded, easing into the seat beside Saskia, careful not to knock her bad leg on the table. She could now walk with a slight limp, which was an improvement, Saskia supposed.

"What is that awful smell?" Lucy added, sniffing the air.

"Seen what?" Saskia asked, leaning away slightly as she polished off the last bite of her muffin. Lucy shook her head and swivelled her iPad around to reveal a news article that she had been reading:

MURDER IN EXETER

Two young girls have been killed in the past week, in the outskirts of Exeter, Devon. The first victim was revealed to be Kacey Edwards, who was seventeen years old. She was last seen alive in the city centre, before her body was discovered in an abandoned area not far from the Willow Park boarding school. Her neck was said to be covered in bruises—telltale signs that she was strangled, the police report. Laura Skelson was the second victim, also seventeen years old. Startlingly, the circumstances of her death are exactly the same as that of Kacey Edwards.

So a killer was on the loose, apparently hunting for young girls. Saskia silently cursed her father for landing her into this. She raised her eyes from the screen to look at Caleb, who was now glaring at a spot on the table.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, glancing inquisitively at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders. What did this matter to Caleb? So far this killer was only after girls, which meant Saskia should be the one worrying. Evan chose that moment to stride past the table, winking at Saskia in the process.

Caleb launched himself out of his seat and blocked Evan's path. A few other students sitting nearby watched eagerly, waiting for some drama to unfold. Saskia drained the last of the coffee from her mug, glancing sidelong at Lucy, who was watching apprehensively whilst nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Stay away from her," Caleb snarled in Evan's face. The raven-haired guy just smiled in return, almost like he was going to enjoy this.

"And why would I want to do that?" he replied, glancing at Saskia with his enthralling blue eyes. Jack slowly stood to be at Caleb's side, warily observing the two.

"I know you better than anyone else here, don't forget that," Caleb warned. Evan took a step closer, and appeared to be utterly unfazed by the guys standing in his way.

"And I know you," Evan breathed.

***