Scarlet Awakening (Sweet Secrets #2) Read online

  Scarlet Awakening

  Taylor Henderson

  Scarlet Awakening

  Copyright © 2015 by Taylor Henderson.

  All rights reserved.

  First Print Edition: October 2015

  Limitless Publishing, LLC

  Kailua, HI 96734

  www.limitlesspublishing.com

  Formatting: Limitless Publishing

  ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-316-8

  ISBN-10: 1-68058-316-6

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To my sisters, Tamrin and Trinity, who gave me the inspiration for the strong sisterly bond between Lena and Ella. I love you both, and I will always cherish my role as your older sister.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Prologue

  “Holy cow, you have a lot to pack.”

  I glanced up at my doorway to see my sister, Ella, standing there with her hands planted on her narrow hips. Her red hair was styled in neat curls that framed her pretty face.

  “Tell me about it,” I muttered, sighing as my eyes swept over my messy room. All of my drawers had been emptied out onto the carpet, and clothes were cluttering the floor along with shoes, toiletries, and everything else that I needed for my trip. In reality, I’m sure that I didn’t need everything that I planned to pack, but what if I left something behind and then when I got there I realized that I needed it? I couldn’t take any chances.

  Ella expertly weaved in and out of the stacks and piles that covered my floor and made her way to my bed. “I would help you, but I’m too tired after packing all of my stuff.” She climbed up onto my bed and laid down on her back so that her head was hanging off of the bed and her green eyes were focused on me.

  Rolling my eyes, I continued to fold clothes and stuff them into my luggage. I was only allowed one suitcase and one carry-on bag, so I had to squeeze as much as I could into each one. I reached over to grab my bathing suits, separating them from each other before holding them both up in front of me, one in each hand.

  They were both string bikinis, except one was blue with white stripes, and the other was black with white dots covering it. My gaze flickered between the two before I groaned and stuffed them both into my suitcase. Boy was this going to be hard considering how much stuff I had left to pack, and how terrible my decision-making skills were.

  “I’m kind of nervous,” Ella said suddenly, grabbing my attention. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, and her eyes were fixated on me.

  “Why?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, moving to sit upright. “For a lot of reasons.”

  I waved an arm out in front of me, gesturing to my messy, unpacked room. “I have time.”

  Ella sighed and twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “Well, first off we haven’t seen Mom since she moved out in December. It’s been six whole months since we’ve been with her, and now we’re going to spend the entire summer with her? It’s just…” She fished for a word for a moment before adding, “crazy.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. “You’re right. How can they expect us to just go to California for the summer and act like everything is all right?”

  “Yes!” she yelled in agreement. “Exactly!” She shook her head slowly. “California.”

  “California,” I repeated, thinking about how it hadn’t even been a year ago that that word had held so much more than one meaning to me. It was also my birthplace and my home. Now it seemed sort of insignificant despite the fact that my grandparents still lived there, and my mom had gone to join them.

  “We can’t just go back and pretend like nothing has changed,” she said, her words coming out just above a whisper.

  “I know,” I agreed. “I wonder what’s happened since we left.”

  Ella shrugged.

  We sat in silence for a while, just thinking. My head swam with thoughts of seeing my mom, going back to my hometown, and memories of the past. I had left so many loose ends when I left California, and now I was going to have to face everything, and everyone, again.

  “I’m going to miss Violet,” Ella said, breaking the silence that had surrounded us momentarily. I was kind of shocked that she had said it first.

  “I’m going to miss her too. I think I’m even going to miss Blake.” My eyes widened at that realization. After Blake and Violet had fixed everything, the three of us had begun to hang out. Blake and I hadn’t gotten close like Violet and I had, but I was going to miss him when I left.

  “I think I’m even going to miss Brianna,” Ella said. “How is that even possible?”

  I laughed at her words, shrugging slightly. Brianna had gotten better after she and Violet had their mysterious talk. Violet never filled me in on what had happened between them in the bathroom, but it seemed like the two had come to a mutual agreement to leave each other alone, and be cordial when they were in each other’s presence. Brianna had even apologized to both Ella and Blake for blackmailing them. I wouldn’t say that she was nice now, but she was definitely tolerable. She had even gone and gotten herself a boyfriend who seemed to make her happy. A happy Brianna made everyone around her happier, that was for sure.

  “I don’t think you’ll miss Brianna, but I do think you’ll miss being here. I know I will.” I sighed, realizing just how true my words were.

  “This place has become our home,” Ella pointed out.

  A breath of air left my lungs in a deep sigh. In less than a year, Virginia had become our home, despite all of the crazy things that had happened in just our first few months of being here. We had our fair share of drama and wild events, but after everything had calmed down it was great. Ella and I both made true friends. Violet was now not only close with me, but she was Ella’s friend too. We all spent a lot of time together, and it sucked immensely that we had to travel two thousand miles away and leave everyone behind. Even if it was only for the summer.

  When my parents had filed for a divorce, I was actually happy. Neither of them were emotionally involved in their relationship anymore, and it was obvious that they had been staying together because of Ella and me. When my mom left to go back to California and told us that she would see us during the summer, I was actually kind of excited to go back. That is, until now. I hadn’t thought about all of the things that California held—old relationships, a reckless reputation, and a past I was ready to leave behind.

  I bit my lip, looking up into Ella’s piercing green eyes with an expression of uncertainty on my face. Odd
ly, her expression matched how I felt mine looked.

  “I didn’t think we would be going back so soon,” I mumbled.

  Ella nodded, swiping hair out of her eyes. “I don’t think I’m ready to go back.”

  I nodded in agreement. I wasn’t ready to go back either. Going back meant I had to face everything I had cast aside, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.

  Chapter 1

  The turbulence picked up drastically, making my seat vibrate. My eyes snapped open as the seat in front of me banged into my knees, sending a jolt of pain through my legs.

  “Fasten your seatbelts,” came the pilot’s voice from the overhead speakers. “Preparing for landing.”

  I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands and let out a loud yawn. Stretching in my seat, I made sure that my seatbelt was fastened before checking Ella’s. Next to me, Ella was still fast asleep. I was surprised that the momentary turbulence hadn’t woken her up. Her neck was bent awkwardly in a position that made me feel uncomfortable just looking at it. Her red hair spilled over her face, shielding her eyes and features, only revealing her open mouth that was letting out soft snores.

  After a long flight that consisted majorly of sleeping and eating anything that I was offered by the overly bubbly flight attendant, we were finally landing at San Diego International Airport. The view outside of my window showed that we were steadily descending. The clouds were thinning as we lost height, and I watched as the small squares below of sectioned off houses grew bigger, no longer looking like they were used to house a family of ants. The sun shone high and bright in the sky, finally giving me a reason to be happy that I was back. If there was one thing that I missed other than my family, it was the year-round sun and heat. I had grown accustomed to the high temperatures that California was known for, and Virginia had been far too cold during the winter.

  Next to me, Ella let out another soft snore, bringing my attention back to her. How was she able to sleep like this? She had been out cold since we took off from Virginia, then woken up while we transferred flights, and had fallen back asleep as soon as the plane taxied down the runway on our way to San Diego. I admired her ability to sleep through the whole flight. If I had done the same, then I would not have had to constantly worry about what this trip would entail. Not only for myself, but also for Ella. She had left a lot behind when we left last year, and so much has changed since then.

  In less than a year, she had learned how to become her own person, and had started hanging out with a better group of friends. She and Anya, another one of Brianna’s minions, had become extremely close. They had even started to hang out with Violet and me, and to my surprise, it wasn’t so bad. Ella and Anya were both a lot more like Violet and me than I had thought they were. Ella was actually pretty fun to be around when she was being herself. Anya was also really nice. Yeah, she was a bit of an airhead, as well as a peppy cheerleader, which could be annoying at times, but she surely made every moment exciting.

  I smiled as I remembered how long it had taken Violet to accept that Ella and Anya were actually our friends. She had been adamant for weeks that they both were just our acquaintances, but one day she had finally slipped and referred to Ella as a friend. My smile faltered a little at the thought that Violet and I were not going to be able to spend the summer together. We had planned so many activities that we wouldn’t even get to complete. At least we would be able to keep in touch over the phone until I got back for school next year. By then I’m sure that we would have many stories to tell each other. I just hoped that mine didn’t include me having a repeat of last year, and the year before, by having a fallout with Ella and her running with the wrong crowd. That wasn’t something I could handle again.

  I sat in silence, staring out the window as the plane landed. When my ears began to pop, I reached into my bag and grabbed a piece of gum to chew on. As the plane hit the runway and bounced, Ella’s head rolled and snapped up. Her eyes opened slowly and she let out a loud groan as she rubbed her neck. She would probably have a few kinks for a while, considering the awkward position it had been in.

  “What a wonderful way to be welcomed home,” she joked, sitting up straight and cracking her back.

  “It’s about time you woke up anyway.”

  She went to rub her eyes but stopped on account of her makeup. Instead she let out a yawn. “I was tired. I was awake all day yesterday, salvaging my last few hours on the East Coast.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Doing what?”

  She smirked and shrugged. “Saying goodbye to a friend.” She had been sneaky lately about who she was hanging out with when she wasn’t with me or Anya and Violet. I assumed she had a male friend that she wasn’t ready for anyone to know about yet. I was fine with the idea as long as this guy was single.

  “A friend?” I repeated thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

  She kept a poker face as she nodded. “Yep, that’s all. A friend.”

  I let the subject drop, knowing she wasn’t going to give me any further information.

  As soon as we were ready for departure, we grabbed our carry-on bags from overhead and stood in line behind our fellow passengers, waiting to exit the plane. The line moved quickly, and it wasn’t long until we were exiting the terminal, following signs that pointed us in the direction of baggage claim. We stopped in the restrooms to empty our bladders, or in Ella’s case, to “freshen up.” She spent a few minutes fixing and reapplying her makeup, brushing her hair, and trying to smooth sleep-lines from her skin while I watched her awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. I used to put on makeup daily, but after spending so much time with Violet, I began to only put it on when I was going out. In this case, we were headed to our grandparents’ house and they didn’t care how I looked. There was no need to be photo-ready after the long flight we’d just had.

  When she was finally finished, we exited the bathroom and made our way through the crowded airport. There were so many people surrounding us that it felt like we were in a sea, just letting the waves pull us toward the shore, or in this case, baggage claim. I felt disoriented as Ella wrapped her hand around my wrist and navigated me in and out of people of all sorts; tall, short, fat, thin.

  As we neared the baggage claim area, my eyes latched onto a tall, slender blonde who was standing off to the side, away from the flow of people. She was holding her phone to her ear, and talking animatedly into it. What caught my attention about her was her outfit. She was dressed in a jean mini skirt, a bright pink halter-top, and heels so high that they hurt my feet just looking at them. Swinging on the arm that she wasn’t using to hold her phone was an expensive-looking purse that had a little dog’s head peeking out over the brim. The sight of the valley girl and her dog brought a smile to my face. Only in California did you see this. Surprisingly, the sight made me feel at home.

  Despite all of the noise around me, and the fact that I was immersed in my own thoughts and staring at the sky-high blonde woman, Ella’s voice calling my name caused my attention to snap to her.

  “Lena,” she called, waving her arm out and gesturing toward a large, red suitcase moving closer to me on the conveyor belt. “Isn’t that your bag?”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I mumbled, moving closer to the baggage claim area. I waited until my bag got close enough for me to pull it off. Finally, I grabbed it with both hands, groaning as I lifted it from the belt.

  Ella chuckled behind me. “You should’ve packed less.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I countered, raising the handle on my suitcase and rolling it away from the conveyor belt. Ella had not gotten her luggage yet, but it probably wasn’t much farther behind mine.

  Together, we waited in silence as Ella’s eyes roamed the conveyor belt for her luggage. I had been helping her look for a few minutes, but got distracted by my own thoughts again. The purple tassel hanging from my suitcase caught my sight. Before I left home to catch my flight from Reagan International, Violet had stopped by my house to say goodbye. Blake
, Anya, and her younger sister, Lilly, had accompanied her. They had all showed up to say goodbye to us. When Violet came up to give me a hug and say that she would see me at the end of summer, she leaned down to tie a purple ribbon onto my suitcase, saying that the color would remind me of her while I was away.

  I sighed. I missed her already. I would much rather be at home right now, hanging out with Violet and laughing at all of the cute stuff Lilly says. But then I wouldn’t be here visiting my mom and grandparents after being away from them for so long.

  Once Ella grabbed her bag, we followed more signs to the kiss and ride area to wait for our mom, who was already parked and waiting for us. When she saw us, she smiled wide and stepped out from behind the wheel. That, at least, was a good sign. When she left Virginia, her depression had been so bad that we were advised not to let her operate heavy machinery.

  Coming around the front of the car, Mom opened her arms wide and beckoned us to her for a hug. Ella and I obliged, and we all came in for a three-way hug; our mom smoothing our hair down and kissing our faces.

  “Oh, girls, I’ve missed you so much. You can’t even imagine.” Her smile was bright, but her eyes still seemed to hold a sadness to them that I tried to overlook. She looked happy and healthy. She had gotten into better shape since she’d left us, and she was tanner, with freshly dyed hair that covered the natural gray strands I knew she had. She looked good.

  A phrase that I had heard in psychology class hit me: “Your outward appearance is often a good indicator of your mental state.” Basically, the happier you are, the better you look on the outside. As I looked at my mom, who appeared to be ten years younger, I hoped more than anything that that statement was true.

  As I pulled away, I said, “We missed you too, Mom.”

  Ella nodded fervently in agreement.