Page 19 of Framed

I’d never been able to wrap my mind around how insane it was to have beloved famous people in your family that you’ve never met. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about my mom’s side of the family but the internet could. Wikipedia pages and Google seemed to know more about my family than I ever would.

“Is my name still Scarlett?” I asked, pursing my lips. I didn’t mind changing my last name. For some odd reason, it made me feel closer to my mom. But I wasn’t fond of changing my first name. I tried a couple of possible names out in my head but ultimately decided they all sounded weird. I was Scarlett, I couldn’t be anybody else.

She laughed lightly at my expression. “Yes, but from here on out you will be Scarlett Camillo. A transfer student from Savannah. If anyone asks, which I doubt they will, your father is a prominent tech CEO.” Okay, so not acompletelie. “Changing your last name and altering your background a bit was a provision Aaron suggested as an extra layer of protection. We take your safety and privacy seriously here.”

It was clear how much they did. This couldn’t have been an easy task to get the rest of the administration on board with.

While I still wasn’t sure who Raven was to my mom—or what she was to Athenaor Briggs,for that matter—I couldn’t help but trust her. I took comfort in the sincerity and fierceness of her voice. Still, I couldn’t stop the nagging feeling in the back of my mind at why they had to go to such great lengths.

What did the Sinclair family want from me? Why would they target me? And what lengths of their own could a family with that much power go to?

Even with all the security protocols here, Briggs was worried enough to have me dye my hair and change my name. That meant, no matter how safe it felt, this school was not impenetrable. I needed to remember that.

Don’t let your guard down.

An awkward silence filled the air once again. For the second time in a span of five minutes, I couldn’t find the right thing—or anything—to say. This wasn’t what I’d expected. Despite Athena’s explanation and insistence, I had come here expecting to be told I wouldn’t be able to attend. That this was no place for a formerly convicted murderer.

But that script went to shit once I realized everyone here’s worry for my well-being was real. It was sincere. It made my throat go dry and my words clog in the back of my throat.

Learn to accept help. Not everyone is operating at an angle.

I will. I’ll accept the help you so graciously offered, Athena.I cleared my dry throat and wet my lips before saying, “Thank you for allowing me to enroll here. I’m not sure what kind of strings Athena had to pull, but you won’t regret it.”

It was a declaration I intended to keep. A promise to her and to everyone who had helped me get where I was today. I would not fuck this up.

Her smile grew wider and there was a twinkle in her now softened eyes. “I already know I won’t. You’ll fit right in here, Scarlett. Just you see.”

chapter eight

Scarlett

OnceDr.Mastersleftmy new room, I had to take a minute and revel in the moment. Memories cascaded through my brain, ping-ponging from one side to the other. One, in particular, brought me back to a place I thought I’d banished from my brain.

“Whore,” someone muttered, low but loud enough for me to hear as I made my way to the back of the classroom.

I ignored it. As I always did. I gritted my teeth as a way to keep my emotions in check. I refused to let them see me break, but I had to give it to them, it was not as easy as I thought it would be.

From the corner of my eye, I could see him staring at me. That’s all he ever did nowadays. Stared and stared with that blank expression on his face. It was like he was looking at something transparent and half-remembered, as if I was already a ghost.

Like the space I occupied was actually empty. A vacuum.

“Scarlett Rose,” our bald English teacher called from behind his desk. His penetrating gaze locked with mine. “You’re tardy. You know the consequences students face if they are late.”

I wasn’t late, but I couldn’t say that.

Teachers found a more creative approach to punishing me. To reduce me to an object they could push around.

“Have nothing to say for yourself?” He was annoyed by my silence and lack of emotional response. “You’ll never make it to college if you continue down this path you’ve chosen for yourself, Scarlett. You’ll be stuck here with nothing. Mark my words.”

Memories like those used to bring anger and resentment toward the town I grew up in. Anger at the town and all the people in it who abandoned me without a second thought.

Now I felt nothing, because they were wrong. They never believed that I would get to see a future like today. The day I got to move into a real dorm. The day I got to go to a real college.

Truth be told, neither did I. With every passing year I spent incarcerated, the hope for more dwindled. I’d given up on achieving any kind of future. I’d been doing my best just to hold onto the present, maintain my sanity.

Screw them.For all their efforts, I’d made it out. I was here now and I was going to make the best of this situation. I owed it to all the people who sacrificed so much to get me here—to help me escape from being confined to those four grey walls and blue jumpsuits.

I owed it to Athena, Sally, and Briggs. For whatever reason, I was granted this second chance and I wouldn’t waste it thinking about the past. It was time to put it behind me.

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