Corruption of the Heart (The Corruption Series Book 1) Read online

  Copyright

  Corruption of the Heart is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  CORRUPTION OF THE HEART: A NOVEL

  Copyright © 2018 by Jessica Manson

  All rights reserved.

  Editing by KP Editing

  Cover design by KP Designs

  Published by Kingston Publishing Company

  The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means—including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Dedication

  JESSICA MANSON

  JESSICA MANSON

  For my mom.

  Chapter One

  Living in a world with no friends can be very lonely and very hard. I watch people around my school and how they all have friends. I see how they interact with one another and I long for the same interactions; I long for friendship. I distance myself from everyone around me by burying myself in my studies. When my head isn’t in a book, I plug in my headphones and tune everyone out around me.

  My parents died three months ago in a car accident leaving me to live with an aunt I’ve never met, in Maine. In my life back in Mississippi, I had a ton of friends and would spend most of my time with them, but when my parents died the pain was too much. I decided to distance myself from everyone to keep my heart protected. And since I didn’t have friends in this new town to help me cope I found my own way of dealing with things. Distance from any and all people was my form of therapy.

  So, since I moved to Maine and haven’t tried to make any friends, by keeping to myself, people tend to stay away from me and give me my space. This is why I found it extremely odd when Ambi Oakleaf sat at the lunch table with me and tried to talk to me.

  Ambi isn’t one of the popular girls in school but all of the girls envied her even if they never would admit it. She is beautiful, almost goddess like. She is very tall for a girl and skinny with legs that seem to just go on for miles. Her skin is caramel colored that seems to glisten when the light hits her just right. Everyone seemed to be intimidated by her. Her reputation labeled her as a person to be afraid of. It didn’t help that she was a part of a group called the “Corrupt Ones”. And because of that everyone stayed away from her. The “Corrupt Ones” are apparently a group of kids that hang out together that supposedly do bad and reckless things and they are labeled as the bad kids of the school. Although, I don’t understand why they are called that, I have never actually seen them do anything that would make them so corrupt. They tend to stay to themselves. The “Corrupt Ones” are made up of eight members including seven guys and one girl.

  Surprisingly, one of the guys in the group has always seemed to stick out to me. He seemed like he didn’t belong with the rest of them. His actions seemed to present him as being different as the rest. When the others from the group seemed to be playing around he stayed focused and detached himself from the group. I don’t want to say he seemed better than the others but maybe not as bad. It didn’t help that I had a little crush on him.

  Odin is beautiful in an angelic kind of way. He has the same caramel skin color as Ambi with jet black hair and a jaw line that seemed to be carved by an Egyptian god. He is astonishingly handsome. I do my best every day to be as discreet as possible and sneak in as many peeks of him that I can. I think all of the other girls in school feel the same way I do, but they would never have the nerves to actually date him. The girls around here care way too much about their image and would never be caught dead with one of the “Corrupt Ones”.

  The girls around this school seem to be more focused on their image than anything else. Even though they all think that all of the members of the group are very beautiful. They would never try to date any of them. They wouldn’t even admit that they thought they are hot. Every single girl in this school definitely looks, but they would never ever touch.

  This school is just like any other school. There isn’t anything special or fancy about it. Nothing stands out except for the billions of different smells radiating from so many students. The different types of perfumes, colognes, soaps, shampoos, and pets. The halls are dimly lit and smell dingy. The cafeteria is small and overcrowded. The only decent area in the school is the library.

  “How’s it going? Ambi asked me as if we were best friends and we talked every day.

  Looking at her dumbfounded, I replied, “Okay, I guess.”

  Catching the questioning look on my face she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Ambi Oak…”

  Cutting her off I said, “I know who you are, I’m just wondering why you are sitting here, talking to me?” Realizing how rude I sounded I quickly tried to recover by saying, “I mean I don’t mind if you sit here but why are you sitting here?”

  “Well, I came over here today because I noticed that you always sit alone. We,” she turned and pointed to the group of guys, “have been watching you since you started going to this school and we noticed that no one ever sits with you. You never even try to talk to anyone. We figured that at first it was because you are new here and that you just needed time to get used to things,” she said, as she looked at me with wonder. “But it has been a few months and we can’t seem to figure out why you don’t make any friends with anyone. I mean, come on, even the lamest geekiest kids can make friends,” she said, as she looked over to the table filled with the “geeky” kids.

  I didn’t know how to respond. I sat there looking at her pondering over everything she said before the realization of her words sunk in. Once I realized what she said, anger took over, “Wait, y’all have been watching me? Why?” Embarrassment took over as I realized that Odin had to have been watching me too.

  “Doesn’t really matter. Anyways Lilith, why do you stay to yourself so much?”

  “Seriously?” I asked furiously. “You want me to tell you why I stay to myself? Have you ever th
ought that maybe everyone here is superficial and a waste of my time? This is a waste of my time and if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than to sit here and be interrogated by you. And who are you anyways? No one, so unless you want to answer me about why y’all have been watching me, I suggest you stay away from me.”

  “Like I said, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “Then leave me alone.” I knew I wasn’t going to get any answers from her, so I gathered my things and stormed out of the lunch room. I headed to the library to find a book to escape into for the remainder of my lunch period. As I made my way to the fiction section of the library, I noticed a shadow in my peripheral vision. I looked to my left to see Odin standing there with his back up against one of the book shelves just inches from me, arms crossed and staring at me.

  Heat flushed through my body when I noticed his beauty up close as he stood there. He has the most beautiful shimmering green eyes I have ever seen on any one. They were almost emerald and if I allowed myself, I could definitely get lost in them. They were so green they almost glowed. This was the closest I have ever been to him and for the first time, I noticed his scent. He smelled so good like soap, sand, and ocean. Almost rustic but sweet at the same time.

  I realized he was watching me with a smile on his face and embarrassment washed over me. I could feel my face get hot and turn red. I must have been staring at him like a googly-eyed crazy person. I wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow me up and take me away from this embarrassing moment.

  “What do you want?” I snapped. When embarrassed, I either laugh so hard I can’t breathe, or I get really mad and right now; I wasn’t in the mood for laughter.

  His eyebrows furrowed with uncertainty before he spoke. “I just want to apologize for the way Ambi acted back there. She can be very outspoken and matter of fact.”

  “You think?” I asked with an attitude I didn’t recognize. “Apology not accepted. She told me how y’all have been watching me. And you know what? I think it is just down right creepy. Stay away from me Odin and stop watching me.” I noticed a look of hurt wash over his face as I was about to storm off to find a place to be alone.

  “So, you know my name?” he asked causing me to turn around.

  “What?” I asked, a little taken aback.

  “I was just shocked that you know my name.”

  “Of course, I know your name. You are in a couple of my classes and you do have to say here, when the teacher calls roll,” I snapped.

  “I was just saying it is nice to know that you actually know my name,” he said, with a bit of sorrow in his voice before he walked off.

  Feeling bad for hurting his feelings I just wanted to escape, but there wasn’t a single place in the school where I could go and not be bothered. Students filled every inch of this place. I decided the best place to be alone around here would be in the comfort of my own car. It was a 1991 Mercedes. It was silver with black leather interior. It wasn’t much but it had been my parents and it was paid for. I decided to keep it when they died. My aunt tried to get me to sell it but I figured I needed the car more than she needed the money from me selling it.

  As I sat alone in my car, questions fled through my mind as I wondered what the “Corrupt Ones” wanted with me. Why were they talking to me now after all this time? I have been going to this school for almost three months and they just now want to talk to me? And, why were they watching me? When were they watching me? At school? Home? Have they been following me? Panic took over and I needed to calm myself down.

  At this moment, I wished I had friends, so I could have someone to talk to, someone I could feel safe with. Since I didn’t have any friends, I did the next best thing to get my emotions under control. I reached in the glove compartment and grabbed the razor blade I had hidden. I rolled up my sleeve and pulled the blade across my skin until I felt the pain escape my open flesh. I sat there watching the blood drip down from my arm and the calm started to take over.

  I sat there in my own little world of ecstasy debating if I should go home for the day or stay in this asinine school. As rage built up inside of me, I decided I wasn’t going to let Ambi or Odin scare me off like they do everyone else. I heard the bell ring in the distance. I cleaned up the blood dripping from my arm and wrapped it in the bandages I had hidden in the middle console. Once I was all wrapped up, I grabbed my backpack and quickly headed back toward the school. I knew I would see Ambi and Odin in my next few classes, but I wasn’t going to let them get to me. I would just ignore them and focus on my studies, at least that’s what I thought.

  Everything went fine when dealing with Ambi, she didn’t try to mess with me at all. Odin, on the other hand, didn’t make it quite that easy for me. He somehow managed to get my Algebra partner, Christopher, to switch seats with him. Mr. Ferguson wasn’t in class and the substitute didn’t realize we had assigned seats.

  “Why are you sitting here Odin?” I asked, frustrated with him.

  “I want to talk to you Lilith.” The substitute had us work on a worksheet and I tried my best to just ignore Odin, but found it very difficult since every time I looked up he would be staring at me with a smile on his face. It wasn’t a creepy smile though it was more like an apologetic smile, like he was begging for my forgiveness. It was becoming hard for me to concentrate on my worksheet when all I could think about how close he was to me.

  I dreamt of the day when Odin Edgerson would notice me but not like this. This never happened in my daydreams or any of my dreams for that matter. Him watching me for almost a whole class period became very awkward. Being fed up with the way he was beginning to make me feel, I finally asked, “Odin could you please stop staring at me?”

  “I’m sorry Lilith. I’m not trying to be weird but there is just something about you today that makes it kind of hard to take my eyes off of you.”

  “Oh, you mean like every day before when you never even noticed me and now all of a sudden today I can’t get you to leave me alone? Please Odin. You never even spoke to me before today, why now?” Sometimes I could just smack myself in the face. I have this thing missing in my DNA called a mouth filter and I tend to say what’s on my mind before thinking about it. And this is one of those moments.

  Before he could respond, the bell rang letting us know school was over for the day. I gathered my things and headed for my car. I fumbled through my backpack trying to find my keys when I heard someone shaking them behind me. Aggravation filled me as I turned around and noticed Odin standing there holding my keys in the air. “How did you get those?”

  “You dropped them,” he said, as I tried to jerk them from his hand, but he was much quicker and taller than me. Before handing me the keys he said, “Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I would like to start over with you. Would you like to grab something to eat with me? I will explain everything to you.”

  Reluctantly, I agreed but suggested we take separate cars. I don’t trust Odin enough to be in a car alone with him. I only agreed to join him because I wanted answers. I needed the answers. I needed to know why they have been watching me.

  Chapter Two

  When we arrived at the restaurant I knew I was out of my element. Odin forgot to tell me we were going to a five-star restaurant. I figured we would just end up at a burger joint or something. I was way under dressed in my jeans and hoodie. Stares from all of the rich people who thought they were better than me made me feel uncomfortable. I knew I didn’t belong here, not in this restaurant, not with Odin.

  I kept asking myself what I was doing here, and I had to keep reassuring myself that I would get the answers I needed, the answers I deserved. I think Odin could sense my discomfort because he grabbed my hand sending electric shock waves through my body. He whispered in my ear, his hot breath sent tingles down my spine causing my knees to go weak, “Don’t worry about any of them, it’s just you and me.” He then asked the hostess to give us a private booth.

>   The table was dimly lit which made Odin’s once glowing green eyes seemed almost black. Even with the color change, his eyes are still breathtakingly beautiful. I had to concentrate hard on not staring him in the eyes or I would get lost in them. I noticed Odin clenching his jaw and for the first time ever I think he was nervous. Seeing how nervous he seemed to be made my heart soften a little toward him and I suddenly felt bad for how I treated him earlier today. Although, I’m not going to let my new softened heart cause me to take my guard down. I still have to protect myself and my heart.

  Sitting in silence was starting to become very awkward and uncomfortable, so I decided to speak first. “So, are you going to start explaining things?”

  The waitress came to take our drink order cutting Odin off before he could answer me. Frustration was beginning to set in and I was thankful when the waiter walked off. “What would you like to know?” he asked nonchalantly.

  “As if you don’t already know,” I said, getting more and more aggravated at my time he seemed to be wasting. “For starters you can tell me why y’all have been watching me?”

  “We haven’t been watching you in the creepy stalker way that you think we have, Lilith. We just happened to notice that you stay to yourself, a lot. I mean, you don’t even try to make friends. We were just curious as to why.”

  “Did you ever think that maybe I like being alone? That maybe I don’t want any friends?”

  “I don’t believe that for one second. I bet you are the type of girl that would fit in perfect with the jocks and cheerleaders and all of their ra ra ra team spirit.”

  “Well if you have been watching me like Ambi said you have, then why haven’t you noticed that I am nothing like them? I don’t do team spirit mumbo jumbo. I don’t care if my clothes aren’t name brand and I don’t need to wear ten pounds of makeup to feel good about myself. I am much more comfortable in my Walmart jeans and thrift store hoodies.” His misperception of me annoyed me. Did he really think of me as the superficial type?