Little Rabbit

Eden’s Point of View

My mouth fell open slightly in awe as I watched him. When Lola told me about the new transfer student, my curiosity had been simple. He was Thorne’s brother, and that was the only reason I wanted to see him.

But the moment I laid eyes on him, I realized he was nothing like I had imagined.

The way he carried himself with practiced elegance, like he descended from a generation of royalty. He was tall—impossibly tall—and strikingly handsome, but it wasn’t just that. There was something different about him.

He looked like Thorne, yes.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

Yet he felt like a more masculine version of him… he was more refined.

My heart seemed to forget how to beat the moment his silver eyes found mine.

They weren’t simply sweeping across the room the way his gaze had passed over the other students. No—this time, I was certain that he was looking directly at me.

“Please introduce yourself to the class,” our form teacher, Mr. Steven, said.

He didn’t look away from me.

“I am Theron Adler,” he said, his deep voice echoing through the classroom and sending a strange tremor through the pit of my stomach. “And I’ll be joining this class.”

A faint pause followed before he added, even though it sounded like a warning, “I hope we all get along.”

A twisted feeling pooled from the pit of my stomach. I was clearly affected by the energy he carried, the threatening aura that surrounded him—the predatory gleam in his eyes making it hard to breathe--especially when he was looking at me like he was about to devour me.

Everyone began to clap.

Everyone except me.

I just couldn’t.

I was too afraid to move.

It felt like playing dead… hoping the predator wouldn’t notice you if you stayed perfectly still.

He was bad news. I could feel it in my bones.

“Go and sit behind Montclair,” Mr. Steven said, pointing in my direction, and my heart immediately began to race. “There’s an empty desk behind her.”

Montclair…

That was me.

Theron Adler; with eyes like that, his name would be impossible to forget.

He started moving then, his footsteps slow, heavy, and filled with confidence as he walked down the aisle toward me.

I could feel a throbbing pulse in my neck, and for some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

As he passed by my side, a faint whiff of his scent drifted to me.

Like cinnamon crushed in pure honey… something so addicting…and sickly sweet. He glanced down at me, as if he was looking down at me.

And then he moved behind me, I could feel movement, and I could hear the sounds until they became faint which meant he settled down already.

*****

“Did you know he’s a psychopath?” Lola asked in a hushed whisper during lunch. “Like a real unfeeling psychopath, the type they show in movies and write about in books.”

Our eyes followed him as he picked up his tray and walked across the cafeteria, choosing a seat all the way at the far end—alone, like he preferred it that way.

“Just because someone is quiet, and alone doesn’t make them a psychopath,” I replied calmly. “And where exactly are you getting all this information from?”

“But it’s true,” she insisted.

I simply shook my head.

“I heard the teachers talking about him in the staff room,” she continued. “Apparently, he’s been clinically diagnosed as a psychopath. And the reason he was sent to juvie was because he beat up some guys at his old school.”

“He got sent to juvie for beating up a bunch of guys?” I asked, frowning slightly. “But that’s what most boys do—fight each other.”

“No, it wasn’t just some ordinary fight. It was serious,” she continued, sounding almost like she was narrating a scene from an action movie. “One of the boys nearly died. He was in a coma for three months. And Theron apparently has a history of violence—especially with his brother.”

“Thorne?” I asked, surprised.

“Yep.” She nodded. “Did you know he once sent Thorne into a coma too?”

“Lord Jesus… no,” I groaned, rubbing my temples. It was far too much information to process at once. “You should definitely stay away from him. If possible, stay away from his brother too--Just break up with him, they are both bad news.”

I scooped up some rice from my plate, but my eyes drifted toward Theron’s direction unintentionally.

The moment they did, my chest locked up and my fingers trembled because he was looking at me again.

Those hungry eyes were sizing me up in a way that made my skin prickle—as if he were studying something he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into.

I quickly looked away. A little too fast.

Does he look at everyone like that? Or was it just me?

My eyes shifted back towards where he used to occupy, but to my surprise, he was gone, the tray was gone too, the seat empty almost as if no one ever sat there to begin with.

“I have library duty today,” Lola muttered, shoveling the last of her food into her mouth before grabbing her empty tray and rushing off.

I stayed frozen in my seat, still reeling from the avalanche of information she’d just dumped on me—and the way she’d eaten so quickly as if the world was ending.

I was going to have a stomach ache if I ever ate that fast.

I twisted the cap off my bottle of apple juice and started down the stairs, heading back to class. Rounding the corner, I took a sip—then collided with something stiff.

Huh? A wall?

In the middle of the hallway? No, I had taken this route every day, and there was no wall here, my vision cleared up and I stumbled back, the juice sloshing over the edge of the bottle, dripping everywhere, soaking the front of the jacket of the person I had bumped into.

“Oh, fuck me,” I cursed, steadying myself, my eyes flickered, and I swallowed down whatever apology formed in my mouth when my eyes met with the piercing silver orbs that stared at me.

“What did you say?” He muttered leaning forward, the corner of his lips raised as if intrigued by something.

I stumbled back, I don’t remember saying anything.

“I-I…I’m sorry?” I managed to form words, my eyes flickering around these very quiet halls, why now? Why are these halls quiet and empty now?

“Before that.” He came closer again, and I took another step back.

Wait… is he asking because he heard my conversation with Lola? If that is true, then I am done for. But he was too far away from us to hear what we were discussing.

“Uh!” I gasped when my back hit the wall.

“You curse pretty well,” He reached for my hair, and I felt my breath hitched.

He twirled the end of my strands between his fingers. “Don’t go around telling people to fuck you. You don’t know who might take you up on the offer.”

My eyes widened, a chill running down my spine as I slowly realized what he meant.

“No, I…I didn’t—” I stammered, as I looked away from his piercing gaze. “I didn’t mean that.”

“I could tell,” he said finally, releasing the lock of my hair trapped in his fingers.

“Didn’t quite catch your name, little rabbit.”

Little… rabbit?

My heart skipped a beat, and my mind went blank for a moment.

What… what’s that supposed to mean?

Did this boy just call me a pet?

“Shall I ask a second time, huh?” He asked again, his voice remained toneless.

“Eden.” I finally breathed. “My name is Eden.”