Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Jenny growls and lashes forward, backhanding me in the face. The copper taste of blood instantly fills my mouth and I lick my bruised lips. Bethany, Jenny’s younger sister, kicks the back of my legs and I fall on my knees. Her two other friends circle around me, grabbing my arms and tugging them roughly behind me. Forcing me to curve my shoulders low to avoid them pulling my arms out of their sockets.
Jenny bends low, putting her face close to mine. “You’ve always fancied yourself a mighty princess, invincible and on the top of the ladder. But you’re easily disposable, Riley.” Her long, perfectly manicured nails dig into my cheeks, and I know she’s cut me when my skin starts to sting. Pain throbs through my face. “Where did your beauty get you? Being called the school’s whore. Where did being rich get you? Being the school’s clown. Where did your so-called popularity get you? Friendless and a sad reject. Even Elaine and Blythe want nothing to do with you anymore. You’re nobody.”
The bullying doesn’t hurt. The rumors and all the embarrassing shit they’ve forced me to endure. None of that caused me more pain than Elaine and Blythe turning their back on me when I needed them the most.
Once I became an outsider within Berkshire Academy, they refused to be associated with me anymore. To save their own reputation.
While they didn’t actively participate in the bullying, they watched as I was pushed into the lockers. They watched as I was tripped and made fun of, and sometimes, they joined in on the laughing and mocking.
I guess we were friends only because it benefited them, not because they cared about me.
My eyes flash toward Jenny. “I’m nobody and you are just a jealous skank.”
Outraged, she backhands me again.
I laugh. “A dirty traitor,” I spit through the bloodied lips. “You are jealous because I caught Jasper’s attention first. You’re jealous that even though it was for a bet, I was his girlfriend first. You’re just jealous because you’re second best.”
This time, her slap has my head snapping back and I hit the wall. My ears ring and there’s a dull pain in the back of my skull. The ground underneath my knees spins until my stomach revolts as they drag me across the bathroom floor on my knees. Jenny is screeching something, but her words fall on deaf ears.
The only time the world stops spinning is when my head is submerged in cold water.
My body automatically reacts, adrenaline flowing through my icy veins, and I start struggling against their captive hands, struggling to breathe, but I only end up choking as I run out of breath.
Fingers dig into my scalp, painfully and mercilessly, as they keep me under.
My struggles turn violent, and then my head is being lifted away from the water. I’m only allowed a brief reprieve, one single inhale before Jenny dunks me back into the toilet bowl.
Water rushes through my ears, and I hold my breath.
My heart thuds loudly against my rib cage, almost like it’s trying to break free from its confinement and my muscles seize.
The humiliation.
The heartbreak.
The hate.
The emptiness that swallows me.
Everything crashes through me like a messy tirade, unstoppable and destructive.
My mind shuts down, and the next time she lifts my head, I close my eyes. Water sluices down my face and I feel her warm breath next to my ears. “I’ll make your life a living hell, Riley. Do you know why? Not because I hate you. It’s because of that petty arrogance you have. Even now, when you’ve fallen so low, you still walk with your head high. That confidence of yours? It won’t last, as long as I’m your enemy.”
She releases my hair and her friends drop me to the floor. My face, my hair…my uniform, everything is wet and dirty.
Closing my eyes, I take in several deep breaths. My nose is running, and my sniffles echo around the four walls of the bathroom. Their footsteps fade into the background, and I briefly hear the door closing.
Silence fills the bathroom. There are no more voices. No more laughter, jeers, screams or mocking giggles. I can almost hear the dust particles float around the room.
Rubbing my hand over my face, I try to wipe away the water residue that’s left on my skin. So, me not cowering to my bullies is arrogance?
I am ruined, but I refuse to let them win.
Poor, little, insecure Jenny and her asshole boyfriend.
I open my eyes, staring at the ceiling, and a cold laugh escapes my bruised and still bleeding lips. “I guess I’m failing my test,” I say out loud, to no one specific.
There’s an awful feeling pricking my chest, a mix of despair and frustration. Anguish and rage. So much rage. At them, at my parents, at myself.