Beneath me

Chapter 2: 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀

"𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁-- 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁. 𝗙𝘂𝗰𝗸, 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻."

-

Stella inhaled the sweet flavor of nicotine in the cigarette, huffing a few smokes in the air while she had the thing between her fingertips. The sky was very bright and her morning today wasn't a good start. She had a fight with her father and brother, telling her how reckless it was for her to not return any of their calls. Honestly, she wondered if what happened that summer went straight? If she drank too much and got high enough that she spiralled down, dropped her car off a cliff. But she wasn't and she's still alive.

After the fight with her father, she went to school early and had nothing better to do. And the new kids were annoying her to death and she needed to relax, even just for a few more minutes before the bell rings. Ofcourse, the universe didn't give her her moment of clarity when Ander spotted her smoking by the tree.

"You do know everyone can see you taking a hit here." Ander pointed out, leaning his back on the tree besides her and placed his bag down on the grass.

"Sue me." She responds before inhaling again, flipping off the school building where a few students were looking at her. Stella shudders, offering Ander to smoke. He was about to decline but he was too frustrated to say no and ended up taking a hit. "What's gotten you riled up this morning?"

"Life. You?" He plainly answers, shrugging like it was normal. And it is. Life was already complicated.

"Same." Stella exhales, shaking her head and took the cigarette back. "Have you spoke to Guzman lately? Do you know why he keeps checking in on me, Ander?" She asks curiously.

"Si." He says truthfully, Ander looks at her seriously. "Stella, he's the one who found you when you almost died in that car accident. You two had disagreements and you got high. He blames himself that night."

Stella chuckles, dropping the lit up cigarette on the grass before stomping on it indefinitely. "And I already told him, it's not his fault. He needs to know that. If he's not accepting it then it's not my fault. Just make him stop worrying, please?" She pleads, holding his arm before walking back inside the school building.

Stella Hernandez was a stranger to Death. All the people she knows and met is still alive either doing their jobs or living carelessly in their youths. She didn't imagine when her father or mother was going to die. Because growing up, she was already used to them being dead. They weren't there for her and instead hired maids to keep her company and fed everyday. It wasn't enough for her. She was selfish to want more of her parents's love.

Probably the reason why she started acting out and rebelling against them. But it didn't quite work since her mom still didn't care and her dad didn't bother to give her a lesson. They let her do everything she wants. Freedom was her biggest grasp but it was also what she hated the most.

"For the sake of all of us, you can shut your mouth and stay in your lane, new kid." Stella had fumed over, didn't had the patience to drown out Christian's constant bickering near her seat. Their class grimaces, knew that Christian was dead for annoying Stella Hernandez this early in the morning.

"Please, please, please, Señora, what's gotten your panties in a bunch? Want me to fix it for you?" He winks and Stella didn't react and raised her middle finger while scrolling on her social.