started with a lie ➳ raura revised

Chapter One

"He's everything I dream of." She sighs.

"I put my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Let's not get too overrated. I don't want to throw up my breakfast." The bell suddenly rings. I grab Tess. "Hurry! We can't be late in the first day!" We run too homeroom, take our seats, and start gossiping on the latest couples that hooked up in summer.

"Well, well," a sly voice says. " Look who we have here."

I don't need to see to recognize that voice. It's the voice of my ex-best friend. Melody. I scold myself to not look up-to ignore her. To stay uninvolved with her like the guidance counselor told me to.

But I look up anyway.

There she stands, all perfect and pretty in her bright floral sundress. It hugs her every curve. I take notice that she has cut her blonde hair. It's now up to her chin. Most people can't pull off the short hair look--but she's not most people. Her haircut makes her face look even more round and innocent looking.

But I know it's all just a mask.

"Hi, Melody," I greet her, offering her a small smile. Another thing my guidance counselor said to do. Offer an occasional smile or to say "Hi."

"Hello, Laura." She smiles--acting like the two--faced person she is. But I know better than to trust her looks, "how was your summer?" Im just about to answer when she cuts me off. "Mine was great. Cody-you know Cody, the good-looking guy that I'm dating? Well, we went on the most romantic dates!"

I grip the edge of my seat. She knows I know who Cody is. Heck, Cody and I basically have known each other our whole lives. She also knows that he's my weak spot. I had liked Cody. And apparently, she had too.

"Oh Cody?" I say. "I don't know any Cody."

I watch as the smirk fades from her face. I can't believe this is the person that I was best friends with for seven years. I used to tell Melody everything-from secrets to crushes. Everything. Like last year, when I told her I liked Cody. I also told her I'd been crushing on him for three years. But obviously, she didn't care if she went behind my back and hooked up with Cody anyways.

The betrayal was unexpected.

It was random even. Out of nowhere, she stole the guy I liked, spread rumors about me, started hanging out with the "popular" kids--the same people we made fun of for acting like they were so cool--and she even picked on me in front of others.

I had no idea why either.

I had enough one day and slammed her face into the wall somewhere in the last few months of junior year. We got into a huge fight and earned warnings from the principal--who let us off since we had never gotten in trouble before. Principal Meyers also made us each see a guidance counselor to "solve our emotional issues that our teenage hormones were causing."

After that, my popularity kind of zoomed up. I was the good girl that randomly punched Melody. But it wasn't random. Only I knew that though. She acts all nice and beautiful in front of others but to me she's pure evil.

I snap back to reality.

Melody leans closer to my desk. "Don't play dumb," she whispers. "Though you don't need to pretend to act dumb."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"Just ask your father--he got himself killed."

Anger rages inside me. There are boundaries--lines--things that tell us when we are going too far--And that was definitely way too far. She knows what happened to my father--and yet here she is trash talking him. Bastard.