"All she wanted was for someone to look at her and see the person she hid so well"
- Atticus
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I'VE BEEN IN MY CAR FOR MINUTES, my head rested against the wheel, the sun hitting the windshield and making the ambient a bit warmer. The cold air from outside is strong today and just the thought of going outside is enough to make me shiver.
It feels like hours but I can't leave it. Not when I know I'm already late for school, the second time in a fucking week.
Detention is certain but that's not what worries me. Tom will beat the hell out of me and the thought of his hands so close to my neck one more time makes tears form in my brown eyes. I fight the urge to cry so bad because I know I'm responsible for this.
These past days I've been so sloppy and I'm afraid all of this will reflect on Sammy. That somehow the monster I live with will affect me by going after my little brother, that psycho.
I take the last breath I have before finally opening my car's door, hiding the weak girl in the back of mind.
My black ankle boots thin heels click against the floor of the empty hallway and despite my attempts not to wear the clothes I got with Kayla, she didn't let me. Before I got a chance to think about what I would wear, she sent me a message threatening me to use the leather jacket we bought.
That girl.
So here am I. My wavy dark brown hair cascades in my back and the light blue ripped jeans are so tight, high waisted, that I almost can't breathe. The sleeveless lace black crop top is too exposed but the damn leather jacket covers it a little bit and makes it look good.
The red lipstick and mascara on my long eyelashes complete the whole bad girl look and even though I'm still adjusting to this style and was too scared to try it on, I feel powerful for once.
The moment I arrive in my classroom, my hands start sweating and I need to control myself not to run off here. This is one of the worst things when it came to arriving late. My school makes the students who are late, enter in the middle of the class and apologize to the teacher, after receiving a good lecture.
I knock on the door and by the little glass window, I see when Mrs. Anderson, the English literature teacher, signals for me to come in, annoyance clear in his face.
I take one last breath before turning the doorknob and finally entering the class, all of my classmates looking at me. My cheeks start to get hotter and I curse in my mind for me being so stupid. How could I arrive late?
"Miss Baker, I believe you are in some serious trouble," The teacher's voice tone is low, sounding angry and I just wish I could hide somewhere, "you got detention for today. Congrats Miss."
By the sound of cheers by my classmates and some boys whistling because of my new outfit, I sit down, but not before putting on the bad girl mask that Kayla told me to. I have to stand up for myself more often.
"Thank you, Mrs. Anderson. I appreciate it." I fake my nicest smile and the moment he turns around to continue his classes, I roll my brown eyes in annoyance.
Despite all these attempts of faking being strong, my mind can't focus on anything but the slaps Tom will give the moment he hears about my detention. Shivers go through my whole body and I have to control myself down not to break. Fuck, how am I going to pick up Sammy?
Luckily, he's at my aunt's and she will buy the lie I need to come up with as to why I will take a little longer at school. There are still 15 minutes to the lunch break, a proof of how much late I was, and I can't wait for them to pass. I've been here for less than an hour and I already want to leave.
I'm so broken.
What has the monster back home done to me?
The cafeteria is more crowded than any other day and somehow, most of the looks are directed to me once again. Can't a girl that it's almost a ghost dress up for once without anyone noticing? Guess not.
As I walk to my friend's table, I hear a couple of gossips like "Is that a new girl?" or "Damn, she's hot." and I can't help but feel a little uncomfortable with all the sudden attention.
I try to hide the weak girl in the back of mind and put on the sexiest smile I can, this last thing being Kayla's tip, but I'm afraid I will break at any moment.
I have to take a deep breath before continuing to walk and finally face my best friends.
The moment I meet Eric's electric blue eyes, he opens the biggest smile possible and I can tell he contains himself from screaming at my sudden change of look.
Before I even know it, he grabs me by my hand and makes me sit right next to him in front of Bella. She widens her eyes at the exact moment and almost chokes on her milkshake, causing me to laugh a bit too loud about the whole situation. My friends are truly the best.
"Who are you and what have you done to Adelina Baker?" He slaps my shoulder in a playful way while my other best friend is still astonished by all of this, her eyes widen at me.
"To be honest, I don't even know." I place my hands on my face, my cheeks getting hotter by all the attention directed to me. Deep inside, I'm happy because my friends never truly talk about me, it's always about one of Eric's hookups or some crazy story from Bella's cheer team.
I guess I never thought I needed someone to truly talk to.
"You look so hot, girl!" Bella's enthusiasm looks a bit too fake but I guess it's just something of my mind. I hate the fact I doubt everyone's action and don't trust anyone completely.
I smile at her while grabbing a french fries from the boy next to me. He curses underneath his breath and all I do is give him my middle finger, which causes us three to laugh.
"Hey, why aren't you meeting us after class anymore?" The moment my friend in front of me asks that, I know she's trying to catch me out of a guard. She has done it before but it's been a while since she tried to affect me. Bella always ends up apologizing afterward and I always forgive her.
Our friendship is definitely not perfect.
Eric and she are waiting for my response anxiously, their whole attention directed to me but I decided to take a deep breath before answering anything that could put Sammy at risk.
Think Adelina, you got this.
"My dad asked me to study hard this last week for a chance of winning some scholarship off country." I shrug my shoulders and take a sip from my friend's coke in front of me, my heart beating fast at the thought they won't buy my lie. They need to or else I'm screwed.
"Makes sense, Tom is always finding a reason for you to study harder." Bella flashes me a smile, while Eric is talking to me, that looks a bit smug but I know it's because I escaped from her trap.
Why does she keep doing this to me? Especially now, more than ever.
The bell rings right after I smile back to my friend but she doesn't seem to bother as we three stand up, despite my wishes, to head to the last classes that will take place now.
They walk next to me down the hall and I can notice a few looks here and there from some classmates but I'm not sure if it's to me or Bella.
It's probably her. Always is.
We arrive in front of the only class we have together, Chemistry, and for once I feel a bit happy about learning something. I feel protected when around friends but I wish I didn't. I need to be more independent, fuck.
Before I can enter the room, someone grabs my arm from behind and I can't help but let out a little gasp, startled to say something else.
When I turn around, I'm met by Damien's friend waiting to talk to me, both of his hands in his pockets. My friends are waiting for me at the door but I tell them to go without me and while Eric winks at me because of Chad, Bella just looks at me from the corner of her eyes before leaving my sight.
She's really getting on my nerves today.
"I just wanted to warn you about Damien, Adelina. While he's not around." I can tell Chad's chestnut eyes are worried despite the whole bad boy facade. My heart skips a beat the moment he tells me that but I try to keep it cool, only giving him a quick nod.
We take a few steps away from the door, standing in the middle of the empty hallway and my hands are sweating each minute I'm out of the class, I can't get another detention. Luckily we have a five-minute tolerance to arrive because of the lunch period.
"I can't miss this class, Chad. Please keep it short." He nods at me and all I do is take a deep breath, trying somehow to keep calm and trust him.
"You've probably heard it by now but Damien Stone is fucking dangerous, Adelina. He's the devil in person and I'm afraid you don't know where you are getting into. I notice the looks between you two and the way he teases you. He's like a brother to me but please, don't get involved too deeply with the mess that is Damien," Chad tells me, his eyes focusing on me the whole time. By the moment he finishes his advice, my heartbeat is already frantic, beating so hard against my chest that I'm afraid the boy in front of me can hear it.
Breathe. You already knew that the bad boy is trouble, it's written all over Damien. Why the hit?
Because maybe I haven't thought about how close I already am to him.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Tom is the reason why I get too attached to people after letting my guard down when they seem to care about me. That bastard.
"Thanks for the heads up, Chad. I know what I'm getting into, it's not like I'm going to fall over him anyways. God no." I wink at him at the end and all he does is keep looking at me, one of his eyebrows raised, probably doubting my whole bad girl facade. If I hadn't my eyes on Damien already, the boy in front of me would have my attention for sure. He's undeniably handsome.
The tight grey shirt that highlights his muscles plus the black jeans match completely and give him all the atmosphere of a bad boy. His light brown hair is combed back and his jawline is perfectly sculpted.
Why the hell the bad boys are the hottest?
"I will be fine, promise," I whisper right afterward the whole silence and now he gives me a nod, my heart feeling a bit warm by the fact he cared about my feelings regarding his best friend. Fuck, not feelings.
Just a damn attraction.
"Hell, I'm late to meet Damien. Fuck." Chad swears underneath his breath as he probably reads a message from the bad boy on his phone. I can't help but laugh at how fucked up he is and all he does is give me his middle finger, causing me to laugh even more.
He walks down the hall but before he's gone, I remember I can ask him something that would make my life much easier.
"Hey, Chad! Can you do me a favor?" The boy with light brown locks stops in the middle of the hallway and turns around. I met by the typical bad boy smirk, his perfect teeth aligned, followed by a "bring it on."
I know that's the answer I was looking for.
Having influential contacts has its perks, really.
After my little talk with Chadwick, the bad boy's friend managed to get me away from the detention and pulled some strings so that wouldn't appear on my school record. I have no idea how he did that and the good part of me is feeling guilty from this little infraction but I know I need this.
I need to pick Sammy up at my aunt's and still make sure to convince Tom on letting me sleep at Bella's house. Today is the big soccer game against our rivals and the whole school will be there. It's a major event between the schools.
The moment I enter my aunt's street, my hands start to sweat on the driving heel and my heart keeps beating faster. I haven't seen her ever since my little brother's birthday two months ago and in that opportunity, she sure didn't hold back the mean comments about me.
Her condo keeps getting bigger and bigger as I reach it, and I have to take a deep breath not to take the turn on my left right now and get the hell out of here.
I'm doing this for Sammy.
When I finally stop in front of her apartment, the fancy two towers building flaunting wellness, I see her coming from the big black window door with Sammy hand in hand.
Aunt Linda is wearing a lace white dress that stops below her knee and a nude trench coat that probably costs a fortune. Her hair is curled above her shoulders and the gleaming blonde highlights make her look elegant.
She's 60 years old but with all the makeup and the aesthetic procedures she does, Linda appears to be much younger.
My brother opens the biggest smile I've ever seen as our eyes meet and I can't help but unbuckle the seatbelt in a heartbeat and leave the car. I kneel on the sidewalk in front of me, opening my arms to Sammy and he comes running instantly, his chestnut curls sticking to all sides.
Minutes later, he's in my arms, his baby cologne filling my nose. All I do is hug him tight, feeling his warm skin against mine and feeling extremely grateful that my little brother is safe.
I feel Linda's gaze on me as I stand up with Sammy by my side, her dark green eyes similar to my Dad's analyzing me all the way.
"Thank you," I say underneath my breath, trying to control my heartbeat and preparing myself for possible rude comments.
"Anytime, Sammy is a sweetie." She smiles at him, the wrinkles in her eyes getting more evident and showing her real age for once.
I turn around to put my little brother in the car and buckle his seatbelt but the woman behind me calls my name. I whisper in Sammy's ear for him to keep going to the car while I go talk to her.
My hands are sweaty as I get closer to Linda, her weight shifting from one side to another, her arms crossed. I fake a smile when I stop in front of her but she doesn't smile back, she never does.
"Just wanted to make clear the fact that your brother is the one welcome here, not you, ever. Ok, darling?" There it is, the aunt I know so well. With that, she turns around and leaves, my heart aching from the pain.
The family from the side of my dad never liked my mom's Latin ancestry. They are fucking idiots.
Tears dare to fall from my eyes but I try so hard not to let them fall for someone like her. It's useless. At one point, they are already streaming fast down my cheeks while I run to the car.
All I want is my family back.
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{A/N: Hey guys! It's been such a long time, I'm sorry. So here it is, another BB's chapter. I hope you all liked it and if you did, don't forget to vote on it and comment on how you feel about it! I wanted to write the soccer game in this chapter but this is in 3000 words already lol. What do you all think will happen next chapter? I'm excited ;)
Thank you for the 15k reads! It's truly surreal.
Stay safe, love you all!}