It’s finally Monday morning. I get up at six, take a shower, brush my teeth, dress in a long black sleeve shirt and red skinny jeans. I put on my gray and black striped hoodie then start straightening my hair.
At 6:45 Melody walks in and says “I need the straightener.”
“Okay.” I say as I hand it to her
“You were talking in your sleep.” She tells me
“I was?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. Emmy drugged himself before he went to sleep and didn’t hear.”
“Oh, did I bother you much?”
“Yeah.”
I smile and say “Good.”
Melody rolls her eyes. “What time do we have to be there anyway?”
“School starts at 8.”
She sighs and leaves my room. I put on my new shoes and finish getting ready.
I walk out of my room at seven to see Emmett waiting. “So my name’s Mika Alexander Tribianni?” He asks me
“Yeah, and you’re fifteen still.” I add
“My birthday’s November fifth of 1997?”
“Correct!”
“And I was born in…”
“Austin, Texas!”
“Sorry! Sorry!”
“Gotta remember this, kid.”
“Okay I will.”
“Have you-”
“Already taking all my meds? WAY ahead of ya. I even took my anti-anxiety medication just for this “special” occasion.”
“Good. I’m gonna do the same.”
“So we’re taking a bus to school? Ugh, how not cool, guys.” Melody complains as she walks out in a long sleeve navy blue dress that shows off a bit too much cleavage for school and stops several inches above her knee. She has black tights and black boots on too.
“Would you rather walk?” Emmett asks her
“No.” She says angrily
“Then don’t bitch.” I tell her
She rolls her eyes and we leave the apartment to go to school.
It takes twenty minutes to get us there and fifteen minutes to get our schedules. And guess who just so happens to run into Symphony?
This guy ;D
“Eros! Hi!” Symphony says as she walks over to me in a short gray skirt, long sleeve black shirt and a sky blue scarf
She looks absolutely amazing. “Hi, Symphony. Uh, you remember my sister, Tatiana? This is my brother Mika.” I introduce them
“Nice to meet you.” Emmett tells her
“You too.” Symphony tells him with a smile on her flawless face
Melody just says “Well, I’ll see you two losers at lunch.”
“She is just the best.” Emmett says sarcastically
“Yeah, well um, this is River,” Symphony says as she waves over to a muscular, tall, tan guy with green eyes and short brown hair
“He’s your?…”
“He’s like my brother.” She laughs
“Oh,”
“And this is Kiera. My best friend.”
“It’s nice to meet the both of you.” I tell them
“You too, you left quite an impression with lil Symphony over here.” Kiera, the short blond with big blue eyes says
Which only makes Symphony blush. The bell rings, making Kiera and River leave. “Do uh, do you two need help finding your first class?” Symphony asks us
“Um, I have P.E. first and the lady already showed me the gym, so I’m good. But Eros-he’s really slow and probably needs help.” Emmett tells Symphony
I shove him hard. “You don’t wanna be late now do you, Mika?” I say as I eye him carefully
“Nope, never on my first day. See you two later then.” Emmett says as he walks away
I laugh and hand Symphony my schedule. “Oh! Well that’s easy. You have Ms. Davis first. She’s right next to my class.” Symphony says
“Do we have any classes together?” I ask her
She scans the yellow piece of paper. “Yeah, ceramics, Ms. Love third period and Mr. Callaway-English fifth period.” She tells me
“That’s good.” I say with a smile on my face
“Yeah, and our next classes are right across the hall from each other so when the bell rings just wait outside for me.”
She leads me to my class and points at the door. “Well that’s it.” She says
I take her hand and kiss it. “Thank you once again.” I tell her
“Any time. Well, I-I’ll see you second period.” She stutters
“All right.”
She smiles and walks into her own classroom. I walk into mine and see everyone staring at me. “Can I help you?” The woman with caramel colored skin and dark brown hair that she has pinned up in perfection
She has to be in her late twenties. “Hi, um I’m Eros Tribianni. It’s my first day.” I tell the teacher
“Oh, that’s right. Well welcome to Pre Calculus Mr. Tribianni.” She tells me as she walks over to me
The whole class just stares at me. I hand the teacher my schedule. “You can have a seat next to Mr. Carson.” Ms. Davis tells me
I see Symphony’s friend, River. I take a seat next to him and class begins.
Melody’s POV
“Hey! Pool girl!” I hear someone call
I turn around to see Clark. “What the hell?” I hiss
“Hey. I didn’t know you went to school here.” He says as he walks over to me
“I just started today.”
“Oh, cool. Who do you have next?”
“Does it matter?”
“I dunno. Maybe if it’s close to my class I could walk you.”
“No, thanks.”
“Aw, come on.”
“What part of “no” don’t boys understand?”
“I just..I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
I look at him. He has puppy dog eyes. “Oh, fine. I guess you can walk me to my next class.” I sigh
He smiles this ridiculous grin and asks “What is it?”
“I have Mr. Cabot-Biology.” I tell him
“Great! So do I!” He says smiling still
“Yay.”
Clark walks me to my class. He blabbers on and on about how amazing this school is and how he’s on the baseball team. We sit down in my fourth period and I try ignoring Clark.
Aw, come on Melly. He’s not that bad.
I feel the air get kicked out of me. I check around the room to see Conner sitting on a desk in the very back. I turn my attention back at the teacher.
I mean, he’s no me, but hey no one is as amazing as me.
I raise my hand. “Yes, Ms. Tribianni?” The teacher calls on me
“May, uh, may I use the restroom?”
“Of course. Hurry back.”
I nod my head and get up. I rush out of the classroom, but still hear Conner say “Aw come on! What’s the rush?”
“The rush is to get away from you.” I hiss under my breath
“Melly, baby. You don’t mean that.”
I smirk and cock my head to the side. “Don’t I?” I ask him
“ ‘Course you don’t baby. What we had was…special.”
“So special, Conner they call it rape.”
“I think it was the best thing you’ve ever been through.”
“Oh, totally.”
I walk into the girls restroom. I check the stalls to see that no one besides me is in here. I close and lock the door. “I don’t understand. I-I took my medication. I shouldn’t be seeing you.” I whisper as I look into the mirror
“I guess it goes to show just how much you need me.”
Conner says
I turn to finally face him. He’s wearing the dark blue Ambercrombie & Fitch shirt and blue jeans he wore when I killed him. “They don’t even let you change clothes in hell?” I question him
“I dunno. I guess I’ll have to see when you go.”
“I’m trying to start over. Why can’t you let me have that?”
“Why do you get to start over when I don’t?!”
“Because I didn’t rape anyone!”
“Which one’s worse? Raping someone or killing someone?”
I glare at him. I walk past him and go back to my class.
I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy.
“Are you sure about that?”
Emmett’s POV
My day was okay. I sit with Aleko and Melody (who’s being quiet, which is strange for her). We’re eating lunch when Aleko invites that Symphony and her two friends.
The River boy keeps glaring at Aleko. Aleko smirks at this. They sit down with us and Melody sighs annoyed. “Wanna come with me to find the Library?” She asks me
“Not really.” I tell her honestly
She glares at me and kicks me under the table. I step on her foot as payback. “I hate you.” She hisses at me
I smile. “So, River’s brother’s having a party this Friday.” Symphony tells us
“Really?” Aleko asks her as if he’s really interested
“Yeah, Ricky’s in college and he lets us go to them sometimes, including this one. You should come.” Symphony tells us
“Sounds fun.” Aleko says
“Um, I’ll pass.” I tell her
“Aw, you should come too! Ricky’s parties are always the best.” She assures me
“I’m not quite the partying type.” I tell her
“He’s socially awkward.” Melody laughs
“Aw, come on it’ll be fun!” Symphony says
“Maybe.” I say
“Hopefully you come.” She says
“Well, I’m in.” Aleko assures her
I notice the glimmer of hope in her eyes when he said that.
Symphony’s POV
I walk home with River in silence. “So why’d you invite those new kids to my brother’s party?” River asks me
“I was being nice, River. Is that a problem?” I ask him
“No, but you could have at least run it by me first.”
“Is that so? I have to run things by you first?”
“Symphony, you don’t even know them.”
“I can’t make more friends?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying, River?”
“Something’s off about those three. I get a weird vibe from ‘em.”
“They’ve just been through a lot. They need friends-nonjudgmental friends.”
“You always seem to see the good in people, Symphony.”
“If I didn’t we wouldn’t even be friends, right River?”
He smiles and throws his head back, laughing. “That’s true, I guess. All right, I’ll give ‘em a chance.” He says
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
We stop walking in front of my house. He hugs me goodbye and kisses the temple of my forehead. “I’ll be getting my jeep tonight from the shop so I’m gonna be picking you and Kiera up tomorrow. Be on time.” He tells me
“I will. See you tomorrow.” I tell him as I start walking up to my house
“See ya.”
Aleko’s POV
“You’re not seriously thinking of going to that party are you?” Emmett asks me as he makes dinner in the kitchen
I’m sitting on the chair, my back to him. “I might be seriously thinking about going to that party.” I tell him
“Why?”
“It could be fun.”
“Fifty plus kids, booze, smoking, raging loud music, that doesn’t sound like something Aleko would enjoy.”
“I know, but Eros might.”
“Don’t do this, Alek. You could seriously fuck up. What if you drink? Mixing your meds and alcohol could be risky shit.”
“I’m not that stupid.”
“Aleko what if something happens? We have no way to cover it up.”
“Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“How do you know that?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“We trust you about as far as we can throw you.” Melody says as she walks in wearing one of my shirts and nothing else
“That’s my shirt.” I tell her
“And this is me, not caring.”
“Why are you wearing my shirt?”
“Because I want to.”
“Take it off.”
She smirks. “No.” She tells me boldly
I get up from the chair. “Did I stutter? I said: Take off the shirt.” I say in between clenched teeth
“Fine. I’ll take off the shirt.” And she does. She takes off the shirt right in the living room, exposing everything. She throws it at me.
I don’t catch it though. I push her into the wall. “I’m getting really sick of just how cocky you’re getting.” I hiss
I pin her hands above her. “I think your meds are waring off Aleko.” She tells me with not a hint of fear in her voice
I smirk and body slam her onto the cold tile floor. I slap her hard. “Make sure the cockiness is gone, before you really piss me off.” I warn her
I walk to my room and slam the door.
That wasn’t very nice, Aleko.
“Yeah? What do you know about “being nice”?”
Oh, trust me. I can be very nice at times.
“Really? I must not have seen it.”
Wasn’t I being nice to you that day, so long ago? When your parents had that little “accident”?
“You mean when you had me kill them?”
That was me being nice. Aren’t I just the nicest?
“Totally.”
*Three years ago*
I sit in my white plain room listening to my parents fighting. Screaming and yelling. It’s awful. I hear glass breaking and my mother, Teresa screams.
“Isn’t it just horrible?” I hear someone ask me
“Who-who said that?” I call out as I look around my room
“I did of course.” I hear him say again
“Why can’t I see you?”
“Think of me as…your imaginary friend.”
“What do you want?”
“I wanna help you, Aleko. I know you’re scared and-and hurt.”
“I’m not scared.”
“You don’t have to lie to me, Aleko. I know what they’ve done to you.”
“You do?”
“I’ve seen it. I’ve seen how much they’ve hurt you. And I wanna help.”
“How can you help me?”
“Just trust me. And listen to what I say.”
I listen to what he explains and the next thing I know I’m in my dad’s room, grabbing his knife from in between the mattresses. “Now go to the living room.” He tells me
I do as he says. I walk to the living room to see my mom holding my baby sister’s little plush pig. “She loved this you know? It never left her side.” My mother whispers
“Oh, get over it. It’s been what? Five years? Move on already honey.” I tell her
“Aleko! How dare you! She was my daughter!”
“Who’s been dead for ten years. Besides she was only three. Technically you barely even knew her.”
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t love her.”
“What does that make me chopped liver? Don’t you love me, mommy?”
“You’re a-a mistake. A monster.”
“Aw, mommy that’s not very nice. Saying something like that is gonna have to have some serious punishment to it.” I pull out the knife. I hear her breath escape her
“Aleko…put-put that down.”
“Make me.”
She walks over to me, her hands shaking as she holds them out. “Hand me the knife, mijo.” She whispers
“What if I don’t want to?” I ask her
“Please, Aleko. Don’t-don’t do this.”
“Do what? Cause you as much pain as you’ve caused me?”
“Look at the pain you have caused us!”
I walk over to her and grab her by the arm. I spin her around. I press the knife to her throat. “You never loved me.” I say as I start crying
“I tried, Mijo! I tried!” She cries
“I didn’t mean to hurt Anna. I never meant to.” I cry
“Why did you do it, Aleko?”
“I dunno. I can’t remember.”
Kill her! Kill her! Now Aleko! Before it’s too late!
“I’m sorry, Mama.” I whisper as I slice her throat open
I hear her gasp in air. She slumps and I feel the blood seep onto my skin. I drop her and let her fall onto the floor. I walk into the kitchen to see my dad stumble in with a bottle of whiskey in his hands. “Hello, Reject.” He slurs
“Hi, Daddy.” I say
He eyes my bloody hands and the knife held by one. That sobers him up real fast. “Aleko, what-what have you done?” He asks me
“Something I should have done years ago.”
“Aleko-”
“Sit down! NOW!”
“Okay, okay.” He sits down in the chair beside me. I show him the multiple crosses I have etched into my skin.
“Remember this?” I ask him
“Yes.” he says quietly
I show him my wrists. The scars they left. “What about this?” I question him
“Yeah…”
I lift my tainted white shirt to show him the brandings. “How about these?” I ask him
“What is the point of this, Aleko?” He questions me
“Just wanted you to see what you created.” I tell him
“I tried to teach you a lesson.”
“Couldn’t brand it in me huh, Alejandro?”
“Guess not.”
“You never loved me.”
“You never did anything to love.”
“I tried and tried. But you never did.”
“A monster doesn’t deserve love.”
“Forgive me Father, I have sinned.” I stab him in the back. I pull out the knife and stab him in the side while screaming.
Their blood drenched my clothes. I stumble back, looking at my hands. “What have I done?” I gasp
You’re welcome.
A sob ripples through me. I run out of the kitchen, into the living room. I trip on something. I look down to see Anna’s white plush pig. I pick it up, gazing at it as if it had all the answers to my problems. I can still hear her crying.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of sirens. I run up the stairs, running my hands against the wall. I walk into my room, turning off the lights. I trip over my own feet and fall onto the floor. I crawl into the corner of my room. Crying, I look down at Anna’s toy.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper as I brush my fingers over the white pig
I stain it with my mistakes. I start crying uncontrollably. “Look what you’ve done!” I scream
I helped you. You should be thanking me!
“I will never thank you for what you’ve done!”