Chapter four

Nothing could have ever prepared me for what happened next.

Ignoring the insults hurled at me, I rushed to the classroom, in hopes I’d see him.

The classroom was empty.

I balled my sweaty hands in a fist and ran as fast as I could.

Knowing him, if he wasn’t there, then he’d be on the rooftop with his ‘gang’. Including Ashley and Audrey.

But I didn’t care.

Right now, I just needed the truth, some clarity. Someone who could actually defend me.

I rushed up the stairs breathing heavily and barged through the metal door leading to the rooftop.

They were all there.

I would never forget the looks on their faces.

Ashley and Audrey had that usual demeaning scowl plastered on their faces.

Damien stared blankly at me, but there was something else beneath his eyes, something I didn’t have the patience to register.

And Cody? The shock on his face came as quickly as it left.  But I caught it.

I rushed to his side and held his hand, tears clouding my vision.

“Cody, please, you need to help me, tell the principal I was on a date with you and-“

A high pitched laugh interrupted me, “A date? With you? What kind of a sick joke is that??” Ashley said mockingly, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes.

“The drugs she’s using is really getting to her head.” Audrey spoke casually, and I flared up.

“I am not using drugs!” I turned back to Cody, “After that night with you, I can’t remember anything… I just need you to tell her-“

“Don’t you have an ounce of shame in that shapeless body of yours?” Ashley spat.

“I don’t think poverty stricken people possess that quality Ash, don’t blame her.” Audrey said, a pompous air in her tone.

I didn’t care about what they thought.

All that mattered was that Cody knew what happened, I just needed him to explain it to-

He ripped his hand from mine and stepped back slowly, “Why would I ever go out with someone like you?”  Every word hit me like a massive brick.

“W-what?” I could not believe what I heard.

He chuckled darkly, “Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror??”

What was happening?

“I doubt it. Everytime she tried, it must have shattered beholding such horror.” Audrey added, laughing at me alongside Ashley.

“I wonder how those men fucked something like you, you disgust me.” Cody hissed, eyeing me like I was some grotesque creature.

“Why are you lying!! We went out together and you know it!!!” I choked, tears streaming down my face shamelessly.

He smirked, but this time, i felt no butterflies. Just pain.

“Then prove it.”

I gasped as I almost stumbled under the crippling weight of the realization.

He was the last person I was with.

He knew.

I looked at Audrey and Ashley, the knowing smirk on their faces was evident.

And Damien? He couldn’t even look at me.

They knew.

In blind fury, I ran up to Cody, grabbing him by the collar.

“What did you do to me???!!! What did you do?!!!” I screamed, my throat hurting in the process.

But I couldn’t care less at that point.

“Get the fuck off me!” He yelled, pushing me to the floor.

The impact of my elbow to concrete floor was painfully sharp. But I didn’t stay down.

I rose again, and rushed towards him again like a bull to a red cloth.

But before I could reach him, I was restrained by Audrey and Ashley.

“Let go of me!!” I screeched, my chest heaving.

“This pig thinks she can command us.” Ashley said.

“This is why these poor people should remain in their uncultured slums.” Audrey sneered.

“Audrey-“ Damien finally spoke, but Cody held his shoulder, giving him a sign to back down.

And unfortunately, he did.

“I think we need to re-educate this pig.”

Then she grabbed my hair, almost ripping it from my scalp.

I screamed in pain, struggling to escape their grasp.

And i felt a shove.

I didn’t have time to process it.

One moment I was on the roof.

And the next, I was floating in the air, desperately reaching for someone. Anyone.

To hold me.

To save me.

And the next moment, my final moment, I was on the ground, my tears leaking from the corner of my eyes, merging with the trail of blood that flowed from my body.

“…she…dead…”

“Leave…run…”

Those were the last words I heard before I succumbed into the darkness.

Before I died.

But then I saw my mother’s face. Her infectious smile. Her heart warming laughter.

I couldn’t leave her behind.

I couldn’t.

Wake up!

Wake up!!

WAKE UP!!

A large gasp escaped my lips as I jerked up, my breath heavy.

Am I dead?

I took in my surroundings. Cream colored walls, dim fluorescent lighting, and a metal cart beside the bed I laid in.

Then the incessant beeping from the monitor reached my ears, the smell of iodine and ethanol invading my nostrils.

My eyes caught the cast on my arm and leg, and the needle inserted in my arm.

How did I get to the hospital?

Suddenly, the door opened, and a petite woman walked in, dressed in blue scrubs and a stethoscope around her neck.

“You’re awake, thats good.” She smiled as she walked up to me.

She began to check my vitals, “You’re very lucky to have survived that fall from a two story building and special thanks to the Good Samaritan who brought you in on time. A moment later, and you wouldnt have made it.”

Good Samaritan? Maybe a teacher saw my body sprawled out on the ground and called an ambulance.

“Please, I need to talk to my mum.” I croaked, my throat as dry as the desert.

“Here.” She offered me the glass of water on the metal cart, and I chugged it down like I haven’t tasted water in years.

“Can I have a phone please? My mum would be worried about me.” I said with urgency, after placing the cup back on the cart.

“We… tried to reach your mother three weeks ago.” She said, her lips void of the smile that it held a moment ago.

Three weeks??

I’ve been unconscious for that long??

“Is she okay? Was she admitted here?” I asked, my eyes tearing up.

Ofcourse she’d be hospitalized. I’ve been gone for weeks, with no word from me.

She shifted uncomfortably where she stood, before she spoke.

“I’m so sorry, but her body was found in the apartment building, down a flight of stairs…”

I couldn’t hear any other thing she said.

My whole world went dreadfully silent.

My mother, my rock… she was dead. And it’s all because of me.

She died trying to look for me, and had a heart attack while coming down the stairs.

She was the only family I had, the only one that made life worth living.

Now she’s gone.

I opened my mouth to scream. But no sound was great enough to explain the pain I felt within me.

It was unbearable.

I gripped my chest tightly with my free hand as the tears fell silently down my cheeks.

Ive lost it all.

My Dignity. My pride. My scholarship. My mother.

All because of them.

And i will make every single one of them pay.

One. By. One.

I will ruin them.