Chapter 194

My life in Denhurst was over. I couldn’t face Amy after what I did to her, and the bullying grew worse daily.

There was no choice left for me but to leave the city and go somewhere nobody knew who I was.

The prospect of leaving Denhurst and everyone I cared about made me cry harder. Everything was crashing down around me, and it felt like my life was over.

If only I had told Amy about Justin being an Alpha, there would have been hope for our friendship. Maybe not after I let her be bullied at that stupid party.

It was all my fault Amy didn’t want to be friends any longer. I screwed things up beyond repair.

I got to my locker and placed my books inside. Since this was probably the last time I would visit this locker, I took the pictures taped to the inside of the locker door and held them to my heart.

One photo was a selfie of Amy and me at a book fair. Another was one Benson had taken of me and Alex after he had gotten out of the hospital. The last one Jennifer had taken at the lake. It was me standing between William and Victor in front of the cabin.

I couldn’t leave the photos behind. The memories meant too much to me.

So far, nobody in the school has seen me since I left the cafeteria, but they will all be in the hallways soon to prepare for their next classes.

I had to get out of the school before that happened. I would decide where to go when I was outside.

Clutching the precious photos, I began hurrying down the steps, and I turned right toward a door that opened into the back of the school.

The quarter-mile running track, the tennis court, and student parking were located there. I could walk through the lot and come out on Second Street before walking to the bus stop a block away.

“Goodbye, Amy,” I whispered. “Goodbye, Denhurst High School.”

I peeked behind me for a last look down the hallway and spotted the Alpha girls from the lunchroom coming my way. They were too close for me to make it to the door to the outside before they saw me, so I dove into a bathroom.

Running to the stall farthest from the door, I went inside and locked the door. Sitting on the toilet, I pulled my feet up as the door to the hall creaked open.

Some whispers and footsteps came closer to my hiding spot. Then, the room became silent. There were at least four of them, and they knew I was in the bathroom.

As I strained to hear what they were doing, I almost shrieked when I saw an eye peeking at me through a small crack next to the stall door.

There was more whispering before the stall door was kicked in. It flew against the side of the stall, missing my knees by less than an inch.

“Come out of there, imposter,” the redhead demanded. “Or are you a coward too?”

I shook my head and tried to close the stall door. “Pah …please lah …leave me alone.”

“Nah …no way,” the redhead declared. I suddenly remembered her name was Wendy. “We don’t put up with losers like you who steal other people’s lives. I bet you're not even an Alpha.”

“How dare they say such a thing?” Diana said. “Daisy, you must tell them the truth and fight back. These girls are users who wouldn’t dare to do this when everyone believed you were Alex’s daughter.”

“There are too many of them, Diana,” I replied.

“You’re nothing but a total imposter,” another girl said. “You are a Beta trying to be somebody, and now you’ve been caught.”

“She must be punished for what she did,” Wendy declared and pushed herself inside the stall.

She grabbed the photos I didn’t realize were still in my hand and tore one up, letting the pieces float to the floor in front of my face.

“I am an Alpha,” I said clearly. I was getting mad.

Did they have no compassion or empathy for others? Didn’t they realize how complicated the situation was for me too?

“These girls were always jealous of you,” Diana said. “That’s why they are enjoying your misfortune. But don’t listen to them, and don’t allow them to make you feel inferior to anyone. I know who you truly are.”

“Daisy, you must listen to me,” Diana continued. “Your bloodlines are older and more noble than anyone in this school. Fight back, or they could harm you.”

Wendy began to tear up another photo. “You knew you weren’t Alberta, but you wanted the life of an Alpha princess and Mr. Wilson’s money.”

“And you walked around the school pretending to be better than the rest of us, preaching about helping the poor and riding around with Victor Klein in his Lamborghini.”

“She’s such a poser and an imposter,” another girl said with a laugh.

“You are better than they are,” Diana said. “Don’t take this kind of treatment from them. They have no right to act this way toward you.”

“And you aren’t the same Daisy they used to torment,” Diana reminded me. “You are Alberta Wilson. Olivia is the imposter. I know it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I’m positive,” Diana replied. “Now fight back. I am with you.”

When Wendy held the third picture up in front of my face and tore it into pieces, I grabbed her wrists.

“Give me back my picture and leave me alone,” I demanded.

The girl was so surprised by my words and tone that she released the photos. I quickly stuffed it into my pocket.

“Now get out of here,” I added.

But Wendy soon regained her composure. She was the leader of the little group of bullies and didn’t want to show them any weakness.

Diana was right. Hoping they would tire of bullying me wouldn’t work. They would continue until they hurt me enough to satisfy their need to inflict physical and emotional pain.

I stood and pushed Wendy out of my way. “I’ve had enough of you. Now, leave me alone. I have better things to do than put up with your crap.”

Standing outside the stall, I saw there were five of them. One blonde named Chrissy blushed when I looked at her and shook my head in disbelief. She had been at my birthday ball.

“I’m late for class,” Chrissy said and left.

I began to follow her to the door. Before I took three steps, Wendy and a brunette grabbed my arms and pulled me backward.

“We aren’t done with you yet, imposter,” Wendy snarled.

I shook myself loose. “Yes, you are. I’m late, too. Now leave me alone and get yourselves to class.”

“We don’t take orders from you anymore!” Wendy roared, and all four of them pushed me backward into the stall.

I fought back, but I was outnumbered. After another brutal shove, I landed on my back on the floor.

Laying there temporarily dazed, my tormentors scurried out of the bathroom and into the hallway. The door closed behind them, and I heard something scraping along the outside of the wood.

“I’ve got an idea,” I heard Wendy tell the others, and then there was silence.

I sat up and checked myself for injuries. My butt may be a little bruised, but I was okay.

The attack made me more determined to leave the school. I couldn’t come here and be bullied every day. I had to go somewhere else.

Spotting the pieces of my photos on the floor, I picked them up and tried to put them back together. They were the photos of me, and the other was the one of me, William, and Victor.

Those nasty, jealous jerks had destroyed my memories. At least I still had the photo of me and Alex. Maybe the others could be repaired.

First, I needed to get out of the school.

After getting to my feet, I went to the door. But it wouldn’t open. They locked me in the bathroom!

“Maybe I can get out one of the windows,” I told myself.

Diana heard me. “Try, Daisy. You heard the redhead. They locked you in so they could return and do something worse.”

“The windows open from the top,” I said. “I don’t know if I can climb up there.”

“Someone is outside the door,” Diana said. “You must try.”

I heard the sound too. Somebody was scraping something outside the bathroom door again, and then the door slowly began to open.