Chapter 1

POV Rio

One thing that I hate about school is the monotony. I hate being in places where nothing happens. I need action to survive, either the bass of music resonating in my ears, loud enough to burst my hearing or the wild scream of a frantic crowd when two opponents are inside the arena, their fists about to collide with each other's face.  

I have a fight scheduled for tonight.  

Davis promised me a beautiful amount if I win but he knows very well that I never do it for the money. I just can't  go long enough without punching  someone or I'll go mad.  

"Are you with us Mr. Dasilva?" 

The math teacher is looking at me behind his glasses with a look of disapproval on his face.  

Another thing I hate about school is annoying teachers like this one who always think that students who don't interact in their class are either dumb or troublemakers.  

"Yeah," I answer without bothering to look up. My head is resting on my forearm. My hood is pulled over my head to black out the morning light coming from the window next to me. 

"In that case why don't you come over here and solve this exercise for us?" 

Great. He really wants to annoy the hell out of me. I momentarily consider acting as if I didn't hear him, they usually move on when I do that but my phone died and I forgot my charger which means I can't listen to music for the next hour until lunch and I'm bored to death.   

I can't survive without music or fighting for too long. 

"Please, do take your time Mr. Dasilva," this annoying teacher says ironically. "It's not like we have anything better to do then to wait for his majesty." 

When I stand up I notice that all the students have their attention on me. Since I moved to this neighborhood last year I haven't made friends with anyone. The people I mostly talk to are Davis who owns a bar in town and Kline who's my coworker at the garage where I work after school.  

I've learned that the more you get attached to people the more you'll get hurt when they leave. So I keep my distance.  The people that I cared about the most are gone anyway. My heart doesn't have the place for anyone else. 

"You got this Rio darling," I hear Jade say when I walk by her. She works at Davis' bar as a waitress and used to ask me out when I was still a new student here until I made it clear to her that I would never be interested.  She still tries to flirt sometimes but I don't pay attention. She'll eventually get tired and give up. Or not. But I don't care either way. 

The only girl I've ever fallen in love with got killed by someone who should be rotting in jail but is still walking around freely just because his parents are rich and powerful.  

I quickly read the math problem and begin solving it. This one is quite easy. Suddenly the door opens and someone enters our class.  

"Oh, excuse me!" The feminine voice says. I keep writing the answer to the math problem without  attention to the student who has just entered our class. "Is this the math class with Mr. Clarke?" 

"Yes," I hear our teacher say. "You're the new student right? Noralyn Chase?" 

As soon as I hear the name my hand stops writing and my whole body freezes. 

I know this name. 

But there's no way that this nightmare from my past would have followed me here one year later.  

"It's me," the voice says again. "Sorry for being late. I got lost trying to find the class." 

"I understand,  please come in."

I turn around and my eyes land immediately inside of hers and we both seem unable to look away. Realization immediately dawns upon her and I see her eyes widen in shock. She remembers.  Of course she does.  

This girl had the audacity to attend my parents' funeral. If someone didn't hold me back, I don't know what I would have done. She ran out of the church in tears as if she was the victim and I was just being a lunatic yelling at her for no reason, that hypocrite.  

I feel my heartbeat going wild inside my chest and my hands start shaking.  I see red. This whole family deserves to burn in hell. I escaped my hometown just to avoid ever seeing them again. What is she doing here? 

I don't realize that I'm walking until I'm standing right in front of her and there's nothing separating our bodies. I look down on her, all my frustration rushing through my veins like fire. Why did my girlfriend have to die and she had to live?  

"Mr. Dasilva what are you doing?" The teacher asks behind me. "Go back to your seat now." 

But I don't move. I can't. It suddenly becomes hard for me to breathe. Every time I inhale it seems that I'm only breathing fire.   

"What are you doing here?" I ask her through gritted teeth. 

She doesn't answer right away. She still looks shocked that I'm here in front of her. 

"I... uhm" 

"Do you people have sworn to follow me everywhere until the day I die?" 

"I don't- I don't-" she stutters miserably and I notice her eyes filling up with tears.  

Oh please, not this again. She deserves an Oscar seriously. 

"Mr Dasilva!" The math cheater barks, "Stop terrorizing the student. You're getting detention today." 

I lean forward until my face is close to Noralyn's and make sure that all my rage can be heard in my voice when I speak to her. 

"You better tell your rich parents to find you another school if you want to survive high school. " 

Then I walk around her to get out of the class without looking back even once.  

I immediately go to the bathroom and run straight toward the sink to splash some water on my face. My hands are still shaking violently and my breathing is still erratic.   

I fall to the ground running my hands through my wet curly brown hair to get them out of my face then put my head between my forearms to try to control my breathing. 

I'm going mad. I'm going mad. 

I need to get out of here and fast.  

I forgot my backpack in the class but I couldn't care less right now. Luckily the key of my motorcycle is always in my pocket.   

The halls of the school are empty at this hour because everyone is in class. Fortunately I encounter nobody who forces me to go back to class. Once I'm outside I have the feeling that I can breathe better.  

I get on my motorcycle and start the engine. As soon as the engine roars to life I feel myself calm down a little bit. 

I engage in the road, the wind slapping my face. I go as fast as I can, zigzagging between cars. Some drivers curse at me but I don't care. 

I need to get to Davis' bar right now. I need to get into a fight before I have a panic attack.  I stopped taking medication a while ago and I don't want to become dependent of these stupid pills again. 

I need to draw out blood. 

This girl Noralyn Chase better not be at school when I come back tomorrow.