Chapter One

ELEVEN MONTHS AGO

 

 

"Are you Hillary?" 

 

          I cleaned my teary eyes with the back of my palm, took in a deep breath, and turned around to see who it was. 

 

      Oh my! In front of me was a stunning beautiful girl, with ocean blue eyes and long curly blonde hair. She was obviously my age, but she looked way more–I wouldn't say beautiful but rather sophisticated than me. 

 

      Apparently she had noticed my teary face and my silence didn't help her feel comfortable. "I'm sorry for bothering you...I'm just going to sort it out myself..." She said.

 

      "No worries, I'm fine...and yes, I'm Hillary. How may I help you?"

 

        "Are you sure? It's nothing I can't handle." She said still feeling uncomfortable.

 

    "I'm really fine. Ignore my face. So, what's the problem?"

 

    "I heard you're the person hosting the party?"

 

    "Yes, I am." I said. My mind began to twitch like a building having power issues. I hoped nothing had happened. My parents weren't even aware that I was hosting a party in the house. It wasn't my idea but that of my so-called friends, Janette and Clarissa. They persuaded me in setting up a house party and I had stupidly agreed. Though it wasn't like I had an option, it was Janette's 18th birthday and she couldn't celebrate it at her own house since her father was really sick and was stuck in a wheel chair at home.

 

   "Well, there's a little problem." The blonde girl said.

 

      From her countenance, it was obvious that the problem was far from little. 

 

    "What happened?" I asked nervously. 

 

     The sound of the loud music was still very audible from the woods where I had hidden. My hands began to quiver and my palms became sweaty. If anything happened, I'll have to take full responsibility for it. My stepfather, Steve Harrow would finally see a perfect reason to murder me. My mum would be totally disappointed and shocked, as I wasn't the party type. I never attended any parties apart from school parties, so me hosting a party at home would be a shocking surprise to my mum. 

 

    

    "I think it's better you see for yourself." She said.

 

      "Fine." My mind went haywire. Something terrible must have happened. 

 

     She led the way as we walked through the dark woods. I had not gone too far into the woods, so we soon got back to the house. 

 

     The garden and walkway were filled with empty alcohol drinks and several trash I couldn't recognise. 

 

       We pushed our way through the jam-packed door and into my house. 

 

     The stench of alcohol and cigarette filled the living room.

 

      The disco lights and the loud music made me dizzy and I was sure that I wouldn't make it through the living room without collapsing. The alcohol and dense air made me feel like vomiting.

 

       She must have noticed my state as she grabbed my hand and led me through the living room and up the stairs. 

 

       We walked into my room, and she guided me to the toilet to vomit. 

 

       It took me some minutes to vomit the  stench of alcohol off my mind and my system.

 

        I was whimpering and shaking and mumbling curse words when I noticed her laughing. "What's making you laugh?" I asked, offended.

 

    "Nothing," she managed to say, as she was almost choking with laughter. "You didn't even drink alcohol, yet you vomited your full guts out, which makes me wonder what would happen, if you had gotten drunk."

 

    I don't know why her utterance annoyed me. It was patent that she meant it as a joke and her laughter served as evidence. Maybe, I was annoyed because she looked really pretty and classy, just like my fake friends Clarissa and Janette and all the other girls who made fun of me, the only difference being that she was way more beautiful than them, which made it even worse. 

 

      My mum had a funny saying about girls like that; 'The prettier and more dressed they are, the higher the tendency of them being bullying bitches.'

 

      I stuck to that rule for almost all my life, until last two months when my mother shockingly told me to try to mix up with the others, to attempt to see if I could still be a normal kid. She more or less forced me to be friends with them. She said that she wanted to see if they'll like me or if I'll be interested in talking to them at all. She had suggested Janette and Clarissa,since they were the only two girls from my school who attended the old town church. Even though, they came once in every ten months, my mum still believed that for them to come to our church, whether it be because of their parents or not, they still had good in their heart. A good which could help her broken daughter.

 

    Stupid, right? I know. But it didn't sound stupid to her. To her it was the perfect way to help me—like I needed any help.

 

     To cut to the chase, her perfect plan hadn't worked as I still disliked them and all it did was increase my hatred for them. Now they were in my house, drinking, smoking, laughing, kissing, and doing other crazy things that normal people like them do, sending me away from my house, into the woods to face my nightmares all by myself. 

 

     I made up my mind that the girl standing behind me and watching me vomit was no different from the rest. By the way, she looked just like them, even better dressed  and prettier than them. So, she must even be worse than the rest. She had to be.

 

     I stood up and washed my face and mouth with water from the sink. From the mirror, I caught her staring at me, so I quickly looked away. She didn't have the mean, predator-like look which the other girls had whenever they saw me. She had a look of care on her face, like she really cared on how I was feeling. But, I cleared that out of my thoughts and concluded that I was just making it up and it could not have been genuine care. No one really cared about me, no one could ever genuinely care about me.

 

         I turned around and faced her. Her glistening blue eyes fixed on me. I cleared my throat and asked in a firm voice, "So, what's it?"

 

       "Are you sure you're alright?"

 

    "What do you care?"

 

       "Whatever, follow me." She said already feeling my negative energy.

 

   We walked out of my room and towards my parents room. I felt like jumping out of my skin, as we arrived at my parents room door. 

 

      She opened the door and walked inside. I stood by the door frame with my mouth agape and eyes wide open. I couldn't believe my eyes. 

 

        It was Clarissa and Janette with a girl from school and two boys I couldn't identify. They were seated all over, on the bed and on the chairs in the room. Apart from some fallen pictures and the rumpled bed sheets, there was nothing physically wrong with the room, and it was the least of my problems at that time. 

 

         On the small coffee table was a powdered substance which Janette and one of the guys were sniffing from. Clarrisa was laughing hysterically and on her nose was also the same powdered substance which was also on the nostrils of the rest. 

 

         No one needed to tell me that the powdered substance was some kind of hard drug, as it stunk like something burning.

 

        When they noticed my presence at the door, Clarissa laughed again and said to the rest, "Is there any of the good stuff remaining because it seems like our dearest friend, Hillary would need some."

 

      Janette lifted her face from the pile of drugs on the table and stared at me. "Come right over, baby. The party just began. By the way, your house is lovely. You never told me you had such a massive house... not like I would have believed you."

 

       Clarissa giggled. "Who will believe that a mansion like this would be built by the edge of the woods. Crazy right?"

 

       My chest rose and fell as my body was crammed with fury. I stormed towards them and angrily wiped the powdered drugs off the table. 

 

       Janette stood up angrily in reaction to what I had done. She looked at me with her eyes burning with anger, but I wasn't having her crap that day. "You idiot, what did you just do?"

 

        I stared back at her with my eyes flaring like fire. "Get out! Now!"

 

        "Or what?" Clarrisa said as she rose up from the bed and moved towards me. "Are you going to beat us or kick us out? Don't you wanna be friends with us? Remember Hillary that we being friends with a loser like you is a favor which we gave to your mum, so don't mess it up."

 

        I tried shutting their words from my head but the attempt was futile. They got to me again, but this time I didn't cry or run away, I transformed my pain into anger. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!"

 

     The two boys and the other girl had stood up and were about walking out but Janette stopped them. "Feel comfortable, by the way this is mommy's house too."

 

      Clarissa said. "Yea, and it seems like mommy is way more nicer than you, Hillary."

 

      I felt like grabbing Janette by the shoulder and hitting her face with my clenched fist, and that was what i was about to do when the pretty blonde girl came to my rescue. 

 

     She stepped in front of me and was now face to face with Janette. From the look on Janette's face, it was evident that she was intimidated. 

 

      She said in a soft but authoritative voice. "If she wants you to leave her house, I'll advise you to leave before things get messy."

 

       "And who are you?" Clarissa asked.

 

     "Someone who is ready to punch your stupidity out of you. I call it the deliverance method." She said.

 

        Janette laughed frantically. "Fine, we'll leave, but remember, Hillary, she'll save you today but before tomorrow I bet she'll figure out that you're nothing but a dumb, stupid and worthless loser who has nothing to offer, and she'll will quit from being your shield, leaving you back with us...your true friends."

 

       

       Janette walked out laughing and so did the rest. I collapsed on the bed and took in deep breaths. 

 

      She sat beside me. "Are they always that stupid?"

 

     I laughed. "Yes, they are." I looked at her but immediately looked away when I saw her ocean blue eyes fixed on me. "Thank you."

 

    "For what?"

 

  "For what you did earlier, standing up to them for me."

 

 "Yea." She took in deep breaths. "I hate when people try to bully others. I have a history of my own."

 

    I stared at her in disbelief as she now had her eyes on the floor. "I doubt that anyone can ever bully you."

 

      "Why's that?" She said as her eyes met mine, I tried looking away but it was already too late. 

 

     "You look too confident and strong to ever get bullied."

 

   She smiled. "I don't think that's why but you're right, I've never really been bullied but I know someone who was..." Her voice faded.

 

     It was clear that the topic wasn't really a happy subject so I changed it. "Damn! I really have to get this place cleaned up." I said rising to my feet.

 

      "Yea, you're right. Let me help." She also stood up.

 

    "Thank you, you're so nice."

 

    "Trust me, I'm not."

 

  I chuckled. "OK. That's cool too." I stood up and began picking the pictures.

 

     In a minute i was done setting the portraits rightly. I turned around and was startled by a tattoo which was at her back, it was exposed as she bent to arrange the sheets. 

 

     It was strange. It looked like a weird tattoo of a big dog eyes...no, a wolf's eye.

 

      She stood up and turned around. "What the hell are you looking at, Hillary?"