PROLOGUE:ATHENA

An hour ago..

"Hello little mouse, it was so easy to get you up here, all I had to do was take that morons phone and text you, and you came running to him without any questions asked," Dylan said, his breath fanning my neck as I attempted to remain still so he wouldn't notice how afraid I was.

"Where is Leo? If you don't let me go, I'm going to scream bloody murder," I managed to say, but my trembling voice betrayed me, showing my fear.

"Oh, don't worry about him, little mouse; after all, when his old friend is finished with him, your boyfriend will wish he hadn't crossed me," Dylan said, and I could tell he was smiling.

"What are you talking about? You sick fuck, where is Leo?" I cursed, causing his hold on my shoulders to tighten.

"If he ignored you like everyone else and minded his own fucking business maybe you wouldn't have even thought of fighting back then and now"

"Shut up! You're sick, you made my life miserable"

"Ever since he arrived, you have been acting like you own the place, that has to stop, because I miss my obedient little mouse, she is more fun to play with," Dylan Said as he kissed my neck.

"Fuck you! Dylan let me go," I screamed as I struggled against his grip, repulsed by his bulge pressing against me.

"Watch your mouth, little mouse; I'm already irritated, so don't make it worse unless you want your punishment to be far, far worse." Dylan said, and as I felt his grip slack a little, I took advantage of the chance to headbutt him in the face again, just like the last time.

"Fuck you, Dylan," I cursed as his hands left my shoulders and pushed me forward, allowing me to see the face of my bully for the previous few years as i turned to face him, and he didn't look happy; he was clutching his bloodied nose and gazing at me with a murderous expression.

"This new found confidence isn't working for me, you're nothing but trash, you're lower than me, your life isn't worth shit, Athena, and I'm going to make sure you remember that." Dylan said as he let go of his nose and slapped me across the face, causing me to tumble to the ground. He was faster and stronger than me, so I couldn't avoid the hit,

"After James's little brother beat the shit out of his freak of a brother, I thought he'd take the hint and leave you alone," Dylan growled, his gaze falling on me before continuing, "and if one hero wasn't enough, that ex-convict had to take your side too, what in the hell did they see in you? To want to protect you this much, it's not like you're worth their efforts."

"What the fuck did you just say?" I yelled, my voice deathly calm, as my mind replayed what he had just said, Zack and his friends beat Shane up because Dylan was trying to get Leo to stay away from me,

So that the little innocent boy got wounded because of Dylan's twisted fixation with me, what the fuck was wrong with him to do that to him?

"You didn't know, little mouse, you're the reason his brother got hurt, James on my command told his little brother to teach Shane a lesson as a warning to Leo to stay away from you," Dylan grinned like a maniac as he stared at me, he was a fucking physcopath.

He hurt Shane because of his unhealthy obsession with me, how was I going to face Leo now? How was I going to face Shane? I thought as shoved him backwards without thinking,

"Fuck you! You're do fucked up in the head, how could you hurt Shane because of me" I yelled before I started throwing punches at him, I didn't care if they didn't hit their mark, I threw the punches anyway.

In my indignation, I didn't even realize that James and Tom had left the roof, leaving Dylan and me alone; we were perilously close to the roof, but I was too blinded by rage to notice.

"Get off me, you fucking bitch," he yelled as he fought to keep me from hitting him. We exchanged sides, and I was now on the edge of the roof.

Dylan then pushed me too hard, causing me to trip and tumble backwards. I reached for his jersey to balance myself, but he took a step back as I fell off the roof. As I fell, the last thing I saw was his smiling face before the darkness consumed me.

Present…

I could hear people screaming nearby, but I couldn't move. My body hurt a lot, as if a huge truck had hit me and then I was tossed down stairs. After the commotion quieted a bit, I could hear everything clearly. I recognized a voice – it was Austin, sounding scared. Why was he calling me? Did something happen to his mom? Why couldn't I move to reassure him?

However, his voice got lost amidst the loud police sirens. We wondered why the police were at our school. Did someone get injured? Was that why Austin appeared frightened? He seemed to only care about Leo and me, and I prayed it wasn't Leo who had been hurt.

I heard footsteps approaching, and a woman's voice asked, "How long has she been like this?"

"I don't know, I found her like this," Austin replied, his voice trembling.

"We should take her to the hospital," a man's voice said in an urgent tone.

Then, they placed something around my neck. A few minutes later, I felt my body being lifted and laid on a flat surface. The surface started moving towards the sound of sirens.

A few minutes later, we stopped moving. Among the loud sirens, I could clearly hear two voices – one was Austin's, and the other was the woman's from earlier.

"Make sure she stays awake," the woman told someone, likely the man from before. My body was lifted once more, and then I felt a hand holding mine, surrounded by his familiar scent.

"Athena, try to stay awake. I need you tonstay with me," Austin pleaded, his voice filled with pain. I wanted to reassure him that I was fine and he didn't need to worry, but I couldn't open my mouth or eyes.

I began to wonder if I was the one who got hurt. Maybe that's why the woman was urging Austin to keep me awake.

"Can I sit in the back with you? Her guardian is coming, and my other friend is in the ambulance next to this one," Austin asked. My worst assumption turned out to be true – Leo was also injured. I tried to struggle, but it was futile.

The woman spoke, "She has multiple fractures, a possible concussion, and some internal bleeding. We need to take her to the hospital as fadr as possible Mike," as she placed an oxygen mask over my mouth. I felt Austin's grip tighten on my hand.

"Did she fall on her own or was she pushed?" the woman inquired.

Austin replied with a hint of anger in his voice, "You're mistaken if you think my friend is suicidal. Athena would never attempt to take her own life." I could sense the frustration in his voice. No matter how tough things got, I wouldn't have considered harming myself again, especially now that I had people who genuinely cared about me and causing them pain was the last thing I'd want to do.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask," the woman said, her voice concerned. "Two students getting injured in a single day is unusual for our town." Just then, I felt a sudden pain in my arm, but it disappeared quickly.

"What about the other guy? Will he be okay?" Austin asked, his voice shaky. I could tell he was really worried, and I wished I could comfort him somehow.

"I don't know yet. We'll have to wait for the doctors to check on him. But between the two of them, the guy has a better chance of surviving than this young lady."

"You're wrong. They both will make it. Athena and Leo are strong. They'll get through this," Austin insisted, gently kissing the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry for being insensitive" the woman said

"They're fighters," he whispered softly. Suddenly, my head throbbed, and memories flooded back. Dylan had pushed me off the school roof after I tried to defend myself. He had tried to kill me.

An incredibly loud alarm blared inside the ambulance, and I felt a flurry of activity around me. "She's in critical condition! We need to hurry, or she won't make it to the hospital," the woman's voice was filled with panic. Gradually, I began to lose consciousness. Austin was pleading with me to stay awake, but I couldn't. The drowsiness overcame me, and darkness took over as I slipped into unconsciousness. Just before I blacked out completely, I heard Austin say desperately, "Athena, please don't go. We still need you. I need you, Red. Don't die on me."