Chapter 1

Lizzy’s POV

I awoke to my alarm clock ringing, and I was so stressed that I felt my head hit the pillow. When I looked up, it was exactly 7 am, and I felt so tired that I wanted to fall back down and sleep.

I rushed to the bathroom to take a bath because I had a class at 7:30, and I didn’t want to be late.

After I finished bathing, I changed into my school clothes and dashed downstairs, noting how quiet everything appeared to be and how my parents had departed for work.

I hurriedly ate the eggs and bacon my mother had left in the kitchen, then took a glass of water and dashed out the door.

I felt the wind rush through me as I opened the door, and I saw how the sunlight brightened my face. I smiled as I walked out, shutting the door behind me.

I began strolling down the street, hoping that the school bus would pass by. I got a chill down my spine after passing the spooky house that everyone was afraid of.

Most of the time, I felt like someone was watching me as I walked past the house. According to the gossip I heard, a vampire lived inside the house, and every night people heard screams coming out of the spooky house.

“Come on, Lizzy, just move, don’t look inside,” I yelled to myself.

I felt uneasy. Then I heard my name, which made me halt. My heart began to beat, which caused me to turn and gaze at the home.

I noticed a man standing there staring at me, his eyes burning deep into my soul, and before I could blink, I felt a tremendous amount of water rain on my body.

“Bitch,” I could hear laughter behind me.

I turned around as the school bus passed by and drove away.

“Wait!” I cried, rushing after the bus, which was already a long distance away. I was unable to cut up, so I paused to take a breather. 

“Fools!” I exclaimed aloud.

I continued walking to school, annoyed because my uniform was already completely wet, and I couldn’t turn back now because I was already late for school.

Thirty minutes later, I was standing in front of the school building, and my hair had transformed into something unexpected.

I felt a sense of embarrassment that caused me to lower my head, and I noticed how others were laughing behind my back and calling me various things.

“What happened?” Mira, my friend, approached me, gripping me by the shoulders.

“Nothing but the same old thing,” I said gently, chuckling.

“Come on, Lizzy. You need to do something about this. You can’t keep getting bullied all the time,” Mira said as she paused and turned me around to face her.

I understand how much she loves me, but I don’t want her to be bullied like me.

“I’m fine, Mira,” I said as I walked away, leaving her standing there.

When I walked into the classroom, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me.

Vera, one of the students, called out to me, “Bitch,” while tossing the pieces of paper at me.

I kept my eyes on the ground and continued walking without looking at them. I walked straight to my chair but was surprised to see what was written on it.

All of these things were written on my desk and chair: ‘horny bitch,’ ‘fucking slut,’ ‘insane.’ I became enraged when I saw all of the students laughing at me.

“Who is responsible for this?” My tears streamed down my cheeks as I yelled.

“Look, guys, the bitch is crying,” Vera said strangely.

Why me? I know I’m not beautiful or flawless, but why does it have to be me?!

I bolted from the classroom as the teacher was about to enter. My teacher, Mrs. Tina, called my name, but all I did was run away.

Going inside the girls’ restroom, I ran into the toilet and locked it from the inside, then sat on the toilet and sobbed. 

I dug deep inside my pocket, pulled out a razor blade, and began cutting myself.

As I felt greater pain, blood began to flow down my hands, adding to my anguish. I wanted this life to end, to be free, to be rid of all the anguish that lay ahead.

I had no idea when I fell asleep inside the restroom, only to be jolted awake by a loud knock on the door.

“Hey, bitch, what are you doing here?” I looked around, still seeing I was in the restroom. I hurriedly hid the razor blade that was with me and slowly ripped out some tissue to clean off the dry blood that was on my hands.

“Open up, bitch, can’t you hear?”

The knock continued to be loud until it stopped, and I felt relieved since I thought they had given up, only for a bucket of water to spill on me from the toilet door.

“The next time a question is thrown at you, give a kind answer.”

I didn’t know how long I’d been in here that even the teachers didn’t bother to check up on me. After the girls had left, I sat back on the toilet and became angry.

“Am I that ugly?” I asked myself softly.

I heard the school bell ringing, and even though I knew it was closing time, I still waited for approximately an hour to ensure that everyone had left the building before beginning my journey home.

I carefully opened the door, surprised at how quiet it was, and began walking to the classroom to pick up my bag when I noticed that all of my books had been tossed on the floor, most of them destroyed.

It was almost nightfall, and I began to walk slowly home.

“What’s the point? No one likes you,” I started talking to myself. “You are simply a freak, Lizzy, a freak!”

I continued walking without looking or concentrating on where I was going when my body collided with someone, causing me to fall to the floor yet be saved by the same person.

I looked at the person who had saved me and realized how gorgeous his eyes were. I was drawn to them as I slowly began staring at the figure more closely.

I moved away from him as soon as I realized who it was. It was the same guy I saw staring at me from that awful house.