Page 1 of Ruin

DELCAN

I watchthe flames lick higher, turning my car into a pile of twisted metal and smoke. My chest burns with it. That’s my baby—gone because ofthem.

That’s when I see her, standing with the goths as they laugh at the sight of my car in flames. I know they’re the ones behind it. Did my brothers fuck with one of their siblings when they were here at school? Yes, they did. But what they don’t realize is that I’m worse than my brothers.

“What the fuck happened?”

“Why are you so calm?”

“How are you not killing someone?”

I hear my brothers behind me, but I block them out, my gaze locked on the flames. Through the flickering light, I see her watching me. She’s not laughing like the rest. That’s when I notice - she’s the only one who isn't.

Is it because she started this? Or because this fucked up prank went too far?

She might not have lit the match, but she’s guilty enough. And she’s an easy target.

I don’t know her name yet, but I’m about to make sure she never forgets mine.

She’s going to pay for this.

“Welcome to Atticus Academy, new girl. I’m about to make your life hell.”

ONE

TRIXIE

14 yearsold

The pain is overwhelming—it’s burning. Tears escape. He didn’t care i screamed ‘no’’ or that i screamed when it hurt. He just didn’t care.

He walks to my side of the bed as he puts his clothes back on, leans in closer to kiss my forehead. I hate when he does that. He’s been doing it for weeks now. Every time he touches me; he kisses me there. I hate it.

“it was good, until tomorrow.” I close my eyes at his words, wiping the tears away from my cheeks. Then i hear him leaving my bedroom.

My body hurts. Everything hurts. But most of all, it hurts down there. I push the covers off me, needing the bathroom, but i can’t move—my legs are too heavy. That’s when i see the red stain on the sheets.

Present day

First day of school—my new school. I was there for a week before summer break, and after just one day, I knew the place was full of rich assholes. I didn’t think I’d find anyone I could talk to, but then I saw them: the group in the cafeteria corner, my type of people.

To everyone else, they are known as the goths. To me, they live in a world of their own—a world I want to be in. They don’t really talk much. They don’t like to be seen. And that’s exactly how I prefer it.

Well, that was true until the last day of school.

They had been planning something all year. I never knew who they were talking about, or what that person had done to them, but my group hated them.

I didn’t know who the group of four guys were. I didn’t ask questions. They called them the Crawford boys. The name meant nothing to me—until I found out they’d hurt someone. That was all I needed to know to go along with the plan.

Today, I go back to school, still not knowing who they are.

I finish applying my eyeliner, and hope my dad and evil stepmom have already left, but I doubt I’m that lucky. I want to slip out of the house without talking to them, so I grab my bag and keys then stare at my bedroom door for a moment.

Do I want to risk running into them?

Fuck no.

Turning, I walk to my window and toss my bag onto the grass. I climb out onto the roof, taking a few steps toward the edge. It’s something I’ve done so many times now I don’t even worry about falling. The tree outside my bedroom is huge, its branches stretching closest to the window, but they’re too weak to climb on.

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