MAEVE

I was getting ready for school when there was a knock on my bedroom door. I opened it to find my step-mother, Bridget, standing there with her arms folded across her chest and there was impatience written clearly on her face.

She was an older version of Harmony with straight honey blond hair and warm brown eyes. They almost looked like twins. Bridget looked beautiful when she smiled, but that frown she permanently wore made her look ugly.

When I arrived at this house, I realized the frown was reserved especially for me.

"Yes, Mom?"

She pursed her lips in annoyance. She hated it when I called her that but Dad insisted I should, so I was taking part in the circus.

"Come downstairs to the kitchen. We need to have a little chat."

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"I said right now, Maeve."

I sighed and quickly brushed my hair before making my way downstairs. Bridget sat at the table alone. There were no signs of Melody or Harmony, so I assumed they'd already left for school.

Bridget regarded me with distaste. I didn't know what I'd done to her. I'd always been polite, and I treated her with respect. I figured if I was going to live under her roof; I had to follow their rules.

"You don't look sorry about what you did yesterday." She snapped, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She scoffed. "Are you really going to pretend you didn't do anything?"

"I'm not pretending!"

"Your sister told me you abandoned her and left with Dominic Spencer in his car!"

"Harmony texted me, saying that she was leaving with her friend. I didn't have a ride home. Daddy's out of town, and you were working late. Dominic was the only person who offered to drive me. How else was I supposed to get home?"

She went silent. "Are you seriously going to lie to my face right now?"

"I'm telling you the truth!" I insisted, reaching for the phone in my bag. "I have the text messages as proof."

"Enough!" She gritted her teeth without even looking at the phone. She thumped her hand over the table. "Just leave!"

Feeling frustrated and angry, I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the door. If I stayed there longer than a second, I was sure to die of suffocation. I hadn't even bothered with breakfast.

Bridget knew the truth!

She knew her daughter was lying, and yet she was siding up with her.

The school was at a short distance so I could walk there. As usual, I kept my head down and minded my business. I didn't want to attract any bullies.

The first week here hadn't been great, but I could tell that my step-sisters were gossiping and spreading lies about me. It seemed like they wanted everyone in school to have a grudge against me, and honestly, I wasn't sure why that gave them peace.

I've had enough bullying from my previous school and at that time, I hadn't paid attention because my mother was more important to me. Taking care of her was my priority that I'd ignored what was happening at school.

Some girls giggled as they passed me, their noses turned up in disgust.

Tears filled my eyes, but I quickly opened my locker to conceal it.

There was garbage stuffed inside my locker. Someone had nicked the door open and done that. Pages of my notebook were torn and strewn across the place. I spent the next hour cleaning the mess while the other kids at school passed me pitying looks.

* * *

At lunch, the same thing happened. The sneaky glances and the whispers wouldn't stop. What's even worse was that my step-sisters were part of this. In fact, I was sure they were the ones who had started it.

I stood in line to buy my lunch since I couldn't bring anything today. I was planning to sit in a corner of the room and eat by myself. It was just one year, anyway; I could get through this, but the truth was that I couldn't do it alone.

I needed to have a plan and as much as it was bad; it was the only one that could work.

I felt like someone was looking, so I turned in my seat and noticed that Dominic had his eyes trailed on me. His long legs were deliberately resting on the table. It seemed like he was asserting dominance. Those dark eyes with a speck of gold were beautiful yet intimidating, with long dark eyelashes. I was glued to my seat, unable to look away. His football buddies were sitting around the table, but his attention was solely on me.

Attention from Dominic didn't mean anything good. I wasn't stupid. I realized he was as Harmony had put "bad news" but he was the only one that night who had shown me a shred of kindness.

There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. He raised his hand and gave me a little wave.

"Hey, what do you want?" The lunch lady barked. "I haven't got all day."

I didn't even realize that the woman had been talking to me. My cheeks turned crimson.

Nothing looked appetizing here. I regretted not packing at least the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The pizza looked like it was made of rubber and the other stuff didn't look any better. The spaghetti seemed edible, at least.

"I'll have this, please." I got the spaghetti with an apple and a carton of flavored strawberry milk.

When I looked back at the table, Dominic wasn't there anymore. He'd already moved out of the lunch area with his friends. I felt a speck of disappointment. I thought maybe I could make a friend.

Most of the lunchroom was packed, but there was one empty space by the window with a guy from biology. Luke was one of the guys who fell into the "nerds" category. He was the same as me, an outcast here and he kept his head buried in the books. Sometimes he would smile at me in the hallways. He was nice, and while I didn't know him very well, I could tell that he was on my side.

I made my way towards him and then all of a sudden, my tray was shot up in mid-air and I tripped and fell down on the floor, my food went splat beside me. The spaghetti was a mess on the floor.

Someone had put their foot forward.

I don't know who it was, but I could only hear the ringing of laughter. A guy who I'd seen with Harmony a few times jumped on the milk cartoon. It went splat with a loud sound and the milk spurted onto my dress; the pink liquid dripped over my front.

This was humiliation to the next level.Someone crouched to my level and began helping me up. I couldn't see clearly due to my blurry vision. Upon closer look, I noticed it was Luke, and he gave me a look filled with sympathy. It happened a lot with him too, so he was as much in this as I was.

"You should go clean up." He whispered, handing me his napkin.

I stood up on shaky legs and, without looking around; I stormed out of the room. I could hear Luke calling out to me, but I couldn't stand there and be a laughingstock. I'd been embarrassed enough.

I rushed inside the toilet cubicle and shut the door behind me. I broke down into a sob, crying ugly tears, trying my best not to make a sound.

Moving here was a mistake. I should have taken some part-time jobs, but what would have happened to school? I would have been homeless if it weren't for my father asking me to move in with him.

It's just one year, Maeve, and you're out.

A few minutes later, I walked out of the cubicle and splashed some water over my face, trying to hide my puffy cheeks with some loose powder.

When I walked out of the restroom, Dominic was waiting for me outside.

He was holding a brown bag of Burger King and a milkshake. He remembered that I liked chocolate milkshake, and I don't know why that bit of information made my heart skip a beat.

Without a word, he pushed the bag into my hand. I stared at the food. "I can't—

"One of my teammates saw what happened in the lunch area and told me about it."

I pursed my lips, thinking of what to say to him.

"I don't want your sympathy." I mumbled, trying to hand him back the food.

He cocked an eyebrow. "It's not sympathy. I wanted to make sure you were okay, and I figured you hadn't eaten." He waved it off.

The faint aroma of fries made my mouth water, and I had no choice but to accept it. "Thanks."

"Sure." He said, "If there's anything else you need, you know where to find me."

I had a feeling he could see the future because at the end of class; I was waiting right outside his classroom, asking for his help.

* * *

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