Chapter 12

Anabella's POV

I slip back to consciousness, as I hear a familiar voice.

"Anabella! Anabella! Wake up right now or else I swear.." He says shaking my shoulder, the touch of the hand on my shoulder although through my hoodie and my tank top gave me a funny feeling which is exceptionally weird given I feel completely numb.

I try to lift up my eyelids,to see who it was, although I have only one suspect, concentrating all my energy on that singular movement... My efforts prove futile, my eyelids, too heavy.

"Melinda how could you stoop so low!"

At last, I recognized the voice of the person who screams in anger in my delirious state. The only person who never gets Melanie's name right.

ETHAN.

For the first time, she doesn't try to correct him, she tries to make a correct sentence.

"I... She... I didn't... I swear" she says her words clearly influenced by her panicked state

Wait Melanie! My diary

I have to get up now

Futile once again as I try to lift my arms. What's going on, it's not like I go hit by a bus or something.

I try again.

"Hey she moved her finger" an unfamiliar voice called out.

Ethan's POV

"Anabella! Anabella!" I say as I shake her. I wish I had paid attention to those first aid classes.

But what the hell happened.

I only came to school to see a crowd already gathered and Melissa or what's-her-name looking absolutely terrified as she stopped talking mid-sentence And not far away where her minions who where scared stiff... And unconscious Anabella.

My brain immediately went overdrive as everyone in the crowd was either frozen with shock or wild with apprehension.

It was commotion at its worse.

"Excuse me, move away! coming through" the schools nurse says pushing through the crowd as they paved way for her.

"Move! She needs air" She yells making me jump away from Anabella.

She bends down and squats next to Anabella.

"Calm down honey, you're alright, I know you're awake.

"Take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth"

Anabella starts to take in sharp breaths.

"That's it dear, now calm down, count from one to ten"

Her lips move in response, but no sound come out.

Pin drop silence ensues when she lifts her right arm and starts to pull at the neck of her hoodie, which in my opinion she should not be wearing since summer has barely ended.

Nurse Lily responds quickly pulling the zipper down and raising her up slightly to remove it completely.

I stare directly at her face, she visibly calms down and opens her eyes, slightly, then she looks down at a black leather covered book with widened eyes she picks it up holding it with both hands to her bosom.

The nurse stands up and holds out her hand to help Anabella up, Anabella takes her hands and stands on her feet, swaying for a while before steadying.

The warning bell rings then, the nurse then moves back and asks Anabella to see her after class.

Once the nurse leaves, Anabella is now completely in view.

Gasps.

Screams.

Shrieks.

"Oh my God what happened to her arm"

"Are those bruises"

"Well that settles it she's officially a freak"

The last sentence was from Mel-whatever, she seems to have recovered from her initial shock, to which her minions fake-gagged.

I turned around and glared at them which they brushed off with a devil-may-care gesture.

When I finally look at her arms, My eyes widen, I hold in my gasp, the sight was pure horror.

purple still fading scars spotted her arms, her hair slightly disheveled showed a peek of another scar on her neck.

Then the whole crowd, class forgotten began to come up with hypothesis on how she got the bruises.

"Did she get hit by a bus?"

"I think she hurts herself... Freak"

"Do you think she was born like that?"

I tuned out the rest of their senseless talks as I turned to her staring at her intently.

Something seems off...

******

Anabella's POV

It was absolutely unbearable, the perusing stares, the scrutinizing gazes, the probing eyes... Glares of disgust.

And finally, Ethan's didn't belong to any of the mentioned category, he looked at me keenly, observantly, intently, as if trying to find the final piece of a puzzle.

His stare just happened to be the last straw before I lost it.

I fled the scene taking with me just my diary.

I ran blindly, any passer by could easily pass me as a madwoman.

I run without even looking where I'm going, for the first time the reason not being my eyes filled with tears.

I was intoxicated, drunken with life itself. Life so utterly prejudiced.

Other people, they either got it all or at least some of it, both parents, a happy home, great friends.... While me? I got nothing.

Life? I'm completely fed up.

I plan to go to the bakery owned by an old couple, they're really nice but I could never really bring myself to open up to them or anyone for that matter.

Just as I'm about to cross the road in my unfocused state, I hear a loud screeching sound of tires on the tarred road.

I Turn to my right see a truck so close to me you could barely fit a horizontal pencil in-between.

The cars occupant loweres his side windows and starts to tell incoherent profanities when he pauses mid-sentence, his eyes widen as if in recognition.

He raises his phone as if to.... Take a picture, no it couldn't possibly be, he then proceeds to look around, a crowd already gathering to watch the unfolding scene.

He then curses under his breath and honks signaling me to leave the road or as his facial expression puts it...'Get the hell out of my way'

I quickly take a couple of steps backwards slamming into something as the man zooms away, the gathering crowd seems to notice that there's a drama here as they begin to disperse.

I then proceeded to turn, I realize I had actually slammed my back into someone rather than something.

I mentally facepalm "How much more awkwardly cliche can my life get"

He followed me? Why?.

I couldn't figure it out, well might as well add it to my million list of unanswered questions.

I shift from one feet to another actually considering running away again. My eyes dart from side to side looking for a quick route for escape.

"Here's your bag and sweater" he hands me my bag and purple hoodie I didn't even notice he was holding, I tentatively take them both from him avoiding any sort of contact he clearly almost as nervous as me, scratches the back of his head as I open my bag to discover that everything is in place.

"I turned in your biology assignments for you, I told him you weren't feeling well"

He clearly expected a thank you, who wouldn't, but it was to busy wondering what his possible ulterior motives were.

He couldn't possibly do this just to get me in bed, I mean truth be told, I'm not really the prettiest around.

"Come on let's get you home, you probably need to rest" he says grabbing my arm, I flinch from the contact.

A flash of hurt crosses his eyes

"Look Anabella, stop treating me like the bad guy here, because I'm not, I'm trying to help you here and you're giving me the cold shoulder and don't even ask me why I'm hell bent on helping you because hell!" He yells "I don't even know either"

I flinch each time his voice an octave higher, guilt creeping up on me.

Crap Anabella, you always manage to ruin everything don't you.

But how the hell I'm I suppose to trust him, for all I know this could be some joke or prank.

*******

Anonymous POV

"What the hell do you mean she's alive!" A slightly obsess man screams and grabs a glass vase and throws it at the wall, he watches as it shatters but it does nothing to soothe his grown rage.

"I saw her big boss, I swear" the man says shivering slightly "Here I even took a picture of her"he says as he hands his boss his phone, stepping back immediately

"Spitting image of her mother" the big boss says in a deadly calm voice looking down at the phone with a bone chilling smile "she has grown quite pretty.." "it's a shame she has to be eliminated!" He screams smashing the phone.

"Bloody hell" he says under his name

"Zayn" he calls out "get me the spy squad we have to act soon"

**

Few minutes later.

"Cole, I need you to collect background data about this lady" the big boss says showing him the picture of a teenage girl from the broken screen. "We need to get to her before she gets her inheritance, it could hold incriminating evidence against us"

"Yes big boss" Cole says before he bows and leaves.

Big boss then turns to his six other audience among which is his mistress

"Now all we need is an infiltrator"