Aeris
The belt cracked through the silence like thunder.
I didn't scream. I hadn't, in years. Screaming meant he won.
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek until I tasted metal. My wrists strained against the zip ties cutting into my skin, binding me to the chair in the cellar. The stale scent of mold mixed with iron from dried blood—mine. Always mine.
"Ungrateful little rat," my uncle growled, pacing behind me like a restless predator. His boots thudded against the cement floor with every step, matching the rhythm of my heartbeat. "Living under my roof, wasting my food, walking around like some silent princess when you're nothing."
His voice sliced deeper than his belt ever could.
I blinked through the haze, head drooping to the side. My hair clung to my face, slick with sweat. My back screamed, my skin a canvas of old bruises and fresh welts. But I wouldn't cry. Not for him.
Not anymore.
"Don't think you'll inherit a damn thing, Aeris. I should've left you in that damn car wreck with your parents."
The world tilted. My stomach clenched. I forced myself not to flinch.
You're okay. You're still here. You're not dead. You're not dead.
That was my mantra.
When the zip ties were finally sliced open, I didn't move. I waited for him to vanish upstairs, slamming the door like he always did. A trophy for himself. Another silent war won.
I crawled to my room. Quiet as a ghost. That's what I was in this house. A phantom in her own skin.
By the time I got to school, I had wiped away the dried blood at my temple and slipped on a hoodie three sizes too big. I tucked my sleeves past my fingers, hood up, gaze glued to the floor.
I passed lockers and gossiping girls, their perfume clouds stinging my lungs. Laughter echoed from the courtyard. I clutched my books tighter.
Then, like every damn day, I felt them before I saw them.
Ronan. Silas. Kade.
My three tormentors.
"Hey, Deadgirl." Ronan's voice was smooth like dark chocolate laced with venom. "Nice hoodie. Borrowed from a trash bin again?"
Silas snorted. He leaned against the lockers, a lazy smirk on his perfect lips. "Or maybe she's hiding another love bite from her invisible boyfriend. You know, the one she cries about in her diary every night."
Kade didn't speak. He never really did. He just... stared. Towering and unreadable. His eyes always made my stomach twist in a way I hated. Like he could see more than he should.
I didn't respond. I never did. That only made it worse.
"Still mute?" Silas tsked. "That's rude. We're giving you attention, you should be grateful. Most girls would kill for it."
Ronan stepped closer. His cologne wrapped around me, and I hated that it smelled good. His hand reached for my hood—but I backed away, too fast, bumping into someone else. The laughter that followed was loud, stinging. My cheeks burned.
"You're pathetic," Ronan murmured, too low for the others to hear. His eyes locked on mine. And for a second, just for a breath, I swore there was something else in his gaze. A flicker. Regret?
No. Impossible.
They didn't know. No one knew.
And they wouldn't.
If anyone found out what happened at home—especially them—it would shatter the tiny pieces I barely held together.
The day passed like glass dragging across skin. Every class felt like an eternity. Every glance felt like a microscope. I counted the seconds until the bell rang and I could disappear.
But I wasn't fast enough.
In the parking lot, Silas "accidentally" knocked my books out of my arms. Kade didn't help. He stood nearby, his jaw tight, his eyes stormy. Ronan just watched me pick them up in silence.
I walked home slower than usual. My ribs ached. My vision blurred at the edges. Something inside me felt... wrong.
When I reached the gate to my house, dread coiled in my chest like a viper. The porch light was on. That meant he was waiting.
But tonight—tonight something snapped.
I turned around.
I didn't plan to run.
No money. No phone. Just a hoodie, leggings, and a deep, desperate need to survive.
I moved through the night like a ghost. The forest behind our neighborhood stretched for miles. I didn't care where I ended up. As long as it wasn't there.
Branches scratched at my arms. Cold bit into my skin. My feet were bare.
I walked until my legs gave out.
Collapsed.
The stars above spun. My vision dimmed.
Then—voices. Low, sharp. Male.
No. No, not now. Please, not them. Not here.
But when I lifted my face from the muddy earth, blinking through tears and blood and leaves, I saw them.
Ronan. Silas. Kade.
Standing over me. Their faces frozen in something between horror and disbelief.
"Aeris?" Ronan's voice cracked. "What the hell—?"