Chapter 3: Cracks
1034 Words
Cracks
If I could disappear, I would.
Every day at Auxford Academy felt like walking into a storm I couldn’t escape. A storm that had a name: Cassandra Velmont. And her shadows—Marisse, Glaire, and Tiffane.
People called them the “Four Roses.” Beautiful, admired, perfect. But roses have thorns, and theirs were poisoned.
And I was the wound they never let heal.
It started the moment I stepped into school that morning.
“Look who decided to show up,” Cassandra’s voice sliced through the hallway. Students turned, watching. Always watching.
I hugged my books tighter against my chest, lowering my head. Maybe if I ignored her—
A sharp tug on my bag stopped me. Cassandra yanked it off my shoulder and dumped everything onto the floor. Pens scattered. Notebooks slid across the tiles.
“Oops,” she said, fake-innocent. “Did I do that?”
Her friends laughed.
I knelt quickly, gathering my things with shaky hands, heart pounding. Marisse kicked one of my books farther down the hall, her heels clicking like gunshots.
“Pick it up, freak,” she sneered. “Crawl for it.”
Glaire leaned against a locker, smirking. “Why don’t you use your magic eyes? Maybe they’ll make your books fly back to you.”
Laughter exploded. The kind that makes your skin burn.
I froze, gripping my notebook so tight my knuckles turned white.
“Leave her alone.”
His voice.
Eryx.
He appeared like a shadow cutting through the noise, his gaze sharp and unflinching. “Don’t you get tired? Every single day, the same thing?”
Cassandra’s smirk faltered, just for a second. But she quickly masked it, flipping her hair. “We’re just having fun.”
“Funny,” Eryx replied coldly. “I don’t see her laughing.”
The hallway went silent. Students glanced at each other, waiting for Cassandra’s comeback. But instead, she rolled her eyes and walked away, her friends trailing behind.
“This isn’t over,” she hissed, brushing past me.
It never was.
---
By lunch, they were ready again.
I sat at the far corner of the cafeteria, stabbing my fork into the cold rice on my tray. My stomach was empty, but my throat was too tight to swallow.
Then, a shadow fell over my table.
Cassandra.
“Why are you even here?” she asked loudly, every word dripping with venom. “No one wants you here. You’re like a stain no one can wash off.”
She grabbed my juice box and squeezed. Liquid spilled across the table, soaking my tray and dripping onto my lap.
The cafeteria erupted in laughter.
“Purple freak,” Tiffane snickered. “Even her food doesn’t want her.”
Heat burned in my chest. My eyes stung, but I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.
Eryx appeared again, slamming his tray onto the table. “Enough.”
The laughter died instantly.
He leaned forward, eyes on Cassandra. “One more time, and I swear—”
“What, Eryx?” Cassandra interrupted, her tone sugary-sweet but her eyes glinting with malice. “What will you do? Fight me?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. His silence was enough. His stare was enough.
Cassandra scoffed, tossing her hair back. “Come on, girls. Let’s not waste our time with trash.”
They walked away, their heels clicking like victory drums.
After lunch, I slipped into the library. My safe place. Rows of shelves, the quiet hum of air conditioning, the smell of old pages—it was the only place where the whispers couldn’t reach me.
But even there, the words lingered.
Freak. Curse. No one wants you.
I pressed my forehead against the cool surface of the desk, gripping my pen so tightly it almost broke.
“Don’t listen to them.”
I looked up. Eryx stood there, holding out a notebook I didn’t realize I had dropped earlier.
I took it quickly, my cheeks burning. “Thanks.”
He sat across from me without asking. Just… sat there, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable though—it was… different.
Finally, he said quietly, “You don’t deserve what they do to you.”
I let out a bitter laugh, soft and hollow. “Tell that to them.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t need to. I’ll tell it to you.”
Something in my chest shifted. Like a crack in the walls I had built around myself.
And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel completely invisible.
When I got home, the storm followed me.
I dropped my bag by the door and tried to sneak past the kitchen. But she was already there, humming softly as she stirred a pot on the stove.
My mom, Selene.
That’s what I called her. My mother. My guardian. The only family I had.
She turned, smiling when she saw me—but her smile faltered almost instantly. Her eyes, warm but sharp, scanned me. “Aria… what happened?”
I froze. “Nothing.”
“Don’t lie.” She wiped her hands on her apron and walked closer, gently tilting my chin up. There was a small red mark where Cassandra had shoved me into the lockers earlier.
Her jaw tightened. “Them again.”
I looked away. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” she said firmly. “No child of mine should come home looking like she fought a war.”
Her words made my throat tighten. Child of mine.
Sometimes, I forgot she wasn’t really my mother. She never made me feel unwanted. Never made me feel like a burden.
She sighed, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Aria, you’re… special. I’ve known it since the moment I held you. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”
I swallowed hard, my chest aching. “If I’m so special… then why does everyone hate me?”
Her eyes glistened, but she quickly masked it with a smile. A secret
- Writer
