Page 37 of Darkest Deception

Three students.

Layla Madden. Gabriella Madden. Inara Madden.

Blond Layla, and brunette Gabriella and Inara.

“What happened, Ambrose?” Layla taunts, crossing her arms as she stalks towards me.

Every step, every echo of her shoe hitting the floor, chokes me a little more.

Every wicked grin, every dark twinkle in her eye, and every word coming out of her mouth has me wishing for death.

How could my father, who is spending each and every penny working his way up, barely paying our fees here to get us the best education in the whole United Kingdom amongst the elite, fight against the three daughters of the pharmaceutical king of Britain? The internationally successful man who could crush our whole family like a mere speck of dust in his way.

“Please let me go,” I plead.

Layla tsks, shaking her head. “We just want to play like friends do, and you, Ambrose…” She places a hand on my shoulder, making my body jerk. Her hold turns rougher, holding me in place as she walks around me. “You are our dearest and most special friend. Friends help each other and have fun, right?” She grabs both my shoulders and leans her face next to mine from behind me.

Gabriella and Inara laugh and nod.

“Then, while we wait for the teacher, let’s see you dance for us.” Layla pushes me farther into the classroom, her words haunting me.

Last time, she made me take off my jacket, then made me stand there as they threw balloons filled with paint, and they laughed through it all. The bruises are still present on my body. I hate them. They are a sign of my weakness.

I fought them in the first year, but how much can I fight when I know one small squeak from me could ruin my whole family?

“With no music?” Gabriella asks with a gasp before she takes out her phone.

“Oh, put my favourite one on. She will look so good dancing to this one.” Inana hurries to her, and I just stand there, shaking.

I go to shake my head, but the look in Layla’s dark eyes has me freezing in place.

“I heard your sister joined this school. Oh, how beautiful and innocent she is,” she says.

My eyes widen, my lips parting. “No.” I go to take a step forward, but Layla’s grimace as she steps away from my touch stops me in place.

“Then get going. We put music on for you. Dance for us a little.”

But they had something else in mind. They always did, and now, this time, to protect Aurora, I sit there as Gabriella and Inara hold my arms out and Layla uses small sharp razors to slice across my thighs. Blood spills from the wounds.

My screams reach high up to the heavens. They are ripped out of me with every swipe, every cackle and laugh they make. I bite my lip until it bleeds crimson. I shut my eyes, tears flowing out of me, but the thought of Aurora ever being in this position has me struggling. It has me sitting through it. I will never allow my sister to experience this.

“Look at her crying,”

“You had beautiful thighs. Just let us decorate them.”

“Aw, cry a little harder, and I might stop.”

And I bleed in the dark classroom to protect my family.

I bleed in the darkness while I lose my love for myself.

And I cry as my own happiness is ripped from me, my screams tearing up my insides.

“Ambrose?” Aurora’s confused face is a blur, but I ignore her and walk away from her in the hallway.

The next day, the same thing happens, no matter if we come in the same car to school. Mum drops us off with a smile on her face, not realising what is hidden in the towering walls of this school.

“Ambrose, please listen to me!” I hear Aurora shout, but I run away from her as soon as my feet touch the ground.

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