Page 1 of Four Times Taken

Prologue

Lily | Fourteen Years Ago

Young, In Love and Clueless...

"Sick drawing! I'm impressed."

Spooked, I spun around to put a face to the shadow that had darkened my page seconds earlier. He's not familiar to me, but I wouldn't know either way, since I found more satisfaction socializing with my sketchbook than I did with the people at this school.

Closing the book, I jumped to my feet. "Yeah, well, I don't give a crap if you're impressed." I coupled my wrinkling brows with a scowl.

First of all, I didn't need a guy's opinion on what I did. Second of all, my drawings were private. It's how I took out my frustrations.

After witnessing my drunken father slap two shades out of my mother this morning, I wished so hard that she'd fight back. She might have if she weren't out cold after every slap because she was too drugged up to even stand straight most of the time. I couldn't stand either of them, but I despised my father and my older brother even more.

Needing a female figure to look up to, one who didn't take any man's bullshit, I had created her for myself. A female superhero in black and white, breaking a man's neck with one kick and finishing him off with a punch to the head.

It's dark, about as dark as my makeup and the color of my box-dyed hair.

No one's ever given a flying rat's ass about my drawings before, other than to make fun of them. I couldn't say I appreciated the flattery either.

What was he up to? What did he want?

With my sketchbook pressed close to my chest, I hurried away. But he's persistent.

"I'm sorry." He ran after me, causing my head to expand. "I didn't mean to offend you." He stopped, blocking me, and I looked away from him with a snarl, even as my chest tightened.

"Look, I'm new here. I'm just trying to make friends. I didn't mean to step on any toes. I thought your drawing was really cool. I'm Eric." He rushed to speak, sticking out his hand.

The tightness in my chest dissolved a bit. It's reasonable that he's nervous or whatever. Now, it made sense why he's talking to me. He's the new kid.

"Okay?" I looked at his offer of friendship and walked away from it. New kid or not, I'd rather he do as everyone else did and leave me the hell alone.

"Come on, I'm really trying here," he insisted, still walking next to me like a lost puppy following me home.

If he were a lost puppy, I could pet him and feed him, if I happened to be lucky that day with food, and send him on his own way, promising him that coming home with me would be like death. But he's not a lost puppy. I didn't want to pet him, I didn't want to open up to him, and I didn't want him to know where I lived.

"Why?" I snapped. "What do you want? Because I promise you that whatever it is you're looking for, I don't have it!"

He winced and shrugged. "I mean, your name would be a good start."

What was wrong with this guy?

"Fine," I grunted. "It's Lily," I bit out. "Now, will you..." I started, but he screamed and grabbed his chest, falling to the ground, bringing attention to both of us.

My feet came to a stop, and I'was frozen as the popular kids walked past us across the bright-green school lawn, grinning with each other.

"Hey, Phantom of The Opera. Did your face give him a heart attack?" this blond-haired, blue-eyed douche who thought he's some great gift to womankind said. The girls around him giggled as if he'was hilarious. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off, to humble him. He might have had them wrapped around his little finger, but he'd never have me.

"Wowww, so you're really going to just leave me here?" Eric groaned, and I hissed, trying to get away even faster. He caught up to me, and I raised my eyes up to the sky, on the verge of yelling.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked, stopping now, since it'was clear he'd go anywhere I went.

"I was just emoting," he said.

"What?" The casual way in which he answered caught me off guard, and my lips twitched in response.

"I figured that must have been how hard it was to tell me your name. It must have hurt like hell." He grimaced, and I surprised myself as a fit of giggles attacked me. Pressing my lips together, I tried to hide it from him, but I'was hopeless.

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