Chapter 7
After a moment’s hesitation, I forced a smile and opened the door.
“Sorry, I was just using the bathroom. I didn’t mean to overhear-”
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Victoria Hawthorne!”
Riley shrieked. She backed away several steps, pointing at me in terror and asking Vanessa:
“Is that Victoria Hawthorne? I’m not seeing ghost, am I, Vanessa? That’s Victoria Hawthorne!”
Vanessa’s face turned deathly pale, all color draining away.
She stumbled, grabbing Riley’s arm for support. Her body swayed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I knew it–I should have known. Jackson’s been acting strange all day. So it was because of you
two-”
Vanessa rambled incoherently, crying like a wilting flower.
Riley exploded in rage, swinging her handbag at me.
“True evil never dies! You bitch, just go to die!”
A huge wave of fear instinctively washed over me. I felt like I was drowning in deep water, with blurry crowds of people watching.
Mockery and contempt surged toward me like a tide, submerging me.
I was suffocating.
A large hand appeared before my eyes, and Tyler’s gentle smile floated into view.
“Victoria baby, don’t be afraid. I’m here. No one can hurt you.”
“Don’t hide in the closet. Come out, okay?”
22.24
Chapter 7
When I first woke up in the hospital, for some reason, I had severe trauma responses.
I was afraid of crowds, afraid of people talking, even afraid of light.
I often hid in the closet, curling into a ball.
It was Tyler who took my hand and helped me step out.
He said I wasn’t weak or useless–just kind.
Kind people would rather turn the blade against themselves than hurt others.
Subconsciously, it was because I felt inferior to others, unappreciated, like I was the one who could be sacrificed at any moment.
Tyler hugged me and constantly told me how much I meant to him.
“Victoria baby, you’re the most important person to me. When people bully you, it breaks my heart.”
“If kindness isn’t respected, learn to grow thorns, okay?”
He took me to the farmers market to haggle and argue with vendors.
He taught me to fight back, to stand up for myself.
Sometimes when we disagreed, he would teasingly put his face close to mine.
“Hit me?”
“Hit me, and I’ll do whatever you say.”
When he finally provoked me enough to actually slap him, he excitedly picked me up and spun me around, saying he’d give me a big reward.
I was once trapped in an abyss.
It was Tyler who pulled me out of the mire step by step, nurturing me back to life with his love and
encouragement.
The Victoria Hawthorne of today wasn’t someone anyone could bully.
22:25
Chapter 7
Infinite courage grew in my heart, and the suffocating despair instantly melted away like ice.
I shouted and threw a hard punch at Riley’s face.
“Come on! My two years of kickboxing classes weren’t for nothing!”
Riley screamed with her eyes closed, wildly swinging her bag.
I shifted my stance, rhythmically swaying my body, landing blows left and right, treating her like a punching bag.
Just like those boxing matches you see on TV.
Vanessa was stunned.
After a moment, she dropped her dignified facade, grabbed a broom from the corner, and rushed at
- me.
I hit her with books from the box.
One against two, I wasn’t at a disadvantage at all.
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