Chapter 1

Miles POV

"Alright, you can leave, Miles" The teacher said and I gave him a grateful smile before rushing out of the class. I let out a sigh, the hallway was pretty much empty as usual.

"Finally" I whispered to myself, heading to the bathroom. It took a lot of courage to be able to asked permission to leave, and now that I finally did, I was happy I did so. I pushed open the bathroom door and stepped inside.

I had barely taken two steps when I heard a strange sound coming from one of the stalls at the far end.

"Ouu" I heard a grl moan and I froze. This was the boy's bathroom, what was a girl doing here?

The stall door wasn’t completely closed. There was a small gap. I should have left, but curiosity got the better of me.

Slowly, I walked closer and the voices became clearer. My eyes widened. “Oh.” The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Inside the stall was Ryder Blackwood. My blood went cold on seeing him. f course it was Ryder. The universe apparently enjoyed making my life difficult.

Ryder was leaning against the wall with Kourtney sitting on the closed toilet seat beside him. They were kissing, completely absorbed in each other until my stupid voice ruined everything. Both of them turned. Kourtney whose upper body was exposed, quickly pulled her clothes up to cover herself.

My heart immediately dropped into my stomach. Ryder’s expression darkened on seeing me. I looked away so fast my neck hurt.

“S-Sorry,” I stammered. My face burned. “I didn’t mean to—”

Before I could finish, Ryder shoved the stall door open and stormed toward me. I felt so much fear at that moment. Ryder was bigger than me and seemed to take pleasure in reminding me of it.

I backed away instinctively. “Ryder, I really didn’t—” The slap came so fast I didn’t even see it. Pain exploded across my cheek. My head snapped sideways. For a second, all I heard was ringing. The sting spread across my face and into my ear. I stumbled and my eyes watered instantly.

“Ryder…” I whispered.

“What?” he snapped. His voice echoed through the bathroom. “You think you can just stand there and stare?”

“I wasn’t staring.” The words came out small. Ryder grabbed a fistful of my hair and I gasped. Pain shot through my scalp as he yanked my head backward.

“Ow!” I groaned. He leaned closer, close enough that I could see the irritation burning in his blue eyes. “You’ve never seen a girl before, Miles?” he asked.

“I said I’m sorry.” I pleaded.

“You should be thanking me, you just saw Kourtney's boobs” Ryder laughed harshly. “Seriously. Most guys would kill for that view.”

“I wasn’t looking.” I mumbled.

“Sure you weren’t.” he scoffed and his grip tightened. I whimpered and Ryder’s smile widened.

“You’ve never seen a woman’s boobs before, have you?” he asked mockingly.

Heat rushed to my face. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

“Leave him alone.” Kourtney finally stepped out of the stall. She looked more annoyed than concerned. Her eyes landed on me, then she rolled them. “Just get the hell out of here” she snarled at me.

“You already ruined everything.” She waved her hand dismissively.

“I’m sorry.” I wanted to cry.

“Get out!” she snapped. Ryder released my hair with a rough shove and I nearly lost my balance. My scalp still stung.

“You heard her, Go,” Ryder said. Those words were enough. I turned and practically fled from the bathroom. The moment the door closed behind me, I let out a shaky breath.

My cheek still hurt and my scalp hurt too. Everything hurt. I should have been used to this, but I could never get used to it. It wasn't the first time Ryder had been violent with me. He had practically been making my life miserable for years.

I took a few minutes to calm down before heading back to class, trying to not look as miserable as I felt inside. By the time I sat down in my seat, I thought I looked normal, apparently not.

Giselle immediately frowned. “What happened to your face?” She asked and I froze. I only had two friends in school, and Giselle was part of them. She was someone who was considered an ugly nerd but I thought she's beautiful. She had a big heart and protected me from being bullied when she could.

Across from me, King looked up from his notebook. “What's going on?” he asked. King was one of the popular guys in school because he played ok the school's basketball team. He was hot, popular and rich. Sometimes, I wondered why he hung out with social outcasts like Giselle and I. Maybe it was because he and I shared a common enemy, Ryan who was his rival on the basketball team.

Giselle pointed directly at me. “Look at Miles cheek, it's puffy and looks red. Are you hurt.” She asked again.

Instinctively, I touched it, It was still tender.

“Ryder again?” King sighed and I looked away.

“It’s nothing.” I mumbled.

“Miles.” Giselle’s voice softened. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” I said again and neither of them looked convinced.

King leaned back in his chair. “One day I’m seriously going to punch that guy.” he scoffed and I smiled softly. King was one of the few people willing to stand up to Ryder, but even he knew starting a fight with someone like Ryder would cause problems.

“It’s fine,” I said, not wanting to draw more attention to myself for being the reason for a fight between King and Ryder.

King exchanged a look with Giselle, the look said everything. They knew exactly who was responsible, but they also knew I wasn’t going to talk about it. Eventually, Giselle reached over and squeezed my arm.

“Fine.” she said frustratedly. “But if he touches you again—”

“He won’t.” I said and King snorted. We all knew that wasn’t true. The teacher walked in before the conversation could continue. Thankfully, because I didn’t want to talk about Ryder anymore. The final bell rang a few hours later. Students immediately flooded the hallways. I packed my bag slowly before heading outside. Normally, I would walk to the bus stop to take a bus home, but today I was in for a surprise. I stopped walking the moment I reached the parking lot when I saw my mom's car.

I entered the car and saw my mom smiling like she just won a lottery. “Hi, sweetheart.” she greeted.

I buckled my seatbelt. “Why are you here mom?” I asked. Instead of answering immediately, she reached across the console and squeezed my hand.

“I have news.” she beamed. Then she held up her left hand. For a second, I didn’t understand., then I saw the ring and my eyes widened.

“No way.” I gasped.

“Jack and I finally got married.” she announced.

“When?” I asked with my eyes wide.

“This morning, at the courthouse.” she said and I couldn’t believe it. "And he asked us to move in with him Miles. We're going to be one happy family!"