7.

I did regret it.

I regretted the very moment I decided to defy him with all my being.

He did not stop there.

His cruel torment only continued, whenever I would find myself unfortunate enough to be alone and in his proximity.

He would destroy my stuff, whisper gruesome threats in my ear if I even dared to think about exposing his acts against me, and even purposely distract me from any school-related stuff so that I couldn't concentrate and get bad grades.

Why?

I didn't know why.

All I knew was that he was a monster in every way and that he was deadass set on tearing me apart, piece by piece.

And oh boy how it was working.

I willed myself not to shed a single tear as I looked at my cracked phone, reminiscing about the way that he'd forcefully ripped it away from my hands and destroyed it with his bare ones as I quietly sat in class and struggled to ignore what he was doing, acting like it was all just dandy and fine.

I threw it in my locker after a quiet sigh and closed the door, wasting but a single moment longer before heading to the gym as the girls were already there, in the changing room, and waiting for me so we could start our practice.

I ran all the way there, putting on a fake and nice smile as I entered the locker room and greeted my girls.

"There she is!" Dre shouted out loud whilst throwing her hands in the air.

"Dude where were you? I tried to call you but it didn't ring, I don't know why it isn't working!" She complained with a frown.

"Yeah I just kinda dropped my phone on my way out of the classroom and it's busted, now I have to get a new one," I lied with an eye-roll, walking past her and to my locker to retrieve my cheerleading outfit.

"Could you get any clumsier than that?" I heard her mockingly scold me as I threw my skirt and crop top over the wooden bench and sat down.

"Look who's talkin'," I threw back as I started taking off my boots, hearing the girls burst into a fit of giggles as they knew what I was talking about.

Miss trippy.

"Eh-heh-heh!" She mimicked their laughter with a high-pitched voice, earning herself another round of laughs.

"By the way, I talked to him today, for the first time!" I heard Kayla excitedly say as I started to take off my clothes, quickly throwing her a curious look as I stopped mid-undress.

"Who?"

"Christian," She timidly replied, noticing that faint blush tinting her light brown cheeks as she peered at me.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, choosing to refrain from any comments as I already knew that no matter what I said, she was not going to let it go because that's who she was after all. Stubborn as fuck.

Once she had her mind set on anything or anyone, she would not stop until she'd gotten exactly what she wanted.

So all I could do was just support her and love her, no matter what.

"He's not that bad you know," She said with a goofy yet pleading grin as she looked at me as if searching for my approval.

"Okay," I quietly said with a sigh, hearing her squeal before jumping to crush me into a tight hug.

"Wow, okay, are you trying to fucking kill me?" I jokingly croaked out as she held me in her death grip, making the girls laugh again.

She let go of me and immediately started to gush about Christian and his perfect...whatever, I myself zoning out as we all changed into our cheerleading uniforms and walked outside into the field as it was a very warm and sunny day.

I drew in a long and refreshing breath as dancing seemed to always relax me, letting that excited grin spread over my lips as I dance-jogged to take my position, my mood however plummeting as soon as I saw my tormentor casually sitting over the opposite side of the bleachers with the rest of his clique of demons.

The other two guys and the girls kept chatting amongst themselves as they did not even notice us whilst Nathan's gaze was already trained on me, imposingly sitting as the ever unproclaimed dark king, legs spread apart and with his elbows resting over his knees as he intently watched me.

Fuck.

No. I couldn't just let him destroy this too for me, I quickly concluded as I peered at him for a moment.

And with another deep breath I forced myself to completely ignore his existence for that sole hour and try to enjoy my practice with the girls.

Unfortunately, I found myself utterly unsuccessful as as soon as we started performing I could practically feel the burn of his gaze, never leaving my body throughout the entire session.

I couldn't even properly concentrate as he kept staring at me, examining my every move with that brooding gaze of his, even making me falter for a few times.

Damn it!

"Would you look at that crazy fucker. Again with the staring," I heard Dre say from my left as I made a time-out sign for the girls, blowing out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah..."

"Ooh, I think that someone's got a serious crush," Kayla commented cheekily as she approached us with a bottle of water.

As if.

"Are you out of your damn mind?"

I rolled my eyes and took the bottle from her hand, quickly unscrewing the cap before taking a hearty swig.

"Would you look at that, who knew that our Carrie would be the one to break the ice around Satan's heart," Jess said with a surprised expression and a raised brow, almost making me choke at the stupidity of her words.

And yes. We gave him that nickname.

Perfectly fitting.

"More like the ice around his dick! Look at him, he looks like a fucking dog in heat," We heard Kayla devilishly comment as I looked in his direction.

"Oh my god, Kayla!!"

"Just what the fuck is wrong with you?"

My sister let out a shocked gasp as I turned my head to give Kayla a completely incredulous and disgusted stare before they all three suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, cackling like a pack of hyenas as I continued to stare at her, brows raised and hands over my hips.

"You know, sometimes you're fucking unbelievable," I shook my head, watching her step closer to me and wrap her arms around me from behind before taking me by surprise as she placed her hands under my tits and pushed them up a few times in a naughtily suggestive manner as we faced Nathan.

"You are seriously fucked in the head, did you know that? Did your mom drop you when you were little?" I questioned with a half-incredulous and half-amused laugh as I quickly turned around in her hold and gave her a mild push, earning myself another cackling laugh.

She really was fucked-up like that sometimes.

However, I did not dare to turn back around as my cheeks still burned after that unintentional display, feeling so damn embarrassed and stupid.

"What? If he's gonna keep staring like a creep at least give him something to gawk at,"

"That's all that he's gonna get anyway," She made another suggestive sign with her hand this time whilst continuing to smirk, implying that he would...

Fuck I do not even wanna think about it.

"He does love to sit next to you in class, doesn't he?" Jess commented as she peered over my shoulder before looking back at me, casually reminding me that he was still there, watching me.

"Well, he's not exactly the friendliest classmate one's ever had," I quietly mumbled with an eye roll as if I were afraid that he could hear me.

"What do you mean?" Her brows raised with interest as she stood right in front of me with her arms crossed, her sparkling blue gaze flittering from me to him.

"What did he do? Did he say anything to you?" Kayla butted in, all three now standing huddled before me as they waited for my answer.

"He's just kinda...rude, that's all," I nervously replied with another frustrated sigh, watching them give me weird looks before giggling again.

Of course, they wouldn't understand.

I blew out another sigh.

They were so used to my strong and uncaring behavior that they wouldn't even think that I would ever be someone's bullying victim.

"And he keeps stealing my fucking pens," I added with an annoyed grunt, only making them laugh again.

"Like I said, somebody's got a crush," Kayla devilishly smirked as she peered over my shoulder with a knowing look.

**

I trudged my way back to the locker room with the girls in tow, casually listening to Kayla's rambling about Christian again, and the way that he looked at her, and how hot he is, and whatever.

"I wonder if he's good in bed," I heard her say as I went to my locker to retrieve a towel, listening to the girls giggle at the sound of her naughty words.

"Hmm, I bet he is," She said, making the girls laugh as I took my clothes off and went to the showers, ignoring anything else she said because deep down, I knew that things were not going to end well.

I still didn't even know exactly what Nathan was and how he did that. Was he actually a some sort of demon or was it just a trick of the lighting?

God, I hope it's just the latter.

I shivered as I thought about his weirdly glowing eyes, just remembering that nonsense he'd spouted about my father and that I was his to do whatever he pleased with, whether I liked it or not.

But that can't be right, can it?

I frowned as I kept thinking about it, wishing that I could just find Dad somehow and ask him what was going on.

Maybe I could.

My gaze narrowed under the pelting water as I thought about all those documents Mom had hidden in her closet.

I could just snoop in and search for anything useful in there.

"Sis are you done?" I suddenly heard Dre shout from somewhere close, making me snap out of my drifting thoughts.

"Umm, no not yet," I yelled back as I realized that I've been standing like this for a while now and that I had forgotten to use shampoo and shower gel.

"Okay, I'll just go and wait in the car then because the girls already left!" She hollered at me.

"Yeah, okay!" I answered, hurrying to wash and rinse my body and hair.

Once I was done, I wrung the excessive water out of my long locks and turned off the water, wrapping a towel around myself before exiting to change.

I walked back to the row of lockers, my heart leaping into my throat as soon as I saw Nathan just standing there, leaning against my locker with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? W-what are you doing in here?" I cried out, half scared to death and half embarrassed as his vivid green eyes flittered over my barely covered body.

"Are you upset that I'm not your little friend?" He asked whilst straightening himself up, my eyes quickly widening in horror as I fleetingly thought about the possibility of him having heard everything my girls and I had talked about on the field.

"W-what?"

"Are you sad? Is the baby gonna cry?" He boldly took a few steps closer in my direction, making me take one backwards.

"Just leave me alone!"

"Do you want me to be your little friend?" He stepped even closer, narrowing that space between us until there was almost nothing left, making me feel like a cornered prey as those eyes kept roaming over me in a predatory way.

"I said fucking leave me alone!" I screamed as that instinct of defending myself hit hard and fast, my hands tightly clutching that small towel covering my body as I felt the cold sensation of a metal locker door pressing against my bare back.

"What the fuck do you want from me? Just fucking tell me already!"

"Why do you keep following me? Are you that obsessed? Or do you just get off by tormenting me like this? Huh? Tell me! Just tell me what the fuck you want from me! What kind of sick monster are you?"

I breathed fast and hard, feeling my body tremble as my heartbeat increased, widely staring as he stepped closer, leaving no more space between us, those emerald eyes looking between my own before they briefly fell over my body again.

And just like that, the air suddenly changed as I could practically feel that heat radiating from his body, my lips escaping a whimper as his hand shot up and softly wrapped around my throat, that skin-to-skin contact however creating a weird and entirely burning sensation within the pit of my stomach.

I instantly closed my eyes, letting that stray tear fall over my cheek before opening them again, just in time to watch his green eyes suddenly turn pitch black.

My blood ran cold in my veins, filling with pure horror and shock as they peered right back into my own for a moment.

His fist suddenly slammed against the locker door right next to me with such force that the metal caved in and created a large hole. I violently jolted at the sound.

A freaking hole. He made a fucking hole right next to my head.

My entire body started to shake even harder, feeling my pulse skyrocket as my throat kept constricting until I found myself loudly wheezing for air. I desperately looked up at him.

Oh no no, no, please no!

I faintly noticed how his expression suddenly changed between my desperate attempts to regain my breathing, audibly gasping as I slowly slid against those locker doors.

My vision started to blur, still feeling that ominous pounding as I faintly noticed the outline of a second person appearing next to Nathan.

"I think you've gone a little bit too far," I barely heard them say.

"Shut up, David,"

"Whatever man. But remember, you're going to be sorry later,"

And just like that, everything faded to blackness.

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