chapter 3

Lila POV

"Cassandra Williams," I whispered, the name tasting like poison on my tongue.

The girl pulling away from Ryan's lips was my worst nightmare made flesh. Those same cruel blue eyes that had haunted my middle school years. That same perfect blonde hair that had whipped around as she laughed at my pain. That same cold smile that had destroyed my confidence for years.

My bully. My tormentor. The girl who had made my life hell for three straight years.

And now she was kissing my stepbrother like she owned him.

"Lila!" Ryan's voice cut through my shock. "There you are!"

They broke apart and walked toward me, Ryan's arm wrapped around Cassandra's tiny waist. I felt like I was going to throw up. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

"I want you to meet my girlfriend," Ryan said with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. "This is Cassandra. She just transferred here from Jefferson High school, and she's already the new cheerleading captain."

Jefferson High school. My old middle school. Of course.

Cassandra looked at me with those same calculating eyes, but her expression was pure fake sweetness. "Oh my goodness! Lila Richmond! What a small world!"

The way she said my name made my skin crawl. Like she was tasting something disgusting.

"And Cassandra, this is my amazing stepsister Lila," Ryan continued, completely clueless about the nightmare unfolding in front of him.

"We know each other very well, don't we Lila?" Cassandra said, her voice dripping with false warmth. "We were such good friends back in middle school."

Friends. She called us friends.

This was the girl who had pushed me down stairs. Who had spread rumors that I smelled bad. Who had made me eat lunch in the bathroom because I was too scared to sit in the cafeteria. Who had called me fat, ugly, worthless every single day for three years.

"Really? That's incredible!" Ryan beamed. "This is perfect! My girlfriend and my sister already know each other!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I felt like I was drowning in memories of every cruel thing Cassandra had ever done to me.

"We sure do have history," Cassandra said, her smile sharp as a knife. "Don't we, Lila?"

The way she was looking at me made it clear that nothing had changed. She was still the same evil girl who had destroyed my confidence, and I was still her favorite target.

"Well, this is amazing!" Ryan said happily. "I'll leave you two to catch up. I need to shower and get out of this gear."

No. No, no, no. He couldn't leave me alone with her.

"Ryan, wait-" I started to say, but he was already walking away, whistling like he didn't have a care in the world.

The moment Ryan disappeared around the corner, Cassandra's fake smile melted away like ice in fire. Her true face emerged cold and absolutely vicious.

"Well, well, well," she said, stepping closer to me like a predator circling its prey. "Look what the cat dragged in. Little Lila Richmond, still ugly, still pathetic, still completely invisible."

Each word hit me like a physical blow. I was thirteen years old again, scared and helpless and alone.

"I can't believe you go to school here now," Cassandra continued, her voice filled with disgust. "I thought I was finally free of you, but here you are, still ruining everything just by existing."

"I didn't know you were coming here," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Of course you didn't," Cassandra laughed coldly. "You never know anything useful, do you? Still the same stupid, worthless little girl I remember."

I bent down to pick up my scattered papers, my hands shaking so badly I could barely hold them. I just wanted to get away from her, to escape before she could hurt me more.

But Cassandra wasn't done with me yet.

"Tell me something, Lila," she said, her voice dangerously sweet. "Does your stepbrother know what a freak you really are? Does he know how pathetic and desperate you were in middle school?"

"Please just leave me alone," I begged, still trying to gather my papers.

"Oh, I don't think so," Cassandra said, crouching down next to me. "You see, I worked very hard to reinvent myself for high school. New school, new reputation, new me. And I'm not going to let you ruin that."

She grabbed my wrist painfully tight, her nails digging into my skin.

"If you say one word to Ryan about our history," she whispered, her voice filled with venom, "if you even think about telling him how things really were between us, I will make your life so miserable that you'll beg to go back to middle school."

Tears burned my eyes as her grip tightened.

"Do you understand me?" Cassandra demanded.

I nodded frantically, too scared to speak.

"Good girl," she said, releasing my wrist and standing up. "Now, let me make something else very clear. Ryan is mine now. He's my boyfriend, my future, my everything. And you're going to stay far away from him."

"He's my stepbrother," I said weakly. "I live with him."

"Then you better learn to be invisible again," Cassandra snapped. "Just like you were in middle school. Because if I catch you trying to get between us, if I see you flirting with him or being anything more than the pathetic little sister you are, I will destroy you."

She leaned down close to my ear, her breath hot against my skin.

"And this time," she whispered, "there won't be any teachers to save you. This time, it'll be just you and me."

With that, she stood up and smoothed down her perfect hair, transforming back into the sweet, innocent girl Ryan thought she was.

"It was so nice catching up with you, Lila," she said loudly, just as Ryan's footsteps echoed down the hallway. "We'll have to do this again soon!"

Ryan appeared around the corner, freshly showered and grinning like an idiot.

"So, how did the reunion go?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Cassandra from behind.

"Wonderful," Cassandra purred, melting into his embrace. "Lila and I have so much to catch up on."

She looked at me over Ryan's shoulder, and her smile was pure evil.

I stood there holding my wet papers, feeling like my whole world was falling apart. In one night, Derek had my secrets, Ryan had broken my heart, and now my worst enemy was back to make my life hell.

But as I watched Ryan kiss Cassandra's head so sweetly, my heart broke all over again. The boy I loved was holding the girl who had destroyed me.

I started walking toward the exit, my legs shaking. I just wanted to go home and cry.

But just as I reached the door, I heard Cassandra's voice behind me.

"Oh, and Lila?"

I turned around slowly.

Cassandra was smiling that same evil smile from middle school. The smile that meant someone was about to get hurt.

"If you tell Ryan one single thing about our past," she said sweetly, "I'll make sure he knows the real truth about who the bully really was."

My blood turned to ice. She was going to lie about everything. Make Ryan think I was the mean one.

"Sweet dreams, little sister," Cassandra whispered, her voice like poison.