SCARLETT
Derrick asked me to be his assignment partner.
I still couldn't believe it and even though I walked home under a scorching sun, I couldn't wipe the shit-eating grin off my face. I was ecstatic.
But it took getting home and entering the house for my mood to sour completely.
“Why are you just getting home?” Axel fired at me immediately I entered, the venom in his eyes terrifying my soul.
“I... I... I had to walk and...”
“Save your useless stuttering,” Brody cut me off by throwing a pillow at me. It hit me square in the face and the force behind me nearly split my head into two.
“Make us dinner,” Axel commanded and I instinctively looked at the wall clock. It was just 5 pm and we didn't eat dinner until 7:30.
But I knew better not to argue.
“Okay, let me just change from my school uniforms,” I started to make my way to the stairs, momentarily forgetting that I'd been locked out of my room when another pillow hit me square in the face and this time, the pain was enough to make me yelp.
“Make it like that and you better not exceed 6 pm. If you do, I'll male you rue the day your whore of a mother decided to open her dirty legs for our father.”
Axel’s words were like punches to my face. This wasn’t the first time he'd talked about my mother in a very rude and demeaning way but it always got to me each time.
I muttered an okay before turning around and I made my way to the kitchen. The food on the timetable would take nothing less than 2 hours to make and they expect me to make it happen in less than a hour.
And I had; if not, it was going to be another round of punishment and I didn't want that.
I poured the ingredients together, mixed them, and did everything the fast way that I've learnt and at exactly 6 pm on the dot, I was serving them on the dining table.
“What the fuck?” Brody yelled after a spoonful, “Why is it so hot?”
What?
He was glaring angrily at me so I had no option but to reply.
“Because I just finished cooking...”
I didn't get to complete the statement when he dragged me closer by my arm and he flattened the fleshy part of my hand against the stainless plate.
I screamed, yelped and writhed in pain but he kept my hand flattened against the hot plate for like a full minute before he let go.
My arm was a bloated, red and painful mess. Tears were streaming down from my face because of the intensity of pain that I was feeling.
“Next time, find a way to cool down the food before you serve me. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I lose my appetite from just staring at your miserable face.”
I scurried off. The urge to break down in the kitchen was overwhelming but I knew I didn't have the luxury of time to. I had my homework to do, my clothes to wash, the kitchen to clean up and God knows what the triplets will still ask me to do for them.
So I applied first aid on my bloated skin before I cleaned up the kitchen, packed the dishes when they were done eating, and cleaned that up too. I had to wash my clothes by hand outside because I was forbidden from using the washing machine unless I was washing their clothes. And the last time I attempted to sneak in my clothes with theirs, I was made to stool down for hours while they watched a soccer match.
Someone was screaming my name at the top of my voice when I entered the house again and it took me a while to realize who it was.
Jasmine. She was here to make my life even more miserable.
“Are you deaf? Or have you just been ignoring me?” she fired at me after she gave me a slap that made my head jerk to the other side.
“No, I was...”
“I don't need your useless explanation,” she slumped back on the sofa, “now get on your knees and massage my legs. I've had a busy day.”
I did as I was told. I had no option but to. The way Jasmine bullies me in the house is different from the way she does at school. At school, there were still rules but at home, she was free to do whatever she wanted with me.
I picked up the massage oil and got to work. In no time, Jasmine was in a more relaxed position and a satisfied sigh left her mouth.
It would have been okay if she stopped at that but then, she started moaning, like high-pitched moans of pleasure.
Axel wasn't even in the room, it was only Brody and Carson and they were occupied with the PES game they were playing.
“Yesss... Oh my God! Right there, that spot. God!” she let out a breathless moan that made me cringe on her behalf.
Doesn't she have any shame? She was in the room with her boyfriend’s brothers and she was moaning at the top of her voice.
Was she doing this to get a raise out of them? I wouldn't be surprised if that's what she was doing. I've seen her give Carson and Brody a suggestive look on different occasions. And I think she just wants the three boys for herself.
The boys didn't even turn in her direction at all.
“Ohh babe, you're here,” Axel announced his presence and he took his seat beside her.
“Yes and guess what?” she was beaming at him with excitement.
“What?”
“I finally pierced my right nipple just like you wanted.”
“Wow,” his eyes zeroed in on her gigantic boobs, “I can't wait to see it.”
“Well,” she started unbuttoning her shirt with a playful yet sultry look in her eyes, “why don’t you just see it now?”
She got her right boob out and I cringed on her behalf again but there was nothing cringy about the way Axel was looking at it. His eyes were full of hunger and lust and in no time, he had the nipple between his fingers and massaging them.
Jasmine was moaning loudly again and they increased when he ducked his head and took the nipple into his mouth, sucking and lapping at it angrily.
I took that as my cue to disappear and do my homework and when I was finally done, some messages were waiting for me from an unknown number.
I opened them and they were from Derrick.
I squealed before typing a reply and it was after sending it that I started worrying that it might be too stupid.
It was as if Derrick had been waiting for my reply because he replied in less than a second.
We chatted late into the night and I finally understood why girls blush when they chat with boys. Derrick was just asking me about my hobbies and favorite things and I was blushing and smiling like a lovestruck teenager.
We said goodbyes reluctantly because he said he didn’t want to keep me up so I wouldn’t be late for class.
I went to sleep with a smile on my face.
And with the duvet, I had no recollection of bringing with me drawn to my chest.
I was sure I went to sleep last night without a duvet but when I woke up this morning, I was well covered in a duvet.
ASHLEYMy heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when my mom and my stepfather, the Alpha King of Crescent Valley announced that they were going on yet another vacation when they just returned from one less than a week ago.“Don’t worry, Ashley, I'm going to get you lots of gifts, you can just text me if there is any new thing that you need,” she told me as she entered the car with Alpha Hendrix. I wanted to tell her that I did not need anything, that the multitudes of gifts she got me from their last vacation were still untouched. That the only thing I needed from her was for her to stay at home and protect me from my stepbrothers, and my bullies. They were the best brothers when our parents were at home and they were the worst bullies whenever they weren't at home. The latter was the most constant because our parents were hardly ever home. They were always on one vacation or attending a public event in the other town or a fundraiser in the other country. And my stepbrothers, Axe
ASHLEY“What the fuck?” Axel yelled and I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.“Are you trying to kill us?” It was Brody who spoke next and his voice was just as angry as Axel’s. I just finished preparing dinner and I was serving it to them. I was tired and drained from working nonstop for over five hours. I just wanted to rest. “It’s not… I don’t understand what… ouch,” my words trailed off into a yelp when Axel angrily threw his bowl of soup at me.It landed on my chest and it was hot and scalding. It was so painful that I felt tears pool in my eyes and I could feel my skin peeling. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from screaming out loud because if I did, they’d know how much pain it was causing me and they’d throw more at me.“God! You’re such a dunce,” Axel continued angrily, “you can’t even prepare proper food! Your whore of a mother didn’t teach you how to, right?” His voice was laced with so much venom and he looked really murderous that it seemed like it was takin
ASHLEYI woke up the next morning on my bed. Which was strange because the last thing I remembered was collapsing on the bathroom floor. And not only was I on the bed, I wasn’t in those drenched clothes, I was now in a very comfortable piece of pajamas and the duvet was covering my body. It almost seemed like someone had ticked me in.But I knew better than to think or believe that someone had really tucked me in. The three people in this house with me would rather give me off to the lion to devour than to lift a finger to help me. I must have done that myself but I had no recollection of it whatsoever. Was I starting to space out and forget things now?My eyes fell on my bedside clock and a short scream left my mouth. It was 6:45 am. I should have woken up a long time ago to prepare breakfast for the triplets. Heck! My heart dropped drastically when I realized that I didn’t remember to iron their school uniforms before I slept off. They were going to kill me. I was sure of that.
ASHLEY Jasmine, the disciplinary prefect was standing by the gate, and from the wicked grin she flashed me, I knew there was no escaping this for me. “You know at this point, I think you should just drop out with how much of a serial latecomer you’ve become.” She knew the reason why I was always coming back but because she’s Jasmine, she never failed to worsen an already worse situation. Once upon a time, Jasmine and I were best of friends. We were literally soul sisters. Then my mom married the Alpha King, Jasmine started coming over and immediately she caught the eyes of Axel, she changed and joined them in bullying me. I thought that when she started dating Axel, she’d talk to him so they’d leave me alone but instead, my best friend abandoned me and she joined them in making my life a living hell. My status as the stepdaughter of the alpha king gave her a rise on the social ladder because she was my best friend but she made sure to drop me to the lowest level when she became A
SCARLETTI held my breath as I walked down the hallway. I was conscious of the eyes on me, on the pointed fingers, taunting whispers, and sneering peals of laughter. That was my everyday life here in school. Walking in the hallway was always a dreadful experience for me. I could feel my heart beating fast, could feel perspiration on my entire body, could feel my palms growing sweaty. I hated walking alone. Nobody likes me in Empire High. The boys already gave everyone a green pass to bully me and they were always so eager to do that as if it’d score them some point with the triplets. I knew the number of steps I needed to take before reaching my class and I was almost done counting when I tripped on something and I landed on the floor with a thud. The hallway erupted in laughter. I felt a sharp pain in my knees and I looked at them to see that the right one was already bleeding. “Oh, my bad,” the voice that I recognized to be Jasmine’s mocked, “maybe you should get glasses becau