Chapter 3

“Weird. It won’t come off!”

Ethan finally let go of me and tossed the rag aside.

Hunter glanced outside.

The sun was blazing overhead.

“Drag her outside and let her bake in the sun.”

Serena immediately clapped her hands.

“Exactly! She’s always covered from head to toe. That proves she’s afraid of the sun.”

Ethan and Ryan grabbed me again and started dragging me out by my collar.

“Let go of me! I’m not going!”

This time, I was genuinely scared.

Nothing was more dangerous to a vampire than sunlight.

If I stayed under the sun for an hour, I could actually die.

“You can keep the invitation! Keep the gold too!”

I shouted desperately.

“Just don’t make me stay in the sun! I’ll get sick!”

I thought begging might make them show some mercy.

Instead, they laughed even harder.

“So you finally admit you’re scared!

“Come on. Let’s see how ugly she looks once she gets a tan!”

Students passing through the hallway turned to stare.

Some pulled out their phones to record.

Others covered their mouths and laughed.

But not a single person stepped forward to stop them.

Everyone knew that crossing Hunter meant crossing the principal.

And crossing the principal meant making an enemy of the entire school.

They dragged me out of the building.

Ethan and Ryan used a jump rope to tie me to the flagpole.

Serena yanked off my jacket, leaving me in nothing but my short-sleeved school uniform shirt.

“Ah!”

I screamed the moment the sunlight hit me.

It fell across my face, my neck, and my bare arms.

It felt like my skin was being burned alive.

Hunter and the others stood safely in the shade by the entrance, watching gleefully.

“Wow, she’s only been out there thirty seconds and her face is already red!”

“Look! Her face is getting darker already. I knew there was something fishy about her!”

“Whoa, is there smoke coming off her arms? That’s actually kind of amazing!”

Ethan turned eagerly to Hunter.

“Hunter, how long should we leave her out there? She looks like she’s really suffering.”

Serena scoffed.

“She’s acting. Homewrecker Nora is good at that.

“So she gets a little tan. How bad could it possibly hurt?”

Hunter nodded.

“Leave her there all afternoon.

“We’ll untie her after school.

“She lies and fakes everything every day. Maybe this will teach her a lesson.”

The pain was so intense that I couldn’t even speak anymore.

I closed my eyes as my consciousness began to fade.

Grandpa... Grandma...

Mom... Dad...

My brothers...

My sisters...

Their faces flickered before my eyes.

Was my life actually flashing before my eyes?

Suddenly, a drop of water struck my forehead.

I slowly looked up.

It was raining.

Within moments, the sky opened up and rain came pouring down.

Hunter immediately shielded Serena as everyone else rushed back inside the building.

I was still tied to the flagpole.

But I tilted my face toward the sky and smiled.

The rain washed over my body, soothing my scorched skin.

The heavens weren’t ready to take me yet.

I survived.

By the time night fell, the campus had gone quiet.

A security guard found me during his patrol and hurried over to untie me.

“I’ll take you to the nurse’s office!”

“No need.”

I forced my aching body upright and slowly made my way out through the school gates.

The family banquet was tomorrow night.

No matter what happened, I had to be there to see it for myself.