Chapter 2: The Night Everything Changed

Rivers POV

I lowered my head. Those sketches meant everything to me. They were the one thing I could turn to when the world became unbearable. Drawing allowed me to imagine a future where I could create beautiful clothes, where people would admire my work instead of using my body as a reason to laugh at me.

But standing there, listening to them tear apart the one thing I loved, I suddenly felt ashamed of something I had once been proud of.

Kehlani opened her bag and pulled out a white shopping bag. “Since you seem to have so much interest in fashion, let’s see how well you can handle a real dress.”

She tossed the bag onto my lap. I stared at it in confusion before slowly looking up at her.

“This is a Victorian corset dress I got for eight hundred dollars, specifically for you.” She announced, brushing an invisible speck of dust from her skirt. “I want you to fit into that dress by tomorrow night, and I’ll be waiting to see you on the stage wearing it.”

My eyes widened. “But I can’t…”

“If you don’t show up, consider yourself dead meat.” Her smile disappeared.

I knew, she wasn’t joking. Kehlani stepped over my legs and picked up her bag.

Nala leaned down and grabbed a fistful of my hair. I cried out as she yanked my head backward. “Listen carefully, River.” Her fingers tightened around my hair. “Not even a tear on that dress. Do you understand?”

I grabbed her wrist, trying to ease the pain.“Yes,” I whimpered.

“What was that?”

“Yes, I understand!”

“Good.” She shoved my head forward, and I barely managed to keep my face from hitting the concrete.

Jade walked past me and deliberately stepped on my thigh.

The three of them walked away, their laughter trailing behind them until the rooftop doors slammed shut.

For several seconds, I remained exactly where they had left me, my cheek pressed against the freezing concrete. My body trembled uncontrollably, and every breath scraped against my aching chest.

I was thirsty, tired, and exhausted. But more than anything, I was tired of living like this. Every day, since the beginning of the session, I had been nothing more than an object of ridicule to those three girls. They never seemed to run out of new ways to remind me that I was different, that my body was somehow an invitation for them to humiliate me. And the things they did in private were far worse than the insults they threw at me in public.

They had made me eat my food off the floor while they stood around laughing. They had forced me to jog for hours without water, even when my legs could barely carry me. During swimming lessons, they had stolen my clothes and left me scrambling to cover myself while other students watched and laughed.

And every Friday, they summoned me to this rooftop and gave me ridiculous assignments. Sometimes, they wanted me to run until my legs gave out. Other times, they ordered me to perform humiliating tasks that made me question whether they saw me as a human being at all

The worst part was that I was tired of reporting them, just for them to only get let off with a warning. They had made sure I understood the consequences of opening my mouth. If I dared to expose them, they would find a way to humiliate me in front of the entire school.

I couldn’t take it anymore, i was so tired of being afraid of them. So tired of looking over my shoulder whenever I heard their voices. So tired of walking into classrooms and wondering who would be the next person to laugh at me. I pressed my palms against my eyes, but the tears continued to fall.

I didn’t understand. Was my body so offensive that I deserved to be beaten, starved, and treated like an animal?

I had never asked anyone to love me. I had never demanded that people find me beautiful. All I had ever wanted was to attend school, make friends, study, and pursue the things I loved without constantly being reminded of my weight.

Was that really too much to ask?

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, but it quickly dissolved into a sob. I couldn’t do this anymore. I couldn’t keep waking up every morning, pretending I was strong enough to endure another day of their cruelty. I couldn’t keep wiping away my tears before entering a classroom, pretending the bruises on my body were nothing, or forcing a smile whenever someone made another joke about my weight.

I was so tired of pretending that everything was fine. Maybe, just maybe, if I stopped existing, they would finally leave me alone. The thought settled into my mind, quiet but frighteningly persistent.

I knew it wasn’t a solution. Somewhere deep inside me, I understood that I shouldn’t even be thinking about it. But after everything they had put me through, I couldn’t see a way out. Changing schools wasn’t an option anymore.

I had already changed schools five times because of the bullying. Five times, my parents had packed my belongings, reassured me that things would be better somewhere else, and watched me leave with the hope that I would finally find peace. And five times, that hope had been shattered.

I knew my parents were tired. I could see it in the way Mom’s smile sometimes faltered whenever I complained about another school. I could hear it in the careful way she asked whether I was sure I wanted to leave again. They had done everything they could to help me, but how many times could I ask them to start over because other people couldn’t accept the body I was born with?

I didn’t want to burden them anymore. Slowly, I lifted my head. The city stretched out beyond the building, its distant lights flickering against the darkness. Cars moved along the roads far below, their headlights appearing like tiny streaks of light.

My gaze drifted toward the edge of the rooftop. I stared at it for a long time. Then, with trembling hands, I pushed myself off the ground.My legs wobbled beneath me, and I had to steady myself against the floor before taking another step. The white shopping bag lay forgotten behind me, its contents waiting for a tomorrow I wasn’t sure I wanted to face.

I walked toward the edge. With every step, my heart beat harder against my ribs. A part of me wanted to turn around, return to the ground, and pretend I had never entertained the thought. But another part of me was so desperate for the pain to stop that I kept moving.

When I finally reached the edge, I stopped. The wind struck my face, whipping my damp hair across my cheeks. I looked down. My stomach lurched. The ground was terrifyingly far away.

What was I doing? How had I reached a point where ending my life seemed easier than facing another day?

My eyes filled with tears again.“Wait…” I whispered, shaking my head. “What am I doing?”

I looked down once more, and fear rushed through me so sharply that I stumbled backward.

“How can my journey end here?” My voice broke as I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth. “How could I die and let them live glorious lives?”

My thoughts raced wildly. What about my dreams?. What about the dresses I wanted to create, the designs I had hidden in my notebooks, and the life I had always imagined for myself?

What about Mom? A sob tore from my throat. “Mom…”

I could almost picture her face if she ever learned what had happened to me. I imagined her waiting for me to come home, calling my phone when I didn’t answer, and wondering why I had left her without saying goodbye. The thought shattered what little resolve I had left.

“This would kill her,” I choked out, shaking my head. “How could I do this to her when none of this is her fault?”

I pressed both hands against my face and cried. I thought about everything they had taken from me. My confidence, my peace, my ability to look in the mirror without hearing their voices in my head.

But they hadn’t taken everything. My dreams were still mine. And as that realization settled over me, something inside me resisted the darkness I had been sinking into. I couldn’t let this be the end of my story.

I wouldn’t let them be the reason my mother lost her daughter. With tears streaming down my face, I slowly began to step away from the edge.

One leg came down first, but i turned too quickly, desperate to get away from the terrifying drop, and my other foot slipped.

My eyes widened. For one horrifying second, I reached out for something, anything, to hold on to. But there was nothing.

My stomach lurched as my feet left the ground. A scream caught in my throat as the rooftop disappeared above me. The building seemed to rush past, the distant lights blurred before my eyes, and the midnight sky stretched endlessly overhead.

My arms flailed helplessly as the wind roared in my ears. And then, everything went dark.