No Happily Ever After (The Fairytale Diaries #1) by Amanda Gatton Page B
Authors: Amanda Gatton
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a friend. Talking to him could only lead to horrible things. But… She found him irresistible.
"I, um… My mother was sick for a long time and passed away when I was eight. My dad, he… He just… He couldn't face life without her," she murmured. She didn't go on to reveal that he'd killed himself, but that truth was evident behind the emotion in her voice.
Nicholas' face was full of compassion. He caressed her face and she flinched. "How long have you been here?" he asked, retracting his hand.
She swallowed a forming lump in her throat. "Three years," she said solemnly. She gazed up into his eyes. He seemed so strong and courageous. A tiny blossom of hope began to open within her. Maybe he could protect her. Maybe he could take her out of this place.
"These three are a real piece of work, aren't they?" he asked.
She smiled slightly. How she wanted to tell him just how awful they truly were. But it was hard to tell where any of them might be hiding. It was likely they were all three eavesdropping nearby. She elected not to say anything bad about them; he would see for himself.
Once the dishes were done, they sat back down at the table to talk. She learned he was from California. His parents had perished in a car accident some years back. He'd been surfing foster homes ever since. Like her, never finding a family who would adopt him. He was a few months older than she and his eighteenth birthday drew close. For some reason, that thought thrilled her.
Her hope blossom grew just a little bigger.
***
In a way his presence did seem to protect her. They did not physically assault her, as she normally would have expected. They piled chores on her. If he wasn't in earshot, they said vile things to her. But for once, the Dark women kept their hands to themselves.
However, they found a way to get to Nicholas that Ella never saw coming.
Instead of harming Ella because Nicholas chose her affection in favor of either of theirs, Brittany and Lexi began harming themselves. Never in a million years would Ella have foreseen the narcissistic sociopaths self-harm for any reason. But she became aware something was going on when she found a significant amount of blood on the bathroom floor the morning after Nicholas' first night.
Ella gave a small startled cry that morning at the gruesome looking pool on the worn linoleum. The rest of the household had not yet risen, so she got hold of herself and simply cleaned up the blood.
Soon Brittany called out for Ella to bring breakfast to her in bed. Which Ella did. As soon as Ella entered, Brittany raised her arms to languish in a morning stretch, and Ella saw them.
An ugly raw network of intersecting gashes up and down the inside of her left arm.
Ella gasped sharply and rushed forward to closer examine Brittany's wounds. "Brittany, what did you do?"
Brittany smiled broadly, making no move to hide the cuts. "Oh, nothing," she said, sounding as though she were in a delightful mood. She climbed out of bed and snatched the tarts Ella had brought for her. "You'll need to clean that up," she barked, nodding toward the bed. She grinned devilishly and strutted out of the room.
Ella looked down to find Brittany's bed sheets soaked with blood.
***
She thought about Brittany's cuts all day.
Ella had known other people at school who cut. They didn’t laugh about their wounds. They didn't show them off like prizes or leave their bloody mess for others to clean up. The cutters she'd known weren't proud of it nor did they treat their cuts like a fun little game. Why had Brittany done it?
At lunch that first day, Ella sat with Nicholas. She could feel the beady eyes of the Dark twins watching from across the cafeteria, but she did her best to ignore them. After she introduced Nicholas to all her friends at the lunch table, she leaned close to his ear.
"This morning I found blood in the bathroom. Then,
"I, um… My mother was sick for a long time and passed away when I was eight. My dad, he… He just… He couldn't face life without her," she murmured. She didn't go on to reveal that he'd killed himself, but that truth was evident behind the emotion in her voice.
Nicholas' face was full of compassion. He caressed her face and she flinched. "How long have you been here?" he asked, retracting his hand.
She swallowed a forming lump in her throat. "Three years," she said solemnly. She gazed up into his eyes. He seemed so strong and courageous. A tiny blossom of hope began to open within her. Maybe he could protect her. Maybe he could take her out of this place.
"These three are a real piece of work, aren't they?" he asked.
She smiled slightly. How she wanted to tell him just how awful they truly were. But it was hard to tell where any of them might be hiding. It was likely they were all three eavesdropping nearby. She elected not to say anything bad about them; he would see for himself.
Once the dishes were done, they sat back down at the table to talk. She learned he was from California. His parents had perished in a car accident some years back. He'd been surfing foster homes ever since. Like her, never finding a family who would adopt him. He was a few months older than she and his eighteenth birthday drew close. For some reason, that thought thrilled her.
Her hope blossom grew just a little bigger.
***
In a way his presence did seem to protect her. They did not physically assault her, as she normally would have expected. They piled chores on her. If he wasn't in earshot, they said vile things to her. But for once, the Dark women kept their hands to themselves.
However, they found a way to get to Nicholas that Ella never saw coming.
Instead of harming Ella because Nicholas chose her affection in favor of either of theirs, Brittany and Lexi began harming themselves. Never in a million years would Ella have foreseen the narcissistic sociopaths self-harm for any reason. But she became aware something was going on when she found a significant amount of blood on the bathroom floor the morning after Nicholas' first night.
Ella gave a small startled cry that morning at the gruesome looking pool on the worn linoleum. The rest of the household had not yet risen, so she got hold of herself and simply cleaned up the blood.
Soon Brittany called out for Ella to bring breakfast to her in bed. Which Ella did. As soon as Ella entered, Brittany raised her arms to languish in a morning stretch, and Ella saw them.
An ugly raw network of intersecting gashes up and down the inside of her left arm.
Ella gasped sharply and rushed forward to closer examine Brittany's wounds. "Brittany, what did you do?"
Brittany smiled broadly, making no move to hide the cuts. "Oh, nothing," she said, sounding as though she were in a delightful mood. She climbed out of bed and snatched the tarts Ella had brought for her. "You'll need to clean that up," she barked, nodding toward the bed. She grinned devilishly and strutted out of the room.
Ella looked down to find Brittany's bed sheets soaked with blood.
***
She thought about Brittany's cuts all day.
Ella had known other people at school who cut. They didn’t laugh about their wounds. They didn't show them off like prizes or leave their bloody mess for others to clean up. The cutters she'd known weren't proud of it nor did they treat their cuts like a fun little game. Why had Brittany done it?
At lunch that first day, Ella sat with Nicholas. She could feel the beady eyes of the Dark twins watching from across the cafeteria, but she did her best to ignore them. After she introduced Nicholas to all her friends at the lunch table, she leaned close to his ear.
"This morning I found blood in the bathroom. Then,
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