BREA POV

The sole of the red shoes she wore glinted in the sun before it smashed against the side of my face. A strangled cry escaped my lips, the throbbing pain fading into a burn as their laughs crackled around me. It was supposed to hurt worse, but they'd already hit me in the face so many times that my face felt numb.

"She's such a weakling. Look at her lying there all pathetic" The girl that stomped on me got out and spat on my face while the two boys and the girl to her right giggled.

"There's nothing she can do though. Worthless piece of garbage" the boy snarled and I winced, letting out a sharp hiss when his hand twisted in my air. My whole body ached as he forced me to gaze into his eyes.

"You should be kissing the very ground that I'm walking on Brea Larson. What, you think you're all that because you come from an elite family? Newsflash, doll face! Your family is nothing! Do you hear me? Without the money my father invested in your stupid family business, you'd have been a pauper living in the gutter!" He spat angrily, his grip tightening until it felt like my head was on fire.

"Let go of me Brandon" I managed to get out, then almost blacked out when he punched me in the gut. I flopped on my face, my head reeling. He was saying something, but everything hit me like a buzz. Nasty words that I'd had to listen to all my life started to get louder and louder until my ears couldn't handle them.

My Mom's voice was the loudest of them all. "Be nice to Brandon ok. We are nothing without his father's money. At least try to be useful for once in your life now that we know he likes you. He pushed for the investment Brea, so do not mess it up for us. If we lose this opportunity because of your stupidity, I'm going to send you off to the orphanage".

She was going to give me away. I didn't do anything to deserve this, any of this. They always targeted me, the girl that was never good enough, the girl who wasn't rich enough... They would never accept me. I was an outsider. Always have been.

I'm yanked to my feet, and Brandon yells in my face before his hand smacked me hard, then two more punches. "I am going to make you my bitch whether you like it or not" he yelled, then smacked my cheek so hard, my head almost snapped off my neck.

A rage I never knew existed clouded my lungs, it rushed upward until it poisoned everything In my veins, and it suffocated me. I couldn't breathe, and my hand just worked on its own, as if it had always known what to do to set itself free from the pain.

I snatched out the pencil I always carried around with me, and with unfamiliar precision jabbed it into his throat as he pulled his arms back to hit me again. He froze in shock, his eyes widening.

The quiet that surrounded me was peaceful, and the pain faded a little until the scream picked up, crescendoing to a point where it felt like I would bleed out of my ears.

Blood splashed on my shirt as Brandon's wide eyes continue staring into my soul, his hand wrapping tightly around the end of the pencil, but I felt nothing, no remorse, no regret, no pity. All I felt was freedom. He was never going to hurt me again.

*******

"You almost killed him, Brea... How could you do this after what I told you" she yelled as she shook me harshly before letting me go? I gasped, tears streaming down my face.

"He wouldn't stop... He wouldn't stop hitting me, Mother"...

She hit me across the face and it was so unexpected that my teeth sunk into my lips. I tasted blood and my heart ceased to beat for a second as I stared at Mother's harsh gaze.

"You are lucky that he is still breathing, if he wasn't, you'd have been dead too. He hit you? Couldn't you take a little beating? Huh? Are you that weak? He was just playing with you and you stabbed him in the neck, you psychopath!"

Her words hit me like a load of truck and instead of it tearing my soul into pieces, all they did was graze it. A mantra repeated itself in my head. He cannot hurt you anymore. He cannot hurt you anymore. I repeated the mantra over and over again until a smile touched my lips.

I blinked, my gaze clashing with those of my mother's horrified one. "You are out of your mind Brea and I'm going to make sure I fix you. I will fix you until you are right again" she stated, then looked over my shoulder as the doctor approached. I turned to face him at the same time he grabbed my hand.

"I'll take it from here Mrs Larson".

Mother nodded once, turned, and left the room without a backward glance.

********

SIX MONTHS LATER.

Mother was waiting by the car with a young boy by her side. She didn't look happy to see me, just as it had always been, but at least she cared. Father wanted nothing to do with me.

I wished she would rush forward and hug me, but she just stood where she was until I got to her.

She didn't trust that I was ok, but I was going to make Momma believe in me again. I would win her trust.

"Meet your brother, Markus" she introduced, and I glanced at the child who smiled wildly at me. "He's been well-behaved ever since we got him... maybe you could learn a thing or two from him".

"You are so pretty Brea. Your eyes are amazing" he stated in awe, his eyes sparkling.

I ignored his blabbering because he was of no consequence.

"I will do anything you want momma. Please, I am sorry for everything. I got better. I swear".

She reached for my wrist and jerked me toward her. "You better be telling the truth, because you make one more mistake, you're going to be left here to rot" she threatened and let go of me. I rubbed at my wrist, her threat making the anger simmering in my chest grow. I clenched my fist.

"I'll be registering you for your new school. It is for a purpose, and this time, you better do what I tell you" she said, then yanked the door of the car open. "Get in before I change my mind," she said, and I quickly scrambled into the car.

Markus came in after me, his gaze lingering until I glared.

"Be nice to your brother you little menace" Mother snapped. "You freaking ruined our lives. Markus here is the only one keeping us together so watch how you deal with him. Got it".

My fingers dug harder against my palm."Yes ma'am" I choked out and she rolled her eyes before her gaze shifted.

The plan -it turned out- was for me to befriend Ana Mason... She was going to be our ticket to getting investment from her Dad. If I fucked this up, then it would be all over for me. I shuddered as I thought back to the days I spent in rehab. Maybe I was a bit mad. Being there so long made me feel like an empty shell that was being smashed into pieces.

"Hi, Ana" I managed once I stood in front of her.

Her gaze shifted in my direction, the lack of interest in them glaringly obvious.

Her lip curved slightly. "Are you by chance speaking to me"?

The two girls by her side kept their gaze glued to mine, an unbelievable look on their faces.

"Yes, Ana... I just came..." I gasped when my neck was grabbed from behind, the grip of my assailant cutting off my air supply. I thrashed until I thought I was going to die.

Ana stepped toward me, the eerie smile still on display. "Thrash like you do not deserve to call me by my name," she said then grabbed my jaw, a nail cutter in her other hand. "The next time you dare to disrespect me" The sharp edge of the blade pressed at the soft skin near my ear, then sliced through. "I'll do more than this," she said and shoved me, her eyes darting to the person whose hard grip was still around my throat. Black dots filled my vision. He let go of me abruptly. I fell to the floor, wheezing as I tried to catch my breath.

The four of them laughed and it was like my old school all over again.

"She didn't even fight back. She'll be our new toy for this semester" Ana announced with a giggle, dumped her coffee over my head, and left with her friends.

I watched them go knowing that I was failing Mother. If she found out about this, then it was back to the asylum.

The darkness that poisoned my veins stirred in my chest, urging me to do something crazy, urging me to hurt them back for hurting me.

But I couldn't, not if I wanted to rot away forever as Mother threatened, but I will find a way. I was going to achieve the impossible, and I was going to do it while simultaneously bringing them down.

Everyone who hurt me was going to pay.