Page 114 of Toxic Kiss

thirty

“Not all damage is visible. Some of it lives quietly under your skin.” - Haven

HAVEN

Age 16

The late afternoon, July heat beats down from the cloudless sky. Other than the steady hum of a lawnmower a few houses down, there is no noise. It’s almost as if I’m the only person left on the planet. Guess that doesn’t feel different than any other day of the week.

Dad is always traveling for work. My stepmother is a horrible human, and I avoid her at all costs. Her spawn, the son of Satan, Cy, is no better.

Why Dad brought these two horrible, toxic people into our lives is beyond me. It feels like another lifetime that today, July fourth, I’d be out here with friends and family, barbecuing, swimming, and setting off fireworks.

Not anymore.

Now everyone is busy, and I’m the loser at home, hanging out by the pool all alone. Patrick’s family is having a huge party, and of course, the whole school is going. The Rhodes’ parties are legendary. They go all out with entertainment, catered food, and a fireworks show. An invite was slipped into my locker like everyone else, but despite missing Patrick and his mom, there is no way in hell I’ll be there. Not unless I’m going for complete social suicide. Showing up is like handing an open invitation to Cy—and those who used to be my friends—to use me for their amusement.

I glance around.

It can’t really get much worse, but at least here, no one is around to tease me or call me names.

One by one, I watched as he twisted everything about me until the things that had made me cool made me an outsider. What felt like overnight, I became the outcast staring through the glass at the life I once had and wondering how I got here.

‘He who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd.’ The Albert Einstein quote made no sense to me until Cyrus arrived. Now I understand. Herd mentality is strong, and it is also the reason sheep get slaughtered.

If Cyrus told them to jump off a cliff because it was cool, they would do it. I won’t. That’s the difference. It’s also why he hates me. At least I think that’s why. I’m not willing to bow at his feet, even if he sings like a god, has abs to drool over, and eyes that pierce my soul. Nope. Never. Screw him. Screw them. I don’t need anyone.

So instead, I’m lying on my lounge chair to tan. I’m as pale as a ghost, and I don’t get it. I was born in California. I spend half my life outside, and yet I can’t seem to tan no matter what I try. White or red as a crab, that’s all I’ve got. It makes me so jealous of those who look great with their bronzed skin.

I look down my body, shimmering with baby oil, and groan as I practically blind myself. This isn’t working. Nothing works. It’s useless.

Conceding before I turn into tomato status, I stand and stretch. My hands trace the bikini I bought the other day. The bright red butterfly print matches my hair. I’m not much for showing off a bunch of skin, but as soon as I saw it, I had to have it.

Tentatively, my toes test the water. My heated skin breaks out in goosebumps despite it being eighty degrees. With each step, the water rises higher until I’m on my tiptoes, trying to convince myself to just drop down into what feels like freezing water.

That’s when I hear it. Them.

“Oh shit.”

I look up just as the gate bangs open and the backyard begins to fill with people. Cy is at the front of the pack. Why the hell are they here?

He stares me dead in the eyes and smiles. But there is nothing warm and fuzzy about it. He’s a monster ready to strike.

I need to get out of here. Now.

I push through the water as fast as I can to reach the stairs, but I won’t make it to safety. Cy struts across the yard like a king. Shirt off, swim trunks and sunglasses on, a towel around his neck, and a swarm following him. He moves quickly to cut off my escape, standing at the edge of the pool, leering down at me.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

I swallow hard and inch backward.

“Nice bikini,” Cy says, running his lower lip through his teeth.

Fuck.

He kicks off his flip-flops and makes a slow, dramatic move to drop his towel and sunglasses. It’s like watching a collision, and I can’t tear my eyes away. He slowly descends the stairs into the water. Everyone else has faded into the background, and my heart thumps so hard, it’s all I hear. The ladder in the deep end is my only hope, so I make a break for it. My arms and legs slice through the water, but I’m no match for Cy.

Shit.