Chapter 2

Mariah's POV

As we neared the school gate, I saw one of my best friends, Serena, leaning against her car. I kissed my mom on her cheek and got out of the car.

Before I could move away from the car, my mom called out to me and told me to go straight home after school because she wanted to tell me something. Before I could even ask what it was about, she drove off.

I made my way towards Serena and when I was at arm's length, she grabbed me and squeezed the daylights out of me.

"Hey. Did you have the nightmares again?" she asked. I just nodded and kept quiet because I didn't wanna talk about it. She understood and just smiled at me and kept quiet.

Serena and I are very close, almost like sisters. She knows everything about me, and I mean EVERYTHING. Serena and I have been best friends since 3rd grade. She has similar features as me-- brunette hair, tanned skin (mine's a little lighter) and a killer body. The only different thing about us is our eyes-- she has brown eyes-- and our personality. She is very, very LOUD. I was too, once upon a time ago. Oh, and also our origin.

Serena is half Filipino and American whereas I was half American, Spanish and French. My parents are both American. They told me that I was Spanish from my great great grandmother who was a Spanish descent and I was French from my great uncle who was of French ancestry or something like that.

Serena and I made our way towards Tartarus reincarnated-- oh wait, sorry, I mean school. As we stepped in, I could feel the judging eyes of everyone and I got to hear what they were saying.

'How could she even walk through those doors'

'How can she wake up and come to school knowing what she did'

'Attention seeker'

'Murderer'

'Bloody bitch'

'Poor Chase'

From the corner of my eye, I saw Serena give them a look and they scattered away.

Down the hall, I could see Natalie Stewart. You know how every high school has the cliché Queen Bee. Well, for River Heights, our Queen Bee was Natalie Stewart. She hates the mere existence of me. Long-story-short, we were best friends, she thought I stole her boyfriend, she tried to kill me, THE END.

She made her way towards me and Serena instantly stood in front of me to protect me. If this was 2 months ago, I could protect myself but now, that's not possible. After that horrible night, I disliked it when anyone touched me, I would start getting panic attacks. The only people who I have no problem touching me were my parents, Serena, Isaac, Lina and Chase. I'll introduce Isaac and Lina later. As for Chase, that's a story for another time.

Natalie stopped in front of Serena and crossed her arms. "Well, what do we have here. The psychopath murderer," as she looked at me,” and her side-kick."

"Why don't you disappear unless you would rather want me to kick you to the side? But the thing is, I don't want HIV germs on my new boots." Serena retorted.

Natalie didn't say anything at all. She just smirked at me and came towards me. Serena was about to step forward and do something, probably to bitch-slap her but I held her back. Natalie stopped right beside me and said something that I had dreaded hearing.

"He's back and he misses you."

She stepped back and smirked and walked away. I couldn't move, I was rooted to the ground. Everything came crashing in. The party, the bedroom, Ethan, the boys, Chase, the hospital.

I didn't know I was shaking until I felt a pair of arms hold me protectively. Then I felt two more pair of arms join in. I pulled away and saw that it was Isaac who had held me first and there beside him was Lina and Serena. Isaac was still holding me and looked at me warily.

"You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," he tried to assure me. But I knew better. I just gave them a small smile and told them that we should get to class. Lina and I separated from Isaac and Serena because we had first period together. I thought of my friends and realized how lucky I was to have them.

"Don't think much about it. We're with you, all the way," Lina assured me as she held my hand.

Now, let me introduce Lina and Isaac. Isaac and I used to date when Serena, Natalie and I were still friends. But we broke up because I couldn't think of him like that. I was attached to him-- but more like a sibling attachment. And a few weeks later, Lina started attending River Heights. This was during sophomore year. Then from then on, we were inseparable-- Serena, Natalie, Lina, Isaac, Ethan and I. We were happy and close. Until Ethan and I started dating in junior year and Natalie made it her goal to make my life a living hell. Until that night, I finally found out what Ethan's intentions were and just how much Natalie despises me.

Now, it's just Isaac, Lina, Serena and I- the FANTASTIC FOUR. Ha, just kidding. Serena is the intimidating one. You make her angry, one look from her and you'd wish you never crossed paths with her. Lina is the 'mother' of our group. She takes care of us like her babies, especially her 'Baby Boo', Isaac. Yep, Isaac and Lina are dating. Lina O’Connor was a Hispanic girl with black hair, hazel eyes and tanned skin. She was a beautiful girl with serious wit. And on the other hand, Isaac is the bodyguard. I mean with his physical stature; you'd think he was part of the army or something. He was my brother. Not related by blood, but related by heart. OK, that was cringeworthy. Anyways, Isaac has blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Now is that everyone? Yep, that's us-- Wait, I'm left. I'm the loud and outspoken one. I mean, up until 2 months ago. I'm the baby of the group. Lina and Isaac are the parents, and Serena is the crazy aunt. I'm thankful for them, if not, I would possibly be in a corner right about now balling my eyes out.