Prologue

Ariana walked up the bridge, hands trailing the railings, her fingers making scraping noises against the steel.

Her face was blank, her eyes red as coals from the tears she had shed days before. The wind blew wildly, and the clouds rumbled overhead as thick clouds collected in the sky. It was like they were urging her on, persuading her to end it all and finally be at peace. She cried out in agony as the crashing of the roaring waters below drowned her out.

Her chest felt like heavy rocks were weighing on them, pulling her deeper into the shambles of death. Could she be angrier at herself or the world? Yes, she could. The hurt she felt was too oppressive, too gut-wrenching, too vicious to swallow. Everything had to end.

She needed peace from everything; her parents, her best friend who betrayed her, and Zach, the love of her life who had done everything to break her. She couldn't suffer to see what would happen the next day. Shattering further than she had already, was not an option. This was easier. No one would miss her anyway.

She climbed up the railing unhurriedly as the first petals of rain touched her face like a caressing hand of a loving mother. The rain did care about her, she thought. It fell to bid her goodbye, so she jumped.

She felt the air swish around her as the rain fell in a torrent, making her feel exhilarated before She hit the icy claws of death. Hard. And it dragged her down to its depth with no mercy.

Ariana floated into the frozen darkness, not fighting as she allowed it to drag her under. Her chest burned, making her struggle to get air. Water rushed into her throat at every attempt to breathe. It felt horrible. She gave up, swallowing more of the murky waters before she felt Angel's hands pulling her upward from the frostiness, or was it the devil's cold claws. All thoughts were cut off as she finally found her peace. There was only darkness now.