Trigger Warning: Death of a loved one

This chapter will tap deeper into Delaneys inner turmoil and anger as a result of the loss. The accident will become more important further down the story.

Chapter 2

She never knew she could feel this way

Utterly and truly alone;

But faking happiness was easier than facing reality

The parking lot of the school was quite empty as Delany arrived. Her hands were tight around the steering wheel as she breathed in and out. This weekend was harder to get by than she had predicted, but she survived it; the first anniversary of her brother's death.

The morning of the anniversary, the morning after the whole Sheri incident, her parents were gone. She woke up to an empty house - which to be fair was nothing new - only to be told by the maid that her parents left for a spontaneous business trip to Chicago. She was left to mourn alone, not that she was expecting any condolences from anyone.

What surprised her was not the ignorance or the selfishness of her parents, who only saw their children as objects to be shaped and showed off, it was the hurt she felt. The hurt that her brother's death seemingly doesn't matter to them.

Her brother used to be their number one child, their favorite kid, after all everyone loved Jeff Atkins, star athlete of Liberty High.

His death was their biggest scandal. No one could believe that the perfect boy could be so reckless, but he was only human, too. And it pained Delaney that even their love for their favorite son was nothing but a facade.

'This family has always been fake and far from perfect', she thought bitterly, anger rushing through her body, replacing the hurt she felt. Just the thought of their parents being nonchalant about the anniversary of her brother's death, pretending that everything was normal made her sick. But that's what Mr and Mrs Atkins can do best.

She grabbed her backpack and went out, slamming the door of her car with a bit too much force.

Luckily, she decided to come early to avoid the crowd, the hallway being nearly empty as she entered the building with swift and fast steps, ready to get her schedule for the last year at this school. Delaney couldn't wait to leave this school, this city and most of all her parents behind and start fresh at a college far, far away from all the bad memories.

If you are winning medals and trophies, you will be put on a pedestal, however, one mistake and they turn you into the devil himself - welcome to Crestmont.

Her eyes flickered across the walls plastered with countless posters, all of them conveying the same message; "Don't drink and drive, value your life and others'". Everyone knew the reason behind the posters very well.

No one spoke about it, not openly, but she heard it, all the hateful whispers and rumors spited out just loud enough for her to hear; how golden boy Jeff Atkins drove while drunk and got himself and his girlfriend Leah into a car accident; she survived, but apparently he deserved to die.

Delaney knew that what her brother did was wrong, hell, even Jeff knew it. He always told her not to drive while drunk, it really was not like Jeff to do something so utterly stupid and thoughtless; but it happened, that one time and suddenly everyone forgot who Jeff really was. Jeff, the athlete who always gave his best for the team, who always helped other people out without asking for anything in return, who volunteered to train baseball to kids at the youth centre, who everyone went to when they needed someone they could trust.

He lived as a saint to die as a sinner.

Even though the students here do the same mistake, Jeff will be the one judged, because he is dead and they are alive.

' What a bunch of fucking hypocrites!'

Maybe it is not just her parents, maybe the whole town is rotten.

She shrugged the depressing thoughts off as she arrived at the reception.

"I'm here for my schedule", she muttered barely audible.

Miss Douglas, a middle aged strict looking lady with her long hair in a neat, tight bun, looked up with surprise.

"You're oddly early. Your name?"

Delaney ignored her unnecessary statement of the obvious.

"Delaney Atkins. Senior."

She waited patiently for Miss Douglas to fish out her schedule. Without another comment she reached out for the paper, ready to leave and wait in the corner of the classroom for the first period to start.

As she was ready to leave, a voice caused her to stop dead in her tracks - and roll her eyes.

"Miss Atkins, I'm surprised to see you here so early."

'Shit!', Delaney thought, closing her eyes before taking a deep breathe and turning around, indifference already present on her face.

"Good morning Mr Porter", she greeted politely. Even though she was not thrilled by the encounter, she didn't particularly dislike the guidance counsellor; it was annoyance caused by his constant bugging. He meant good, and maybe he really did care, but opening up old wounds was not something she was eager to do, and the night she picked up Sheri was more than enough replay of the past.

"I'm happy I ran into you. I would like to have a quick chat with you actually. Do you have a couple of minutes you could spare?" He didn't waste time with chit chat, both of them already aware what he wanted to discuss. Despite his intentions being good, they were not wanted. The raven haired girl made that very clear throughout the last year.

"Actually, I don't", she stated, but Mr Porter was not someone to give up easily.

"First period doesn't start in almost 30 minutes. I am pretty sure that you can't be that busy on the first day of school."

"You are right", she admitted, causing Mr Porter to smile, but she wouldn't be Delaney Atkins if she just gave in, "I don't want to would be more accurate."

"Miss Atkins, I won't force you to talk about anything you don't feel comfortable with. I want to speak to you about a topic very important to you", he tried to lure her in.

"And that would be?"

"College. This year is your last year. It is the most important year and I am well aware that you take your education very seriously", he continued, his eyes conveying genuineness, but Delaney was mistrusting by nature - courtesy to her parents.

"Thanks for your concern, but my grades are good and my parents rich", she snarkily remarked before she turned around ready to escape.

"Unfortunately, good grades and money are not guaranteeing a pass to a great college. I know how hard you study to keep up with your grades. You wouldn't want that to go to waste by just getting into an average university, would you?"

She stopped in her steps. Even though she didn't want to rely on her parents to get into college, she would sell her soul to the devil himself to get away from here. However, she would prefer to make it by herself to ensure that she truly was free from them.

"Only a couple minutes of your time. I promise." His voice was soft, ready to lure her into the confined walls of his office, a trap set up to elicit her true feelings, which she tried to bury for so long.

The dark haired girl just stood there for a while, glued to the ground; even if she wanted to flee the scene, his words were messing with her head, feeding her fear of being stuck in this prison world forever. But could she trust him, or anyone for that matter?

Caving in, she let out a sigh.

"Only a couple minutes", she muttered, following him into his office, her bag sliding from her shoulder to the ground while she was slouching down on the chair in front of Mr Porter's desk.

"I'm very happy to speak to you. Finally", he added while moving around the desk to take his seat, "you're a very promising student and I want to make sure you get the future you deserve."

"If I am that promising, I shouldn't have trouble getting into college", she muttered, her eyes avoiding his intense stare, afraid they will betray her and reveal things she intended to keep for herself.

"Well, grades are not everything, Miss Atkins, and you should know that", he continued, not fazed at all, "social work and extra curricular activities play a big part in college admissions. These things, as trivial as they might seem to you, decide whether you get into a mediocre college or a great college. And I doubt you want to waste your efforts with just a random pick."

She had to admit, he had his way with words. Delaney knew what he wanted to get at, they had that conversation last year after she quit all her extra curricular activities, quitting the cheer squad as well as the volleyball team and the school's news paper.

Nervously, she bit her lower lip. Of course she knew it, she was not an idiot; everything he said was making sense, but being the little sister of the fallen quarterback had his downsides. Not only was her brother judged, but she as well.

Last year, she turned from funny, outgoing, smily Delaney Atkins into the little sister of the underage drunk driver who almost got his girlfriend killed.

"And what would you suggest me to do?"

Even though she knew his answer very well, she patiently waited for his response.

"I spoke to Coach Loftin. She thinks you are an amazing athlete and she would love to have you back in the cheer squad. And if you want, the volleyball team."

Her head snapped up, her eyes suddenly fixed on his as the words automatically left her lips.

"Not the volleyball team!"

Leah, her brother's former girlfriend, was part of the volleyball team. Hell, Delaney was the one who introduced her to him because Leah couldn't stop gushing about Jeff and kept pestering her to introduce her to him. She didn't dislike Leah, no, they were friends at some point, but the whole accident, her being in the car as well was the reason people demonized Jeff.

"How could he do that to sweet Leah!"

"It was reckless to risk her life as well!"

"I heard he wanted to get them both killed on purpose!"

"Poor girl must be under shock!"

"I heard she can never play volleyball again!"

"He destroyed her life, he deserved to die!"

She was the victim, her brother the ruthless, selfish boyfriend. Delaney did feel bad for Leah, she was walking on crutches for couple weeks and couldn't play volleyball during the first 3 months, but she did nothing to clear the air and the rumors. Maybe she was traumatized, after all, she never talked about that day.

"Okay", Mr Porter cautiously continued, "you were an excellent player, probably still are. I was at some games. It's a big loss for the team."

"They'll survive."

'In fact, they were happy when I quit.' She didn't hold a grudge against Leah, but she still suffered from the rumors no matter how hard she pretended not to care.

"A year has went by Miss Atkins. People, they don't talk about it anymore. The situation changed."

'Not for me', she thought bitterly, ' I lost everything that day.'

"I understand your hesitation regarding the volleyball team. But at least consider the cheer squad. Coach Loftin wanted me to let you know that you will be welcomed with open arms."

"Okay, I'll consider it", she mumbled, looking away.

"That's all I wanted to hear", Mr Porter replied, happy to get a positive respond for the first time.

"Of course there are other clubs apart from the volleyball team. I heard you like literature? How about the school's news paper or the drama club?"

Delaney shrugged, still debating in her mind whether or not joining the cheer squad might be a good idea. She knew Mr Porter wouldn't leave her alone and Coach Loftin supporting him makes it even harder. But…

'Sheri is in the cheer squad.'

It was the second Delaney Atkins entered the classroom for first period - AP English Literature - that Montgomery de la Cruz decided that the bet was worth it. It wasn't because she was dressed

In a particular way or how she had her makeup done; no, it was the simple fact that she didn't even spare anyone in the room a single glance.

'Arrogant and stuck up, the typical rich girl persona.'

His eyes wandered to the seat she chose, noticing that the seat right behind her was empty; it felt like faith was on his side. Not even a second after she sat down, Monty moved swiftly toward the seat and slid into the chair, completely ignoring that his friends were still joking around.

Her hair was silky, a deep black and fell down to her waist like smooth waterfalls. She had her hair open, but he could clearly make out her silhouette. She was curvy, well built, and he just knew that she was …

'… god damn sexy.'

Monty never really cared for her, she was just the little sister of Jeff Atkins; he never paid much attention to the raven haired girl, but he wasn't blind or deaf. Enough guys in the locker room would talk about her whenever Jeff was not around, after all, she was a cheerleader.

He remembered every word the guys said, and they were right. Even though she wasn't getting too much attention compared to the other girls in the squad - probably also because Jeff was overprotective - she was beautiful, near to pure perfection, a sinful temptation, but he was ready to corrupt her.

No, she definitively was worth it.

Suddenly, she tensed up, her body rigid, her movements frozen. She probably felt the intense stare he had on her, and he felt good having power over her; making her shiver and squirm with his gaze alone.

His tongue outlined his bottom lip, coating it in his salvia, biting slightly on the left corner of his lower lip,

He would enjoy it, every last minute.

The class started, a pen in his hand, notebook open, but pages still blank. He didn't care about whatever the teacher was telling them, the only thing currently occupying his mind was the black haired girl in front of him, scribbling down notes like a good student should.

Even though he joked about how easy this bet will be for him, he had no clue how to even talk to her. Quite frankly, they barely talked even before Jeff died. Actually, the day of the party last weekend was probably the longest conversation they ever had.

She used to greet him and the guys occasionally when they were with Jeff or when they passed each other in the hallways or a party, but that was probably it. Last year, she was pretty much invisible - besides the judgmental comments of course. He knew she used to be good friends with Sheri and another girl he couldn't even remember, but they must have broken off their friendship some time after Jeff's death. Was she even dating anyone before all of the drama? Did she have an ex-boyfriend? Having a hint of the type of guys she liked would have been great.

'How to seduce an anti-social stuck up arrogant rich bitch?'

Since she ignored everyone, the first thing he needed to figure out was how to get her attention.

He had to make her acknowledge him first.

Somehow.

It was stupid, and he wasn't even sure where to go from there, but it was the only thing he could come up with right now; he didn't really have much to go with anyways.

He ripped a page from his notebook, balled it up and threw it right at her after making sure that Ms Carpenter was not paying attention to them.

It hit her right at the back of her head. She stiffened up, her hand stopping, her head not moving.

He stayed silent, patiently watching her for a moment, wondering what she would do.

Would she throw something back at him?

Would she turn around and graze him with her cold and annoyed glare?

Or would she even dare to flip him off?

She did absolutely nothing.

So he did it again.

And again

And again.

Every time he hit her, she would stop writing for a couple of seconds, take a deep breathe before continuing to take her notes.

But Monty wouldn't give up easily, he wanted to win, and more importantly, he wanted to get under her skin.

So he continued his little game, enjoying every second of it, until finally, he got a reaction out of her.

Her head snapped around, her heated gaze on him, her brows wrinkled in anger and her right hand clenched around the pen she was still holding.

"What the fuck is your problem?", she hissed, quickly glancing backwards to make sure Ms Carpenter was still busy explaining the syllabus.

But Monty knew the second she had her intense, hatred filled eyes on him, how he could easily get under her skin, and hopefully, have her under him soon.

All he did was giving her his trademark side smirk, full of confidence mixed with a little bit of mischief.

He had his arms on his desk, leaning toward her a bit, her sweet vanilla scent hitting his nose.

He licked his lips seductively, taking in her features, her dark eyes framed with black thick lashes, her small nose and most importantly her rosy full lips.

"Just wanted to see your beautiful smile, hun", he whispered to her, voice laced with cocky confidence that he knew she despised.

He heard a familiar snicker from his left side, Delaney also moving her eyes toward the source, before she huffed in annoyance, giving Monty one last glance.

"Leave me the fuck alone de la Cruz", she hissed, before turning back around.

The great Delaney Atkins will fall.