I'm saying it again because I really want to bring it home:

This story deals with major traumatic themes that may not be suitable for all readers.

Please, if you are sensitive to themes of sexual violence, suicide or self harm you are reading at your own risk.

Sincerely and with best interests at heart,

GREY

At the start of her ninth grade year, Berk High had developed this buddy system for the incoming high schoolers. A sort of support system for anyone who was struggling, perhaps also meant to become a sort of mentoring platform as you progressed through school. And the best part, you could remain entirely anonymous if you chose to do so. The faculty had carefully paired up the entire school into chat rooms on this anonymous chat service.

As far as she knew grade, gender, group association didn't matter when they had decided on pairings. In fact the more different people where the more likely it was that you were paired with them; per the originality of teachers. The factors spelled problems and some kids didn't get along some became downright hostile. In the first year alone more than half the pairs had been banned from the site or regrouped accordingly.

And it was all regulated by the school's resident IT guy, with word recognition and an immediate suspension on accounts that he was responsible for reviewing. But the word recognition was easy to skate around and the site quickly devolved into a number of things.

The thought of joining hadn't even crossed Astrid's mind. She'd thrown the slip of paper with a generic username and password for set up into her bag where it sat for the next three years.

Astrid had watched over the course of that time as the service became a prime bullying platform. The soul purpose of which was to discover someone's secrets and exploit them, ultimately exposing and humiliating the person on the other end. The site should have been shut down after Gregory Montgomery; a then rising sophomore football star, exposed his deeply personal conversations with Nelly Gordon.

Astrid remembered reading some of the text pages when they'd been hung up all over school and shoved in peoples lockers. She'd shared about her experiences as a child, where she'd been molested by a family friend. How she suffered from severe depression and anxiety. The time she'd spent when she was just ten years old in a psychiatric clinic.

Nelly had trusted and confided in Gregory. And in return he tricked her into trusting him and then hurt her in the worst possible way. Despite accusations and everyone else knowing exactly who had done this, the blame could not be pinned on the site.

Gregory had switched login information with someone who had unknowingly gotten Nelly as a partner, so their pairing was an unfortunate coincidence. One the school was unable to track. And because the communication had left the chat rooms and been taken up on another platform, from where the messages were posted, the school refused to admit that having the anonymous chatting service was to blame.

The last she had heard of the situation, after an attempt on her own life, Nelly had been living with a relative in Missouri and was getting help.

Gregory and Nelly's situation was not the last time a similar situation had taken place since. There had been several more instances of bullying, targeting, and even more explicit situations. Though none had ever been made so public.

Needless to say, if she'd ever had the thought to join, that had certainly dissuaded her.

She'd received e-mails a couple of times, stating she had unread messages from a user named NightFury, but she'd never downloaded the app or tried to find out what the person had said. Astrid simply had no desire to form a false relationship with someone who might as well be lying to her. What was the point? She already had so much going on in her life.

It was senior year; scouts were watching, she was in line to be valedictorian after Henry Haddock, and she was still waiting for scholarships to be confirmed before she submitted applications for any major colleges.

Not to mention everything in her personal life.

Getting good grades and being good at sports had never been an issue for Astrid, so while school was the priority and a major concern it wasn't her main concern. These days her main concern was getting home in time.

In time to miss him and lock herself in her room, prop her chair under the door handle and ignore any sounds she heard in the hallway. If he didn't see her she usually didn't have anything to worry about. And if her aunt was home she might be able to keep him preoccupied.

Her living situation wasn't something she talked about. With anyone. Even when she had bruises around her neck and wrists. Even when her aunt gave her timid worried glances. They didn't talk about him.

And that day after school, when she'd calmly entered the home of her Aunt and Uncle. The home she'd been living in since she was thirteen. She hadn't accounted for him parking his cruiser in the garage. Astrid had missing the warning in her Aunt's eyes.

She'd naively missing ever sign as she walked to her bedroom.

x

Sitting on the floor of her closet, beaten and bruised, the sting of tears she refused to let fall burning her eyes. Astrid shook in her anger, a defense tactic to the fear her heart felt. The anger she felt at her own stupidity was insurmountable. The pain of her broken fingernails digging into the flesh of her arms was a good distraction, but not nearly enough to stop the shaking and the pounding of her heart.

"I hate you."

The whisper left her lips softly and she barely stifled the sob that followed. Thinking of her parents after everything that's happen only makes her angrier and she knows it, thrives in the feeling. They'd died and left her in this living hell. A hell only she could save herself from.

Shaky hands open the closet door before she realizes she's even moved. Her backpack lies just outside and she drags it into the concealed safety of her hiding spot. Like the times before Astrid sets it in her mind that she won't let herself think on it. Using the light of her phone she takes the time to do whatever homework she has left.

What feels like hours pass and she can barely focus on the pages anymore, but she knows she won't be able to sleep in her room tonight. She probably won't even leave the closet despite how uncomfortable it is and how her lower back is numb from leaning against the narrow closet wall.

Astrid stretches and her notebook slides off her lap and lands on the floor with a silent thump. Out of the corner of her eye she spots a wrinkled folded piece of paper sticking out of the bottom of the notebook. Taking it in her hand, it feels flimsy, as only paper that's been squashed and crumpled in the bottom of a backpack for years can feel.

Carefully unfolding it she sees the faded wording of an informational statement. It's the informational letter for the chat rooms. It feels like forever since she'd seen this paper. But there at the bottom of the page, clear as day, is the basic login she'd never bothered to use.

Astrid wondered briefly what would have happened if she had signed up. If what happened to Nelly would've happened to her. Maybe if it had she wouldn't be in this situation anymore. But then again if she had then everyone would know. Astrid's skin crawled with the thought of peoples eyes on her, pitying her. She wasn't sure which situation was worse.

Though despite that, and still having her rational mind screaming at her, she decided to do something crazy.

[StormFlyer is online...]