THE END
A Word from the Author
I hope you enjoyed Hating, Hurting. I wanted a way to explore the beauty of the human mind - an individual’s mind. Even identical twins can have vastly different make-up, and be further molded by nurture.
If you enjoyed Hating, Hurting, maybe you will enjoy Cruel Bully, too. Check out the sneak preview!
Cruel Bully
Chapter 1
I thought I could catch a break. It had been a long, hard year, and it showed in the way my clothes hung loosely from my body. My mother had no clue why I was losing so much weight, but that was because I wanted her to remain in the dark about everything. She didn't need to know. We were going to leave everything behind, or so I thought. I guess the past was no reason for future bad luck to be warded off.
But I didn't know this as I stepped into Ravenshaw Falls, a small, scenic town my mom and I decided to start a new life in. It was just the two of us in this world. We weren't beholden to anyone, and it was just the way I liked it. Moving took some convincing but the beautiful Appalachian mountains and the store manager job that promised a much better pay for my mom helped her decide to make the move. I was sold the moment I saw how far it was from the redneck town I grew up in. Away from Sam and his slimy pals. She didn't have to know I was trying to leave my pain behind. My mother wasn't strong enough to know the real reason I came back bruised that god-forsaken night. And I didn't need to add to her guilt for being busy with work all the time. When I showed her the ad for the job, she had looked at me funny, as if trying to figure me out. Most girls my age wouldn't want to leave school so close to graduation, but it wasn't about my social life anymore. I had to look out for my own safety, which was becoming more and more questionable as my eighteenth birthday was drawing near. Once I learnt she applied and had a probationary offer for the job, it took a lot of negotiating to get her not to tell anyone about it. I don't know how I did it, but she listened to me and it was only after the truck was loaded that Sam and Martha knew about us leaving.
I still remember his hot breath down my neck, inhaling my scent one last time. I shuddered, knowing he would have had his hands on me if he could find a way. Thankfully, we had to leave the very next day, and my mother had been around the entire time, something new for the both of us, and something her new job promised more of.
I was looking forward to my senior year. A new place, a new me. A place that knew nothing about my past. I was Cara Bradley, the new transfer from Winsley, Alabama. I planned to lay low, ace my classes and graduate so I could go to a college in the city and live the life I had always wanted - independent and anonymous. My mother would hopefully find someone nice to settle down with or at least have a stable income so she could start dating again. Unlike me, she was the kind of person who needed a guy to depend on, and the past five years following my father's death were much harder on her than on me.
Ravenshaw Falls held promise, and we were both excited and anxious about the move. Perhaps my mom finally saw the low-lifes we were surrounded by. Despite her own upbringing and her narrow-minded parents who had forbidden her marriage to my "outsider" father, my mom had a relatively open mind and didn't expect me to give up the idea of a college education the way most of my friends had. I couldn't imagine being hitched by the time I turned nineteen, or permanently working several jobs for the rest of my life. There was more to life than what Winsley provided, and there was definitely more to my future than what Sam promised me I could have.
For the past two days, we had loaded our beat-up Chevy with eighteen years' worth of junk that I couldn't persuade my mom to let go of. Bigger pieces of furniture had been sent ahead but I still had sore arms from all the boxes of memorabilia and old clothes my mom was certain we would need. It took a lot of patience on my end not to tell her I was going to throw out the holey sweater I got from grandma Perez when I was seven. In all honesty, what does one need a childhood sweater for anyway? I had no siblings or cousins. I wish I had been able to donate my stuff or have a garage sale before the move but living in the small town I was in, word would spread and I didn't want Sam learning about us leaving.
The eight-hour long drive to Ravenshaw Falls made me happy. It reduced the chances of them coming for me. Every minute that passed made my humming grow louder, and my mom noticed.
"You're that excited, huh?" She asked, glancing at me with her sweet smile, her hand on the wheel. Her curly blond hair fell just onto her shoulders, and
