Nyx Vale

6:17 am

I woke up from the cold hard floor biting into my skin. My back aching like hell. Well sleeping on these cold floors everyday do have some side effects. I stumbled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Another day, same girl, same miserable life living with her same miserable uncle. I looked into the mirror and see myself, pale as ever my eyes so emerald-like yet devoid of any light, my face looks hollow and I'm turning skinnier day by day...

I got dressed wore my uniform and  decided to let my short hairs remain open...I adjusted my bangs and tip-toed to the kitchen hoping not to wake uncle up...

"And where do you think you're going you bitch?" Uncle's sleepy voice made me flinch.

"T-To cook breakfast..." My voice trembled as he stood up and started walking towards me.

"Make  it quick" He yawned lazily. "Or else you know what happens"

I nodded and quickly ran to the kitchen to fry some eggs. I opened the fridge and shit. There are no eggs...I looked for something else- anything else to cook for breakfast but we were out of things...I'll have to ask uncle for money again to buy some food...and he won't be nice about it.

I slowly walked up to him where he was lazily lounging on the sofa which creaked beneath his weight...

"Uncle can I have some money-" and before I could even finish he stood up and slapped me hard across the face...the impact making my hearing go numb. Another slap and blood started trickling out of my mouth...tears threatening to spill out from my eyes.

"I told you not to ask for money" He said angrily as if I was asking money for myself...I just wanted to cook breakfast for us as he said.

He threw two notes of money infront of me. "Go buy me some beer I lost mood for breakfast."

I just nodded and followed as he said. Abuse isn't new for me. He's done it ever since I've moved in with him. I work at home for him, clean our home, go to school, cook meals for us and in return I am his punching bag. "You're a burden. A useless piece of trash." He says.

My life wasn't always like this. Mom and dad were with me till I was seven. They cherished me with lots of love and care and tried their best to keep me happy. Even living in a small house feels like heaven when you're loved and cared for. It was my birthday and mom and dad used all their savings to take me to my favorite amusement park. We were heading there in dad's car and enjoying the radio music, laughing and singing together. And that's where it all vanished. The truck heading at a high speed towards us was the last thing I remember of that day.

When I woke up in the hospital bed I was given the news that mom and dad were no longer with me.

 Uncle took me in but at what cost?...Every year now my birthday is just another  cruel reminder of the day my world shattered. Thinking about it even now makes me cry, takes me back to that car, the horrifying incident, the pain and the loss.

8:00 am

"Oh my God...You know I just had an eye contact with Noah!..."

"No no- wait- Look! He's removing his jacket he looks so hot"

Noah this. Noah that. That's what most of the students always talk about. Noah is the guy who rarely attends class yet he is popular as hell. He isn't that friendly either but still he is the school heart-rob. I don't see anything special in him though. I mean let's admit he is good looking with his long wavy blonde hairs, eyes brown like honey, and cheek bones so high and sharp enough to cut through shadows but I guess I am not just attracted to him in that way. Anyone let's say, I am not just interested in people...I don't want friends nor relationship because all that everyone has given me since my seventh birthday is just pain and abuse.

Noah Sterling

“Noah! Come sit beside me!”

Brooke’s voice cut through the classroom before I even stepped fully inside. She was already patting the empty chair next to her, lashes fluttering like it was some kind of performance. Her friends immediately joined in, a chorus of giggles and nudges, all eyes turning toward me.

I paused, fingers tightening around the strap of my bag.

Sitting there would mean noise. Endless talking. Forced laughter. Questions I didn’t feel like answering and attention I didn’t ask for. Brooke didn’t want company—she wanted an audience, and I was tired of playing that role.

My gaze drifted across the room instead, searching for somewhere quieter. Somewhere untouched by all the commotion.

And ah- there she is- Nyx the short ginger haired girl. She sat by the window, staring outside like the classroom didn’t exist. Her chin rested lightly against her palm, eyes unfocused, following something only she could see. She wasn’t trying to look distant or interesting. She just was. No whispers, no laughter, no subtle glances in my direction like the others gave me.

While half the class kept calling my name, tapping the empty seats beside them, Nyx didn’t move. Didn’t look back. Didn’t care. And for the first time all day, the space beside someone felt quiet.

So I took it.

Nyx Vale

Class was the same as always, yet somehow more unbearable today. I tried to focus on the board, on the words the teacher kept repeating, but my attention kept getting dragged away by the constant movement around me. Heads turning. Whispers. All because Noah Sterling was sitting beside me.

I didn’t know why he chose this seat, and honestly, I didn’t care. What bothered me were the people who suddenly couldn’t sit still.

Layla, the girl in front of me, laughed a little too loudly at nothing. Every few seconds, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, each movement exaggerated, calculated. I picked up my pen, trying to write, when her hair swung back again—straight into my eyes. The sharp sting made me flinch.

“Oops, sorry,” she giggled, not bothering to look at me. Her gaze slid past my shoulder instead, hopeful.

Noah didn’t smile. He didn’t laugh. He only looked at her, his expression flat and cold. The kind of look that shut things down without a single word. Layla stiffened, her shoulders dropping as she turned back around, suddenly very interested in her notebook.

I went back to my notes, blinking the irritation away, wishing the class would just return to being quiet again.

After the long torturous hours of class, I went to my lock to get my Biology textbook.

"Why were you sitting with Noah today?" Brooke's sharp voice made me snap out of my thoughts as her hand slammed beside my head on the locker.

"I wasn't sitting with him, he was the one who sat beside me..." I replied back.

"Oh so now you're saying he's giving you attention? Newsflash bitch..." Her lips curled into a smirk. "He's not interested."

I didn’t bother arguing. I just pulled my textbook out and shut the locker, the metal clang louder than her words. I’d heard worse before.

Her fingers closed around my jaw, rough and sudden, forcing my face up.

“You think you’re so smart and pretty?” she said, her voice low and sharp. “You think playing hard to get makes boys notice you?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t struggle either. I just stared past her, counting the seconds until she let go. She wanted a reaction. I wasn’t going to give her one.

Her friends gathered around me like shark stalking its prey. Brooke pushed me on the hard ground as my back slammed against the locker. She kicked my stomach once. Twice. Again and again till I coughed blood out. Pain surged through my body but I didn't give her a single bit of reaction she want.

"You worthless piece of shit." She gave me a final blow on my stomach.

"Tch whatever just a waste of time and energy" And with that she left.

I tried to stand but failed miserably as I coughed more blood out. This isn't going to be easy. The pain grew stronger and stronger. No one is around either. I lied here, counting each tile, each breath too painful to even take in properly and waited for a teacher to pass by and help me go to the infirmary.

I don't know how long I stayed there. Time stretched out, thinned, and stopped making it worse until I heard footsteps.

The footsteps slowed, then stopped right beside me and watched me.

“You’re hurt.”

His voice was calm. Too calm. Deep enough to turn heads, yet delivered with the same indifference someone would use to comment on the weather. But as if I need someone to  care, actually no one does and I learned to live without it.

I looked up.

Luka Ashford.

The popular guy from Class B. The straight-A student everyone whispered about. Dark hair falling just long enough to shadow his sharp jaw, blue eyes unreadable and steady. There was something about his presence that made the hallway feel smaller, heavier—like he didn’t need to raise his voice to be noticed.

I turned my head away. I don't want him to pity me. I hate it. Hate to feel so pathetic and helpless as if I haven't handled something far worse than this.

He bent down beside me and stared at me with his icy blue eyes...no he was calculating me, every shallow breath I take as if I'm a puzzle to solve.

"What?" I finally managed to speak, my voice rough.

"Nothing" He replied as he tore his gaze away from mine and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe out the blood from my mouth.

He held my arm as we walked towards the infirmary. He wasn't speaking much not even bothering to ask how I ended up like this but I guess that's fine with me. Actually its better that way.

Fewer words meant fewer expectations.

Fewer expectations meant less attachment.

That's the goal.

Avoid people.

Always.

As we reached the infirmary I sat on the bed and looked up to his nonchalant face.

"Thanks" It didn't felt necessary but I could at least be grateful, that he brought me here...without Luka's help God knows how long I would have to stay and lie there, bleeding on the cold floor.

He just offered me a blunt, unreadable smile and left without a word.

I wonder why is he like that. I mean he is popular...people gossip about him and compare him with Noah but honestly in my opinion both of them are nothing alike. Noah is the noise. Luka is the silence. Day and night never meant to be overlapped.

The nurse came and examined my stomach area. She looked concerned as her eyebrows knit together but this is nothing compared to the beatings uncle give me. She put an ice-pack on my bruises and gave me some painkillers and I swallowed them without a word.

Pain was familiar.

Concern wasn't.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the infirmary door slam open.

Noah Sterling entered the room in such a way as if he intended to break the ground with every step he took. Blood trailing out his nose and there was a small bruise blooming on his sharp cheekbone.

"Did you get into a fight again?" The nurse asked soaking a cloth prepared to clean his wounds. She didn't look surprised as if she was waiting for him to come here.

Noah didn't reply. He just sat on the bed beside mine angrily and murmuring curses at Oliver between his clenched teeth. His fists were clenched so tightly I could almost count every vein it showed. His knuckles were dark red and bruised as if he just struck something.

I stared ahead. Unmoving, heart racing and suddenly breathing- something so simple- felt like a pearl in the deep sea bed I knew it was there but I just can't reach it.

Blood. Too much blood.

Takes me back to the tragic scene ten years ago- mom and dad...the truck...metals screaming...red everywhere.

The room felt smaller. I tried to look away and get the image of blood out of my head but failed miserably. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.

My hands shook uncontrollably as a sob escaped my lips before I could swallow it down...the nurse...where is she?...I need to calm down-

“Hey.”

His voice cut in—low, steady.

I felt his presence shift beside me, but he didn’t touch me. I shrank back anyway, my shoulders curling inward.

He paused.

“…You alright?” his voice gentler than I expected yet so calm. But it wasn't enough to help me calm down...nothing is.

I didn’t answer.

Without a word, he grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter and turned his head away wiping the blood from his own nose, slow and methodical. No rush. No fuss. Just enough movement to block my view of the red.

The pressure in my chest eased, just a fraction.