Seeking Solace In His Embrace

Madelyn’s P.O.V.

The bell rang, and a sudden chill passed through my spine. It’s not like the next class is a tough subject. No, I may not be a nerd, but I always got good grades.

It’s just I don’t want to go out of the class and get injured again.

“Hey, Maddie, are you not coming?” Stella Fisher, one of those beautiful girls in the school and my desk mate, yelled from the door.

I just bobbed my head a few times and slowly got up.

“Come on, girl. You have to fight back if you want to live. Shivering like a dry leaf in strong wind will not put you out of your miseries.” She yelled again, mocking me in the process, but I know what she is trying to do.

“Thanks, Stella. I know what I am doing.” I replied with a tight smile. She scoffed and flipped her ponytail one more time before running away.

After taking a few deep breaths, I walked out of the class and looked at either side of the corridor to see if the coast was clear or not.

I breathed out aloud in relief when I found none of them outside the class waiting for me.

But it also alerted me.

It meant that they were ready to ambush me somewhere else.

Clutching the strap of my bag tightly, I walked towards the staircase as I needed to go upstairs for my next class. The corridor was bustling with students and their constant bantering, laughter, and chanting, but I tuned all of them out.

I craned my neck upwards to see if I could get a glimpse of any of them. I inhaled sharply to get a whiff of their perfume.

Nothing….. yet I was nervous wreck. My back was still aching because of yesterday’s fall.

I was about to take a step forward when someone grabbed my ankle from behind.

I screamed in panic, raising my hands in front of me to save my face from the impact, and fell badly on the steps.

“Aaahh.” I winced in a muffled voice when my forearms took most of the fall, but the edge of the last step hit my lower belly hard, making me see stars.

Their sinister and mocking laughter was like a sharp dagger to my ears, but the pain didn’t let me pay attention to them.

“Watch out, Madelyn. Why are you so clumsy?” Galvin Fisher, Stella’s twin brother and one of my bullies, taunted in a teasing tone, laughing at me.

“Get up, Maddie, or are you in love with floor there?” Roman Hawkins, the second most arrogant among them, asked me in the same taunting tone when I didn’t move and stayed lying in the same position.

That’s why I never swear skirts or shorts at the first place. Long pants and jeans saved me from embarrassment in a situation like this.

It’s not like I can’t fight back. The thing is that it was futile to fight back. Fighting back means a more brutal prank the next time.

I have learned my lessons in the past year, and now I only need to be patient and bear all their pranks silently.

I slowly moved my face in their direction, moved to sit on the last step. The pain in my hands was so bad that I felt tears in my eyes.

I was six of them standing there with that nasty, smug grin dancing on their lips.

Wait…

One of them, the one who hates me the most, is missing.

All of them were posing there with a perfect model-like figure, handsome faces with captivating, deep eyes, perfect jawlines, rough hair, and over six feet in height with a perfect masculine body.

Poor me…

Average height, plain features, and dull face…..

“Hey, you all. Don’t you have any other work than bullying her?” Stella sounded like an angel descending from heaven to help me.

“Are you nuts?” she yelled when she saw me sitting on the stairs, pressing my hands in between my stomach and my knees.

“Are you okay? Is it hurting?” she asked me in a worried tone, and I heard the clicking of her heels, coming towards me hurriedly.

“I am okay. Just a bit more pain in my hands.” I replied to her in a painful voice, closing my eyes to wipe the tears off.

“Let me see you.” She asked while grabbing my hands. I winced in pain but didn’t pull my hands back.

I swore that I heard a low growl coming from her, but I didn’t pay attention to her.

“I don’t know if this is fractured or not, but the bruises turned bluish black, Maddie. You need to go to the doctor,” she mumbled worriedly while inspecting my forearm after pushing the sleeve up.

“What happened?” I sighed in resignation when we heard Ms. Stark’s angry voice.

“She needs to see Dr. Bernard, Ms. Stark.” Stella spoke worriedly before I could open my mouth.

Ms. Stark glared hard at the boys before looking at me.

“Take her to Dr. Bernard, Stella, and report to me if she needs to go to the hospital.” Ms. Stark instructed Stella angrily when she saw my forearm too.

“She just tripped on her feet, Ms. Stark. And she has delicate skin. She gets bruises even if you hold her a little tight.” Roman grumbled while glaring hard at me.

Everything is okay if no one knows what they did. Going to Dr. Bernard meant it would be known to the principal, resulting in the involvement of their parents, as the school had strict policies against bullying.

“You think I don’t know what exactly happened here? It’s your luck that she endures, Roman, but don’t test my patience. Go back to your classes.” I sucked in a breath while she scolded them commandingly.

“I don’t know why she never complains about what she endures, but this is my last warning to you. Play any prank on her again, and your parents will be here.” The sternness of her tone indicated that it was an ultimatum, not a threat.

“Let me help you.” Stella whispered to me and took my bag from me. I stood up with her help and winced again when the pain in my stomach didn’t let me straighten my back.

They moved away, giving us a way to go away. I was glad that Stella was silent, or else, given her fiery nature, she would have put all of them in their places.

“Why do you never raise your voice, Madelyn?” she asked me in a frustrated tone after moving to the other corridor, and I felt tears in my eyes.

“Because their pranks and this hurt are nothing in front of what my mother did to me, Stella. I am nobody, and that’s why they want to see me break, but they don’t know th… that a broken and shattered glass can’t be broken more.”

I didn’t know what came over me that I spoke what I had in my heart, but it only made Stella tighten her grip on my hand and shoulder.