Chapter 1 Not Your Prince Charming.
Dawn’s Point of View
I got off work late tonight; my eyes flickered down the lonely street, realizing there was not a single commercial car in sight, which meant I was going to take a long hike home.
Tiredness crashed over me, my eyelids heavy with sleep, and my arms ached. Suddenly, blinding lights from a car’s headlamps flared on and focused on me.
"Huh!" My fingers shield my eyes instinctively, and I wondered whose car was parked in the middle of a deserted alley. My eyes widened when I heard the engine of the car roar to life, tires screeched, smoke huffed, and it drifted speedily at me.
Shock rooted my feet in a spot, and my eyes squeezed shut, awaiting the dreadful impact that never came. The loud screeching of the tires echoed again, and the car stopped.
My eyes snapped open when I heard a familiar laughter, one that rocked my soul out of my body.
God…please…No….
I stumbled back, but it was too late; they were getting out of the car.
First, I saw Dorothy Whitmore, queen bee of the school and head of the cheerleading team—she is ruthless to anyone who dares to cross her path, which is basically anyone she doesn't like.
That fair-haired, ugly—I wish I could call her ugly, but she wasn’t… she was blonde, beautiful, and elegant.
Everything I’m not.
And standing in front of me now, she was locking arms with my arch-nemesis.
Towering above 6 ft, his black hair was styled to the back, and his icy blue eyes narrowed, obviously repulsed by my presence.
Logan fucking Ashton. I preferred to call him the devil.
They came along with their minions, Sandra, Jensen, and Henry, spineless fools who suck up to these two like they’re gods. Everything in school is controlled by the hierarchy, and there are only three things that can bring you on the list.
Good looks.
A shitty personality, which people tend to consider cool.
The last and the most important one is money.
And Logan has all three.
In fact, he is unmatched in the entire school.
“I told you I know where to find her." Dorothy grinned. “What are you doing out here, sports committee president?”
“What do you want?” I tried to remain unfazed.
“You know why I’m here,” Logan finally spoke, his deep voice reverberating through my ears. “Don’t force my hand.”
“And I’ve told you before,” I retorted. “No.”
“You've got a lot of nerve…” He scoffed, stepping forward, and I took two steps back. “…extending the date of the upcoming competition without informing me, I’m the captain of the team—”
“And I’m the president of the sports committee.” I interrupted him, and he froze, his surprise mounting.
"I shouldn’t have to discuss my intentions with you beforehand. This is something that has been decided between the board of committee.”
“I don’t care about the damned board.” He snarled. “Change the date back.”
“I don’t care about your opinion.” I retorted.
In the blink of an eye, he covered the distance between us quickly, his hand shooting out to grab the front of my blouse, yanking me closer.
“What did you fucking say?” He growled, his face barely inches away from mine. The sweet musky scent of his cologne is wafting into my nose. “You either change the date or I’m going to fucking ruin you.”
I met his eyes with a smirk; in the last five years, they had done everything humanly possible to me, so I leaned into his face to whisper.
“Go ahead, and try.”
As if accepting my challenge, his eyes darkened, and his lips twisted into a sinister smile.
“Take her.” He ordered.
Henry grabbed my hair before I could run.
"Help!" I screamed into the darkness.
The rest of the words were muffled in Henry’s palm as I was hurled from the ground and shoved into the car.
"No!" Tears streamed down my face as I moved my lips from the bottle of alcohol; Sandra grabbed my hair forcing my head in place. “No, please—uh, stop. I can’t take it anymore.”
I clenched my lips together, refusing to take any more; my stomach hurts from the two bottles that I had been force-fed previously.
“Come on, don’t be shy!"
"Open up," Jensen muttered, his fingers squeezing my mouth open. “That’s it… Good girl.”
“Ugh! “I moaned painfully as the liquid burned down my throat. I heaved and coughed, some of it rushing out of my nostrils.
“Ew, what a loser.” Dorothy muttered, holding her nose and her phone with the other; she was recording me. “Get her back up; I need her to finish them.”
My tired eyes darted toward Logan’s blue eyes that were fixed on me, and that was the last thing I saw before I gave in to the darkness.
A mind-shattering headache woke me up, and I curled up from my sleeping position, my eyes darting around trying to make sense of my location.
The only thing I remember is being snatched off the streets by Logan and his gang; they brought me here and forced me to drink—and the rest of everything was in a blur.
Ignoring what might have happened to me while I blacked out, I quickly scampered up, gathered my things, and dashed out, bumping into some of the staff in the club, but that didn’t stop me as I ran home.
I fumbled through my bags for my key, my entire body trembling, but as soon as the door opened…
I heard Mom's voice. “Uhm… You taste so good.” Followed by wet, sloppy sounds.
“Mhmmm.” A deep throaty sound that belongs to a man.
My eyes narrowed in disgust when I found Mom sitting in between Luther’s thighs, on the couch, tongues deep in each other.
“What the fuck, Mom?" I slammed the door and stormed across the room. From the corner of my eyes, I could see her and Luther disengaging, and she hurried toward me.
“Dawn, where the hell have you been?” She asked.
“Hey, kiddo.” Luther grinned, but I rolled my eyes instead. Ignoring them both, I strolled into my room and slammed the door shut.
My knees gave out, and my body slid to the floor. I buried my face in my palms as I tried to hold myself together. Every day, I’m reminded that my mother is serious about her re-marriage, even after everything Jackson—my first stepfather—did to me.
“Dawn!” I jolted when Mother banged the door. “Open the damned door.”
I scampered from the floor, and she glared at me the moment I opened.
“What is that attitude? You were so rude to him.”
“I told you I didn’t like him.” I complained.
“You don’t have to like him, because he’ll be married to me, not you.” Mother retorted, and pain curled in my chest.
“Yeah, right," I snorted. “You forgot what happened the last time you brought home some Jackson and married him.”
“He is not Jackson!” She snapped. “I understand what you went through, but Luther is different. He sorted out all our bills, even paid the debt for the rent we owe—he is a good man, I’m certain.”
“No, Mom, you don’t get it.” I screamed, tears slipping out of my eyes, memories that have been long buried, things that I believed would never come up to the surface, tearing into me. “A man doesn’t automatically become good because he paid off some debts. how can you even call yourself a mother when all you do is—”
She slapped the rest of the words out of my mouth.
“You selfish girl.” She cursed sharply. “Can’t you see that I’m doing all these things for your sake?”
“How is this for my sake?” I asked, tears blurring my vision.
“I’ve been poor and wretched for as long as I can remember; this might be the only chance I get to have a better life, and you want me to give that up because some unfortunate things happened to you in the past?” Words formed on my lips, but nothing came out. “I don’t care; you’ve to adjust, or you can wait until the landlord throws you out on the streets!”
Mom stormed out of the room, and I just stood there in shock.
With one word echoing in my mind… selfish.
Am I being selfish because I just wanted to be treated well? My body jerked when my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket, and I opened the attachment some unknown number sent me.
My pupils struggled to focus on the image.
I was half naked and in a compromising position with three guys whose faces had been blurred out. My fingers trembled… No… No…
“You better fix the competition date or you’ll be trending for the wrong reasons.”
This can’t be happening.
My heart rocked hard against my chest; another attachment came in, and this time it was a video.
“God, no.” My voice shook as I stared back at the unmistakable green eyes of Felix, my boyfriend, making out with Dorothy.
“Just in case you’re wondering how we found you… your Prince Charming sold you off to have this kiss with me.”
My hands shook, and air squeezed out of my lungs.
Felix would never betray me; he loves me. I’m certain he wouldn’t do this to me—not when everything I’m doing is for his sake.
