In the quaint cottage town of Red Grove, Daniella 'Rose' Elliott longs to escape her miserable life and pursue a brighter future. Yet, her dreams are thwarted not only by her family's financial struggles but also by an incident she buried away in th...
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Roses are red Hearts and feelings are blue Life can do strange things to people Trauma and kisses can too
The clouds turned grey as Atlas's car—not used to carrying so much—trundled down the road. It was a straight path at first as Dani's heart still raced from the death beforehand. Her hands and her hair that stuck up like a tree smelt like copper and bleach.
Atlas's sweater clung to parts of her stomach as she buried her face into its sleeve. She couldn't wipe Mr. Wood from her mind as every time she peeped through the mirror she could see the lump in the backseat—just still—only moving when the car turned. Soon, Atlas took a sharp left down a dark earthy pathway between a canopy of birch trees; that's when Dani's heart stopped. She knew exactly where they were going... and she didn't like it.
Driving over a rock snapped her in and out of a trance as all she could do was stare out the window. Dani promised herself she would never come here again. She had sworn on it and did all that she could to never even think of this place... but now she couldn't avoid it.
Michigan used to take her here a lot just to chill—just to think. They would spend hours here, sometimes with friends other times alone.
It was their sacred space.
The camp space near the cliff before the lake.
Filled with peace and tranquillity... until it all happened.
Regretfully, Dani slowly shut off her mind and focused on her breathing. Her hands slowly wander up her throat as she hissed from the bruises. She contemplated stealing ice from the nurses' office but disputed against it. Running that far for ice was compromising everything. She was lucky the school didn't have any cameras. There was a huge debate about it but the Sterling Property Advisors agreed against them; All just for the rich student's privacy.
If they did put them back up, she and Atlas would have been screwed.
As the thought of cameras passed through her, her mind turned to Mr. Wood. He was able to get away with so much because of that rule: dating Emma, locking students in rooms, and other despicable things. It was a glorious day solidified in the yearbook when authorities wished him away. But his 6 months in rehab weren't enough to save him... now he was dead.
Dani could still feel his angry, busted hands on her throat as he angrily squeezed the life out of her because she didn't take the money. He looked so broken, so desperate, that she almost felt bad for him. He wasn't in the right state of mind when he did that, but he also had intent. Intent that ruled him and drove him to madness. Intent that Dani has felt before all of this—before she met Atlas.
Joshua Wood was a part of a team that stole money. How much? Well, from all that they have come across from Mr. Herbert, Chris, Ashly, and Wood—It was a lot. Enough to make someone in management at the Sterling Property Advisors choose death as a result for all of them.
