"Darling, I'm a nightmare dressed as a daydream."
Underneath the golden heart and perky smile, Carly strived for chaos. Carly had a deep, dark secret of a hidden power, connected to the minds and emotions of others - a secret that Carly's step-brot...
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CARLY HAD MADE A MISTAKE; she never should have touched something that belonged to Billy — she never should have entered his mind.
That morning, Carly had avoided her family as she left the house as quickly as possible. Worst of all, Carly had no scarf to hide the bruising that lingered on her neck, so she had tried using her concealer, hands shaking as she tried to delete the memory of Billy.
There was no cheery smile nor was Carly aware of who she was passing in the mall. In her short time in Hawkins, Carly had already made a golden impression, but now she felt like the stormy clouds in the middle of winter.
Carly's mind was elsewhere, stuck on an endless loop of the night before. Having frightened Carly, Billy's touch had lingered for a moment before he had pulled backwards, disappearing in the shadows. For Carly, she had remained petrified and frozen, staring up at the ceiling on the settee before a hand had covered her mouth, smothering the sob that had soon followed.
Now, though, Carly tried pushing the memory down deep.
"Carly?"
Missing Ronnie calling out her name, a hand caught her own hand as Carly jumped. Eyes as wide as an owl fell on the dark-haired girl, seeing a worried frown on Ronnie's face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ronnie asked.
"Nothing," Carly lied, forcing a smile. "Everything's good. How are you, Ronnie?"
"Something's wrong. You're not your cheery self."
"I am, it's just the morning."
"No, it's not," insisted Ronnie. "Seriously, Blondie, talk to me."
Carly swallowed, feeling the aching pain of it as her fingers twitched to touch her neck, but she didn't want to draw attention to the fingerprints on her skin. Instead, her heart hammered; Carly hated being afraid more than anything.
"Can I stay at yours tonight?" Carly blurted out, expecting a no. "Billy — my step-brother — he's..."
Though, Ronnie had noticed the fear lingering in Carly's eyes.
"Yeah, of course," said Ronnie, nodding her head. "I'll let my uncle know."
"Thank you," Carly found a small smile. "I'll see you later then."
Carly turned to leave, not wanting to be late for work.
"Hey, Blondie," Ronnie called out.
Turning back, Carly looked over at the dark-haired girl. "Yeah?"
