[Book #1 of the 'Lover Boy' series]
"Who did this to you?" Ni-ki asks, his eyes darkening. Ria tries to close the door, the boy blocking it with his foot.
"Go home, Ni-ki." She says quietly, letting out a tired sigh. Ni-ki shakes his head, pushing...
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☼ Chapter Nine ☼
Finally, The Truth
"Ria, do you know where my-" Ria's aunt pauses in the doorway of her niece's bedroom, her eyes wide as she stares at the girl.
"Can't you knock?" Ria shouts, quickly throwing her shirt on. She had been in the middle of changing into her school uniform, the marks that she had earned from Dan-ah's 'lesson' on full display.
"What happened to you?" Ria's aunt rushes towards her, holding the girl by the shoulders. Ria tries not to flinch when her aunt's hand grabs a particularly painful bruise on her arm, her fingers digging into the girl's skin. Ria hangs her head, not wanting to see the almost frightened look in her aunt's eyes that looked so much like her mother's.
"It's nothing, I just fell at school." She says, trying to escape her aunt's grasp. The older woman frowns as she stares at the girl, her grip tightening.
"Bae Ria, I am a nurse. Even if I wasn't, I would recognize the full boot print that is currently on your ribs." Her aunt says seriously, looking as though she were trying to decide whether to cry or shout angrily. The only time Ria had seen this look on her aunt's face, it was shortly after she had found out about Ria's mom dying. She could feel her aunt's hand shaking as she holds her in place, her eyes wide with emotion.
"Please, I promise that it's nothing." Ria pleads, still trying to break out of her aunts hold.
"Are you being bullied?"
"No."
"Are you part of a gang?"
"What? No."
"Are you doing drugs?"
"No!" Ria throws her arms up, effectively breaking free of her aunt's hands. The woman stares at her, visibly angry now.
"Then what happened?" Her aunt asks, holding her hands on her hips.
"A few girls at school don't like me, that's all." Ria says as she turns back to her closet, grabbing her uniform jacket.
