The Bad Boy's Princess

Ch. 1 - Pre-First Day Jitters

4:32 AM

The red font of my clock blurs as I squint my eyes, sweat dripping down my face and heart beating so fast I swear it might explode. My throat feels dry from the series of short breaths. It felt so real....

Everything felt real...

Those nightmares haven't happened for two months, I was doing so great. Yet here they are, back once again. Maybe it's the new room, new town, and new school which starts in less than three hours. That's just great.  Not only will I be the new kid, I'll also be the new kid with eye bags.

Every time, they're the same. Flashbacks of that night, 8 years ago. They always feel so real that every time, I swear I could feel my father's embrace when he found me in that warehouse. I could still smell the stench and feel cold floor, as if it were just yesterday that I got kidnapped by the people who used me to blackmail my father.

But it has been 8 years, yet I still could not talk about it to anyone outside of my adopted family. As if telling the story out loud would unlock demons I have tried to lock away for years.

"Avery are you okay?" My door swung open and the hallway light seeped in.

Landon. Landon West, my adopted brother who was the same age as I am, yet has always acted as a third parent to me in this house. Landon has never missed a single night of those nightmares, including this one. "I heard your scream.... They came back...?"

Landon's room was right across the hall from mine, so I couldn't hide it from him even if I tried to.

"I'm okay... Just another episode of my ever-so dramatic past. I'm sorry to wake you up, again." I groaned. We both have school in a few hours and I felt extremely horrible for disturbing him. Landon and I have gone to the same school and had most classes together for the past 5 years since Mom adopted me.

They've put us together due to a special request from our mom, Dr. Melissa West, so that Landon can help me adapt and socialize better in school. But it has been five years and Landon still demands to have most of our classes together so I wouldn't be alone and have an anxiety attack.

The only people in the world who have met my inner demons are my father, and my adopted family. When I came knocking on their doorstep 5 years ago, Ryan was the first person I met out of the West's. Little did I know that they would adopt me and take me in with unconditional love. Maybe it was the fact that my adopted parents were doctors and doing good deeds was just their thing.

Landon climbed onto my bed and pulled me into his arms, this familiar scent and comfort have remained stable for the past years despite all the recent changes in our lives. After our dad passed away from cancer last year, mom couldn't handle being in that house and that town so we moved to a new town.

Because of the West's, I became more open about my past and my feelings but I still struggle with socializing and letting others in. Since it was always difficult for me to make friends, Landon always took me under his wings at school and made sure no one bullied his sister.

But when we moved, I made a promise to myself that this time, I'm going to handle myself and put my anxiety at ease so that Landon won't have to worry about me anymore. I'm grateful that Landon finally agreed to let me go through the last year at this new school on my own, so I can learn to be more independent. I'm tired of people using my past and the fact that I'm adopted as reasons to look at me with pity and concerns. Back at our old school, everyone knew me as the sad sister of Ryan West and no one wanted to approach a ticking time bomb. But I was fine with that, as I didn't know how to talk to anyone.

"You're going to do great tomorrow, Ave." Landon pinched my cheeks. "It's probably just first day jitters that are triggering your nightmares. Go back to sleep, come on you're going to look like a panda tomorrow at this rate."

"Are you not nervous for our first day?" I sighed and gripped my comforter. "New people... new school... new changes to adapt to. It's terrifying."

"Do you not remember who I am? I'm Landon West." He scoffed and I could see his perfect teeth in the dark as he flashed a toothy grin. It was true. Landon was sociable, the QB, and class president back at East High. And I was known as Landon's sister.

"It's always fun and easy for you. I'm truly envious." I sighed again, thinking about all the states and whispers we were going to get as the new kids tomorrow at King High School.

"And you," His index softly touched my chin and lifted my face up to face his, "you are Avery West and you are going to kick ass our senior year. Change is terrifying but it's also a good thing, Ave. You can make new friends here I promise."

"I don't want to make new friends... I just want to get through this year with as little incidents as possible." I smacked his arm. Landon knew how much I hated socializing with people because of what happened to me as a child. Dr. Amary, my psychiatrist of 5 years, said the trauma was going to take some time to get over. But it has been too long and I wish I could win the battle and get rid of it already.

"Well, you have your jobs at the bookstore and the gym going for you right?" Landon was right, I did have those jobs. Since Landon planned on trying out for the football team here, mom suggested that I find something to do after school so that he and I can go home together. So I found a job at the school's gym after school for 3 days a week. And since I didn't want to have too much free time, mom found a job at the local bookstore for me knowing how much I loved books.

For people with PTSD and horrible anxiety, having free time is like asking for even longer battles with the demons inside of us. And I wasn't willing to let them have even more of my day to torture me.

"Yeah, are you ready for your try out tomorrow?" I changed the subject, not wanting to talk about my miserable self anymore.

"Of course, Ave I was the QB, it's going to be a breeze tomorrow." He smirked. "I promise this year is going to be the best one, Ave. The senior year of all senior years. The one we will never forget."

And boy was he right.