In a city of sheep ruled by wolves, she became the python that pulled them apart.
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Sage Black is a girl of little opportunities, forced to see the seamy side of life growing up in New York. Witnessing what lengths billionaires will go through t...
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I wish for nothing more than to be holed up in my creaky bed with the sole comfort of my company. But I had already spent three days at home, hiding away like a coward. And as much as I hate facing their judgmental stares, I hate them thinking they had a hold on me. It doesn't matter how much my plan weighs on me, it doesn't matter how much the texts coil me up from the inside, and it doesn't matter how long I need to compose myself—these predators are not to see me as prey anymore.
So here I am, sitting at the dreadful lunch table, forcing a laugh at a joke Tave made, the air tense and full of anticipation, like something bad is about to happen. As usual, Theo sits in the seat facing me, looking through his phone with a nonchalant face on. But his stiff shoulders and uneaten food give him away; the texts are bothering him just as much as they are bothering me. He said he'd figure out a way to find out who's behind them.
". . . Sometime? Sage, were you even listening?"
Zain's voice pulls me out of my thoughts, her face accusing as she holds a green apple in her black-nailed hands.
"Sorry, I was just . . ." I shake my head. "What were you saying?"
"I was asking if you were coming with us to the tattoo parlor."
"Tattoos?"
"Yeah, it's time I get my nose pierced," Tave interjects with a dazzling smile as blinding as the glinting diamonds in his earlobes.
I've never thought much of it, always having other things to worry about. Over the years, my appearance hasn't changed, my features just becoming more defined and my hair varying in lengths. But now, the idea of getting a tattoo seems appealing. Something permanent that will ground me.
"Should I get my nips pierced?" Zain wonders out loud, her hands instinctively hovering over her breasts, "It looks like it hurts like a bitch."
"I can give you a little demo," Tave offers with a suggestive smile, his index fingers and thumbs twitching.
The water sticks in my throat as I choke, coughing aggressively to breathe in oxygen. Zain audibly gasps and throws a fork at Tave who dodges it with a smirk, and Theo's laughing eyes meet mine, the corners wrinkling as he lets out a chuckle.
The two friends made up by the time I got back to school, the fight between them long forgotten. No one found out what started the fight in the first place, but I figured it must've been at the party. I'd left them joking around, but something changed since then. It seems that nothing could keep them apart for too long seeing as they are now teasing each other once again.
An empty yogurt box that was targeted at Zain gets me square in the chest, leaving a splatter of white on my grey sweater. I wrinkle my nose in disgust. It smells like peaches.
I half-heartedly roll my eyes as he starts to apologize, reaching for a napkin on the table to wipe the ugly mess. After a few aggressive swipes, the stain only gets worse so I settle with taking it off instead and sitting in my button up.
