Ripple Effect: A Novel by Adalynn Rafe Page B

anticipation.
    “Do you dream of dying? Even Iles has seen a painting suggesting you are suicidal.” He moved away from her, suddenly leaving her alone.
    Breathing became a chore for her. She wondered where he went . . . where he perched.
    “I’m afraid to say that no one will believe a brat who just wants attention.” Cold hands returned to her shoulders and he breathed on her neck, the warm exhale traveling down her exposed cleavage. “Not when they have me, the advocate for truth.”
    Leison’s feet were planted firmly in the community, so firmly that he seemed like an ally to all. They’d never think him a rapist. He was right, just as he wanted to be. She truly was alone in this––all alone.
    She knew she could go to no one. The last thing she wanted was to be mocked and laughed at because no one believed her over getting molested by the sick man. She was alone. We were alone.
    “I hate you,” she whispered, her jaw tensed.
    “Hatred is just a warped form of love.” Leison swept the hair behind her back to expose her neck. “And you love feeling victimized.”
    “Why didn’t you just rape me when you had the chance!? Get it over with!” A whine escaped her and she cried, showing her fragility. “And let me be––”
    Leison leaned closer—the musky smell of him making her even sicker, his breath hot on her clammy skin. “Only the virgin can be used in initiation.” He nuzzled into her neck and took a long breath, savoring the fear that tainted her sweat. A satisfied smile crossed his dark face.
    “Cecily!” I screamed. “Just fight him!” I couldn’t stand it! “Fight him!”
    “Your time is far from over, Cecily,” he whispered in her ear. Her eyes filled with horror as his mouth met her skin. After one small kiss, he reeled back before sinking his teeth in, puncturing the flesh. “Shh,” he motioned, covering her mouth to stifle her screams.
    I smacked my neck, feeling the burning of the bite on my own skin. Cecily crumbled down, screaming and sobbing as he held her up. My blood boiled. How dare he do that to me!
    I charged for the sick freak, but fell straight through him, leaving me defeated and letdown. This wasn’t fair.
    Once she went from screaming to whimpering, he set her on the floor. Leison knelt down and met his dark, glowering eyes to hers. Her blood barely spotted his lips. “Bad things will happen if you tell, far worse than initiation.” He stood up and turned his back to her—her cue to leave.
     
    The bell rang. Time for school to end. Time for her to run.
    Cecily stumbled toward the door in such a pathetic manner that my heart ached.
    Upon releasing the metal handle, the door opened and she fell into the hallway onto the linoleum floor. Everyone stared at her and started laughing. Her hair was a mess with her makeup smeared everywhere. Ew, this looked bad––really bad! She looked slutty, more so than even Sabrina. Mr. Leison stood in the doorway, watching her with an amused smile. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up, as if he’d been doing some manual labor . This was most certainly bad.
    That’s when the rumors began. “ Cecily Wolf seduced a teacher, what a skank .”
    What I hadn’t noticed before was Stacy crouched on the floor, trying to help me up. Sympathy spread across her face, not pity, but sympathy. Hazel was heading downstairs from English class with no idea of what had happened, nor would she.
    Darien glared at Mr. Leison, a look of hatred filling his face. Darien knew what truly happened that day, and that it wasn’t Cecily seducing Leison. Though Darien was rather weird, he really did have a good heart. He silently stood up for me as he stared the teacher down.
    Cecily regained her feet, took her things from Stacy, and ran away down the hall as tears streamed down her paled face. As she ran, I disappeared from the scene and ended up standing next to the turquoise pond once more, now still and