Bad Girl Broken by Jena Yao (good books to read TXT) 📕

Daniel ran after her. "Hey, Alison! Wait!"

His shout caused everyone to stare at him and then all those eyes were on me. I ignored them and sprinted after Daniel, who had cornered Ali against a wall where nobody could see them.

"What?" She snapped. Jealousy coursed through my veins when I saw Daniel brush some hair out of her eyes.

"Stop!" Ali pushed his hand away, eyes widening when she saw me. "You too?"

Daniel grabbed her waist and pushed her back against him. Ali whimpered, looking at me and back at Daniel before saying, "What? You're going to rape me now?"

Daniel looked hurt, and I felt the same way inside.

"We just want to know where that bruise came from." I said, crossing my arms. Ali wriggled out of Daniel's grasp and stormed past us.

"Why should I tell you? I barely know you guys." She feigned surprise. "Oh, wait, I know you two are horndogs who fuck the brains out of every girl you meet."

I was more hurt than angry, but it was true. It's not like I hadn't slept with every girl at this school.

Well, not every girl.

Ali suddenly turned around to face us. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I...I just need a little space right now." Her voice turned into a whisper, and her green eyes darkened. "Why are you even following me? I'm a bitch that you should stay away from."

"How. Did. You. Get. That. Bruise." Daniel asked through gritted teeth.

"I. Fell. Down. The. Stairs." She mocked back in the same tone.

"Are you sure?" I moved closer. "No abusive boyfriend?"

"I'm too ugly to have a boyfriend." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do you even care?"

She stared me down before walking towards her locker. I didn't move, just watched her strutt past the empty hallway. I pulled Daniel into a corner just as the bell rang and students started piling into the building.

"She's lying-"

"Landon, babe!" Kathlyn said, walking up towards me. "Why were you talking to that bitch?"

"What bitch?" I knew exactly who she was talking about. Anger flooded me as Kathlyn continued to rat off names about Ali, and Daniel could easily see it.

"Kathlyn, um, can we talk about the party that you're hosting tonight?" He said, pulling her away. I watched until her curly blond hair was out of sight before letting out a deep breath.

"You like her, don't you?" A voice behind me said.

I turned around, facing my older-by-two-months sister, who was glaring at me.

"Did you hear what I said?" Lola said, walking closer.

"Yeah, I heard what you said, and what makes you think that?" I groaned, slamming my locker closed after grabbing a notebook.

"I'm your sister, doofus, did you forget?" The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. "The way you look at her gives it all away. At least she was braver than most people by standing up to you when you were beating up Sean."

"Don't remind me." That was one of my weakest moments.

"I'm going to invite her to Kathlyn's party."

"What?" I spun around to face her. "No, you can't do that. Kathlyn is going to kill her and how am I supposed to pay for the medical bills?"

"Uh, we're rich, asshole, did you forget?"

I didn't want Ali to get beaten up, even though I knew she could take down Kat in an instant. Lola looked at me with a smirk on her face, her hazel eyes studying me. Unlike me, she'd gotten hazel eyes from our dad and I'd gotten my blue ones from my mom. Her hair was the same shade of brown as mine, though.

"Fine," I sighed. "Invite her. But don't expect her to say yes."

When I walked into seventh period English, a group of girls were around Ali, laughing. I started to walk over to them, thinking that they were making fun of her, but Ali's smile suddenly stopped me. She looked so beautiful, her hair up in a loose ponytail with pieces falling in the front. The only part that looked different on her was the purple bruise that had barely started to fade.

Ali looked up and her eyes glazed over my body before connecting with mine. The girls around her - one of them was Lola - looked up at me and shifted away. I coughed and said, "Is this seat taken?"

"No, you can sit there." She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. Suddenly her cold-hearted figure what back, her eyes dark.

"So are you going?" I asked, breaking the silence. Some girls heard my voice and turned around, shooting daggers at Ali. She flicked them off.

"Yeah, I think I will. Just please don't let Kathlyn kill me," she said jokingly, and she grinned. Her teeth were perfectly white, whiter than mine. This girl was just too perfect.

I realised I had been staring for too long and looked away. "I won't. Kat will probably be too drunk to even know you're there. So, can I pick you up?"

She shook her head quickly, and my heart sank. "I would, but I'm going with Lola." She tilted her chin towards my sister, who was trying to hide a smile. I glared at her.

"You're her brother, right?" Ali asked, and I nodded. "That makes sense."

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry," Ali said, and her eyes darkened again. "I didn't mean it like that. You guys just look alike."

I breathed a sigh of relief. So she didn't totally hate me. That was a start, at least.

"You know, I think we're about the same size. Maybe you could borrow something of mine?" Lola said, looking through her huge walk-in closet. One whole side was dedicated to dresses, half of which looked as if they belonged in Cinderella.

She noticed me looking at the poofy gowns and laughed. "My mom's idea. She thinks those are the type of dresses to wear to formal parties. Don't worry, I only go with these." She shoved the long dresses out of the way and revealed some low-cut, body-hugging party dresses hanging in the back.

Lola - the awfully kind sister of Landon - had invited me to Kathlyn Reed's party that was going to be held tonight. I didn't exactly like Kathlyn - and Lola didn't eitheir - but she had dated Landon in the past, so their families were close.

"Try this one on," Lola said, shoving a strapless black mid-length dress. "It'll look good with your tan."

So far she hadn't asked me about the ugly bruise forming on my face, but she kept staring at it like she was trying to figure something out. Right now, I just wanted to spill the whole story out, but if I did and James was taken away...there was no way his friends wouldn't go after me, or her. I couldn't let that happen.

"Okay," I sighed, walking into the giant bathroom in her bedroom. The walls were a metallic gold and the mirror was perfectly clear, not one smudge on it. On the counter was tons and tons of make-up, but hardly any of them looked like they'd been used. It seemed like Lola wasn't as spoiled as her mother.

I undressed and slid the black clothing on, admiring my reflection in the mirror. The dress hugged my body perfectly, covering my stomach enough so you couldn't see the bruises. My waist looked even smaller than usual, considering that James hardly gave me enough food to eat. I stepped out of the bathroom so Lola could see.

"Damn, girl, you are smokin'!" She laughed. She handed me a pair of black heels and shoved me into the bathroom. "Come on. I need to do your make-up and then get dressed myself!"

I laughed, and it sounded so good coming out of my mouth. Lola grabbed some foundation and concealer before applying it to my bruise. I flinched a little when the cold make-up touched the swelling and she frowned.

"Care to tell me how you got this?" She asked, slowly.

"I...uh...well..." I struggled for words.

Lola set down the make-up on the table and narrowed her eyes at me. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Before I knew it, the whole story had spilled out and I was choking out the painful memories of my mother. Lola's expression changed from symphatetic to horrified to utter disbelief. I knew this was the moment she kicked me out and told me to never talk to her again.

Instead, I felt two warm arms wrap around me and Lola whisper in my ear, "It's okay, Alison. Calm down." She grabbed my arm and opened my fists, which were clenched tightly.

"Show me your bruises."

Sighing, I pulled up the dress to expose my scarred stomach, bruised and cut and bloody. The anger in Lola's eyes was unbelievable.

"You can't tell anyone." I said quietly, but loud enough so she could hear me.

"WHAT?!"

"You just - you just can't! James will come after you and kill you, right after killing me! Do you think I'm just going to let that happen?" I yelled, and then dropped my voice. "I'm sorry, Lola, I didn't mean -"

"It's fine. Now I see the reason you act like a bad-ass bitch at school." She smiled wearily. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. But you know eventually my brother is going to find out, right?"

Of course.

Of course.

"Yeah, I know." I whispered. I closed my eyes as Lola continued to cover up the bruise. She might've have been able to erase that mark from my face, but she couldn't erase the scars inside.

Finally we headed to the Reed's place. It looked just as big from the outside but was less decorative than the Goodwards'. I stepped inside, Lola right behind me, and everybody turned our way.

Lola had straightened my hair - just on the ends, since my hair was naturally silky - and used only a little make-up that showed some effort but not too much. I had added some mascara at the end to bring out my green eyes and placed two gold bracelets on my arm. As I walked inside, the guys oogled at me, and I planted a fake smirk on my face. Lola looked back at the guys and them an angry look before pulling me towards the kitchen.

I saw Landon, surrounded by several girls who looked drunk. As Lola grabbed two beers out of the cooler, he looked up and his eyes widened. They traveled from my waist to my legs, twinkling. Lola stuck her tongue out at him before handing me a beer and pulling me into the living room.

I saw a few couples already making out on the couch. Kathlyn was sitting on the floor, wearing nothing but a miniskirt and a top that looked somewhat like a bra. A boy next to her had his hand on her thigh, grazing the end of the skirt. I managed to get past her unnoticed.

Lola ran towards Daniel, who was holding a beer and chatting with his friends - everyone except Landon. Was I really so dissapointed to not see him there?

"Hey, babe." He said to Lola, giving me a nod. Just like every other boy, his gaze roamed over my body.

"You guys are dating?" I asked, looking at Lola and Daniel. The other