《The Road Only I Can Go》


 Beginning of the End

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    Everyday in my life was hell. I would always be the main victim in the bullying problem at our town''s High School. I always got beaten up for the little cash I had on me during lunch or I would walk in the halls with no clothes except my underwear. I was humiliated and felt so defeated. The teachers turned a blind eye to this problem because they feared they would be the next target.


    One specific bully was a tall slender female named Olivia Monroe. She was considered the school beauty. On the surface she seemed like the picture perfect girl. Straight A¡¯s, extremely athletic, and stunning looks, however, her true colors are always shown when nobody is around. ¡°Where is our little slave!¡± she loudly screamed while hanging around behind the school.


    I started running back down afraid that I would have to get hit again. ¡°You are 30 seconds late. You realize that you must be punished.¡± she said while laughing. I slowly nodded my head and handed over the small allowance my parents gave me for the week. She looked me in the eye and slapped my hand sending the money flying everywhere.


    ¡°What the fuck is this! Is this all you got? You worthless good for nothing brat!¡± she exclaimed. I was shoved and fell straight to the floor. I tried to say something but no words came out of my mouth. Next thing I knew, I was getting kicked in the gut by multiple shoes and water poured all over my head.


    It was already nighttime by the time I regained my consciousness. My back was cold from the water poured on my head and the cold winter wind did not help my case at all. I arrived at home and saw my parents fighting as usual and silently headed to my room. The fights always started as verbal insults and then turned to physical hits. It aches my heart to see my parents shout and fight like this.


    I woke up in the middle of the night. I went to the kitchen to get some water and saw my mother sitting alone on the kitchen table with a glass of wine. ¡°Why are you awake this late?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy that''s all,¡±she replied. I knew she was lying because the big bruises were always noticeable on her face and chest. ¡°I am going out to get a breath of fresh air. I will be back.¡±I said while walking out. ¡°Have fun¡± she said with tears slowly dripping across her face


    I hopped on my bike that was placed on the side of my house and started pedaling to my secret spot in the whole town. This was the only place where I can truly be myself. Free from the torment at school, Free from the pain surrounding my house, Free from all the troubles in my life. I started pedaling faster and faster as I couldn''t wait for me to arrive. I turned the last corner and dropped my bike on the ground.


    Even in the night sky, the pink flowers of the cherry blossom flowered and shined brightly and brought me a sense of hope and peace. This was the only road in town where these flowers would grow and bring me peace. I thought I was the only person who knew this hidden gem in this whole town. Until I saw an unusual shadow at the end of the road. I was shocked and was curious at the same time. Not many people know about this road as it was hidden behind the back side of town.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    In the end, my curiosity peaked and I started tip toeing down toward the figure. I couldn¡¯t tell if the shadow was a girl or a boy but it had long silky hair waving through the sky. I got close enough and could start to see the color on the shirt.


    ¡°This spot is quite beautiful, isn''t it.¡±I said. Startled, the figure stepped back under the streetlight and from there I got a picture I never saw before. A beautiful girl with glasses and a cute blue dress to top it off. ¡°Of course. I love watching flowers in the middle of the night.¡± she said smiling.


    I was shocked and amazed. I never thought that such a beautiful girl existed in my life. It brought tears to my eyes. Everyone I talked to would either shun me away or ridicule me but she was different. She would listen to what I would have to say and laugh and smile along.


    ¡°What''s your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Charlotte Snow¡± she replied. A fitting name for such a beautiful lady I thought in my head. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± she asked blushing. ¡°Timothee Adler¡± I said proudly. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around town. Why did you come here?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°My father and mother recently broke apart and I came with my mother here to this town. Apparently she grew up and made many memories here so that''s why I came along.¡± she said. It wasn''t long before we started laughing and smiling together


    We talked and smiled almost the whole night. It was the first time in a very long time where I found joy and happiness in my life. I glanced at my watch and the clock ticked to 6o¡¯ clock. ¡°I have to leave now. I have school in a couple of hours.¡± I said with a sad look on my face. She quietly got up from her spot, brushed her hair with her hands, and with a smile she said ¡°See you next time!¡± I started to blush and waved it off saying to myself that it was all a dream and it was all too good to be true.


    I hopped on my bike and started to head back home. As soon as I got home, I quickly put on my uniform and started to walk to school with a piece of bread stuck in my mouth. I quickly ran afraid that I would miss the morning bell and would be late. Any more late notices and my academic record would fall apart.


    I entered the class still in awe about last night. I found my seat and could feel the bullies mocking me and saying nasty things behind my back. I ignored them as I always did and paid attention in class. The teacher got to the front and told everyone that a new student was joining.


    She opened the door and the same girl with long hair and a beautiful smile walked through. ¡°I can''t believe this. She was actually real!¡± I said to myself. She introduced herself to the class and took a seat right next to me. She gave me a quick smile and a hug and the whole class went wild.


    ¡°Who is she? Do you know her? What did your filthy hands do to her?¡± the class shouted at me. I settled back in my seat and looked behind me and saw Olivia turning all red and could feel anger arising from behind. I braced for impact as she would normally hit the back of my head but She saw the girl noticing and gave her usual petty smile.


    It was at this moment when I realized that everything would start to change. My dark and sorrowful life would start to clear. All because of a little sunshine that entered my life that I would start to see things in a different perspective. I chuckled quietly to myself and got my notebook out and got ready for a fresh new start to happen.

 The Enemy Within

    The school day was over before I knew it. I got up at my seat and took a peek at my watch. I realized that I needed to give Olivia her money during this time but as soon as I turned around, she wasn¡¯t there. I started to get nervous wondering what punishment I would receive if I could not give the change on time. I started to sprint out the door when I felt a slight tug on my sleeve.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Charlotte asked. I couldn¡¯t tell her about the situation I go through everyday. If she found out what would happen? ¡°I just have something important to attend to,¡±I said quickly. She looked at me with disappointment and said ¡°I¡¯ll come with you if you want.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t refuse an offer from such a girl so I decided to keep the change and go do something fun with her. We exited the school grounds and started walking to the arcade a couple blocks away. I started feeling chills down my neck and it felt as if someone was watching my every move. I turned around to see if someone was following us but to my surprise I just saw an empty street.


    We arrived at the arcade and I used the money that was supposed to be given to Olivia for arcade tokens. We both laughed and had fun to our hearts content that day. After all the tokens had been finished, we both had enough tickets to get a teddy bear as a prize. I handed her the teddy bear proudly and the look of joy and excitement flooded her face. We both exited the arcade and started walking back to our houses.


    I haven''t experienced this type of joy in my life. I was blessed and glad that she was the ray of sunshine that was able to land in my life and clear up all the rain. We ended up walking and talking all the way until the flower filled road where we met last night. We decided that we would meet up here everyday, walk to school together, and come back to this exact spot. My heart started to flutter and my cheeks started to turn red. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what couples do?¡± I asked. She looked at me surprised and started laughing ¡°bwahaha dummy! Of course they do! But, who knows maybe in the near future we might be considered one.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    My heart sank and I was speechless. What did she mean by that? Does she seriously like me or does she pity me? All these thoughts rushed to my head all at once. ¡°It¡¯s not that deep. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± she said with a smile. She looked back and waved and started running away. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Was this all a dream? I smiled and headed home.


    I arrived at the front door of my house and had to wipe the big smile I had on my face. I could not bring myself to put up even a fake smile in this depressing household. I opened the door and headed straight to my room while hearing my parents fighting once more in the background. I was filled with emotions I never felt before. Before I went to sleep, I promised I would change so Charlotte will never find out the pathetic and weak boy I truly am.


    I showed up to school 30 minutes before class started so I can get my punishment by Olivia over with. Her background was always mysterious. She was always the first one at school and the last one to leave. Despite having such a terrible personality, she still manages to maintain perfect scores in all her subjects. Many rumors spread around her family. Some say she was the daughter of a very successful businessman and others say she was born from a poverty struck family. Nobody knows the true nature of Olivia but the mystery behind her is what makes her special to many.


    I went to the back of the school and to my surprise she wasn¡¯t there. I looked around the small alleyway that she hangs out in to see if she was there instead, but yet again she was missing. I started walking away when I saw a small crumpled photo. I wanted to leave it alone because I knew nothing good would come out of finding out what it was.


    In the end, my curiosity got the best of me and I picked it up. I slowly unfolded the photo and saw a picture of me and Charlotte smiling together. I dropped it suddenly and thought when was this photo taken. I suddenly realized that this photo was taken yesterday when we were walking to the arcade. I dropped the photo immediately and my hands started trembling. Why is she following us? What does she want from me? I thought. I turned around and saw her standing at the end of the alleyway with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Fancy meeting you here¡± she said with a big nasty smile across her face.

 Chapter 3

    I stumbled back and fell down from behind. She started walking closer and closer to me. I froze in place and I couldn¡¯t move. It felt as if someone had chained my feet to the ground. I closed my eyes bracing for a slap across my face but nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and saw her standing there.


    ¡°Why did you go out with her?¡± she asked. I was surprised at her reaction. Her face looks soft and sad almost like she was looking at a hurt animal. She never looked at me with this face and it made my heart hurt a little. ¡°Why would you care? You always have made my life a living hell and you always see me as a little toy to play with when you get bored!¡± I shouted back.


    It felt good saying my true feelings right in front of my bully. ¡°What do you mean? I have always been nice to you!¡± she exclaimed. I laughed out loud.The audacity of this woman seriously started pissing me off. ¡°You¡¯re delusional. Not once have you been nice to me. Do you think I wanted to be slapped 30 minutes before school? Do you think I want to go home with no money? Can''t you just let me be happy for once?¡± I said.


    She started to tear up at her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I thought we were just joking around. I didn¡¯t know that you felt this way.¡± she said as tears flowed down her eyes. I scoffed at her and started walking away. ¡°I knew it was a waste of my time coming here. I didn¡¯t come here to get a fake ass apology,¡±I said.


    I started walking out of the alley when she started grabbing the back of my sweater to prevent me from going. ¡°What are you doing?¡±I asked. I looked over and saw her face covered with tears. Her black eyeliner was slowly dripping down from her tears. ¡°Why are you crying? You have no reason to cry. If anything, I should be the one to cry. You are just selfish.¡±I told her.


    ¡°Please don''t leave me. I need you to survive. If I don''t have you by my side...I¡¯LL GO INSANE!¡±she said hysterically. I started getting freaked out and her hand on my sweater started tightening. Her face was in a smug smile almost like a lunatic. I was stunned and speechless. The school¡¯s top beauty had such a horrifying and terrible side to her. I tried to let her pull off my sweater.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°IF YOU LEAVE ME...I¡¯LL GET RID OF ANYONE THAT TRIES TO GO NEAR YOU. I NEED YOU!!¡±she screamed. In that instant, a picture of Charlotte flashed through my mind. I had a gut feeling she was referring to her but I did not want it to be true. ¡°If you touch Charlotte. If you even lay a finger on her hair. I will never forgive you,¡±I said. I looked her straight in her eyes just as if I was staring into her soul and turned around and left the alleyway. My hands were still shaking and trembling and as I was walking away to get ready for class, I could hear hysterical and uncontrollable laughter coming from the same alley way I was in.


    It wasn¡¯t long before I had my first period class. I entered the class and found Charlotte sitting at her desk. I waved my hand and she waved back. I felt at peace and at bliss whenever I interacted with her. She was my angel, the sun that brings light on a dark day. To me she was my refuge, my safe haven. I turned around and noticed that Olivia wasn¡¯t there. I wasn¡¯t that surprised because of what happened this morning, but it was unusual that she would skip class despite her ambition to be the number one in class academically.


    The school day came and went and before I knew it, I was packing up and getting ready to head home. I was already exhausted from a whole day worth of learning and there¡¯s just so much information my tiny brain could take. I took a big breath in and started leaving the classroom. As soon as I left, I felt a heavy load on my back as if someone had jumped on it. I turned around and saw Charlotte¡¯s smiling face looking down at me. Her playful energy is contagious and I soon started to blush.


    We walked all the way to the arcade together and decided to walk home by ourselves because she had something important to attend to. She ran off and I was standing all by myself. I decided that I would check up on the Cherry Blossoms before heading back home and going to bed. I started walking up the hill and felt cold chills down the side of my neck. Goosebumps started rising all over my hands and feet as I started approaching the top of the hill. I looked behind me and saw nobody there. I exhaled a sigh of relief and turned back around.


    I arrived at the Cherry Blossoms and sat down at the corner. I had always admired the pink color these trees gave. I sat there and took a nap and by the time I opened my eyes the sky had already turned dark. I picked up my bag and started walking down the hill until I felt something hug me from behind.


    I knew that it was Charlotte. She was the only one in town that knew this little spot and she was the only one that would hug me from the back. ¡°What are you doing up here? Stop playing around Charlotte.¡±I said jokingly. ¡°WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING HER NAME?¡± I froze. I knew the sound and tone of this voice. I turned around and saw Olivia¡¯s face inches from mine. Why is she here? How does she know this special spot. This is supposed to be our little secret so why does she know! I thought to myself. ¡°I FOUND YOU¡± she said with a chilling look on her face.