《Forgoing Hope》


 galaxies in my hands (B.H day 1)

    ACT I: A Story About Love


    "  She had the sweetest voice the world had ever heard. It was a voice that could make a man kill his wife with just one whisper. It was a voice that others begged to hear just because it sounded like honey suckles and spring time romance. She could make people both love and hate themselves with just one look, but it was a power she never abused.


    Her voice was the second thing that took Adius by surprise. The first was a red, white, and blue matching underwear set. He had come outside because people had started to smoke in the house. Even though he was an athlete, his lungs weren''t built to take in smoke like that.


    As he stumbled further into the luscious garden, he came across a crown of lights sitting in the grass. Upon further inspection, he realized that the lights were shinning from inside bright yellow flowers and resting in the never-to-be-tamed brown curls that belonged to a very familiar face.


    He had never formally met the girl behind most local and national clothing and make up brands before that day. He had seen her face everywhere, had heard her name in the mouths of all those that passed, but he had never seen her like this before. He had never talked to her.


    He was nervous.


    Even in the night time he could see that her photos didn''t do her justice, he could understand that the gossip didn''t paint her in as big a picture as she deserved to be. There she laid, her hair lit up and splayed all around her like an angel''s halo. One hand was raised and it seemed like she was counting stars.


    The other hand was resting on her stomach where it fiddled with a belly piercing.


    Here was his chance to finally meet the girl that the world was raving over. But she was alone at a party, that surely must have meant that she didn''t want company. His body must have figured that his mind was seconds away from chickening out because before he could process it, he was walking closer then plopping down beside her.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "This is what you like to do at parties?" He had asked. She didn''t bat an eyelash, nor did she stop trying to count the stars. That was all the indication that he needed to tell him that coming to talk to her was a bad idea.


    He had sighed and started to get up.


    That''s when he felt her hand on his wrist. That''s when her eyes fell on him. That''s when he heard her voice for the first time. "Stay and count with me," She had ordered. And that''s what it was, an order.


    It was a demand he couldn''t refuse, because when Adius looked into her eyes, he saw something so immensely broken that he didn''t dare say anything to further the cracks. There were no tears in her eyes, but one could just tell that she was one wrong move away from breaking down.


    Or maybe she had already broken down, that might explain her in her underwear, or maybe it wouldn''t.


    Adius laid down next to her and watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She had resumed doing the impossible. Wasn''t the definition of insanity doing something over and over again and expecting different results? By that thought alone, Adius figured that she must be going insane.


    "I''m not actually counting the stars." He heard from next to him. "I''m just acknowledging them. You know that when you ignore the memory of something, it starts to fade, and soon enough, you won''t even remember what it is that was so important to you. I would never want to forget a night full of stars like this."


    He didn''t know what to say, so what came out was the first thing that came to mind. "If you wanted to remember, couldn''t you just take a picture? That way you could always have it with you?" The girl had stopped everything she was doing as soon as he spoke.


    Adius immediately figured that he had said something wrong.


    She sat up, the light followed and illuminated her every move. Adius followed what she was looking at and realized that there was a grasshopper sitting on her knee. She smiled at it and gave it a little push in the direction of the semi-tall grass.


    "You and everyone else don''t seem to realize just one important thing." She turned to look at him and he swears to this very day that her eyes sparkled, and it wasn''t a byproduct of any reflections. "It''s not mines to have forever. I shouldn''t be able to hold something as big and as beautiful as galaxies in my hands, that isn''t the way it should be. Besides, I could never capture what I actually see on film."


    That''s when she finally stood.


    She grabbed her long and flowing maxi skirt from off of the ground and slipped it on. After she pulled her peasant styled shirt on and tucked it in, she held out her hand and with the most gorgeous smile Adius had ever bared witness to, she said, "I forgot to tell you, I''m Corrina Nova, but you can call me Hope." "

 Revelation 1 (A.H Week 1)

    you spun golden silk out of your words, then danced in the fabrics with a grace that ballet dancers wished they possessed


    you had such a passion for the arts, that half the time you didn''t even know what to do with yourself


    i''m not like you, hope


    i can''t hold that type of fire in me like you couldThis narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    that''s why i can''t write about anything but you


    i can''t hold you in me because it''s only a matter of time before i burn out


    you don''t know how much i wish i was like you, you don''t know how much i plead with myself to see the world like you did, if only so that i can feel you beside me


    i''m not smart like you were, you know that


    so i need you to tell me what to do, tell me what i can do to make it better


    i just need you to talk to me like how you used to, i just need to hear you right now


    because the other voices won''t stop, they won''t be quiet and i''m not smart like you, i can''t figure out how to shut them up


    i need your help hope


    i need you, Hope.

 Letter To Adonis (B.H day 7)

    I like you.


    I like you in a way that I''ve never liked another person before, and I know you won''t believe me because of what everyone thinks of me. You won''t believe me because you think I''ve been around with just about everyone at our school.


    You aren''t exactly wrong to think that, but you are wrong to not believe me. I''m usually very good with words, but when I think of you... I get this ache in my chest and in my head and it makes it so hard to put words into sentences.


    It''s like you make me sick, but in the best way imaginable, and that makes it hard to stay away when I know I should. That''s probably why I did what I did that night, why we did what we did.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Do you know that I noticed you even before that night. I noticed you noticing me, and I know that''s weird... and kind of creepy, but I did. I would watch you in the theater while I practiced. I would glance at you in the cafe with your mix''n''matched group of friends.


    You always looked so-almost unnaturally- happy.


    I almost hated you for a time, and I know you might find that hard to imagine as well.


    But then you walked up to me and tried to get me to talk. That''s why I''m starting to write these to you. I want you to have something from me for when I''m gone because I know we will grow close, and I know what you''ll feel when I''m gone.


    Bye for now Adonis


    -signed your hope

 the thing that angels danced around (B.H day1)

    "     They had done more than talk that night. Corrina Nova, grateful for the chance to talk to someone that would listen, had propositioned Adius a night of fun. It had started with the offer of a ride. She could somehow sense that he had wanted to be anywhere but there.


    She had taken his hand during the introduction and motioned for him to stand. Her skin was warm and smooth like the petals of a flower during a summer''s sunrise. He had watched her lips move and with each bend and scrape of her teeth, he fell further into a daze.


    He had nodded when she had paused only so that he could hear her velvety voice again. But she had given him something better. Her smile, the thing that angels danced around, made the moon''s light look like a barely charged flashlight.


    "Well, come on then,"  she had articulated. With the slightest tug on his wrist, she was running.


    And he was chasing.


    Hope had to grab onto the slippery fabric of her skirt as she danced through the garden and into the main portion of the backyard. Her sandals made no noise as she lightly hit the ground with each step, and her laugh was the only sound that mattered to Adius.


    He was a fool for blindly following her, but he didn''t care.


    He was young, he was allowed to make mistakes.


    The chase landed them next to a black Jeep Wrangler, and soon it landed them in it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Do you want to come to my place? While it''s no New York skyline, my apartment does have a decent view. I''m sure we could find things to keep us occupied once staring out of my window gets boring." Again, he had just nodded so that she would keep talking to him.


    And she did. For once, he actually liked listening to someone that wasn''t himself, and he could tell she liked talking. She spoke about the party. About how the grass felt on her bare back. About how lonely it was living alone. About how she was happy that he was going to keep her company for the night.


    His silence and patient eyes made her spill everything and anything.


    Before long, they had entered her gated community. From the lights to the plants, the whole place looked like money.


    Hope smiled at Aduis one more time as she pulled up next a set of luxury apartments. She hopped out and he followed, and soon they made their way into her home. Aduis hadn''t even closed the door behind him when the girl made of flowers and light snuck an arm around his neck and pulled him to her.


    She could hear the surprised sound pass his lips and fall into hers and she sent a laugh back in return. By the time he had fumbled to lock the door, she had already slid out of her shaggy skirt and was beginning to slip her cream shirt over her head.


    "Wait, wait, wait. What''s going on?" Aduis had managed to get out in between his heavy breathing. His eyes were wide and his face was the perfect picture of confusion. He could obviously put two and two together, but he wasn''t going to assume that he was going to get some, even with the half naked girl standing right in front of him, running her hands all over him.


    "We''re going to have sex." It was as simple as that.


    He had nodded his head like a good little boy because, a: he had no strings attached to him and, b: he was a teenage boy at the height of the hormonal scale and he wasn''t going to pass up on Corrina Nova when she wanted him.


    So he allowed her to lead him by the collar of his shirt into her humongous room where they stayed up until the sun was rising. There, he got the chance to compare and he realized that she indeed did shine brighter than the star that made the world go around.     "

 she left them with nothing (B.H day 2)

    "     The next day had been torture for Adius and he couldn''t figure out why until classes started. He had gone home and changed after having a slow conversation with his father about his troublesome partying habits, then he had headed to school in his normal way.


    After parking, he had been greeted by his normal group of friends, which mostly consisted of people from each category of his school. There were the painters, the writers, the music producers and the singers. Not to mention the dancers, God did he love the dancers.


    Adius attended RHSA. Ranson''s High School for the Arts. This school focused mainly on the arts, but of course was required to have the basic core classes as well. It was a charter school that had A and B days to encompass the required courses as well as the courses that the students and parents wanted more focus on.


    Aduis'' endorsements -something like the high school equivalent of a major- were art, focusing more on the digital aspects, and novel composition.  A lot of endorsements overlapped, like how drama students were required to take certain literature classes with writers, and like how singers were required to take at least one year of drama for stage preperation.


    Being that Aduis was a double endorser, he had met quite a few people from different social groups that he got along with. The dancers had to be his favorite. They were also require to take drama.


    That Monday was a B day, meaning that all of his endorsement classes were that day. That also meant that he got to see Hope again. They hadn''t exchanged numbers, emails, or even social medias after their day of fun, so Adius had no idea how Hope felt about it.


    What he did know, was how he felt about it.


    He wanted to see her again and again, and maybe that was due to the fact that she completely rocked his world that night, or maybe it was because Adius, even though he would never admit it, was a bit of a hopeless romantic.


    He couldn''t help but think about what life would be like if he could make Hope his girlfriend.


    Today was his chance, he had theatre for the first hour, which was a class that he shared with the dancers. He would see Hope, and he would talk to her. At least, that''s what he told himself. As he hyped himself up, his friends chatted around him. With every step he took, he felt himself getting calm, almost smooth.


    The first bell rang and his group of friends split up. He walked into the echoing theatre with confidence that quickly evaporated when he saw Hope. She was smiling, her teeth shinning in the dim room. One of her hands was fixing her red flower crown while the other walked up the chest of Jeffrey Jones, the worst jock the school had ever had the pleasure of teaching.


    He was a male dancer, one of the school''s best.


    But what made him such an awful person was the fact that he totally abused his spotlight and talent. Whenever he had to lift a girl during a routine, he made damn sure to take a hard look under their skirts and there were even reports of alleged touching. Even their leotards didn''t protect them from Jones'' slimy eyes. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    What was even worse was that Hope and Jeffrey almost always did their duets together. They were the school''s best dancers after all, they were looking at a debut any day now. Adius glared at the hands that he knew felt like silk as they traveled up that prick''s chest.


    They had done the same thing and more to him the other night.


    "Hey, can you move. I need to get a seat up front," Someone had coughed out from behind him. He had half a mind to curse her out, but instead he apologized and moved aside.


    The girl stayed and watched him for a minute. She followed his eyes and rolled hers when she caught what he was looking at. "Really? She got to you too. There''s no guy she won''t touch. Don''t feel too bad though, she won''t last but a day with him. They were meant to dance together, not to be together." The girl had patted him on his shoulder and went on her merry way.


    She stopped and sat right next to Hope, and that''s when Adius made the connection. That was the second girl in Hope''s clique. Her name was Sinthea Marshall and she was the only female Hope had ever gotten close to.


    She didn''t even talk to her mother as much as she talked to Sinthea.


    Instead of continuing to stare like some kind of psychopath, Adius takes a seat on the opposite side of the theatre with his usual group of classmates. "Hey," He was greeted.


    "Sup," He had replied as he settled himself into the red cushioned seats. He got a few waves just as the final bell rang and the drama teacher walked herself up to the microphone. Moral of the story is, he blocked her out while he eye stalked Hope.


    Adius was a jealous guy by nature. He was an only child that was used to getting everything he wanted and some, so as he watched her continue to giggle and play with her hair and touch that jerk Jeffrey anywhere she could, he felt his rage boiling even though he had no right to be angry.


    That was what Corrina did. She was gorgeous, smart, wealthy, and overall nice. She could have any female or male she wanted, so she did. Then she left them with nothing but the memory of her body on theirs and whispers of naughty nothings.


    And you couldn''t even be mad at her because she was just the sweetest thing the world had ever seen.


    Most people who had gotten to spend even an hour with her had just been grateful in silence and left her be, but he couldn''t.


    He had gotten her in his system, and like a junkie, he had to have more. So when the dismissal bell rung, he had sprung up and rushed to where she was gently waving her friends off while she packed up. "I''ll meet you guys outside. I think I''ll be a minute." He swore she knew he was going to come up to her before he did.


    She had smiled up at him while she had spoken in a voice that sounded like a morning on the beach. "Hi Adius. How''s your morning going?" He couldn''t get over how her cheeks seemed to always be perked up.


    "Terrible," He had accidentally spit out. Her smile had lost a little bit of its glow and he immediately felt bad. "I mean, it''s better now that I''m talking to you." She perked up again.


    "That''s good Adius. I''m happy to hear that I can make you feel better, even if it''s just a little bit." You see. It was impossible to be mean or bitter to someone that talked like that. "I have to go now. I hope your day gets better though." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek as she finished putting her bag on.


    He was stunned for only a moment as she started to walk away. "Wait, Hope!" He had called out. And she had. He had walked up to meet her, and before he lost the courage, he had asked, "Can I have your number? So we could maybe hang out sometime?" Her smile had blinded him.


    Her laugh had stunned him.


    Her words had left him empty yet so full of Hope.


    "You already have my number dummy. I snuck it into your phone while you were passed out the other night." She waved as she backed away. "Bye Adonis." She had laughed even louder at her new nickname.


    That was the first time she had called him that, it was the clue that led him to figuring out where she had hidden her number as well, and it was the inspiration behind their first date.     "

 Letter To Adonis 2 (B.H day 13)

    I adore you.


    I think it started right after the first time we were together. I remember the beating of my heart as I snuck your phone, the one you left unprotected. I don''t know why I made it into a little game, maybe I just wanted to see if you''d play for me.


    I had thought of the first word that had popped into my head as I stared at you sleeping. Adonis. I remember thinking. Of course it was because of your beauty and not because I think you vain. That''s when it started.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I can remember planting my number in your phone and thinking, "If he doesn''t text me in two days, I''ll give up." I love that it didn''t take you that long to figure me out. Adius, I''ve been wanting to tell you something for a while now. I don''t know if I should. Sinthea said I shouldn''t, and I always listen to her.


    But... I want you to know. Maybe one day I''ll get the courage to tell you, or maybe you''ll find out the hard way. I hope you don''t. I hope you love me forever, and I know that if you ever find out what I''ve been keeping from you, you won''t.


    You''ll...


    Bye for now Adonis


    -signed your hope

 the fairest youth that ever maidens dream conceived (B.H day 2)

    " Adius had squinted over his phone for the rest of the day. He had slacked off in creative writing, novel composition, digital media, and his second drama class. Then when he had made it to lunch, he had finally begun to think. "Maybe she gave me some sort of hint and I just haven''t realized it yet," He had pondered out loud.


    "Anybody know what he''s talking about?" Someone in his inner circle had asked while biting into his soggy chicken sandwich. Everyone at his round table proceeded to shrug and continue on with what they were originally doing.


    Adius paid them no mind.


    "Adius?"


    He started playing with the buttons on the side of his phone while he thought.


    "Adius?"


    He ran his hand over his head. "Maybe it was something she said..." He had whispered.


    "Adius!" Finally having enough of being ignored, Sam, a close female friend, flicked him on his neck and ignited an understanding in the boy. His eyes had widened and a smile had made it''s way to his face.


    "Adonis..." He had said out loud as he turned his screen back on. He pulled the top part of his screen down to see his notifications. A Book of Myths, a novel composed by Jeanie Lang, a book he would have never had any interest in, had been downloaded on his phone.


    The Amazon notification had been on his notification bar for a while and he hadn''t paid it any mind. He clicked on it while Sam clicked her tongue in irritation. She was being ignored again. After he opened it up a tip about highlighting passages in the book popped up and he figured he''d start there.


    He read the names of every chapter until he found The Death Of Adonis, a title that was more than a little eerie considering it was what Hope had called him. ""The fairest youth that ever maiden''s dream conceived."" He had read to himself.


    It was highlighted and tagged with a note. ''You actually listened to me'' Then her number was typed right after that. With a grin that could only be described as one of pure victory, he copied the number into his contacts and immediately sent her a text.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    A: ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING TODAY?


    He couldn''t even wait for a response. He had started looking all around the lunchroom in search of Hope so that he could witness her reaction to the message. It took maybe three minutes before he finally spotted her, and when he did, she was looking right at him with her signature bright smile.


    H: NOT REALLY. WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND?


    They went on to text the rest of the lunch period. Anyone with eyes could see that they were truly invested in the conversation. Their peers opted to leave them be, even as the lunch bell rung.


    Hope skipped over to him and gave him a hug. "We''ll meet after the last class, right?" The tight feeling in Adius'' chest expanded at the sight of the curly haired beauty clinging to his side. He had nodded and tried to play it cool, but on the inside he was panicking like no other.


    He was a good looking guy, but he was never really been anyone''s first choice. That wasn''t to say that he hadn''t dated at all. Because he had.


    He had just never dated anyone on the same level as Hope. She was everything that girls and women alike aspired to be. And Adius had a chance with her, like a real chance. He didn''t want to mess it up, so he figured the best plan of approach was to act like this was something he did every day.


    "Yeah, then we can go from there." He had actually mustered up the bravery to kiss her on the forehead that day, and the expression on her face after made him think that he had just showed her a diamond ring the size of Texas with her name engraved on the band.


    "Okay." She was suddenly shy. Her cheeks had reddened and her hands had gone to mess with the faux flower crown. It was almost like she was thinking of a way to end the encounter when she heard, "HOPE! Come on already."


    Her tight knit group of three were waiting for her by the entrance of the lunchroom. When Hope left to meet them with a wave to Adius, they looked like nothing less than a group of celebrities. And that had less to do with the fact that they were and more to do with the fact that they all had a certain presence that made people want to watch them.


    Hope was the darling sweetheart that just so happened to be a little less innocent than people thought. Sinthea was the scalding princess with eyes that could melt even the coldest of beings in seconds. That jerk Jeffrey was the pretentious all American boy that happened to be perfect at everything. And Kia, the final group member was a mystery to all but his three friends.


    No one quite knew how he fit in with the two princess and prince, but he did so effortlessly. And so no one questioned it. Jeffery laid his arm across Hope''s shoulder as soon as she got close and the group left, leaving an anxious and excited Adius in the lunchroom with nothing but the janitors.


    Adius went to the rest of his classes with a nervous smile on his face and thoughts of the evening on his mind. "

 Revelation 2 (A.H Week 3)

    you pushed pretty little lies out through your gritted teeth and formed pretty little smiles to follow after them


    i was enchanted and who wouldn''t be, a beautiful girl like you only came around once in a lifetime, and i don''t just mean beauty as in face


    i mean beauty as in soul


    as in body


    as in heartIf you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    but those were words i never expressed because deep down, i knew you were keeping something from me, so i kept this from you


    now i regret it everyday


    no one knows now


    no one knows where you are, no one knows who you were, and i can''t figure out why


    it''s driving me insane that no one remembers like me, why don''t they remember


    why can no one but me see you, why are you doing this to me, Hope


    i want to talk about the way you danced in the mud on rainy days, i want to talk about the pictures you painted that hung in the halls at school, i want to talk about that picture of you that sat in the glass case from that art show that you won


    but no one saw the footprints you trailed back into the dance hall, no one sees the lightest parts of the walls where your framed pieces used to hang, no one remembers the face of the girl that smiled at everyone in the main hall


    and i can''t understand why


    please help me understand why

 even the vilest of men would fall victim (B.H day 31)

    " Time had passed and the two had ultimately gotten closer. Closer than Adius had ever gotten with a girl in such a short amount of time.


    "Stop it!" Hope giggled as Adius proceeded to grab her by her calves and drag her off of her bed. She had thrown her arms back to try to grab onto one of the posts, but ultimately failed.


    "No. Get up, let''s go do something." Adius had whined as he cradled the laughing girl right as she fell off of the bed. She whined a protest right back and started to wiggle around in his arms.


    "No." She whined. "We went out to the bowling alley yesterday. Let''s stay in today, it''s Sunday. It''s a day of peace and restoration Adonis." He scrunched up his eyebrows.


    "Why do you insist on calling me that. I''d be cool with like, Andy, or maybe even Addie, but Adonis... Really?" He had kind of grown used to the name, as it was the one thing Hope was really stubborn about.


    She had shrugged. "I like it, you don''t seem to hate it, so is there really a problem?" She looked up at him with her normal watery puppy eyes, a weapon that even the vilest of men would fall victim to. This had become a normal thing for them over the past month.


    Adius would come over to her luxury apartment, a place that she herself owned, and they would spend the day either thinking of what to do over the weekend, or just talking on her floor. Sometimes they even did homework, though it was very unlikely. They had binged three TV shows and became fans of the Jeepers Creepers series together within the span of that month.


    Their relationship was honestly the greatest thing to happen to him in a while. Even his dad had noticed a difference in his behavior. Lets not forget the fact that Hope had actually met his father too.


    Though she hadn''t extended the favor his way. That thought was something that weighed heavily on his mind at times like this. He seemed to put just a little more effort into their relationship than she did. She wouldn''t even call it that.


    The first and last time he had asked her to be his girlfriend, she had responded with, "Things are amazing between us, why potentially ruin that with a word that means something to only the people on the outside." In the sweetest voice imaginable. He couldn''t argue with that, could he? He couldn''t say that the label was indeed for the people on the outside because he was selfishly jealous and even a little insecure at times.


    "I suppose there isn''t one." He had mused with a little sigh at the thought of staying in. Hope''s phone disturbed the light silence and she turned to reach for it with a grunt.


    "Oh no," She had whispered. "Actually, I have company coming over today, so you need to get going." Adius felt that sting in his heart, and what seemed like salt in the wound was the fact that she didn''t even seem to realize that she hurt him at times.


    "Who''s coming over?" He had asked to try to deflect the almost subtle ache.


    Hope scrambled out of his lap and started to fix her hair. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, her bedroom door had burst open."Mama-bear, we''re hoooome!" The queen of interruptions sung. Sinthea had slowly become an enemy of the state when it came to Adius. He didn''t know why, but the girl seemed to hate him. It started soon after Adius'' and Hope''s first date.


    Sinthea had eyes the color of the purest ice. They were almost clear and they were almost always glaring at Adius. So he wasn''t surprised when he saw her charming smile, something he didn''t know she even possessed, turn into a burning glare.


    She turned to her best friend opting to completely ignore the half naked boy on her floor, and she grabbed her arm. She dragged Hope out of her own room and made sure to slam the door behind them.


    Adius just didn''t get it.


    He was a good guy with good intentions. He never did or said anything to paint him in any other light, so why did Sinthea hate him so much. He sighed again and put his shirt on while he waited.


    There was unintelligible screaming and a couple of wails that made it past the door. It had gotten to the point where he wondered if he should interfere. But before he could get up, Hope was walking back into her room with a sad smile made out of wobbly lips.Stolen story; please report.


    "Um, I think maybe we should pick this back up later." She actually sniffled. Anyone who made Hope cry was the spawn of Satan himself.


    Adius got up and immediately pulled Hope into a comforting hug. He glared at Sinthea over the sniffling girl''s shoulder while she actively avoided his gaze. "Are you sure you want me to go? Sinthea doesn''t exactly scream wonderful company..." That brought a little giggle out of her.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. And Sinthea is just doing her job." He didn''t understand, but he didn''t question it. He figured she would talk to him whenever she wanted to and he wouldn''t get a word out of her glossy lips otherwise.


    He nodded. "Okay. Text or call me later, alright." He felt it in his gut, the disturbance. He somehow knew, that once he left that room, things would change, but there was nothing he could really do.


    So he picked up his keys, put on his shirt, and with a defeated scowl on his face, he left the room. On his way out, he saw the rest of the group making themselves comfortable.


    The sight did nothing but infuriate him even further, and without another second of stalling, he left the condo with a slam of the expensive door.


    *


    Hope hadn''t called or texted that day. Nor did she text the next day.


    It was while Adius was changing in the boys'' locker room that she finally showed signs of being alive. His phone had buzzed while he was slipping his school shirt back on. He had picked up his phone, and his heart had skipped a beat when he had read the message that appeared on his screen.


    H: I''M WAITING ON YOU... CAN WE TALK TODAY?


    He didn''t bother replying. Instead, he set his phone on the bench while he tied his shoes. While he worked, he heard what he had originally thought to be gossip. "Yeah, apparently dude thinks he can turn a whore into a housewife. Everyone knows you can''t. It''ll just come back to bite you in the ass."


    He had rolled his eyes and chalked it up to guys being guys... until he heard Hope''s name come up. "Yeah, Corrina has tapped at almost half of the guys in this room at least once..." The voice trails off when the person speaking catches Adius looking around. "Shit," Someone whispers.


    Not being able to find who started the whispering, and not knowing what he would do even if he did find the culprit, he slams his locker door closed loudly, an act that brings the chaos to a standstill, and angrily leaves the room.


    Adius had known of the rumors that surrounded Hope before he had even spoken to her, they were usually small things about how she did enjoy laying with different guys and girls often. Or they were something along the lines of how she acquired her fortune at such a young age, but he had never had to deal with it since he had started talking with her.


    He wasn''t even surprised at how much it angered him that people were talking and looking at a girl that he considered to be his girlfriend, even if she wouldn''t claim the title, in such a negative way.


    It was after school time, so the hallways were relatively clear which made spotting Hope easier than usual, not that it was ever hard to find her in a crowd. Her already dim expression darkened when she saw Adius storming down the hallway.


    She walked out in front of him and pressed a hand to his cheek. "What happened?" He didn''t even want to look at her.


    What was said actually resonated in his head. A deep guilt crawled up his throat because he to some degree believed the words that were exchanged in that locker room. Hope didn''t want to date him, she wanted to play with him.


    A realization creeped up and pushed the guilt out of the way. "We won''t ever be together the way I want us to be, will we?" He had suddenly asked. Hope removed her hand slowly.


    "What kind of way do you want us to be together, Adonis?" He gave a deep roll of his eyes.


    "I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to go out on dates. I want to meet your parents. I want you to hang out with me and my friends. I want a relationship Corrina." That''s when she gave him a look that said she wanted the exact opposite, and Adius was so mad at himself for actually thinking she would want what he wanted. Corrina had made her intentions quite clear in the time that he had known her.


    She had let out a breath while staring at the ground before returning her gaze to him. "We were just having fun, Adius. Why couldn''t we just have fun?" Her eyes actually had the audacity to water like she hadn''t just crushed Adius without even speaking to him only seconds earlier.


    He had scoffed and licked at him lips, a frustrating habit he that he had acquired last year. "Were you..." He didn''t know how to word his question in a way that wouldn''t come off like something a douche would say. "Were you ever just exclusively with me?"


    A tear rolled delicately down her cheek as she shook her head and tried to avoid Adius'' brown eyes.


    He had nodded. "Figures. Now I have to go get tested. But it''s my fault for trying to turn a whore into someone I could take home to meet family." A sob left her mouth and Adius cursed her for being the only person in the world that could make crying look delicate and graceful.


    After he finished saying what he had to say, he had left her there with tears streaming down her rosy brown cheeks. Even as his chest tightened at the thought of leaving her there in such a state, his mind could only think, "There''s probably fifteen other people within a twenty foot radius that could come to her aid anyway." "

 I like him more than I liked the others (B.H day 31)

    For the first time in her limited years of life, Corrina Nova didn''t know how to feel. She knew that there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew that her left nostril had just gotten stuffed. She knew that her keys had just slipped through her fingers and fell onto the grimy floor, but she didn''t know how she felt about it.


    Soon enough, a hand that was meant to be comforting fell onto her shoulder. "Are you okay Ski¨¢, I heard what he said to you." It was Sinthea. The icy princess immediately melted when she was met with wet eyes and red cheeks.


    "Sinthea?" Corrina had called. Sinthea had responded with a soft yes. "How do I feel... about this?" Corrina had looked up at Sinthea with a facial expression that broke her heart into millions of pieces, and she swore that she would break that no good little boy the next time she saw him.


    "Oh honey," She had whispered because she didn''t know how else to respond. Sinthea and Corrina had been best friends since before she can remember and because of Sinthea''s fierce personality and Corrina''s... social innocence, Sin had always thought it her responsibility to protect her.


    The boys felt the same way.


    So seeing the confused yet broken expression resting on the face of the girl who never went more than two minutes without smiling, even while she was sleeping, fueled a burning rage that wouldn''t be put out by merely screaming at the cause of the problem.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Come on, lets go home," She had insisted, but Corrina was a statue that was too heavy to be moved.


    "How do I feel, Sinthea. Tell me." Sinthea shook her head in protest. No good would come out of opening her mouth up about this. Sinthea could see Corrina growing more attached to the boy everyday. This situation was a miracle in disguise, even if the weeping girl hadn''t seen it as that.


    If Sin told Corrina the truth, that the girl might actually stand a chance of falling in love with that stupid boy, everything would change and not for the better.


    Sin was going to hold out, she really was. But then she heard her voice, the voice of a woman with more power than anyone would ever know, and she broke. For some reason, everyone assumed that out of the four in their clique, that Sin ran things.


    But they were wrong.


    Sinthea didn''t run shit, and that much became evident when Corrina''s tears suddenly dried up, and her voice lost it''s previous warmness. Corrina had leaned up to whisper in her friend''s ear, "Answer me Sinthea." And a cold shiver had run down the redhead''s back. The hair on her neck stood up and there was nothing she could do to hold back the flood of words.


    It was like compulsion. "You care for the fool. You''re heartbroken and it''s all because you lost his affection, even if it''s only a temperary loss. You feel empty without him and it''s going to eat at you until you two make up." She hadn''t even meant to say the last bit, but nothing could be hidden from Corrina for long.


    Hope had shut her eyes to let the information sink in. Then she had nodded like she was only just realizing the statements were true. "You''re right. I like him more than I liked the others." She thought for a moment. "This isn''t good."


    A breath of relief left Sinthea. "You don''t say."


    "I have to fix this Sinthea. Help me." And so she would, because Corrina was Sinthea''s Ski¨¢, and she would do anything that girl told her to without a moment''s hesitation.

 Revelation 3 (A.H Week 5)

    i could never quite figure out why i became attached to you so quickly


    yes, i was a particularly romantic person, i believed in love and soulmates and forevers, but i never quite grew to like someone as fast as i had liked youEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    you had dug your way into my heart and all it took was a flash of your infamous smile and the trail of your finger up my arm


    and it had hurt, but for some reason it had seemed worth it


    til this day, even with the guilt of what i saw weighing on my heart, i still think you were worth it


    because in the few months that i had known you, gotten to experience you, i found myself, and i know that people say that you can''t truly know who you are when you''re this young, but you showed me


    and i thank you for that every night


    except for yesterday...


    i''m sorry

 Letter To Adonis 3 (B.H day 35)

    I forgive you.


    You were my first and only love, I think that much should be clear now. You came back to me, even with the whispers of the vipers hissing in your ears.


    Though you blurred my eyes with tears, I forgive you, because in that moment of blindness, I could see. You''re important, Adonis. More important that you know, more important than Sinthea knows.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    You have something in you that the others don''t, and maybe in the coming days, you''ll realize what it is, because I won''t tell you, that would spoil the surprise. What I will tell you though, is that I forgive you, because I know that in the end, you''ll always do right by me.


    I''ll be waiting for you.


    All you have to do is want me.


    All you have to do is remember me, and I''ll forgive you.


    I''ll come to you.


    -signed your hope

 at the sound of her name (B.H day 35)

    " Adius and Corrina had both done everything in their power to actively ignore each other, and in doing this, they had ripped open the smallest of wounds in their chests. As each day passed on, the tear grew larger and larger.


    But it was Hope''s gaping abyss that confused everyone around her, except Sinthea of course. Her dancing became lack luster and her voice no longer filled rooms. Her art became dark, and her journals were filled with page upon page of one word: Forget.


    She didn''t smile as she walked down the halls, and she didn''t speak with anyone outside of her circle. Her face, once the very definition of joy and peace, grew to resemble something cold. It wasn''t until Adius, in a fit of forgetfulness, ran into her, that he realized he had done more damage to her than she had to him.


    She had fallen backwards, her two notebooks and her one textbook had fallen out of her arms with a silencing thud. If it wasn''t for the fact that it wasn''t a passing period, Adius was sure all eyes would have been on them.


    He had offered her a hand to help her up, but she had looked through it. With moves that mimicked those of every zombie ever seen in the film industry, she began to collect her things. She didn''t seem completely there. "Hope?" Adius had called out.


    Not even her blinking pattern was disrupted by the sound of his voice. "Hope, are you feeling okay?" He could tell that she wasn''t alright. Bags hung under her eyes, her hair was thrown into an offensive bun with her normal crown of flowers missing. She wore black sweatpants with a hoodie that swallowed her whole.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    She had risen and tried to continue on her way.


    With a growl that anyone would have called inhuman, Adius had spun after her and put a hand on her arm to keep her from moving. "What the hell is this? You get to humiliate me for months on end then make me feel bad for not wanting to be your little play thing, how is that fair?"


    That was when she finally looked up. There was a moment where he thought he saw the sparkles return to her eye, but she turned away before he could further investigate it. "Is this not what you wanted Adius?"


    No Adonis, no smile, no flower crown.


    Maybe at the time that he was angry that entire picture would have satisfied him, but seeing her look so wilted because of him put an ache in his chest. The wound widened. Without letting his rational mind control his body, he had pulled the girl into his arms. "You know exactly what I wanted, and this isn''t it."


    Seeming to not know what else to do, Corrina gently placed her things on the floor, taking Adius with her, then rose back up to fully embrace him. "If you could just give me a real chance, I could make everything right. I don''t like to see you like this Hope."


    At the sound of her name, Hope had stilled. She had pressed her ear to his chest and had pleaded with him to, "Say my name again." And he had complied.


    "Hope. I''m sorry for what I said-" She had cut him off with a vigorous nod of her head. "Huh?" Adius had responded to the movement. Hope simply nodded again, her grasp around him tightening.


    "You forgive me?" She nodded into his chest again. "And you''ll try to be my monogamist girlfriend?" She nodded a little more hesitantly that time, and that had pulled a laugh from him.


    Adius hadn''t known it at the time, but that was the moment that solidified his destiny.


    That was the moment that truly marked him as Corrina Hope''s Adonis. Her saving grace."

 her blood was on his hands (B.H day 97)

    " It was around the third month into their rocky relationship that Adius had begun to experience something strange. When he was around her, it was like a dream. And they weren''t always good ones.


    He was also beginning to take notice of the obtuse changes in his girlfriend. While she had tried, in vain, to hide them from him, he was as perceptive as ever.


    It was a cold Friday afternoon, and Adius was frustrated from the hours of practice that he had just come from. Coach had worked all of the usual backup dancers to the bone trying to perfect the school''s biggest group piece of the year. That was the dance that all of the understudies, the one''s that only signed up for the class because they needed that one credit, were forced to participate in while all of the real dancers got their first true break of the year.


    Hope had left before him and had promised to come back so that they could ride to her place together. Adius was wiping at a little bit of sweat steadily pooling around his neck when Hope''s car had slowly inched up to him. He had peeked in through the closed window and the expression on Hope''s face made his heart beat at a speed he knew was unhealthy.


    Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. He had knocked on the door and received no reply. Hope just sat with both of her hands grasping the wheel, a thing she would never dare do because it made her look like a "ninety-five year old granny". They were clutching the wheel in such a way that her arms were forced to bend and her chest was pushed forward.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Her wild hair was pulled into a tragic high ponytail and if the strand that was haphazardly moving was anything to go by, she was shaking.


    But it was her face that had really made him anxious. There was something dangerous in it. Something cold. Something... harmful. "Corrina, what wrong?" He had asked as he had started knocking on the window. Again, she had ignored him. "Hope!" Finally, her eyes had snapped to meet his.


    Adius stumbled back.


    Something thick and dark was dripping from the inner corner of her left eye. Her face screamed for help, her cheeks bruised as if they were recently punched. Dropping his bag, Adius raced back to the car and started pulling on the handle. "Let me in! Hope, let me help you!"


    Her mouth had opened, the corners turned down in a permanent frown, and she cried out, "There''s only one way. Adius... do it!" Confused, he''d traced Hope''s eyes and found that she was staring at his hands.


    His mouth fell open and his eyes fell shut.


    It was everywhere.


    The blood was everywhere.


    Hope screamed and when Adius opened his eyes, he saw the body of his girlfriend in his arms.


    Her skull was cracked.


    Her eyes were dull.


    Her mouth was open.


    Her blood was on his hands. "

 Letter to Adonis 4 (B.H day 90)

    I''m sorry for you.


    I should have never pulled you in so deep, just know that I''m sorry for that. I should have known better. Even now, just writing these letters is a bad idea. But you have to know something. I can''t tell you. I really can''t even give you these letters, but you have to know.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    If these make it to you, then you know what happened to me.


    Believe everything you see Adius.


    And whatever you do, don''t trust a word out of my mouth.


    -signed your hope

 a figment of his imagination (B.H day 97)

    "  Almost as soon as the illusion had clouded Adius'' mind, it was gone. He was somehow sitting in the car next to Hope. His backpack was on the floor behind his seat, and his hand was grasping the seat belt buckle. Blinking, Adius looked around.


    Hope was driving, her normal carefree smile gracing the bottom half of her face. Her right hand was lazily draped over the wheel while her left was tapping out a little beat. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and he swore in that little second of eye contact he saw something akin to realization.


    He made himself look away.


    His hand''s were clammy and his heart was racing, the fear still hadn''t left his system.


    "Addie?" He had distantly heard. "Addie... there''s something I have to do today. Is it alright if I just drop you off, we can hang out tomorrow? I''m sure you''re tired anyway from practice." Her eyes stayed on the road, and Adius found that he liked it better that way.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    There was something in him that hadn''t settled, something that, when faced with the picture of Hope, screamed and clawed at him. He swallowed the building saliva in his mouth and turned to look out of the window. "Yeah, I am pretty tired. I uh, I actually have something I need to do tomorrow though."


    He could feel her eyes burning into the side of his face as she pulled to a stop in front of his house. He had clambered out without so much as a wave in her direction and had entered his home almost as quickly. The soreness in his muscles was forgotten.


    The fatigue pulling his eyes closed from the inside was pushed away.


    All he could think about was the blood. It was dark, almost black, and thin. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Hope''s body. Dragging his hand down his face, he paced the entrance of his home. What had it been? A daydream? A mirage? Maybe he had fallen asleep in Hope''s car.


    That was right! It all had to have been a dream.


    Nodding, Adius had resolved to forget about it. It was just a figment of his imagination. It was just the exhaustion from the hours of exercise getting to him. And that was that. He had gone to his bedroom and fallen face first into his bed right after that.


    The look on Hope''s cold lifeless face never quite left him though. "

 hundreds of different faces (B.H Day 97)

    There was a tingling that spread throughout Corrina''s body as she had driven away from Aduis'' house. Her nails felt heavy, and a deep pain had bloomed behind her eyes. The throbbing had gotten so bad that she had to pull into the parking lot of a convenience store.


    She knew what this meant, but she didn''t want to believe it. "No," she had whispered. "It''s too early. Not yet, please." The people that walked past looked at her in confusion. Some even went as far to avoid the terribly parked vehicle. As she pounded against the wheel of her car, she pleaded, "Please. I''m begging you."


    As a striking flash of agony rolled over her head, she knew she had her answer. Corrina wiped the base of her hand against her closed eyes. When she pulled them back, a liquid, thin and black greeted her. She felt her lip tremble.


    She was moments away from doing something that would most likely get her arrested when her phone rang. Pushing a button on her steering wheel, she answered, "Yes?" She could hear heavy breathing over the line.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "Ski¨¢. We have to do it," Sinthea responded. "You know we can''t hold on for long." Corrina had nodded, because what Sinthea said was true. If they were to betray their orders, they wouldn''t last long. And it wasn''t like she no longer believed in the cause. She just... she didn''t want to go yet.


    The look on Adius'' face came to mind when she said, "Yeah. Tonight. We''ll do it tonight. Eleven thirty. Don''t wait for me." She hung up her phone and searched for something to clean her hands on. She sat in silence, every important moment that she had ever experienced flashing through her mind.


    She saw every hand she ever touched, every smile she''d ever received. She saw thousands of pairs of unique eyes and hundreds of different faces. She was at a loss for words, yet she still found it in herself to send a text to Adius.


    She wanted to meet him.


    She wanted to say goodbye.


    She wanted to warn him.


    When he responded with a text that said he would meet her at his neighborhood park in ten minutes, she had already pulled out of her parking spot and shifted into drive.

 Revelation 4 (A.H Week 6)

    i got a package in the mail yesterday


    i almost didn''t open it, but then i saw that it was from you


    when i first laid eyes on your handwriting, crooked and curly, i almost broke downDid you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    even from beyond the grave you thought of me... but i''m forgetting you


    no matter how hard i keep trying to remember, you''re fading from my head


    i haven''t opened it yet, i want it to last


    i want to keep it fresh so that when the day comes that i forget what color your eyes were or my head refuses to recall if you spelled your name with one r or two, i''ll have something to remind me


    but for now, i''ll just say thank you


    thank you for remembering me even when i''m forgetting you

 it was too late (The Last Day B.H)

    " When Adius left the house that night, he had no idea of the storm brewing in Hope. He didn''t know of the things that were on her mind, he didn''t know what she was going to do. What he did know, was that when they finally met up later that night, she seemed fine.


    She had changed her clothes at some point and even done her hair. She had looked more like herself then than she had in the last few months. She looked beautiful, and the sight of her calmed him. "Hey," She had whispered as he walked up to her, the mulch sinking beneath his feet. She was swinging lightly on the yellow rusty old swing set, her legs crossed at the ankle and her toes pointed under her pretty black maxi skirt.


    Weaved into the curls of her hair was a red rose crown that she had probably made herself. She waved at him as he sat on the swing beside her. "Hey," He had replied. He didn''t feel like he was dressed for the occasion, but then again, it didn''t matter how he looked because Hope always managed to outshine everything and everyone around her.


    When she stared at him, he noticed a bit of black lining the bottom of her eye. "Are you wearing makeup?" He smiled as he pointed to her face. He liked that she was trying again, even if he couldn''t figure out why.


    She had gone to wipe at her eye with a little bit of a huff. "No, actually." Adius noticed that her tone had gotten a little dejected, so he had stood up and started to push her swing. A startled laugh had left her and filled him with something warm. Just being with her made him feel like he was at home.


    So the two had spent the majority of that night just being with each other.


    They swung on the swings and hung upside down on the monkey bars. They ran around the jungle gym and hid in the little tree house.


    Adius had loved every second of it.


    Until things turned dark.


    They had started to walk to the store to get a few things to snack on when Hope had asked what time it was. "Umm..." He pulled out his phone and read the time. "It''s eleven-fifteen. Christ, my dad''s going to kill me when I get home." He had laughed, but Hope had stilled.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Licking her lips, she had said, "Adius, I want to tell you something."


    "Yeah, you can tell me anything. You know that." That was it. It was finally time for the big reveal that Adius had been waiting for for only God knows how long.


    He was ready to sit and talk and listen. But then she pulled her hand away from his. "Actually... I have to go." Then she tried to run away, but Adius was so sick and tired of her running from him. She was hiding something, and she was so close to finally spilling it that Adius could almost taste the non-toxic relationship that would have surely followed the revelation.


    In an act of frustration, he had run after her and grabbed her by the wrist.


    And she had screamed in agony.


    Releasing her, he found that his hand was covered in something sticky and dark. Hope had whimpered as Adius stared at his hand in horror. "Corrina... Are you okay?" He had finally found it in himself to ask.


    The girl had crumbled to the ground, gripping at her arm, the arm that he knew would be covered in the same liquid that was clinging to the skin on his palms. She faced away from him, but from the shaking of her shoulders, he knew that she was crying.


    Walking up to her cautiously, he tried to pat her back, he tried to console her, but she scampered away at his touch. Had he done this? Had he hurt her? "Adius... I''m so sorry. I''m so sorry. I have to go." She got up and tried to run.


    And again, Adius reached for her, but his time he forced the girl to face him.


    He stumbled back at the sight.


    "What the hell?" He had whispered into the cold night air. Her eyes...


    Corrina began to back away. "No... Don''t look at me, just listen!" She had screamed hopelessly. He couldn''t take his eyes away from her face. It was the fuel of nightmares. She was a nightmare. "We- We''ll be back, Adius. Warn them! If things don''t change, he''ll make us come back!" The same substance that covered his hand began to fall from her mouth, yet she didn''t choke on it.


    "What''s wrong with you?" He hadn''t known what else to say as he watched the skin on his girlfriend''s face peel like an old label. He pinched his arm, his skin throbbed in response. "This has to be another daydream," He had mumbled to himself, blinking deeply.


    He was going crazy.


    She shook her head, her eyes filled with all of the answers, yet the boy couldn''t see a single one of them. She took another step back. "Don''t look," She pleaded. But he couldn''t tear his eyes away as she took another step. He wouldn''t dare. Not when he was so sure that the world was going to go back to normal at any second.


    By the time he realized what she was doing, it was too late.


    One last, "Don''t look." left her mouth before she threw herself in front of a honking truck. Her head hit the windshield with a terrifying crack. A scream left his mouth. One, two, three, four wheels ran over her bleeding body in two different places.


    Tires screeched and brakes worked overtime to pull the vehicle to a stop, but it was too late.


    She was gone.


    And all he had done was stand there and gape. "

 the blossoming feeling of Hope

    ACT II: Finding Hope


    Not knowing what else to do, Adius closes his laptop. This is it, that was the last of everything that he could recall from his time with Corrina. He had spent days, weeks even, trying to find the right words to describe their relationship. He doesn''t know what to do now that he''s reached the end, if you can even call it that.


    Adius liked to write. Before everything happened, he reveled in his ability to put words to the unthinkable, but now after the last sentence of their story had stared at him for days, he knows that that would be the last word he ever wrote. He doesn''t have it in him anymore. Not when everything is starting to feel like fiction.


    The boy is sitting at his desk, staring at his fingers when his dad walks into his room.


    He doesn''t even bother to cry about the fact that the man didn''t knock. He had lost his fight months ago. "Come on, get up, we''re going out." Adius opens his mouth to protest, but his dad raises his hand firmly. "No. I''m tired of seeing you sulking around in your room all day. I swear if I ever find the girl that did this to you..."


    Adius had tired of trying to explain to his dad that he had met that girl and loved her. He also tired of trying to remind people of who she was. Her face was plastered everywhere in town, yet no one could recall who she was or how long she''d been here. It was terrifying, and it made him question everything that he knew. If he were to die tomorrow, would he be forgotten next?


    Instead of dwelling, he rises from his desk and puts on his shoes. "Where are we going?" He asks his dad as they exit his room. He doesn''t really care. When Adius talks now-a-days, it''s mostly just to appear normal. He has nothing of substance to say anymore.


    His dad tosses his keys in the air, catching them with a conspirator''s smile growing on his face. "We''re going to Dahlia''s." Adius holds in his sigh. His dad had been trying to set him up with his friend''s daughter for years. They had met when they were children due to the fact that their parents are drinking buddies, but they didn''t really hang out unless forced to.


    They lived in different neighborhoods, went to different schools, and overall had totally different interests. There was absolutely no chemistry and they were barely acquaintances as it was. But there was no use arguing with his dad when he had been a little bastard for the better part of two months.


    His father didn''t understand what was going on with him, but from what Adius can tell, it isn''t really his fault. At times like this, he begins to wonder if he had imagined it all. Had he made the girl and her friends up? Is he crazy?


    No, he can''t be. No one can come up with a story that feels so real, not even him.


    The drive is long, tense, and filled with the sound of the car''s wheels turning over uneven roads.


    When they arrive, Dahlia is already waiting in the front of the house. She''s in a white tank top, white cardigan, and black shorts. Her wavy black hair is pulled into a bun and her lips are pulled into a small polite smile. "Hey. Long time no see little dude." Dahlia is nearly Adius'' height. She''s also two months older than him, and she never lets him forget it.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    As he wraps an arm around her waist, he whispers, "Good to see you." A frown mares the girl''s features at the lackluster response. Adius was usually always ready to argue with her. He would say something about her needing heels to be taller than him or he would point out that she was a centimeter away from failing the school year and was about to be left behind. Then she would punch his arm and huff as she spun away, and he would chase after her with a smug smile on his face.


    His expression was off-putting as well. "My dad''s in the back Mr Al," She states as she continues to look at the boy''s distressed face. As his dad leaves, she asks him, "Okay, what''s up? What''s wrong with you?" He wasn''t going to say anything. Really, he had resolved to live the rest of his days in somber silence. But then he sees himself reflected in Dahlia''s nearly black eyes.


    He sees the bags under his eyes and the permanent frown in his brows. And he breaks.


    In all the time that had passed, Adius had managed to keep his tears to himself. He had managed to keep it together. But he can''t anymore. His mouth opens and everything just spills out. "She''s gone." He cries. "Dahlia, she''s gone and no one cares." A tightness builds in his chest and a ball forms in his throat. He''s suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.


    The girl steps forward and wraps her arm around him, pulling his head to her shoulder. She licks her lips, uncertain as she rubs his back. Adius lets himself shudder and shake on her shoulder, tears slipping down his cheeks and burying themselves in between the fabric of her knitted cardigan.


    He can see the blood and the glass from the SUV''s windshield. He can see her twitching fingers and her matted hair embedded in the truck''s grill. But he can''t see her face, not anymore. Dahlia begins to move them into the house.


    She somehow gets them to her room and she somehow gets him settled on her bed. She then gets him to open up. He tells her everything. He tells her how they met, how she made him feel, how beautiful he thought she was, how tragically she died. And she sits there and she listens, giving her shoulder and her acknowledgement at the right times.


    By the end of his story, his eyes have dried and his head has gained a steady pulsing pain. Dahlia sits, thinking. "There''s one thing I don''t get," She starts, turning back to face him. "Why haven''t you opened her package?" He shrugs.


    Rubbing at his nose, he responds, "Out of fear I guess. I don''t want to ruin what''s in it, and I also don''t want to acknowledge what it means." Her eyebrows scrunch up, so he elaborates. "She sent the package before she died, wouldn''t that mean that she had been planning to kill herself? I don''t want to think about the fact that she had been suicidal and I hadn''t even noticed."


    He also doesn''t want to accept what he might have seen that night.


    He rises, wiping at his eyes. "I''m going to go fix my face before they call us down to eat." He leaves before she can say anything else. Entering the bathroom, he turns on the faucet and starts to rinse his face. He sighs, the cool water feels refreshing against his hot skin.


    Eyes closed, he lifts his head.


    "Adonis?"


    His eyes snap open.


    "Adonis?" He turns as his eyes meet hers through the mirror. "What the hell?" He asks himself.


    "I missed you," The girl says, her brown eyes murky with tears. She looks just like she did the first day he met her. Her curls are as wild as ever and interwoven is a string of yellow flowers. She wears a maxi skirt and a loose blouse. Her feet are bare, her toes painted white. She stands right in front of him.


    Turning, Adius walks to her, hand out as if to touch her face. "Hope?" The word sounds broken as it slips off of his tongue. She nods her head, tears springing loose. When his hand almost makes it to her cheek, she pulls away.


    "I need your help, Adonis." He can''t control his body as his head nods.


    "Anything," He voices. He would do anything for her, even ignore the rational.


    "It''s time to bring me back..." She leans forward again. Her plush lips are painted red, and they''re the only thing he can stare at. "You can bring me back, Adonis... Open the package... Bring me back." His eyes close as her lips brush his, but suddenly the sensation is gone and a banging on the door is all he can hear.


    When his eyes open, she''s gone, but she left with him the blossoming feeling of Hope.

 i can go home

    The rest of the day at Dahlia''s passes by in a blur. All Adius can see is Hope and home and the package. On the ride back, he''s anxious. So anxious that his leg is bouncing and his fingers are tapping obnoxiously on the window. His dad, noticing it all, decides not to comment on it.


    He also keeps his words to himself as his son flies from the car before he can even properly park the vehicle. Adius is up the stairs and in his room before he can get through two breaths, his hand searching for the package under his bed not even a moment later.


    He doesn''t waste any time opening it either. Through his nerves, he manages to carefully tear the top portion of the envelope off and slide the contents out. He tosses the envelope and settles the contents that Hope had left him on his bed.


    He doesn''t know what to make of it, so he reaches for the thing that might explain everything. A black leather-bound book is what he picks up. The cover is worn and a strip of extra leather is wrapped around several times to hold its contents in place. The strap has intricate leather work that leads him to believe this book might be some kind of collectible. Adius unwraps it, his hands trembling.


    Opening the cover, a woodsy scent immediately envelopes him. It fills the room and him with something warm. He shakes his head and swallows. On the inside of the front cover the number four is written and scratched into the leather. It covers nearly every empty portion of exposed space. His brows furrow, but he flips through a couple more pages, and eventually comes across something that looks a lot like a journal entry.


    It''s titledLetter to Adonisand dated months ago.


    He does the only thing he really can and reads. His eyes follow every twirl and dip and curve that he knows was drawn by Hope''s steady hand. And when he finishes that entry he moves on to the next. Questions start to jumble his head and ring in his ears as his eyes trail her words, her thoughts. What hadn''t she told him? What could have been so important- so urgent- yet not?


    He flips the page again.


    His eyes fill with tears that he refuses to shed.


    His lips tremble but he doesn''t acknowledge them.


    He reads and he feels her fear, her worry, herlove.In her third entry, he can feel that air of whimsical energy that initially drew him to her. She was like a trickster faerie that wanted someone to play with. But in her fourth letter, he feels nothing but fear and anxious energy.


    She was scared of something, absolutely terrified, if the tone and the shakiness of her writing is anything to go by. His breathing nearly stops as he reads her final line:"don''t trust a word out of my mouth". Rearing back, he whispers to himself, "What the hell?" The tingles shooting up his spine and the goosebumps now on his arms lead him to close the book.


    Hands at his face, he sighs. Absolutely nothing has changed.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Adius kicks off his shoes and draws his legs up to his chest. He rests his head on his knees and closes his eyes. He had hoped the package would shed some light on the situation. He had hoped for answers of some kind, but that obviously isn''t what he''s getting. He never really got what he wanted when it came to that girl.


    She always had a knack for manipulating situations to her liking. Even beyond the grave, she was still getting her way.


    As he rubs at his eyes something thuds beside him and he jumps from the bed. Next to where he had sat, the leather book lays open, the pages lifting and flipping in front of his very eyes. They stop at a page about half way through. "Hope?" He calls out quietly.


    The boy receives no response, and instead of taking the rational route and high tailing it straight out of his haunted house, he takes several steps closer to the possessed book. He bends over it and glances over the page. It seems like it lists the steps to something.


    Squinting, Adius reads out loud, "Number one,


    He is to thee,


    What thou is to me,


    A whisper and a spell,


    A drop within a well,


    A shiver and a drawl,


    A sound bouncing from the wall,


    A moment then shall pass,


    A particle in the glass,


    Then the beating of several hearts,


    Will beat-- rhythms in each part"


    And while he bends over the strange leather book, trying in vain to decipher the rhyming words, that familiar feeling of warmth comes over him. He looks up, and their eyes meet once again. To see her smile is almost heartbreaking. The boy can''t even manage to push her name off of his tongue.


    Her hand, somehow warm and soft, trails down the side of his face, and he can''t help but shut his eyes as he takes in a shaky breath. "You can help me. You can bring me back," She whispers to him.


    "But how?" She sits him on the bed and motions to everything around him.


    "With this, Adonis. You have almost everything you need. You just have to read." Her eyes turn glassy. "Please.I''m so scared here." The boy grabs at her hand and pulls her to him. She feels so real. How does she feel so real?


    "Just... Just tell me what to do, and I''ll do it," Is his response.


    She starts to tremble in his arms, and he can''t bear it. "I was never supposed to die," Hope cries. She sniffs loudly and continues. "But they said that if you do these things on the list, I can come back. I want to come back."


    Confusion floods Adius'' veins, but that''s nothing new. "What?"


    Hope pulls away. "I can come home if everything on this list is completed before-" She suddenly stiffens and looks behind herself. She sees something that the boy doesn''t. Standing, she rushes out, "Here, take this." She places something sharp and cold into his hand. "As long as you have this, I can find you and you can call me. I have to go."


    Corrina leans in, her hair clouding everything around her, and places a kiss on the highest part of Adius'' forehead. "Be safe." Then she''s gone before he can get another word in.


    He sits in silence, his fingers closed over whatever was placed in them and his heart beating painfully. There''s this tiny, almost minuscule, part of him that wants to toss everything from that package into a black garbage bag and throw it out of his window. That part wants to go to his computer and erase every picture that he had taken of Hope.


    That part of him wants to backspace every word that he had written about her. It wants to forget that she existed just like everyone else had.


    But the larger part, the stupider part, the crazier part, wants lay back on the bed and read through every part of that musty book. It wants to look at every trinket and go over every possibility. It wants to bring her back, it wants her to be remembered.


    And so as his phone rings, he answers, "Hey. Yeah I''m fine. Yeah, I opened it. Could you meet me tomorrow? Yeah. Bring a backpack and wear comfortable shoes. Okay, see you soon." And he plans. And he starts to count down the moments until he gets to see his girl again.

 good at making friends in high places

    "I know this sounds crazy, believe me I know... But I can''t just be imagining all of this. I mean her pictures are everywhere, yet no one, not even the companies that employed her, seem to remember her. And all of these things she sent me... It can''t all be in my head, can it?" Adius had since described the entire new situation to Dahlia.


    She was quiet and contemplative as he rambled on and on, her eyes occasionally sweeping over the contents of the package that this illusive Corrina Hope had sent him. While she didn''t particularly believe in ghosts, she couldn''t outright rule out the possibility of somethingstrangegoing on.


    There was no way that Adius made this all up. His emotions were too real, too raw. And he was right about all of the pictures and mementos that the girl had left behind. They had called up a few of the companies that had employed her to inquire about her contact information, and they had all insisted that they didn''t know who she was or what they were talking about.


    Everything was just so... unknown.


    Dahlia looks up. "You said that thisghost-"


    "She isn''t a ghost! You can''t touch a ghost," He cuts her off.


    She waves her hand at him. "Whatever. This entity... gave you something so that you could get into contact?" Adius nods and searches around in his pocket. He pulls out what appears to be a dainty metal flower. The edges of its petals are razor sharp, a feature that Adius is unaware of. He hisses as he cuts his thumb and drops the piece of metal.


    Standing, he curses and put his thumb into his mouth. "Adius..." He looks at his thumb to see that it''s still leaking blood. "Adius..." Dahlia whispers again. He looks up at her as he continues to suck on his thumb. Her face is significantly paler and completely freaked out.


    She points behind him. "Who is this?" He hears from the same direction that Dahlia has yet to stop staring in. At this point, he''s not even surprised at her appearance. "Hope, that''s Dahlia. Dahlia, meet Hope." He gestures to and from each girl.


    Hope''s face scrunches up. "It''s Corrina." Is her great response. Adius almost smirks at the tone of her voice, but now really isn''t the time to be feeding his ego. "You called?"Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    He sucks at his thumb for just a moment longer, then he turns to face her. "Yeah." He smiles, and Corrina can''t keep from smiling back. Dahlia watches the exchange between them, curiously. She''s on edge, but she''s not the only one.


    "Adius, what do you need? I don''t have long." His brows scrunch. What else could she possibly have to do? She''s dead.


    "I just... I need more guidance. I don''t know what to do, or how to do it." He''s fidgeting and trying to keep his nerves to himself. He wants more than anything to help Corrina, but there''s something about this whole situation that seems off aside from the fact that Hope is no longer in the land of the living. Maybe if she explains things a little more, he''ll feel a bit more at ease.


    Somehow, someway, the leather book ends up in his hands. It opens itself to a page that''s a little past the middle after it¡¯s settled in the palm of his hands. Hope walks to him and holds her hands over his. She rests her chin on his arm as she looks at the book with him. "You see this page?" Adius nods. "This page is a guide for Death. It''s almost like a recipe for resurrection of the wrongfully slain. If you follow the directions in this guide I''ll be allowed to cross the veil."


    "The veil?" Dahlia pipes up.


    "Yes. Think of the veil as the door into a night club. It''s guarded by a bouncer and the only way to come in or go out is with a ticket. This guide is the ticket out." Corrina responds. Adius almost can''t focus with her hair brushing up against his cheek. It smells like something sweet. It smells like home.


    Dahlia stands, seemingly less affected than she was before. "If you just died, how exactly do you know all of this, let alone have access to the tools he needs? How are you even here now?"


    Corrina smiles as she backs away from Adius. She looks to him. "She''s smart and perceptive. It''s good that you have her by your side, you''ll need her. As for your questions... I was always good at making friends in high places." Suddenly she''s gone, and Adius is left with Dahlia and a million more questions.


    A hand touches his arm, and he startles. Dahlia gives him a shaky smile, and he can feel the tremors in her hand. "She was pretty," She says instead of what she really wants to let out. This whole situation has actually become a lot more terrifying than it was before.


    At first it was just the ramblings of a boy that might have been dumped and ghosted, now it''s somethingotherworldlyand she doesn''t know what to do. Sure, she wants to help her friend, and she can see that he''s clearly going to do whatever that entity says, but she also wants to protect herself.


    And she got weird vibes from that girl.


    Something was off with her. There was something in her smile that seemed deceptive, but Adius obviously can''t see it. Sighing to herself, she vows that she''ll stick by her friend''s side, at least until a certain breaking point. "Well," She says while rubbing Adius'' shoulder. "We should get started, right?"