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It hardly ever rained in California. It was always hot. Sticky. Uncomfortable hot. Sometimes it got so hot that it was hard to sleep. Odessa never slept, so she always just stared out the window that was right beside her bed. It rained last night. She liked to listen to the rain hit her window. But it was all gone by morning. At the sound of her alarm, Odessa opened her eyes, the bright sun shining through her curtains. It was 7:30, less than hour before school started.
Thalia wasn't home. She always left the house early to go to work. Odessa quietly got ready. The Beaumont house was always quiet. She spent almost all of her mornings alone. By the time she finished brushing her teeth, Oliver texted her.
Big Red Wake up, bitch Time for another shitty day I'm picking you up in an hour Be ready or you're walking. Love you!
Oliver Benson, her best friend since fourth grade. Tall, red headed, lots of freckles, and he spent all his free time at the gym so that he could improve his skinny arms and legs. He was a tough guy with a big heart, especially when it came to his friends. When they were kids, Odessa got apple juice thrown on her by a boy that was in a grade above her. He ruined her favorite pink blouse. That's when Oliver came in (he broke the kids nose, they'd been friends ever since)
Hearing the familiar horn honk from outside, Odesa a grabbed her backpack and house key and locked the door when she walked outside. Oliver's black Jeep parked in the driveway. Seeing her, he unlocked the door. "What's up, bitch?" He greeted obnoxiously loud, like always.
"Hey, whore." She said back, grinning.
"Ready for Hell?"
"I've been living in it."
Oliver was around when Odessa's dad left. He was there to meet Christian and Thalia Beaumont and he was there when Thalia became Thalia Reid again. He heard their fights, seen Odessa cry, and he was there to watch Christian's life become a mess. Oliver was practically a part of the family but even he knew he couldn't understand how Odessa was feeling (His dad died when he was three. His mom remarried when he was fourteen. His step dad was an asshole)
(He hated Christian Beaumont for destroying their lives.)
Odessa had gotten used to all the eyes on her when she was at school. Their judgment stares and whispers. The laughs and gossiping. It's been a year since the rumor started and every day was the exact same: she went to school, she was bullied, she went home, and repeat. She watched all the girls who used to be her friends talk about her behind her back as if she didn't exist to them.
Odessa used to be popular. She was head cheerleader. She was apart of the popular crowd. Now, it was like she was invisible. A part of her didn't care because she had her own friends but she missed her old life, before the rumor started and before her family fell apart. She was only sixteen.
