Misguided

🌺 CHAPTER 0.8 🌺

Arden was snapped out of her destructive downfall with a light slap to the face.

She wishes all wounds were physical because once they heal your forget about them, but the wounds inflicted on her mind stay there forever.

Is this what the rest of the school year will look like? Until she graduates, after that?
She starts sobbing even more at the realisation.

"Never talk to him again. You hear me?!" Mr Mallory shouted into Arden's face. She opens her mouth to respond but he wraps his hand around her neck before she can make out any words. She wills her tears to to keep bay.

She could feel his hard calloused travelling all over her body and something inside her snapped. She couldn't carry on like this. She kicks her right leg out as her knee made contact with his bare crotch, somewhere in her thinking his pants had been removed.

"Fucking bitch." He swears at her and both his hands leaves her wrist to his throbbing crotch.

His hands no longer supporting her she falls to her hands and knees, pain rushes through them and she scrambled to stand.
She runs out the door, while he rushes to pull up his pants.

"Get the fuck back here." He bellows at her retreating back. "Shit." He curses to himself.

Her accelerating heart beats way too fast as she runs through the hallways.
Once she pushes the school doors open the cold air hits her face and brings her back to reality. She puts her hands on her knees bending down to try get air into her lungs.

Taking a quick glance behind her to see no one was chasing her, she is left with the repercussion of her actions.
What has she just done?

Looking over the car park she notices a red Volvo and recognises it at Mr Mallory's car. She glances back through the doors and no one is in sight. He's probably gone to the principal to make up his side of the story first. Who would believe a 12 year old girl over a respectable teacher?

Realising she has nothing left to loose she walks up to his car with a purpose. She stops at the passenger side door, panting heavily still.

Bending down to untie her doc-martin knowing they can do more damage then her fist. She lifts it up over her head taking a quick glance around making sure the coast is clear and smashes it straight through the window.

The sound of glass shattering echos though the empty parking lot accompanied by the now blaring car alarm.

Arden barely even notices trough the pounding ringing in her ears. Her thoughts turning into chaos flitted through her head.

Maybe someone will notice somethings wrong with me now. Dad will have to pay attention to me.
Fuck Mr Mallory, this is the least of what he deserves!

With that thought bouncing around her head she quickly grabs her bright pick lighter covered in gems, from her pocket, pulling down the flint to spark the flame as she throws it into the now open window.

She watches memorised and the leather seat burst up into strong flames.

Mr Mallory was a heavy drinker and smoker so the left over alcohol on the car floor had no intention of calming the flames but instead added more fuel.

Before Arden could blink the whole car was set into flames. The pressure of the fire shattering the other windows and smoke rising out them into the clear sky.

With the car alarm still screeching, students and teachers have made their way out to see the disturbance.

"What the fuck."
"Someone call 9-1-1."
"Hey isn't that Arden Hale."

The last comment brings the attentional of the Hale brothers to the teenage girl staring vacantly into the flame, forgetting her fathers promise to send her away if she got into trouble.

Reid, Lake and Seven all have shock written all over their faces, as they watch her stand there. The orange and red flames lighting up her figure, giving her a demonic shadow and illuminating the dried blood splattered in patches on her face.

She looks psychotic standing their with only one shoe on, hair all ruffled up, staring into the destruction she created.

Suddenly the orange glow is over run by red and blue flashing lights and the poor girl doesn't notice until she feels a body slamming into hers, tackling her to the ground, black blurring her vision.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Eric Hale sits in a meeting, a very important one on that note.

He's trying to convince another successful business to join him on a project, therefore becoming stronger.

"I think that it's very important we start this journey together, now as it-" Eric's sentence gets cut off with a knock on the conference room door.

With an aggravated sigh he commands the person on the other side of the door through.

His secretary, Marie, a short blonde haired woman who recently graduated and needed a job. Eric saw this and took her in, but at this moment he was regretting it.

"What did I tell you? I said not to interrupt this meeting." He speaks in an eerily quite voice, his posture showing nothing but calm. Clenched jaw and hard cold eyes.

"S-Sorry Sir, it's important. It's ridge-mount police station. They have Arden in custody." Sherry, his assistant stuttered out, afraid of his reaction.

"WHAT?!" He stood up abruptly slamming his hands on the desk making everyone in the room flinch at the unexpected outburst, excluding Sherry of corse, she deals with his behaviour daily.

He paces to the window, back to his desk three times before he speaks.

"Gentlemen please excuse us for the day I'll be sure to reschedule," They all stand up and quickly exit the room muttering a quite see you soon, wanting nothing but to be away from the furious man.

"Marie call the station tell them I'm on my way." She's already on the phone back at her desk within seconds.

Eric reaches for his phone and dials the school he found online for troubles teens. And as it turns out, he knew the headmaster, Dean Montgomery.

See Dean and Eric grew up together, lived on the same street. They even went to school and college together. They drifted when Eric pursued his dream of starting his own company and Dean became the headmaster of his father's boarding school-known to house troubled students.

Fortunately for Eric, Dean owed him a favour.