Played For A Fool

The Brokenhearted

Cinder ignored her phone as it buzzed. Kai had called her at least seven times that morning and left her over twenty text messages, each one telling her that he was worried and that they needed to talk.

The night before had been a disaster, leaving Cinder with an empty feeling inside her, as though her heart had been ripped out of her, leaving her chest hollow. After Winter had left, everyone had pretended nothing had happened... until they had left the station.

They had learned very little from the Chief, leaving them all very disappointed. Cinder had hoped that they would find something, and not just because she wanted to find Scarlet's grandmother.

She had hoped that they would all forget about Winter, and her odd, but true, statements. Cinder would have been fine, with Thorne already knowing, and Scarlet not caring about anything besides her grandmother, but there was still Kai.

He didn't forget.

The moment they got into Thorne's car, Kai was all over it. Gently asking her what that had been about, and if she was okay, and if she knew the girl. Cinder had sworn over and over again that she had never seen the girl before. It had hurt less and less each time, especially after her cousin had left, taking Cinder's demolished heart with her.

Even though Cinder swore to Kai on every star that she did not know who Winter was, he still persisted, seeming to see through Cinder's protesting and lies.

Cinder jumped out of bed, finally deciding to get ready for school. Her head swam with vertigo as she stood too quickly, and she gripped the wall for balance. Her head still bothered her from her concussion she had gained only a week before, and technically still wasn't cleared from. She also still had a sprained ankle, but she couldn't care less, leaving her brace on her bed as she grabbed her school bag.

Looking across the garage, Cinder could see a small, red-haired bundle curled up on the old smelly couch. Scarlet had been brought back with Thorne and Cinder to the Rampion the night before. She had clearly not wanted to stay at her house, and Thorne and Cinder had insisted vehemently that she could stay with them, in Cinder's garage.

Scarlet was still asleep, which was a good thing. She had slept peacefully, never stirring, or crying out as she slept. Cinder was glad that her friend did not have to be plagued with nightmares, though she felt a twinge of jealousy as she watched Scarlet's peaceful face.

Cinder looked away from her fiery-haired friend, mentally preparing herself to go to school. Iko would no doubt be all over her, asking crazy questions, and Kai... She needed to avoid Kai.

***

School was literal Hell for people like Cinder. Nearly no friends, always getting bullied for her abnormalities, and consistently falling behind in her classes. It wasn't that Cinder wasn't smart, she was brilliant beyond anything else, but with Adri always giving her more chores than she could handle, and all the other stuff that had happened in recent times, Cinder was failing a fair few classes.

Cinder stumbled to her locker, as multiple feet were stuck out to trip her. One caught Cinder on her bad ankle, causing her to fall to the ground in a big, ungraceful heap.

People around her snickered, whispering about how clumsy, how stupid, and how pathetic Cinder was. They laughed, and pointed accusing fingers at her, not a single person looking at her as though she were a human being, as though she were equal to them.

Face burning, Cinder stood, and limped to her locker. She had just opened it, when she heard someone yelling at her from down the hall.

"Cinder!" yelled a blue-haired girl, as she approached Cinder's locker. She was pulling a nervous looking Kai in tow behind her, an almost angered look on her face as she stood before Cinder.