GABRIEL. (UNDER CRITICAL EDITING)

Chapter 4 (pt. 1)

Not-So-Fun Fact: I wet the bed for about a year after my family's murder.

The doorbell rings, and since I'm already in the kitchen, I go to answer the door. When I open it, Amber's friend Sasha is standing on the front porch.

"Hi, Sasha." She smiles at me and waves her small hand.

"Hey, Gabriel. Is Amber here?" I nod and allow her to step into the house. She's a short girl, probably only 4'11 or so. She's mixed and has an abundance of curls spilling over her head. Her face is covered in freckles and she has pretty gray eyes.

"Yea, she's right upstairs." She thanks me and walks up the stairs and into Amber's room. I return to the kitchen where my small personal pizza is cooking in the oven. I jump up on the counter and continue to read my book Bully. I got it from the school library yesterday and I'm almost finished with it. Call me a nerd, but I love to read (even though I still hate school.)

Before I can get into the book again, the doorbell rings again.

"Dammit," I mutter to myself. I hop down off the counter and walk to the front door. "Who is it?" I yell from behind the door. The person on the other side doesn't say anything, so I ask again.

"Meagan," she finally answers. I roll my eyes and open the door, allowing yet another one of Amber's friends in. She waves quickly before darting upstairs. I shake my head. I've never really liked that girl, she seems so strange. I begin to walk back into the kitchen, but the doorbell goes off again.

"Oh my God. Who the hell is it?" I yell.

"Chloe," the voice yells back. I open the door and she points up toward Amber's room. I nod my head and she scurries up the steps just as the last two girls had. What the hell are they doing up there? None of the girls brought backpacks or over-night bags, so they aren't planning to stay the night. I sigh, forgetting about it, and walk back into the kitchen.

My pizza is finally done. I take it out of the oven and sit it on a plate, adding ranch dressing and hot sauce. I put the condiments away and walk upstairs. As I pass Amber's room, there is absolutely no noise coming out of the room. Either they're up to something, or they're all sitting around on their phones. I'm tired and hungry, so I figure it's the second choice and continue to my room. I hear the doorbell again, and since it's probably another one of Amber's friends, I stay put. She can answer the door for all of them herself.

A few minutes pass and I'm already finished with my pizza. I stand up from my bed and look into the body-length mirror beside my bed. My belly's protruding due to it's fullness, and my hair is everywhere. Walking over to the door with the now clear plate in hand, I begin down the hall to the kitchen. Suddenly, I hear a loud 'thump' coming from Amber's room. I open her door and see a girl laying in the floor and Amber, Meagan, Chloe and Sasha standing over her.

The girl is crying hysterically, but the other girls' faces are emotionless. I rush into the room, place the plate on Amber's dresser, and bend down beside the girl on the floor. She's got a cut on her forehead and her nose is bleeding. She has other small cuts and bruises, and her hair is jumbled on her head.

"What the hell did you guys do?" I ask them. I can hear Amber blow out a breath from behind me. I turn around to her to see her rolling her eyes. I stand up and grab her forearm. "What did you guys do?" I ask again. She rolls her eyes again and folds her arms over her chest.

"She's a total backstabber so we showed her what happens to backstabbing bitches!" She yells. I shake my head and turn back to the girl, helping her off of the floor. She holds her head where the long scratch is, and her nose blood is dripping down her chin. I push her into the bathroom so that she can clean herself up, then I return back to Amber's room.