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Chapter One

[Before reading, it is recommended that you read The Suicide Girl and Scarred Beauty to get a gist of the characters.]

Meredith Tanner

"I can see the social anxiety seeping out of you just from your nervous state of being right now," Miss Lynn said, clicking her pen over and over again. "Is there anything on your mind right now?"

Click.

Click.

Click.

My stance was nervous, I suppose. My body was scrunched up as my eyes glanced around the white room. It's too bright in here. I didn't want to be here, but Papa suggested I went to take therapy after my suicide attempt. The hand on my arm tightened. I should've died. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, trying to calm down my racing mind. It was my seventh therapy session, but I still wasn't used to it.

"Are you trying to get comfortable?" Miss Lynn asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I guess I just don't feel.. safe. I don't feel safe anywhere except for home." I closed my eyes and fell on the couch, laying down. The leather was surprisingly comfortable. "It's kinda like an instinct. Ever since—" I suddenly silenced myself when I realized what I was saying.

Crap.

I should've kept my mouth shut.

"Since what?" She asked, her pen clicking again. The elderly woman was sweet. That was for sure. But it was because of that that I felt obliged to tell her everything. Her gray hair had been pulled into a tight bun on her head, and she sat across from me in a knit sweater and white skirt.

"Since.. bullying started in sophomore."

"Bullying?"

I closed my eyes once again and breathed in. "Yes. The reason I didn't tell you was because it became so routinely that it.. didn't really stick out as something that would've been a part of my suicidal thoughts." My arm reached up to the ceiling as I clutched my stomach, trying to grab onto the warm light. "Today, Ryan Duff kicked me in the stomach. He's known as the bully of the school, even though it shouldn't even be a title to be proud of."

"Did it hurt?"

I opened my eyes slightly, thinking about the question. "I acknowledged the pain. I felt it. But.. it didn't hurt." I sat up, brushing my brown hair away from my face. "I don't know if that made sense, but that's how I can describe it."

Miss Lynn nodded, writing this down. "Are your parents aware of this?" I shook my head. "You do know I'll have to tell them, right?" I nodded. As expected. "Do you know why the students bully you?"

"Well, it being high school, I wouldn't be surprised if it were because my eyes were two different colors—"

"—just like your parents."

Miss Lynn looked at me with a sweet look. I nodded, smiling back a little. "Yes. Like Mom and Papa."

"Well, it's obvious you love your parents more than anything," Miss Lynn laughed lightly.

I smiled. "Yeah." She gestured for me to continue. "Considering that it might be my looks, I still have doubts that that's the reason. I think it's more of them being.. jealous, or envious, of me being the daughter of two elite people. Maybe they want the fame and attention I receive."

It took a minute for Miss Lynn to note it. "How often do they bully you and what do they do?"

"Well, there are two people who mainly bully me. Ryan Duff, as mentioned, and then.. ugh, Linda Skies. She's the queen bee of the school, and gets any guy she wants. It's disgusting to be real. It's as if she doesn't receive enough attention. Ryan is more physical than her: most days being punching and shoving and kicking. The worst thing Linda's ever done to me was try to stab me with her stilettos. That's the most she's been physical with me. Usually it happens every chance they get."

I remembered the sheer panic rushing through my blood when she took off her shoe and chucked it at me.

"But you can easily fend for yourself, can't you?" Miss Lynn questioned, confused.

I smiled blankly. "Because I was born differently, with four attributes, the principal said I needed to wear bracelets within school grounds to make sure I don't use my powers. At all." I clicked my tongue. "It's because I almost killed someone when they pulled on my hair. The bracelets are more like handcuffs, to be honest."

"So they basically enslave you during school hours, leaving you powerless?" Miss Lynn questioned, a tone of anger evident in her voice. "Good heavens! What kind of society is this?! We're not in the early 1700s!"

I have never agreed with someone as much as her.

"Enslave. That describes it perfectly," I mumbled.

~~~

"Meredith, why didn't you tell us?" Mom asked me, worry in her eyes. Her purple eye swirled with a lingering nervousness. "We could've helped!"

"I've already calculated every plausible outcome in this situation," I replied, putting my hands in my coat pockets. The snow fell softly into my hair. "It won't matter. The principal is Linda's dad. He does anything for his daughter. Reporting it to the high tiers won't do anything because they're all a bunch of snobs."

"Excuse me, little miss," Papa said, putting his hand on my head. I looked at him, my cheeks puffing out in annoyance. He grinned. "Do I need to remind you that we're also high tiers?"

"Only because of the number of our attributes," I replied.

Mom kissed the top of my head. I blushed, embarrassed. "Meredith, sweetie. Your father is capable of annihilating an army of 100,000 soldiers. When he was 17, the number was 167,050. And through research, I'm capable of destroying an entire country as big as the United States." She put her finger in front of me and flicked my forehead. "And soon, you will be able to do both."

"It's hopeless if I'm stuck in school with handcuffs," I mumbled.

"Bracelets."

I gave Papa a short glare. "Handcuffs."

He laughed and pat my head. "I know, I know."

Papa and Mom continued talking about memories until it lead up to a specific moment that I remembered them telling me about when I was little. The Atlas Bomb. Looking at my parents conversing, I grabbed Papa's right hand and Mom's left hand. They looked down at me. Papa looked confused, whilst Mom was surprised. I smiled, gripping their hands in mine.

"Thank you, for being my parents."

"..."

"HELP! I'VE BEEN SHOT! MY DAUGHTER IS TOO MUCH FOR ME!"

"TRISTAN, GET UP FROM THE CEMENT! I WASHED YOUR DAMN COAT YESTERDAY!!!"

I watched as my parents quarreled. Laughing to myself, I felt my eyes twinkling. I love them so much.