Lahat ng Kabanata ng Fractured: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Chris’s POVMrs. Forrest sat on the swivel chair in her office, and Liana stood beside me, our gazes fixed on the ground. The vibration in her voice was enough scolding. I prayed that she wouldn’t invite our parents over to school or suspend us. She barked and vibrated like she should, then she swiveled the chair to get her laptop behind. She tapped a button and the screen lit up. “I’m sending an email to your parents immediately,” she said as her fingers smashed the buttons continuously in chaotic typing.She reached for the landline on her right and pressed three buttons before placing it to her ear. “Please come to the office right away,” she said.The door creaked open and Mr. Johnson came in. “Organize the students for the field. I have an announcement for them,” she instructed, her face contorting in anger.Liana could barely look up; she wished she would wake up to discover it was all a dream. She followed Mr. Johnson out of the office, and soon the gathering was organized and

Ava’s POV“I took odd jobs. I was always on the street. My aunt was sick and couldn’t work. I did everything, all the jobs, when my parents died. And what did I get? The man whom I worked for asked me to sleep with him before I got paid. I refused, and before I knew it, he accused me of stealing one of the tools. I couldn’t defend myself. No one stood by me to defend me. They acted like I hadn’t been nice to them. And in the end, they fired me.”Bryan’s eyes were red. He felt like punching the so-called employer in his face, but it was all in the past.“Ava, all I want is for you to believe in me. We could get your tuition fees from Tessa. Instead of trying to swindle some money out of her, how about me telling her? I mean, explaining your situation to her.”I raised my head. “Do you think that would work out?”Bryan took my hand. “It will, I’m assuring you. Even if it meant that I slept with her for the cash, I’d gladly do it.”We looked into each other’s eyes for a moment when the d

Liana’s POV Later that day, our parents appeared in school, and Mrs. Forrest sent for us. Chris and I stood behind our parents. “I became worried after receiving the email. I hope my son hasn’t gotten into any sort of trouble?” Chris’s mom asked. A tall, beautiful woman with clear skin. As they spoke, my mom stared at me at intervals. She would say she was tired of my bad ways and my terrible habit of always wanting to return evil with evil. Mom had preached severally that I should change my ways. Mom was one of the deaconesses in church, but she gave birth to the opposite of herself. My dad used to work on the sea, and so, most times, he wasn’t always at home. Mrs. Forrest told both parents what we had done, and their mouths dropped. “My son?” Chris’s mom said, shocked at what she was hearing. “Please, do not suspend them,” my mom said, and Chris’s mom nodded. “I promise you that I’ll talk to Chris, and this will be the last time he’ll be involved in such a thing again.” M

Ava’s POVI held my cardboard up for the class to see. They yelled in unison, and Mrs. Smith ordered them to be quiet. When she looked at my cardboard, she saw a pencil dot in the middle. “Are you okay, Ava?” she asked, and I nodded.Chris was staring at me like I had gone insane; even Bryan was shocked. I ran my eyes across their desks, every cardboard had a sketch except mine.“I can defend my sketch,” I said to Mrs. Smith, and her brows furrowed. She exhaled and said, “Okay, defend the dot, let’s see!”The class laughed before I began.“The dot signifies that it all started from a point—from somewhere. I thought I was in love like every other girl, in love with someone who had a plain heart, but…” The class became quiet, and Mrs. Smith seemed to be getting immersed in my speech. Or perhaps my story.“It was a dark road, a road that would reshape my life for the worse.”I dragged my pencil from that point to another point on my cardboard. “The day I was supposed to be happy, I was d

Ava’s POVThe luxury clothing store gleamed with warm golden lights. Attendants sat on their swivel chairs in front of their computers. The faint scent of fresh roses filled the building, blended with a subtle aroma of expensive perfumes. I didn’t know this store was this luxurious. My pulse pounded, not because I was afraid but because Bryan wasn’t financially capable of a place like this. Though I didn’t tell him.We walked past rows of dresses that shimmered beneath crystal chandeliers, each one more dazzling than the last.My eyes fell on a stunning red dress displayed on a gold mannequin. The one-shoulder design made me fall for the dress even more. They had always looked good on me. It was a stretchy dress with a slit that ran from the thigh down to the hem, revealing just enough to make it striking without losing its class.I held out my hand to touch the dress again when Dr. Dane’s call caused my phone to vibrate. I picked it up quickly. “I’m almost done dressing up,” I lied.