Chapter 110: She had been bullied
Andria’s POV
I woke up earlier than the rest as usual, the thought of what Mel had written in that book bugging me and the bizarre state in which we had found her last night.
Mel had attempted suicide because she felt isolated. She lost Larissa, Tricia, and Alexa bullied her, and then I stood her up.
She had always been a victim of bullies, until Larissa came into her life when she was little and saved her.
And since then, they have been inseparable, and that was the reason she found it so hard to believe that Larissa could be so irredeemably bad to the extent of almost committing murder.
Even when she found out that she was capable of that, she still found it so hard to leave Larissa. And now she was gone, being blamed for everything, called a snitch by Tricia and Alexa, and constantly bullied.
The day she joined us in the chemistry lab, she had been bullied out of her seat, and that wasn’t the first time she had to endure that.
And when the fumes went out, everyone ran for their relief. Some big male wolves snatched her away in the middle of the chaos and beat the hell out of her.
And that was why we couldn’t see her. She reminded me of Andria, the part of me that endured hardship and misunderstanding at the hands of the family I loved.
I craved their affection and acknowledgement until there was no longer hope, and I had to choose the part of Aria Wolfsburn.
I’m going to teach Tricia, Alexa, and whoever was involved in bullying Mel a very bitter lesson. Next time, they will know better than to bully their fellow student.
I was in the bathroom staring at my furious face and cracking my hands. I felt like punching something.
"We will fight for her," Athena growled, "We will make sure that the perpetrators taste their own medicine, just like Tracy and Larissa."
"Ari, Ari," Liara called out from behind the door, "Are you in there?, I hope you are good."
"I’m ok, I’ll be out in a jiffy," I replied, stepping into the shower and letting the shower take away the sour feeling I had this morning.
I could still hear the sound of the siren in front of my dorms, and the medical team who had come to take Mel’s almost lifeless body to the hospital.
She had injected a dosage of wolf’s bane, all in a bid to numb her re-echoing feelings; she was suffering, and her wolf was also suffering. She wanted to end it all.
The alarm went off, signaling to me that I was almost late to school, so I hopped out of the shower, hurriedly dressed up and went out to meet the others who were already prepared.
They looked very mournful and guilty as well. "Ari, I wouldn’t have discouraged you from going to see her yesterday," Becca spoke up first.
"We didn’t know that this was her side of the story; she just seemed very off and suspicious, and we were only trying to protect you," Arlo added.
"That’s the problem, you don’t have to hear their side of the story before you show some empathy, just do...I don’t know, it’s past now, I don’t want to think about it," I replied to them coldly.
"We should just head to school, hopefully she survives that," I added, and we left.
The morning air was cold, mirroring the sadness in the air. The school hallway wasn’t bustling and lively as always.
Just gloomy faces, whispering in hushed tones.
I just want to catch a glimpse of Tricia and Alexa, and I would make sure that they regret what they have done.
But how will I be different from them? I was still bullying either way, just that I told myself that it was for the right course.
They must have probably justified theirs, too.
"We had such an eventful night reading and answering each other’s questions despite the bad happening," Michaela chipped in, dragging everyone out of their thoughts in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Yes, that was very helpful to me. Thanks, Lia and Ari," Arlo spoke up in a gleeful manner that made me smile for the first time this morning.
I dropped my backpack in my locker, picked up the books I needed, and then turned to Arlo, "I’m glad I could be of help to you."
Unlike Mel, I couldn’t come to her rescue; the thought alone that I could have made her reconsider that act hurt me.
"We have to go see Mel in the hospital after school today," I said, walking out of the locker room with them.
Today we had electives, and not all of us chose the same electives, so at some point, we will have to split up.
"We have to do it; it will speak well of us in the upcoming elections," Becca added.
"Not everything revolves around the elections, Lia. This is just a matter of empathy. Ari almost lost someone who was once her friend, and never her enemy." Lia shunned Becca.
"I didn’t mean to sound non-empathetic. I’m sorry it came out that way. I was trying to highlight the fact that your election campaign is centred on ending bullying; therefore, Mel’s case just might be of help," Becca defended herself.
The bell rang, and we had to split up. I headed to Literature class with Becca, while Lia, Michaela and Arlo headed for geography classes.
Just as we were about to walk into the class, I bumped into Tristan’s hard chest.
His scent overwhelmed me immediately, and for a moment I just stood still. A chuckle vibrated from his chest.
"Bumping into me this time?" he asked sarcastically, obviously referring to the first time I met Damon and Aven. I had bumped into them.
I quickly recovered myself and shot him a glare. I took two steps backwards and then walked out of his way to my seat.
He left the class, and a few minutes later, he returned, taking a seat beside me.
"And finally, I get to sit beside you, isn’t that great?" he asked, a devious smirk curling up his lips.