Valenciya
Flawed and Beautiful
A Flawed Young Beautiful People Series Novel Book 2
Valenciya Lyons
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by Valenciya Lyons
Cover Design by Ravenborn of SelfPubBookCovers.com
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Chapter 1
Her body was lifeless in bed but an ugly soul was still breathing life. Her eyes were open as she lay motionless. The heart inside giving her life thumped madly whenever someone passed by the door.
Peyton quivered but she wasn’t cold. She was in fear for her life. Someone set fire to her family’s home while she was inside and that person still had not been caught. Someone wanted her dead and she didn’t know why.
She would be going home to her father’s condo soon and that maniac would still be on the loose. What if he or she came after her again? She’d been mean to so many people she didn’t know who to start with. But she didn’t do anything new. Kids get bullied and ridiculed every day in school. Could she have possibly pushed someone to the edge? Or was this just a random act?
She jumped, startled by the sound of something scraping against the hospital door. Her chest tightened at the thought of someone coming into the room unless it was her parents. She hadn’t seen Sailor or Gigi since she’d been in school.
A white envelope was slid underneath her door. She cautiously got up from bed and grabbed the envelope. Her fingers trembled as she tore it open and read the typed note inside. It simply said: DIE.
Now Peyton was fearful more than ever.
Chapter 2
Leighton has a heart of gold; and despite what Peyton had done to her, death was not something that she wished upon her.
The days that Peyton had not attended school had been calm and more peaceful. Rumors were quick to fly as to whether she’d return to school or not. It was obvious that no one wanted her there. Leighton assumed that Gigi and Sailor missed having their friend around and she’d noticed that they hardly communicated at school. Sailor seemed sad and was more quiet than usual whereas Gigi was more outspoken and seemed happier. They never sat together during lunch. Sailor always sat by herself at Peyton’s usual table and Gigi always skipped. Principal Evers also hadn’t been to school since her home had burned down.
The audio recording of Principal Evers having sex with her husband’s brother went viral online and more videos had emerged. The video collection included her sleeping with Peyton’s uncle in the family’s living room. A video of Peyton bothering Leighton in the girls’ restroom at school before Sage attacked her emerged online; however, the footage of her fight with Sage wasn’t on the video, which made it look as if Sage and Ariana had been suspended for nothing. In another video Peyton tried to trip Leighton in the hallway causing her to stumble. An investigation had been launched and along with the videos surfacing, Principal Evers resigned. The search was on for a new principal and everyone prayed it wasn’t another Principal Evers.
Today was also the first day that Sage and Ariana would be returning to Sentinel High since they were suspended for fighting Peyton and Sailor. They weren’t very happy to be in school. Their mother was currently in recovery for having her brain tumor removed and they were worried for her. She’d already gotten an infection since she’d been in the hospital. Even though the nurses and doctors seemed reassuring, Sage and Ariana had been quietly preparing themselves for the worst—a life without a mother and father.
All eyes were on Sage and Ariana the moment they stepped foot into the school hallway. The kids didn’t seem like they were scared of them.
The sisters stopped in front of Sage’s locker. A few people walked by and gave them curious stares and then resumed walking to their destination.
It wasn’t long before Ariana noticed three familiar faces approaching them. She would’ve run but there was nowhere to run in this semi-crowded hallway.
“Hello, Ariana. Hello, Sage.” Harper’s cheerful voice filled their ears causing Sage to turn around to see who that bubbly voice was coming from. She looked to Ariana since she didn’t recognize the girl.
“Sage,” her sister said, pointing to each girl she introduced, “this is Harper, Jade, and Anais. We’re in the same advanced anatomy and physiology class.”
“Hi,” Sage said before returning her attention back to her locker that still wouldn’t open.
The girl Ariana introduced as “Jade” placed a hand on her shoulder and Sage stepped to the side. She watched in awe as Jade kicked her locker. As if on cue, it opened.
“Thanks,” Sage said.
Jade’s smile was warm and friendly. “No problem.” Sage collected her books from her locker.
“So are you guys happy to be back?” Harper’s voice was still high and cheerful and Sage wondered if her smile was genuine or fake.
“I don’t know,” Ariana admitted. “Everyone’s staring like they’re scared of us.”
“They’re not scared of you. They just don’t know you,” Anais stated casually.
“Some people are curious because they don’t know if you guys are going to be the next Peyton Evers or not,” Jade added.
Sage and Ariana exchanged looks with each other.
“We’re definitely not looking to replace her,” Ariana said. “There are enough Peyton Evers in the world as it is. We don’t need extras.”
“I think everything will be fine after we’ve worn out our new student status,” Sage added.
“What you did to Peyton, taking her on like that will make you go down in Sentinel High history,” Harper stated with her eyes on Sage. She was certain that she was referring to her fight with Peyton in the girls’ restroom that got her suspended.
“And of course no one can forget that someone finally put Sailor in her place.” Harper nodded to Ariana.
“I’m not trying to make history here…,” Sage said.
“Already have,” Harper interrupted with a giggly smile.
“And no one wants to go back on history when it involves taking down the queen bitch herself,” Jade added.
“Victory for us all,” Anais said cheerfully.
“We don’t mean to keep you guys but hopefully the rest of your stay at Sentinel will be quite pleasant,” Harper said, still cheerful. She turned on her heels with her friends walking by her side.
Once Harper, Jade, and Anais were out of earshot, Sage was quick to voice her thoughts of them to her little sister. “They seem…nice.”
“I think they’re like that all the time.”
“Ariana, you need to be careful around those girls,” she warned. “Something about them is not right.”
She understood where Sage was coming from about the girls but right now the only person she could think about was her mother.
Chapter 3
Ariana wanted to escape the mysterious stares and the whispers for at least a few minutes before class started. She headed to the one place in school that she knew would be quiet: the library. She walked to the back of the library where the sunlight didn’t reach quite as far. To her disappointment, Dill wasn’t here.
She could hear footsteps approaching from behind. She wasn’t sure who she would find behind her once she turned around, judging from all the weird looks she and Sage received from everyone earlier.
“Ariana?” a male voice called out
.
She slowly turned around to see Dill staring back at her. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“You okay?”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I know that class starts soon but I really need to talk to someone.”
Chapter 4
Leighton felt relieved knowing that Peyton wasn’t at school but she knew it was just a matter of time before she came back. In the cafeteria she could see Sailor sitting alone at Peyton’s table as usual; and Gigi was nowhere in sight. If it hadn’t been for Aidan, Leighton would be sitting alone, too. She didn’t know where Vanessa could be; she’d seen her earlier in class.
Aidan winked at Leighton and she blushed. She noticed that he’d been doing a lot of that lately since they had gone out to the movies together. He had a beautiful smile on his face and it wasn’t just because of her. Aidan had gotten accepted into an in-state university in Georgia with a scholarship. Since the scholarship didn’t cover all of his expenses, he was going to get a student loan, and work part-time but he didn’t mind. His parents’ divorce had finally been finalized and his father didn’t waste any time proclaiming his love to another woman and moving out-of-state to be with her. He and his mother still lived with his grandmother. He was happy that his mother wasn’t upset by the divorce. In fact, she was happier and livelier than ever. She was enjoying the single life and she felt as if she was getting to know herself all over again.
Something that Aidan was extremely excited about was that he and Leighton were going to the same college. Vanessa was the only one in the group going to an out-of-state school. She shared with the group that she was an aspiring film director.
“Are you nervous about college at all?” Aidan asked her.
“Not really,” Leighton replied. “I think I may be a little nervous at first just because the campus will be new to me.”
“We’ll take a campus tour together to solve that problem.”
“Have you thought about what you want to major in?” she questioned.
“I have an idea but I’m still not sure.”
“And what’s your idea?” She smiled.
“I want to do something in medical. What about you?”
She sighed. “I’m not sure. I’ve thought about working in medical, too. I just don’t want to be a doctor or nurse. Then, I thought about psychology so I’m really not sure.”
“You guys will be great at whatever you decide to do,” Vanessa added.
Aidan and Leighton had not even noticed her slide into her seat at the table.
“That’s easy for you to say.” Leighton smiled that smile that melted Aidan’s heart. “You’re going to be the famous film director.”
“So,” Vanessa cheerfully began, “do you guys have any plans after school?”
“I was just going to look for jobs online near the college campus I’m attending,” Aidan replied.
“So soon?”
He nodded. “If the manager likes you and you do great during the interview, they will hold the job until fall semester. They’re pretty flexible with college students.”
“What kind of job are you trying to get?”
“Anything. I’m not picky.”
Vanessa was silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “I was thinking about working part-time while I was in school to have extra cash but I don’t know…”
“You know there are scholarships available that you guys can apply for online, right?” Leighton said.
“I’ve been applying and writing essay after essay but so far no luck.”
“Keep trying,” Leighton encouraged her.
“Even if I get another scholarship, I’m still going to work part-time just to have the extra cash,” Aidan added.
“What about you, Leighton? Do you want to work while you’re in college?” Vanessa was curious.
“During my first year, I want to focus on school and get in the groove of taking college classes. After my first year, I probably will work part-time.”
“Cool. So are you doing anything after school, Leighton?” Vanessa questioned.
“I was supposed to go to my mom’s salon to help out.”
“Can’t she get Zayley to do that?”
“She and I were supposed to help mom together.”
“Can’t you skip just this one time? We’ll be graduating soon and I’m not sure when I’ll see you again. Especially if I get that internship for the summer I applied for.”
“Where did you want to meet at?”
“The food court in the mall.”
Vanessa looked to Aidan. “And if you work up an appetite looking for jobs, you know where to find us.”
Her eyes returned to Leighton. She loved Leighton more than she’d ever know. She was her best friend, and she was like the sister never had. However, Vanessa had been keeping a secret from Leighton. Even though she was only trying to help her friend she couldn’t help but wonder how she would take the news.
~ ~ ~
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