"Alone. Yes, that's the keyword, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym." - Stephen King.

All my attempts to find the online bully were futile. My online investigational skills were nothing compared to Doris, and even she couldn't find the culprit. I tried not to let the matter eat away at what string of happiness I had left. I remained positive throughout the week, but Evan and Doris both knew I was a ticking time bomb. I noticed by the way they started avoiding me when I got a little agitated over a 'small' argument. Were they really scared of me, or simply giving me some space?

But the most important task was to keep the online posts away from Colton. He liked scrolling through his feed daily, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he found out. Although I wasn't too worried about his reaction, but rather my mom's. 

Today was Thursday, and this depressing week was finally coming to an end. But I couldn't leave school just yet. I was failing my Physics class, and my mother had signed me up for after-school lessons. There were only four of us in this dreadful lessons class. Two students, I didn't associate myself with, and a soft-spoken boy named James whom I knew from my usual classes. 

The teacher was a thin lady with lanky blonde hair that contained several split-ends, a long floral dress and a black pair of spectacles that made her eyes seem way bigger than they were. She seemed more afraid of mingling with us than we were willing. I merely chuckled to myself and was thankful that our little group didn't comprise of troublemakers to make her time here hell. We finished the class and she had just dismissed us. I was the last one left as I packed my stuff with a small smile. Today wasn't as bad as I presumed it to be.

But then the classroom door flung open with a bang, and in the doorway stood the infamous Myles. His brown was dishevelled and his light eyes were wild. I pressed my lips together and walked past him and he stared with a crazed expression. He reached out to grab my shoulder but I jerked it away.

"Emily, what did you tell the principal about me?" he asked slowly, as if to calm himself. My back faced him as a sly smile crept up my lips. It seems something was done afterall. 

"I told her the truth," I replied as I turned to face him. His nose twitched. His grip on his school bag handle tightened. 

"The truth?" he repeated with a dark chuckle. I grew irritated.

"Yes, Myles. I know that you're the one who's been posting rumours abut me online!" He raised a sceptical brow.

"Damn, the Canadian blood runs deep in you," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" I snapped. He shook his head, brown strands flicking from side to side.

"That's not important. What's important is that they put my dad on paid leave because of you!"

"Serves him right," I scoffed. "He should have done a better job at raising you." Myles' eyes hardened as he took a menacing step forward.

"Oh, he raised me right, Emily," he seethed. My eyebrows raised so high. I needed to get home and calm down. I always got angry when people wouldn't own up to their actions. Was it that hard to do? 

"Did he? Only a total asshole would post lies about me and my stepfather havING SEX ON FACEBOOK!" I screeched. The posts had been taken down by the school's IT department. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders that day. I was able to return home from school without a lingering thought.

"I DID NOT POST THESE THINGS!" he screamed back. I let out an exasperated sigh and turned on my heels to walk out of the school. Myles was like a stone wall. Nothing seemed to get past his mental block. I was just wasting my time. I'd taken a few steps when I felt a force grip my backpack from behind. I swung around to see Myles fuming. "You're not going to get away with this!" I pushed him off me and tried to remain calm.

"Myles, this is a small price to pay for the amount of humiliation you've put me through," I said through my teeth. 

If he was a cartoon, he'd have steam coming out of his ears. He punched the door of a random locker so hard that it opened. So much for proper school security, I thought. Myles' behaviour was beginning to put me on the edge. I thought of sneaking away whilst he stared it with a frightening look. But before I could, he grabbed a hold of my shirt and slammed me into the locker.

"What are you do-" I began to say, but the locker door had already slammed shut. "Myles!" I banged on the door. It was humid and smelled of rotting metal inside here. "Open the door!" I banged against the metal again. The door didn't budge. How convenient, I screamed in my head. "Myles!"

"You'll have enough time to think about what you've done inside there," I heard his voice say.

"Myles! Open the damn door!" I yelled.

I heard his echoing footsteps walking down the hall until it faded into deafening silence.

***

Thanks for reading!

Taja D'amore.