Ruined.
Tainted.
Tainted.
Tainted.
“Shut up,” I whisper, my eyes still locked on my reflection.
“Octavia.” My sister’s voice reaches me through the door, and I try to calm myself down.
She cannot see me like this. She doesn’t know about this part of me, this darkness, and she never will.
What I do, what I carry, what I bury, will never be allowed to touch her.
I keep my eyes fixed on the mirror, even as my fingers itch toward the cabinet beneath the sink.
Ruined.
Tainted.
Ruined.
I close my eyes, knowing I’ve lost this fight, if I was ever truly fighting at all, and reach blindly until my fingers find what they’ve been searching for.
The familiar weight settles into my palm, and when the blade touches my skin, a breath of relief escapes me, followed by a tear I don’t bother to stop.
Chapter 6
Octavia
After my breakdown in the bathroom, or so to speak, I finally pull myself together enough to leave.
Once I’m back in my room, I tug on jeans and a loose knitted jumper, then run my fingers through my wild pink hair.
When I step out, Ophelia is in my living room, waiting.
“Your coffee,” she says, nodding towards the cup on the island.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I say, taking it. “Black, right? You’re not trying to poison me with milk.” I shudder.
“Indeed. As black and bitter as your soul,” she jokes. “And for the record, you wouldn’t die if you drank milk.”
I shudder again. “Don’t joke about it. I’d absolutely die. Or at least vomit, yes, definitely vomit.”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who despised milk quite as much as you.”
“Despise is putting it mildly,” I retort, and she laughs.
I grab my bag, and we make our way out of my dorm towards the lift. The doors slide shut, and it carries us down in silence.
A black car is already waiting outside. The driver, dressed in a suit, he steps forward and opens the door without a word.
We slide inside, and within minutes we’re pulling up in front of the main building, a vast stone fortress rising out of the grounds.
This is where the classes are held, where the immense library sits, where the dean’s office is tucked away behind the heavy doors.
Beside it stands a smaller building that houses the dining hall, the infirmary, and a handful of other facilities, andbeyond that, further back, another large structure rises from the grounds.
