Fated To The Bully Twins

The burning pendant

Maddie

The following Monday, I definitely didn't want to go to college. I was sure that Derek and his friends would be there, and even if they didn't try anything with me, I would feel uncomfortable just being in the same space as him. I didn't know if I would ever recover from what he had done to me, from how I let myself be fooled by that beautiful smile of his, that sneaky pickup line that made you feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Not only that, but I blamed myself for having been such a weak fool and falling so easily for his words.

But I had to draw strength from within myself to be able to get out of bed and get ready. We were at the end of the semester, and participation at this time was crucial for success in the grade. I looked at my image in the mirror when I was in the bathroom. I was completely exhausted, my face was swollen from crying, and my hair was licked. No matter how much I dressed up, I would never feel beautiful again. I hated all of that.

“Maddie, sweetie. Why are you so down?” My mother asked as I ate breakfast with her.

I shook my head. “It's nothing to worry about, Mum; I'm okay,” I replied with a yellow smile. I didn't want my Mommy to worry about it. She already had the house bills to pay as a single mother since my father went to buy a cigarette when I was a child and never came back. My mother had a lot to deal with, and I wanted to spare her from knowing that her only daughter had become a meme at college.

She held my hand. “You know you can count on me no matter what,” she said. Her words were as gentle as her gaze.

"Thank you, mom. But you don't have to worry about me; I'm fine,” I replied to that, wanting to assure her that I was fine so that she wouldn't have to worry about me anymore, since she already had a lot to deal with.

She smiled kindly, yet she was anguished. She got up from the table and went to the closet nearby, and when she came back, she had a little gift box in her hand.

“I wish I could do more than that, but I don't have the money... Anyway, happy birthday, my daughter. You’re turning eighteen today,” she said emotionally, handing me the gift box.

Good heavens, today was my birthday. I had even forgotten about it because I was so focused on my situation with Derek. I gave my mother an emotional hug. “It’s okay, Mom. Just receiving your hug is enough for me,” I replied.

She kissed me on the top of my head, and then I opened the gift box, revealing a necklace that had a clear crystal pendant. When I passed my hand over that stone, I felt a strange vibration running through my finger.

“Wow… it feels good…” I suddenly felt as if I had seen that necklace before, like a feeling of déjà vu.

“Your late grandma said on her deathbed that I had to give this necklace to you when you turned eighteen. She told me this will reveal who you really are,” she said about her mother with a mysterious air as she held my hand.

I laughed a little, thinking that my mother was just being funny to cheer me up, so then I put the necklace around my neck, and when the pendant touched my skin, it felt like coming home. I felt like I had already worn that necklace before, when in fact I had never seen it in my life, which was strange.

“Thanks for the gift, Mom, but now I need to go to college,” I said to her, giving her one last hug and kiss and then grabbing my bag.

“May the goddess of the Moon protect you, my daughter,” she said to me before I left the house.

*******

It was still hard to believe that I was returning to Oxwell University. The sun was shining brightly, but my heart was heavy. Ever since that fateful night with Derek, I felt like I was carrying an unbearable weight on my shoulders. There was a suffocating expectation, as if everyone knew I was the "easy girl" he had used.

As I entered the campus, the laughter and whispers of students echoed around me. Every step I took seemed to echo, amplifying my sense of isolation. As I walked, I avoided looking anyone in the eye, especially those who knew Dereck. I felt everyone's eyes on me, as if I were exposed, an easy target for jokes.

However, I needed to go to class. I tried to hide in a corner, away from the groups that were gathering, but I couldn't escape. As soon as I arrived at the cafeteria, it didn't take long for someone to see me.

“Look, it’s Madelyn! The one who gave herself up to Derek at the first chance,” someone shouted, causing laughter all around.

My face burned with shame, and the desire to disappear was almost palpable. Those words cut like a knife. I went to a table in the corner and sat alone, trying to ignore the surrounding noise. But the voices didn't stop. The memories of last night came back with vengeance, and the pain I felt only increased.

“You won’t believe it; I heard she thought he really liked her.”

"Who cares? He was just fulfilling a bet.”

The venom in their words burned more than anything. After a few minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up abruptly, determined to get out of there. But before I could take another step, Derek appeared in front of me with a smile that I now knew very well.

“Maddie, wait! I need to talk to you,” he said, trying to block me.

"No! Leave me alone!" I shouted, feeling anger boil inside me. The pain turned into a wave of energy that seemed to take over my body. Derek seemed surprised by my reaction, but he didn't give up.

“I just wanted to explain. It wasn’t like you think!”

“How do you think I’m going to believe you? You used me! I was a gamble for you and your friends.”

My voice was charged with emotion, and with each word, the fury inside me grew. He opened his mouth to respond, but before any sound could come out, the necklace my mother gave me earlier in the morning shone and burned my skin so intensely that a wave of heat invaded my body. I felt like the air was on fire around me. I looked down at my hands and saw little flames dancing between my fingers.

Panic took over.

“Madelyn, what’s going on?” Derek shouted, taking a step back, but I was beyond reason. The pain and anger turned into flames, consuming everything around me. The students nearby started screaming, and one by one, the surrounding objects started to catch fire. The tables, the chairs—everything turned to ashes before my fury. It was like the world was on fire, and I couldn't stop.

Desperate, I tried to control what was happening, but it was impossible. My mind was clouded, and all I could think about was Derek's betrayal and the pain he had caused; my mother's words earlier saying that the talisman would reveal things about me, that it would reveal who I truly was...

The heat increased, and soon everything around me became a scene of chaos. And then, as if the world were pushing me into the abyss, darkness took over. My body collapsed to the ground, and everything around me went blank in absolute silence.