Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) by V. F. Mason Read Free Book Online Page A

my stomach and the deep ache in my bones. Staring at the ceiling, I wondered how much longer this would go on. When would the whole detox period end? It’d been two weeks, and even though they now managed to put some food in me, I couldn’t make myself care. It was punishment, in a way, and I took it with gusto. Withdrawal ended, but my body had no strength.
    The nurses and doctors never spoke a word to me or in front of me. I struggled in the beginning, not wanting them to fix me, but I had no strength left to fight.
    Still, I didn’t regret shit.
    I just wanted to see Nicky again, and probably if it continued longer, I would be able to.
    In death.
    Oddly enough, the idea seemed appealing to me.
    Even if they cured my body from its addiction, how the hell could they cure my mind?
     

     
    “ Come on, Bella, don’t cry. They’ll hear you.” Nicky gently wiped the tears from my cheeks, and I looked down, ashamed. I didn’t want to worry him, but what those kids had said hurt.
    I looked back at the smirking kids in the cafeteria and then turned my eyes to the floor.
    “ I’m sorry, Nicky.” Whispering those words probably didn’t make anything better. I fingered my dress, which was worn out, one size too small, years old, and had a few patches covering the holes. They had made fun of it and told me to get lost because there was no place in our school for trashy people like us. Then they pushed me down, when all I wanted to do was eat something during lunch. It was the highlight of my day. Well, mine and Nicky’s because the school cafeteria had everything and it was the only time we could eat something and be satisfied.
    “ Baby girl, you don’t need to apologize. I will fix it, I promise.” He hugged me and I breathed in his warm smell; it calmed me. When Nicky was near, I knew no one would dare touch me. They were afraid to, because he was strong and a star football player. He wasn’t popular, but they had to deal with him because he was one of the biggest athletes in school.
    “ How can you? They are right. I’m trash.” That’s why it hurt so much. Our parents drank all the time, and sometimes, looking at them made me sick. I didn’t want to become like them, but what if sometimes you had no choice in what you become?
    Nicky took my head into his hands and forced me to look up. I stared into his deep violet eyes, which held so much pain and love, just like mine.
    “ Baby girl, you’re you, not trash. You are special. Always remember that.” I tried to smile, but what he was saying was hard to believe when everything pointed to the opposite.
    But wasn’t Nick the only one whose opinion mattered in this world?
    I woke up from the dream to the bright morning sunlight, which hurt my eyes. The dream, or rather the memory, was so vivid, it could have happened yesterday.
    Indeed, after the incident, no one made fun of me anymore. I didn’t know what he did, but it must have been something extreme because those kids were mean as fuck and had a lot of connections in school. I shifted slowly in the bed and blinked because I realized it was the first time that I had actually slept through the night in a while and hadn’t woken up from the discomfort.
    It had been a month since I arrived here, and the vomiting had stopped two weeks ago. I just had the burning and addictive feeling of wanting something—cravings—but it wasn’t as bad as it used to be.
    I felt sticky and desperately wanted to take a shower, which was a new feeling as well.
    I had a thought that maybe it was because I saw him in my dreams, and it had seemed almost like a drug dose to me. That thought was scary though, and I preferred to move past it.
    I pressed the button---something I rarely did---and the nurse came in. She was in her late twenties and had this stern expression on her face every time she looked at me. She probably had a problem with me---not like I gave a fuck. I owed her nothing.
    “ Yes?” Her voice was slightly