Hell is a Teenage Girl E-Book

Alice Collier

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Hayley never trusts anyone yet knows everything about everyone.

Hayley doesn't believe in love, yet she finds herself killing for it.

Das E-Book Hell is a Teenage Girl wird angeboten von BookRix und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:
murder, death, psychogocial

Leseprobe

Alice Collier

Hell is a Teenage Girl

The Short Story

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

ACT I

Hardly anyone possessed any substantial knowledge about Hayley Smith. While her wealth and beauty were apparent, her true essence remained a mystery. Her mother, her father, and even her boyfriend had no insights into her character. When questioned about dating the wealthiest girl in town, Joey Green nonchalantly responded with a smirk, "She's amazing in bed." He had no genuine understanding of his girlfriend; he merely saw her as a physical object to exploit and a source of money to spend.

Hayley found the term "boyfriend" laughable. Joey Green hardly qualified as a friend. Though she occasionally enjoyed his company, his speech and behavior made it clear to Hayley that he was merely a boy in her life. Not an innocent one, though. Hayley was aware of his infidelity. She had witnessed him with other women on multiple occasions, and perhaps he knew that she knew, but they never discussed it.

When she first discovered his betrayal, Hayley almost found it comical. It seemed as if she were following in her mother's footsteps. She had been the one to uncover her father's affair, which caused an initial crack in her soul that never seemed to heal. From then on, constant screams echoed from her parents' bedroom day and night, etching themselves permanently into her mind.

Now, she found herself in the same predicament as her mother. Hayley knew that Joey was cheating on her with Taylor Charles, the head cheerleader. Taylor idolized Hayley and pretended to be her best friend, but friendship was the furthest thing from her mind. Taylor desired to be Hayley, coveting her looks, wealth, elegance, and influence. So, when she managed to win over Hayley's boyfriend, Taylor felt like a queen.

For Hayley, it was all a joke because she didn't bother cultivating real friendships. Over the years, she realized that friendship held as much value as the money she possessed. She didn't need anyone else except herself; everyone else merely wanted something from her. When she went out with Taylor and the other cheerleaders, they fawned over her like she was their savior, linking arms with her, complimenting her, and smiling like dolls. All they wanted was access to her credit card.

Hayley wasn't foolish; she understood that they were using her. When Taylor looked at her with feigned innocence and guiltily swiped Hayley's card, she saw right through the act. Yet, she allowed it to happen because she knew Taylor had struggles at home and financial hardships.

Hayley was aware of all these details, but she chose to remain silent, confident that everything would unfold in due course. While nobody truly knew anything about Hayley Smith, she possessed an uncanny knowledge of everyone around her.

She embodied high fashion. "Oh, darling, where did you get that dress?" Hayley's mother asked, her words met with a flash of anger in Hayley's deadly green eyes as she looked up. "You don't like it?" Hayley's voice dripped with venom.

Hayley was the spitting image of her mother, sharing the same haunting green eyes and a captivating figure. Both exuded a certain confidence that held their heads high, threatening those around them. Yet, this confidence also created an immense rift between them, making them appear distant.

Her mother sneered, taking a drag from her cigarette. "Red doesn't suit you."

The tension in the air matched the darkness within Hayley's eyes. She tightly gripped the counter, her knuckles turning white. "You know," she maliciously taunted, "Sophia loved it."

Hayley knew precisely what she was doing the moment those words slipped out.

Her mother stiffened and swiveled to glare at her. "Did she now?" The mention of her father's secretary always triggered her mother, a trick Hayley had mastered over time. It was the woman with whom her father was shamelessly cheating on her mother.

The lack of parental love Hayley experienced during her childhood had profoundly impacted her life. Despite her parents' wealth and lavish gifts, they couldn't fill the deep void within her. Birthdays and Christmases were spent alone, reminding her that she couldn't rely on her parents for anything other than money.

At the tender age of 17, Hayley held no respect for her parents. Her father, hardly present in her life, was engrossed in an affair with his secretary while her mother drowned her sorrows in alcohol and cigarettes. She often wondered why they remained together, trapped in a web of unspoken hatred concealed by hollow smiles and lies. Their shared misery seemed to bind them inexplicably.

Hayley had long moved past the sadness of being neglected by her parents. Instead, she derived amusement from manipulating and provoking them, hoping to witness their eventual unraveling. Family dinners became her playground, where a casual mention of Sophia or a sprinkle of alcohol could set off a chain reaction.

"I wonder where dad is right now," Hayley mused absentmindedly while pouring herself a glass of water, relishing in her mother's discomfort.

"Shut the fuck up, Hayley," her mother snarled, her emotions buried beneath a robotic façade she had adopted over the years.

"It's your fault," her mother spat, the bitterness, anger, and denial coursing through her. "If you were a son, he'd still be here. But here you are, a whiney, ungrateful little bitch. You drove him away."

Although familiar with those hurtful words, each repetition stung a little more. The echoes of her mother's insults intertwined with the constant screams in Hayley's mind.

"Or maybe you just couldn't please him," Hayley sneered, deliberately provoking her mother.

In a swift motion, her mother's palm struck her left cheek, causing Hayley's head to snap to the side, pain flaring across her face.

"Watch your mouth," her mother hissed.

Hayley felt her blood boil, hatred surging through her veins, fueling the voices that screamed in her head. She held her mother's gaze with an equally intense glare, ignoring the pain as her fingernails dug into her palms.

A tense silence filled the air, an unspoken challenge of who would break first. Hayley refused to let her mother emerge victorious. With her deadly gaze fixed on her mother, she withstood the pain, her resolve unyielding.

After a few moments, her mother sighed and took another drag of her cigarette, as if nothing had transpired. "Darling, you need to smile more," she said casually. "The least you could do is try to look pretty."

The voices in Hayley's head shrieked louder than ever, her ears ringing with their cacophony. But as always, she remained silent, gazing at her mother through clouded eyes.

Clad in her blood-red dress, Hayley felt the fabric cling tightly to her body, the sensation mingling with the throbbing of her swollen cheek. If red wasn't her color, then why was it all she could see?

As Hayley entered the house, she was met with a disheveled mess. Cracked plates littered the floor, and the stench of cigarettes hung heavily in the air.

Her father stumbled down the stairs, hastily buttoning his shirt and running a hand through his greying hair.

Hayley fixed her gaze on her father, patiently waiting for him to acknowledge her. No words needed to be spoken; she already knew what had transpired.