Chapter 1 SHADOWS OF THE PAST

Tessy Pov

“Come here”, he roared, I froze, my heart was pounding “you think you can leave me huh” His voice was thick, the smell of alcohol filled the room, I could barely breathe.

Edward stood in front of me, his face was red and his eyes were wild, he stumbled a bit, moving closer to me. My heart shivered with every step.

“I gave you everything, you're nothing without me” he spat, this time tears filled my eyes.

I tried to back away but there was nowhere else to go. The wall felt pressed into my spine.

“Please I'm sorry, please I won't I'm sorry”, I pleaded but I know he didn't care. He grabbed my hands slapping my face

“You filthy piece of shit, just like your mother you're a worthless whore,I hate you”, he slapped me again.

This time, I could taste blood in my mouth,I was used to the word hate but everytime I heard that word from him my heart sank deeper.

I wanted to run but my legs couldn't even move. I was too scared to say anything.

Suddenly I heard a loud shattering sound. He broke the glass of alcohol beside me.

I woke up with a loud gasp, my heart was pounding, I could feel my body feeling tensed and sweat dripping down my forehead, I sat up,

“Another Nightmare”, I thought

The same one again, “you're safe”, I said trying to comfort myself. I could still hear Edward's voice echoing in my head, . I tried to remind myself I was safe and he wasn't here with me.

My T-shirt clung to my skin with sweat,and my hands were trembling,I pulled the blanket off my legs.

“ It's been six months since I left home but somehow it still feels like it was yesterday” I thought.

I got out of bed to my mirror and looked at my face. My eyes looked tired and my hair was messy. . I couldn't recognise the girl in the mirror sometimes.

My eyes darted to the clock on the wall.

“9:30 AM”

“Crap”

I was late.

I stumbled away from the mirror and quickly rushed to the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face,I didn't do much.

My reflection looked pale and tired, my eyes were puffy.

Immediately I was done I grabbed the first hoodie I saw, not even checking if it matches the jeans I had put on. Luckily,I had arranged my books and documents on my desk the night before. I quickly shoved my books into my bag while tying my shoe lace with the other hand.

I grabbed my phone and car keys and headed out of the house.

First day of uni,and I was already a mess.

I didn’t even wait for the car to fully stop before jumping out.

l tried to move faster without looking frantic. I didn’t see the figure moving in opposite directions,

Wham,

I felt myself hitting a very hard chest. I let out a small gasp as I moved backwards. I immediately bent over,scrambling to gather my scattered notes. My cheeks were burning,

“I-Im so sorry”, i mumbled, to embarrassed to even look up,

“It's okay, let me help”, came a deep and calm voice.

Before I could protest, the stranger was collecting my books with careful hands, he finally handed the pile to me.

I looked up and froze,

He was tall,muscular and toned, his skin was smooth and brown. But what struck me the most was his eyes,they were calm in a comforting way,

I blinked,snapping out of whatever that was,

“Thanks, I'm sorry again,I wasn't looking” I said

“No harm was done”, he said softly

“Okay, well bye”, I added,

“ My name is Brian” he tried to introduce himself, but I quickly nodded

As I walked away,I could still feel his eyes on me, I didn't look back,

I glanced at my wrist watch, luckily I still had time,I couldn't afford distractions atleast not today I said,

The queue wasn't long, thankfully. I joined it and took a deep breath. It finally came to my turn, I handed over my documents with shaky hands. The lady at the table scanned them quickly.

“You're Tessy Blair right” she asked,typing something on her computer.

“Yes ma'am” I replied.

“Once again,congratulations on your scholarship,your student status has been confirmed”

“Go over to the next desk for your student ID and schedule “

I nodded,trying to hide the sudden rush of relief I felt.

“You're safe now, away from him” I told myself

Or atleast, I hope I was

I checked my wrist watch again

Thirty Minutes late, “ Great, can my day not get any worse?” I sighed.

I gripped my bag tighter and walked fast, scanning through the class numbers as I passed. After almost five whole minutes I finally found the class.

I took a deep breath and turned the knob, and stepped in.