He Is No Longer in My Future

I'm the heiress of the Claremont family. Damon Johnson and I had a deal—we'd go to Oakwood High together. But the second my acceptance letter arrived, he and the rest of the guys in our class knocked me out cold. Why? Because Sophia Miller, the school's little princess, said she'd never seen a real mummy before. When I came to, I was wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, strung up at the front gate of the school. Students passed by—laughing, filming, some even spitting in my direction. I hung there for two full hours, on display for everyone. Finally, Damon showed up. Grinning, he untied the rope. "Sophia said she wanted to see a live mummy. It was just a joke. You're not actually mad, are you? We've known each other our whole lives. You get me." I just stared at him. At the group of guys still snickering behind him. At Sophia in the corner, covering her mouth with her hand. So this is what my dignity was worth to them. A punchline. I tore up my Oakwood acceptance letter and took the plane ticket the International Academy had sent me—three days to leave. The moment I stepped onto that plane, Damon lost it. "You're the one who always understands me—so why are you leaving?" Chapter 1 I'd barely stepped out of the classroom when a group of guys surrounded me. Damon stood at the front—the boy I'd grown up with since we were kids. "Evelyn, just play along for a sec." Before I could even react, he swung a baton straight at the back of my head. Everything went black. But right before I lost consciousness, I caught a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. When I woke up, my entire body was wrapped in white bandages, from head to toe. Only my eyes and nostrils were left exposed. I tried to struggle, but my limbs were tied so tight the bindings cut into my skin and squeezed the air right out of my lungs. The hallway was packed with students. Phone flashes stung my eyes like needles as they laughed. "Whoa, an actual mummy. This is hilarious." "Isn't that Evelyn? The top of our grade?" "Heard Damon did this to impress his new girl. Used her as entertainment." I tried to scream, but my mouth was taped shut. Then they started spitting on me. Thick, sticky droplets slid down my body, and the nausea hit me like a wave—but I couldn't do a thing about it. More students kept pouring in, flashes popping nonstop. Two full hours. I hung there like some display piece, gawked at, mocked, humiliated. And not one person lifted a finger to help. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the tears came anyway. The bandages had already rubbed my skin raw by the time Damon finally strolled over, Sophia trailing behind him. The second she saw me, she gasped, covering her mouth with exaggerated shock, her voice dripping with barely concealed excitement. "Oh my god, you guys actually did it! That's amazing!" Then, quieter: "But… won't Evelyn be mad?" Damon puffed up, shooting Sophia a smug look. "Of course we did. Sophia wants something, we make it happen. Evelyn won't care. I've known her for twelve years—she knows it's a joke." "Seriously, Sophia, you're way too sweet. Stop feeling guilty." I let out a muffled, angry noise from behind the tape. Damon caught my strained expression, frowned slightly, and pulled out a handkerchief. He casually wiped the spit off me like it was nothing. "Alright, joke's over. Let her down." Joke. He called this a joke. A couple of guys fumbled with the ropes. When they saw me looking wrecked, they covered their mouths snickering. Even Sophia couldn't hide the contempt in her eyes. Damon ripped the bandages off my face, his nail scratching across my cheek. It stung like fire. He didn't even notice. Just looked at me, amused. "Evelyn, stop crying. It was just a joke. We've pranked each other before, right?" The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I stared at his face—and for the first time, he looked like a stranger. We'd been in the same school since kindergarten. Yeah, we'd messed with each other before, but never like this—never to hurt, never to strip away someone's dignity. This time, he'd made me a public spectacle in front of hundreds of people just to please Sophia. Twelve years of history, and to him? Worthless. I threw my head forward and slammed it right into his face. Sophia let out a shriek. "Evelyn! Damon was just joking! How can you do that to him in front of everyone?" I let out a cold laugh. Funny—when they locked me in that hallway like a sideshow freak, did any of them care about my dignity? Damon wiped the blood from his lip, then reached over and ruffled my hair. But his eyes darted away—guilty. "Sophia's coming to Oakwood with us. She said she'd never seen a mummy before, and I figured since you two are gonna be friends anyway, what's the harm in you giving her a laugh?" "Look—you cried, you threw a fit, and you even headbutted me. I took that one fair and square. So let's call it even." "At the end of the day, you're fine. We're all gonna be classmates. No big deal." The guys around him chimed in. "Yeah, Evelyn. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill." "She's practically part of our circle anyway. What's the big deal?" "We were just trying to help her fit in faster." I pulled away from his hand. Cold. Silent. I just stared at them. If it weren't for Damon pulling me out of that water when I was four, none of them would even have the right to breathe the same air as me. Even Oakwood only agreed to let him in because I insisted. I gave him one last look. Then I turned and walked away. His voice chased after me: "Evelyn, don't be mad. Fine, I'll take you out to dinner tomorrow, alright?" "Evelyn! You hear me? Stop right there!" In the past, I'd have taken the out he gave me. Smiled. Said yes. This time, I didn't even look back. Chapter 2 "Hey! Evelyn!" When I didn't even look back, Damon's voice cracked with unease. He started to go after me—but the second he moved, Sophia grabbed his arm, her eyes already glistening. "Damon… did I do something wrong? Evelyn's going to hate me now, isn't she?" "It's all my fault—I'm just too poor. I've never seen a real mummy before. If only I had a background like hers…" Damon glanced at my retreating figure one more time. Then he stopped. Didn't follow. Instead, he softened his voice for her. "Don't worry. Evelyn won't stay mad. I'll smooth things over, she'll come around." "You're always so kind, Sophia. Not like Evelyn—can't even take a joke anymore." I didn't bother turning around. Just kept walking. By the time I got home, my phone buzzed with a text. Damon. [Evelyn. Fine, be mad at me. But Sophia didn't do anything wrong. She was so scared she cried. You need to apologize to her tomorrow.] [Do that, and I'll take you to the amusement park. I know you've been dying to ride the Ferris wheel.] I was the one who got hurt. Not a single word of concern from him. Just demands for me to fold. He'd turned me into a toy to entertain Sophia. I collapsed onto the bathroom floor and let the scalding water hammer down over me. If I just stayed under long enough, maybe the wounds and the shame would wash away. They didn't. The laughter, the sneers—they looped in my head like a broken record. Three years ago, the International Academy had already sent me an invitation. Early admission. Because of my grades, they wanted me to skip straight to university. But Damon and I had promised each other—Oakwood High, together. So I turned it down. For him. I stayed. Went to this middle school with him. He barely made the cut for Oakwood. So I pulled strings—called in favors from the Claremont name—just to get him in. Back then, he looked at me with those bright eyes. "Evelyn, I can't imagine a single day without you. We have to be together forever." And I'd blushed, smacked his chest. "Who said anything about forever?" Everyone assumed we were endgame. Hell, even I did. Then Sophia transferred in. Pretty face, clean white dresses that made her poverty look poetic. Every guy flocked to her—including Damon. Suddenly, my morning coffee came with an extra cup for her. On our special "friendship anniversary," she got a necklace too. Every time I frowned, he'd just laugh it off. "She's new, Ev. I'm just helping her fit in." Until today. When he used me—publicly, brutally—to win her smile. My phone buzzed again, screen slick with water droplets. The call connected on its own. "Miss Claremont, we wanted to check if you're still considering the International Academy. Our doors are always open. We've sent you the ticket—we hope you'll accept." A pause. "Also… we just saw a video circulating online. Are you alright? Do you need any assistance from us?" My heart dropped. Mechanically, I opened Instagram. Someone had posted this afternoon's footage. And there, in the comments—Damon's reply: [@Sophia I've got Evelyn strung up online for three days. Consider it my apology to you.] Something inside me went cold. Then still. Then dead. Sixteen years. Gone. I needed to leave. Get out of this suffocating place. A soft "Mm" escaped my throat. I accepted the ticket. After saving every video and post, I called my mom. "Mom… I've made my decision. I'm going to the International Academy. Yes, three days from now. I'm going alone." Chapter 3 The next morning, Damon pushed open my front door like he owned the place. I'd given him the code back when we used to take tutoring sessions together at my house. He saw the suitcase I was packing and his brow furrowed. "Evelyn, I already agreed to live off-campus with you. Why are you still set on the dorm?" "Don't you know Oakwood only has one honors dorm?" "You've got everything—why do you have to compete with Sophia over this?" Sophia stood behind him, eyes red-rimmed, fingers twisting the hem of her shirt. "Evelyn, I'm sorry… I know you look down on me. I didn't mean for any of this." "Yesterday, I just mentioned it casually. I didn't think they'd actually do it. But everyone had fun, right?" They'd laughed at me at my lowest yesterday. And today, I was supposed to be the bigger person. Their fun was built on my pain. Did they even know that honors dorm was built specifically for me? Even if I didn't take it, Sophia would never qualify. I looked at them coldly and pointed at the door. "Get out. I don't like strangers in my house." Damon blinked at my flat tone, then let out a light laugh. "Come on, Evelyn. Enough. Sophia already apologized." "Besides, she came all this way to bring you your Oakwood acceptance letter—and to invite you to the amusement park tomorrow. Do you really have to be this petty?" I finally noticed the crumpled envelope in Sophia's hands. She held it out like I was some kind of monster. "Evelyn… please don't be mad at me, okay?" My voice came out flat. No heat. "I said get out." Damon snatched the letter from Sophia and threw it at my feet. "Evelyn, you're just doing this for attention, aren't you? You're getting harder and harder to deal with. If you keep this up, don't blame me for ignoring you." "Think about it. Until you apologize, I'm not coming back." Then he took Sophia's hand—so naturally, like they'd done it a thousand times—and walked out. I let out a cold laugh and tore the Oakwood letter to shreds. Oh, I'd think about it, alright. I'd think about why I'd let them walk all over me for the past three months. I spent the day packing. The morning of my flight, I went to the amusement park. I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel one last time—take in the city I'd called home for ten years. But the second I stepped inside, I ran straight into Sophia and that whole group. My eyes swept over their faces. Every single one of them was already on the起诉名单 my family had drawn up. They circled me immediately, grinning with that same ugly look. My body started shaking—uncontrollably—just remembering what they'd done to me in that hallway. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't move. Sophia walked up and cornered me against the wall. Then she reached down and deliberately messed up her own collar. "Evelyn, play along with us for a bit. You don't mind, right?" I shook my head frantically—but she pressed something over my nose, and the world went hazy. "You still owe me an apology. Consider this your payment—you can be my model for a while." Chapter 4 When I came to, I was tied to a chair in the classroom. The ropes had already cut into my skin, leaving raw red marks. Through the door, I could hear their whispers. "Damon, I told you—you spoil her too much. That's why she treats you like dirt now." "If we hadn't shown up in time, Sophia would've been stripped bare by Evelyn." "So just because she's top of the grade, she gets to bully Sophia like that? Sophia was crying." "If you don't teach her a lesson, how are you gonna face Sophia?" But I hadn't done anything. From start to finish, this was their script. Their show. Sophia's voice came through, dripping with wounded innocence. "Damon, Evelyn's an art student. Of course she looks down on someone普通 like me. She said she wanted to use me as a live canvas for body painting. If the others hadn't stopped her… I'd be the one tied up in that classroom right now." The guys chimed in. "Exactly. Let Evelyn be the model this time. Let her taste what it's like to be looked down on. Knock that arrogance out of her." "Yeah, yeah. It's just taking off some clothes and a few paint strokes. What's the big deal?" "We're not hitting her. Not cursing her. Just a joke." Damon's voice wavered, uncertain. "No… we can't do that. Evelyn will lose it. She's too proud—she'd never take that kind of humiliation." Before he even finished, Sophia cut in, her tone sharp with irritation. "It's just a joke. So she learns what she did wrong. You can't even let that slide?" "Look—I promise, we won't post it online this time. Just between us. Please?" A long silence. Then a quiet "Mm" from Damon. And my tears fell. Again. He'd chosen to make me Sophia's plaything. Again. But not this time. They wouldn't get what they wanted. I pulled out the small blade I'd hidden on me and sliced through the ropes. Shaking, I climbed onto the windowsill on the second floor. I took a breath—and jumped. I crashed into a bush. Branches tore at my skin. My back slammed hard against the ground. But I didn't stop to feel the pain. I ran. Out of that school. By the time I reached the airport, my hands were still trembling. I'd almost missed the flight to New York. Almost stayed trapped here forever. As I boarded, my phone buzzed nonstop with texts from Damon. I didn't open a single one. I blocked him. Goodbye, Damon. Forever.